Crossroad of Ravens - Andrzej Sapkowski

⭐7.5/10

A new Witcher book! I very rarely anticipate a new release by a living author this much, and yet I admit my expectations were a bit tempered by the fact that his last release was a bit of a dud. This is another standalone Witcher novel that follows Geralt, this time during his early days, learning the values he'd come to live by in the later novels. 

I really wanted to love this book. During the early chapters, I was convinced that Sapkowski was back. Yes, the book was rather plotless and meandering, but it felt similar to those first short story collections. I admit the story lost me a little. I still think the book as a whole is good, or at least better than A Season of Storms, but this novel -- one that's rather short -- took me forever to read. It's kinda that bad cycle where the book doesn't grab you, so you take longer between sittings, so you forget some names and places, and soon you are both confused and uninvested. 

Still, I think it's important to acknowledge that this was partly a me problem. I thought the writing was sharp for the most part, and got back to its Witcher roots. Geralt as always is a great leading man, though Sapkowski made an effort to deferentiate this younger Geralt from his older, more grizzled self. I also thought the moral conundrums were present in a way I've always loved, though maybe a tad less interesting this time. Geralt still remains witty in his unique, stoic way.

The problem, however, is again I think Sapkowski was less interested in telling a story that's near and dear to his creative heart, and more interested in making money. Sapkowski, bless his curmudgeoney soul, has admitted his motivations in interviews, and again I think he was kinda just slapping together some ideas he's had over the years and cashing in before he dies. I'm not sure his heart was totally in it. 

That sounds super harsh, and I'm not totally convinced it's true, but this book is again a collection of loosely connected short stories that were tied together -- I'm guessing -- because novels sell better. There is clearly craft and research put into this work, and it expands the universe a bit more, but it's not a necessary read at all in my opinion. 

Again, it's still solid, and I would recommend to fans. If Sapkowski puts out more Witcher books, I'll still be reading them. I think it's worth mentioning that I don't think Geralt sleeps with a single horny mage in this book, but my other pet peeve, the incessant Latin, is perhaps at its most obnoxious in this book. But that's a minor complaint. Not a bad read (and I'll still take this over endless sanderslop - sorry).