The Tower of Swallows - Andrzej Sapkowski

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⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

So this is book 4 of the Witcher Saga (and the sixth in the universe, for those keeping track at home) and yeah, this continues to be awesome. This series has been my life this summer. By now the books are getting a little chunkier which I think is kinda cute because one of the oddities about this series is that books and chapters have zero meaning. There is nothing that distinguishes one chapter from the next, and aside from a couple thematic elements in each novel, there is really nothing starting and ending between books.

Still, this series continues to be incredible. It's hard to describe just what distinguishes it from other fantasy series and yet it's there. I think Sapkowski is simply a better writer than I lot of fantasy novelists, and in these books especially I've started to feel he's a master of setting up these atmospheric scenes, each setting feeling completely unique and different. I think it speaks to his versatility as a writer, creating cities and forests and frozen wastelands and war-torn countrysides that all feel fresh and alive. They really should make a video game series out of these...

And yet my favorite aspect of this series continues to be these characters. Again, this novel spends a little less time with Geralt, and along with that has lost a lot of the charm and humor that have always been present with him around. Even during the Geralt perspective, there isn't as much humor as in pervious books as the setting gets darker and more serious, as is the case with most sagas (I'm thinking LOTR and Harry Potter, for instance). But what this book lacks in Geralt, it has made up for in Ciri who has become this awesome, dynamic character going through her own wild adventures.

So yeah, I only have one more (but by far the longest) book left in the saga and I'm not sure what life will be like when I'm done. This has been a journey and has been the best series of books I've read honestly I think since I read Harry Potter as a kid. I hope these reviews will inspire one or two of you to dive in.

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