• Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
• Series: The Witcher #0.5
• No. of pages: 288
• Dates Read: 01.09.20 – 05.09.20
• Star Rating: 4

Plot: Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

A great introduction to the world of The Witcher. I came to this series after loving the show and I felt the show did a great job at adapting the book.

I really like the idea of trying to understand the world and the characters through short stories instead of a big novel. Also, these short stories kept my attention for longer instead of a larger novel and I really enjoyed that one short story flowed through all the other ones.

I thought Geralt was a really nice character. Honest, intelligent, sticks to his morals. A voice of reason, if you will, against the madness of this world!

The combat writing was exceptional! I have never been one to enjoy intense fighting sequences, they have always bored me, but this time around I was fully engaged and enthralled. I could perfectly visualise what was happening in my head!

I really like that we got little Easter eggs from old folktales mixed in like Beauty and the Beast, Rumplestiltskin and Snow White.

The Voice of Reason – 5

This story was really enjoyable. You get snippets of this story after every short story finishes and I really enjoyed the more philosophical side of this story about the fate of the Witcher’s and the monsters in the ever changing world.

The Witcher – 4

This was the first full short story you read and I think it set the tone for the rest of the collection. A great action sequence, corrupt characters and Geralt doing his absolute best.

A Grain of Truth – 4.5

This story was not adapted into the show so I went into this one with a clear mind and I thoroughly enjoyed it. It had elements of Beauty and the Beast and again the action sequences were so good.

The Lesser Evil – 5

This is the famed story seen in Episode 1. I really like the moral conversation in this story which is in the title, which action is the lesser evil and better for the world as a whole. I really enjoyed this story.

A Question of Price – 4

This was super fun. This story was actually my favourite episode from the TV show. It’s definitely the story that starts setting loads of things into motion! One thing I will say is that it dragged from time to time.

The Edge of the World – 3

This was my least favourite of the stories. The only real saving grace was that Dandelion aka Jaskier was really funny and he kept the story going throughout. I just felt that this was quite a slow paced story and it didn’t grab my attention as much as the others.

The Last Wish – 3.5

And finally, the big moment Geralt and Yennefer meet and I wasn’t super connected to the story. I think this is from the back of the previous story which threw me off my rhythm! I really liked Yennefer but I preferred the episode of the TV show.

The next book I will be reviewing is Dead Man in a Ditch by Luke Arnold. I read the first book of his earlier this year and loved it so let’s hope I feel the same about this book.