The Lady of the Lake - Andrzej Sapkowski

⭐ 9.0/10

(Originally written by Tim)

This was one of my favourite of the series, and also my final Witcher read, so this might become a review of the series. This is the longest book, which was great in some ways and bad in others, and aside from basically a month long break in the middle I thought it was one of the most engaging.

It helps that I read the first half on vacation, sailing through chapters and eager to read the next ones. The shifting perspectives and chapter framing is excellent when read in short periods of time, and I was completely engrossed. Ciri going through a lot, same with Geralt, that's all I ever wanted.

Then there is this epic battle chapter that took me a month to read. It has some great perspectives, mainly the surgeons, but I will say it again, I have no idea who anyone is or why anyone is fighting or what side they are on. I know who the big bads are, but again, give me a map! If I had geographical anchors I would be so much more invested in every soldier that is names and where their allegiance is. Without that its cool battle tactics with no weight behind it. I know in other books I do the leg work to understand all the names and places, but its just impossible without a map.

Once I got through that I read to the ending quickly. I didn't think it was the most satisfying for many of the characters, but I like the ending for Ciri and Geralt, and they are all who matter.

Great series as a whole, with my main criticism being above. I really love the framing of different chapters, jumping between perspectives and even points of time. It could be challenging to get your bearings, especially in the cases mentioned above where I had no idea why a person mattered or who they were fighting for, but it felt unique and was very effective. It all makes me appreciate the game even more, and how that game captures this world.