The Last Wish - Andrzej Sapkowski

⭐ 8.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

I fear that anything less than a 9 for this book might spark outrage from our founder, but honesty is key. I liked this book, read it very quickly, and am excited to see where it goes from here.

Fantasy short story is something I don't have a lot of experience with, and I liked the setup for all of these! It reminded me of Asimov, the king of sci-fi short stories, where Geralt is a man with principles and each story either proves them or puts them to the test. I can't say any one of them really stood out as the favourite, and a couple confused me. The final one was the most intriguing to me, but then ends with a baffling sex scene and a cliffhanger that I read is never really resolved? Kind of cool, but in the moment it felt abrupt.

I liked the little interludes as well, where you learn more about what Witchers are. Geralt is a great protagonist, and having played the game I felt an instant connection. The game is great because of this deep source material, with a lived-in world that mirrors our own in many ways.

I believe the next entry is also short stories, which is a shame, since I am ready to get to some full on plot arcs with these characters. They feel fully realized after this book, and as I felt with Asimov, as much as I love the conundrums posed in short stories nothing is the same as a satisfying long term arc. The main characters are great, but it was hard to latch on to any of the million side characters because they are different in every story and it's unclear if they are important or just names for Geralt to interact with.

This book even tempted me to watch some of the short story adaptations in the show, although I fear it might tarnish the cool images this one left in my head. If anything its even more tempting to get The Witcher 3 on switch and play it everywhere I go...