Il tempo della guerra

The Witcher #2

by Andrzej Sapkowski

La saga che ha ispirato la serie «The Witcher»

Tre ombre cavalcano nella notte. Sono tre sicari, lanciati all’inseguimento della loro prossima vittima. Tuttavia non sanno di essere a loro volta seguiti da una creatura più forte e più resistente di qualsiasi essere umano: Geralt di Rivia, l’assassino di mostri. In circostanze normali, lo strigo non si sporcherebbe le mani per eliminare dei comuni criminali, ma stavolta è diverso. Perché quei tre sono stati assoldati per uccidere la principessa Ciri e, se ci riusciranno, il mondo intero sarà perduto: Ciri è la Fiamma di Cintra, la maga di cui parlano le profezie, l’unica forza in grado di contrastare i piani dello spietato imperatore di Nilfgaard e di riportare la pace tra i popoli della terra. Per questo è essenziale che Ciri arrivi sana e salva sull’isola di Thanedd, dove si stanno radunando tutti gli altri maghi. E Geralt è disposto a ogni sacrificio pur di proteggere il suo cammino. Però nessuno può immaginare che la principessa non sarà al sicuro nemmeno sull’isola. Sebbene sia difesa da incantesimi potentissimi, le spie di Nilfgaard sono infatti sbarcate persino in quel luogo isolato. E adesso sono in attesa, pronte a colpire….

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Audiobook, High Fantasy, Polish Literature, Adventure, Magic

432 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1995

About the author

Andrzej Sapkowski, born June 21, 1948 in Łódź, is a Polish fantasy and science fiction writer. Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short story, The Witcher (Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novels. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.

The main character of The Witcher (alternative translation: The Hexer) is Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in an ambiguous moral universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler's signature character Philip Marlowe. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology.

Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze zło" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elfów" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.

In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.

In 2001, a Television Series based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.

Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007.

The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe,Latin America and Asia Pacific.

The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell Legends Award in 2009.

Reviews

[✘✘ Sarah ✘✘ (former Nefarious Breeder of Murderous Crustaceans) · Rating 1 out of 5]

① The ranting is strong in this one. Consider your little selves warned.
② Yes, I know, I read this book wrong.
③ You're welcome.

I wasn't going to write this review today but there's a slight chance my exoskeleton is going to implode if I don't get this out of my system now, so here goes.

This series started out with one of my mostest favoritest awesomest amazingest Fantasy book ever, aka The Last Wish. But it all went desperately downhill from there:
1/ My boyfriend Geralt stopped slaughtering monsters and being generally delicious.
2/ The series was suddenly plagued by an onslaught of Murderously Superfluous Blah-Blah-Blah-ing (MSBBB™) so ferocious I momentarily thought I'd been reincarnated as a sleeping pill.
3/ There were repeated and vicious and deadly relationship drama attacks.
4/ My boyfriend Geralt, who is kinda sorta supposed to be the MC for this series (well that's what I thought but I'm naught but a clueless shrimp so what do I know?), ended up having less page time than a born-again barnacle in a historical romance book.



My thoughts exactly. That, my dear Gertrude, is called a complete and total rip-off.

I thought that this instalment was actually much better than the previous two at first. No monster slaying (because that's obviously too corny and outdated and passé and obsolete and stuff), but lots more Geralt to be had, which is always, you know, good and stuff. There were ample amounts of MSBBB™, which means I got to practice my Superhuman Skimming Skills (SSS™), which was, you know, not so good and stuff. The plotline was all over the place and the structure of the book a total mess, which was, you know, not entirely satisfactory and stuff. Also, this has to be one of the worst translations in the history of worst translations (I'm assuming the book isn't as badly written in the original Polish as it is in English but I recently assumed I was going to enjoy reading The Fifth Season so I guess I can't really be trusted as far as, um, you know, assuming stuff is concerned), which is, you know, not that wonderful and stuff. So, as you can clearly see, it wasn't that bad at first. I mean, while reading the first 20% of the book I was virtually nearly not quite but almost practically considering rating it 3.758641 and a half stars (the yummilicious backstabbing helped, I admit). Then feminism started committing suicide over and over again.



The way women are portrayed in this book is simply delightful. Thank you so much, Mr Sapkowski, for offering us such a sharp, acute, splendid, expert, flawless depiction of the gentler sex. I wonder why it is that this magnificent opus hasn't yet become the official feminist bible. I mean, all you need to know about women is beautifully summed up here: they are either evil sluts or treacherous bitches. Or evil bitchy sluts. Or treacherous slutty bitches. They are also quite remarkably frivolous. And one-dimensional. And superficial. This is all so extraordinarily accurate and so fabulously point on I might faint any second now. I mean, we all know that all women care about is bitching about each other. And bitching about men. And discussing men. And fighting over men. And shamelessly trying to seduce men while wearing barely-there, virtually nonexistent, see-through clothes. And hooking up with men. And bitching about other women who spend their time either discussing men or fighting about them or trying to seduce them while wearing barely-there, virtually nonexistent, see-through clothes, either before or after hooking up with them.



Ha! Something just occurred to me (yes, it hurt. Very badly)! Sapkowski doesn't devote half the quarter of the third of the time he spends detailing sluts and bitches' women's lack of clothing he does describing what men wear. Strange, isn't? He probably forgot about it. Yeah, he must have. Besides, the men in his story have better, much more important things to do than worry about silly clothes. I mean, they are MEN, for fish's sake! They do great, serious, manly things and stuff. They have no time to waste on foolish frivolities. Obviously. Ha! Something just occurred to me again (if I keep this up I might end up in the E.R.)! There is one woman in this book who doesn't bear the Worthless Sapkowski Female Seal of Quality (WSFSoQ™). Her name is Ciri. Sapkowski wanted to make her a badass. So he gave her a sword. And masculinized the fish out of her. And, cherry on the cake shrimp on the paella, made her bisexual/gay. Because a woman can't be badass and be/act/look feminine. And because all bisexual/gay women act/are/look masculine.



And now we come to the part of the book I loved most. I'm telling you, my Little Barnacles, Sapkowski really gives the expression "saving the best for last" a whole new dimension here. Because this crap? It's Premium Super High Quality Suicide Inducing Stuff (PSHQSIS™). And Sapkowski saved it for the very last pages of his charming tale. How sweetly kindhearted of him. And now I am going to spoil the fish out of this book, so beware. So. To summarize. Ciri is about to get raped by Kayleigh. Luckily enough, Mistle comes to the rescue and chases the loathsome creep off. And what does Mistle do next? She proceeds to rape Ciri, of course (because that's what girls who have also been sexually abused in the past do to scared, lonely teenagers). Ciri feels "the grip of fear and disgust" but submits, and later falls asleep in Mistle's sweet embrace. She wakes up in the morning and all is fine and dandy because she is no longer alone and everything is wonderful and the birds are singing and the sky is blue but, weirdly enough, she kinda sorta feels filthy and tainted (I wonder why) so she goes down to the river and washes herself "with sharp movements of her hands, trying to remove what could not be removed" and cries but hey no biggie because at least she's no longer alone and stuff so of course she's going to stay with Mistle because, you know, Mistle saved her from Kayleigh and stuff and, really who the bloody stinking fish cares if Mistle ever so slightly raped her? And now excuse me while I shoot my little self in the head once more.



I am so done with this crap.

The end.

No, I will not be reading the rest of this series. Duh.

The end again.

P.S. I'm still pissed as fish about this. Whoever said writing reviews was cathartic is full of shrimp.

· Book 1: The Last Wish ★★★★★
· Book 2: Sword of Destiny ★★★
· Book 3: Blood of Elves ★★★



[Pre-review nonsense]

This book could have paved the way for Geralt's this series' return in my good graces. It almost did. But that Bloody Shrimping Ending of Oblivion and Spontaneous Combustion (BSEoOaSC™) happened.



Also, don't get me started on the way women are portrayed in this book. Unless you want to die a slow, painful, slightly excruciating death, that is.

➽ Full Way to Go Mr Sapkowski You Finally Managed to Make Me Give Up on this Series Congratulations Compliments Good Job Well Done and Stuff Crappy Non Review (WtGMSYFMtMMGUotSCCGJWDaSCNR™) to come. Not sure when, though. I think I need to sacrifice a few puny humans to relieve my anger first.

[James Tivendale · Rating 4 out of 5]

"I mistook stars reflected in a pond at night for those in the sky."

The narrative commences at what seems like a time of contempt indeed. The Kings aren't conversing with the Mages as they have previously, the Nilfgaardian army is still planning for war, and the Scoia'tael (Squirrels) are attacking humans in forests and villages. Many parties are all still looking for the elusive Lion Cub, the child of Destiny, Cirilla.

After an interesting and quite tragic point of view chapter following a King's messenger called Aplegatt, where the worrying and uneasy times that the world is currently facing are expressed, we are introduced back to Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer. Geralt is doing typical Witcher work and trying to find out more about the mysterious magician Rience. We are unfamiliar with the mage's motives or who his employer may be but it's clearly known he wants Ciri. Yennefer and Ciri are travelling to Thanedd which is where a conclave of mages and enchantresses is set to take place shortly to discuss these times of contempt and how it affects the magic-wielders of the world. Whilst here, it transpires that Ciri may be left with the enchantresses to study at the female magic school of Aretuza.

This is a difficult book to review, not because it is bad but because the book seems to be split into two distinctive styles of telling the story. One of these two styles generally features fan favourites such as Dandelion (although not as much as I would have liked), Geralt, Ciri, Triss, and Yennefer and includes some of the finest and well-crafted scenes that have been created in the series to date. Two of my favourites include a spectacular duel with someone who I'm sure is going to become a huge character in the saga, and also reading into the intrigue, politics, backstabbing, and agendas at the mages 'meet-and-greet' buffet prior to the conclave. A war is brewing and through unfamiliar point of view characters or slightly boring chapters where a member of the ensemble talks to another we are relaid complex political happenings that are occurring in all states across this world. These often include many complex and unfamiliar names of people, places, alliances, etc... It was difficult to keep track of who was supporting who. It also wasn't really obvious that some of the point of views were from the Nilfgaardian perspective until I was halfway through that segment and had to reevaluate what I'd just read. These later sections take up about 25% of the book. Honestly, I just forced myself through them knowing that I wouldn't follow every exact detail but it wasn't enough to truly affect my enjoyment when the scenes with less info dumping were reintroduced a few pages later. There are also a lot of names of mages to remember when the magicians' meeting arrives about forty percent through the story.

Of the scenes that aren't information dumps, I'd estimated that seventy-five percent follows the Witcher and Ciri although not necessarily following the same storyline, and the rest tracks the action of Yennefer, Dandelion, and others. Geralt and Ciri are my favourite characters so this was fine for me. Please be warned, that as well as typical fantasy violence presented in line with what has been presented previously, there is a potential/ implied rape scene towards the end of Time of Contempt. Although it is not graphic it is not for everyone so I thought I'd make you aware. This happens around the ninety-five percent mark and if you don't want to read that, it doesn't actually take that much away from the story to pass it by.

Ciri is still having her visions and nightmares, we meet the Wild Hunt for the first time, Geralt slays a few monsters, Yennefer is still beautiful, charming, powerful and manipulative, Dandelion is still a world-renowned poet. We are also introduced to some very interesting new characters including Vilgefortz and Nilfgaard's ruler. This book feels more like a progression than a full story in its self. Unlike some fantasy, I've found that these books don't really have gut-wrenchingly tragic or 'oh-my-god-I-did-not-see-that-twist-coming' endings. I believe that these should be read as one huge novel that same way that Stephen King thought of his The Dark Tower books. That being said, the ending does set up things nicely for Baptism of Fire and it looks like it might introduce a new dynamic for one of the main players.

So far this isn't my favourite fantasy series of all time yet, something does seem to click with me. I love the characters and the tales are utterly addictive. Every single one of the four entries I have read so far has only taken me two days apiece to complete. My original aim was to read this series before the Netflix show is released next year and I don't think I'll be the only person who has these thoughts. If you weren't sure whether to dive into the Witcher's world then I would personally recommend you take the leap.

[[ J o ] · Rating 2 out of 5]

I am odds with this series. The Last Wish is a million miles away from what these have become, which is just generic fantasy that is badly written (or translated). In The Last Wish we have good battles with monsters, re-tellings of our own fairytales and interesting characters. In this series, which is made up of what are supposed to be full-length books, we have absolutely none of that and it's very disappointing.

The dialogue is the worst thing of all. There is an abysmal attempt at humour, and an attempt to make the characters-I suppose-"normal", or at least, not speaking in thees and thous. However, it goes too far and all the characters speak the same, swear the same, call every woman a slut the same and are just dull and ridiculous both. I don't know if it's the translation, the transcription or the original author, but a translator can only do so much with what they're given.

Beyond the dialogue, everything is is pretty much just generic fantasy with battles, swords, magic and men calling all females sluts or bitches. There is a small attempt to make interesting female characters, but just giving them magical powers doesn't do that. All the female characters are at odds with each other, bitching about them behind their backs, wanting their men, talking about men, doing nothing but bitching or talking about men. There is a wonderful opportunity here to make excellent female characters with power, working together, being helpful to each other, being friends, being wonderful. But no. They just bitch or get their tits out. It's getting old.

Of course, there is another female character who does none of these. Ciri. The most important character of all, and yet because she wields a sword, doesn't wear make-up and acts a little male, she's obviously a lesbian, because that's the only explanation.

There is also little or no need for Geralt to be in these books. It's supposedly about a Witcher, but I don't recall there being much Witchering going on. Geralt fights with around two monsters and gets paid for none of them. Instead, he kills humans and gets told off for doing so. There are elements of trying to philosophise about the Witcher profession and killing monsters in general, but it is lost in the deluge of mediocre writing.

However, to give the book a little credit, we do have a better omniscient narration here. We see the story through many different eyes and not just main characters, which is one of the best things about reading fantasy. We travel to different lands, as well, and experience them with the characters, so with these things this series has come on leaps and bounds because the last book was absolutely dire with those things. So hey-ho, can't have everything, can we? That'd be silly. That'd be a good, worthwhile book and apparently those don't exist.

[Sr3yas · Rating 3 out of 5]

If A Game of Thrones books were penned by Andrzej Sapkowski, he would've written a whole installment on Red Wedding.

[Magdalena Miękińska (getbooky) · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25

[Em Lost In Books · Rating 2 out of 5]

What I wanted from this book was magic, action, Geralt blasting other world creatures with his witchering Yennefer burning some bad people with fire and more of Geralt/Yennefer instead I got was a lot of political talk, historical tales, wine, reunions, obsession/drooling over Geralt, and everyone hunting poor Ciri.

Yeah, I am disappointed.

[Adina ( back from Vacay…slowly recovering) · Rating 3 out of 5]

I guess this was the volume I liked the least so far, mainly because there are too many characters and politics in it. I am not sure I am a big fan of political scheming epic fantasy so I got a bit lost. I am not the most careful reader either so many of the events and people went over my head in the previous novels and it would have been useful to remember them here. I finished this at the end of May and now, in August, I started the next volume in the series. I still feel overwhelmed because I forgot half of what happened here.

Yen and Geralt are great. Ciri is annoying most of the time. What else? Oh yeah, the author annoys me for spending too much time describing the sexy clothes of the sorceresses and their gossip.

[Michelle · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is my favorite book in the series so far. Ciri and Geralt really go through some difficult changes which makes this novel all the more interesting. So whereas “Blood of Elves” sets up the idea of Ciri being at the center of courtly intrigue and politics, with Geralt and Yennefer trying to protect her -- “Time of Contempt” goes deep into that same intrigue and politics with an absolute cluster of a battle in the middle of the story. Though the focus is split halfway between Ciri and Geralt, Ciri's tale is more interesting this time around. Her story manages to go through quite a lot of settings and conflicts over the course of the novel, which I really enjoyed.

For the first half of the book, things aren't happening as much as they are revealed. Yet when things finally kicked off, the book was impossible to put down. The reader gets to spend time in a relatively central position during the inciting incident, and most of the story after that -- up close and personal, instead of the typical description narrative afterwards.

Andrzej Sapkowski's writing, as always, is impressive. Whoever did this translation took painstaking care to make sure that the result is well written and beautiful. “Time of Contempt” is many things. It is a disturbing and deeply political novel about what life might really be like in a traditional fantasy world. It is a deconstruction of traditional fantasy tropes and it is a devastating critique of the racism, sexism and nationalism that have done so much damage to our world, and which are casually reproduced in much traditional fantasy. Yet though the book is gritty as hell, it's also funny, charming, and intimate. It's playful with the source material, not dismissive of it. This only makes its core pessimism all the more arresting.

Like the last book, “Time of Contempt” feels like simply another episode in a much larger story, without any real closure. But this time around, you get a better idea of what’s going on. Everything about this book is intriguing: whether it be the intricate characters, the deceptively complex plot, or the well crafted world. There are no absolute truths, and by the end of the book -- I can honestly say I am beautifully confused and excited for the next novel. The ending is a bit strange and unexpected, but I need to read the next book to properly judge. Nevertheless, an amazing read!

[Edward Gwynne · Rating 3 out of 5]

Check out my review for The Time of Contempt on Grimdark Magazine at: Grimdark Magazine

Time of Contempt, the second full-length novel in The Witcher universe continues where Blood of Elves left off, and thrust us back into the world that is now teeming with politics and inter-race war.

“Always takes action. Wrongly or rightly; that is revealed later. But you should act, be brave, seize life by the scruff of the neck. Believe me, little one, you should only regret inactivity, indecisiveness, hesitation. You shouldn’t regret actions or decisions, even if they occasionally end in sadness and regret.”

With Time of Contempt, Andrzej Sapkowski moves away from the original elements of The Last Wish of monster hunting, and develops the epic plot of Ciri as the child of Destiny. The land of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri is changing, kings not working with mages, Ciri being hunted and Nilfgard are on the brink of war. It is a strange time for our favourites. Reading Time of Contempt made me miss the short stories of The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, where Geralt had his intense bouts with the monsters Sapkowski had created. There is still action a plenty, some of it fantastic in Time of Contempt, but I found myself longing for the original style that made me really love The Witcher universe.

This being my fourth read by Sapkowski I am now confident I know what I am getting in one of his stories. He has a style that is unique to him, with flowery and philosophical dialogue that tackles a whole list of issues that more often than not reflect today’s societies. I really wish Sapkowski would have built on these a lot more as I feel there is so much more to give in this series of books.

“That’s the role of poetry, Ciri. To say what others cannot utter.”

Due to the epic nature path that this story is now walking down we are introduced many new characters from the various nations of The Northern Realms, Nilfgaard and the Scoia’tael. I particularly like the non-human’s that Sapkowski adds to The Witcher Saga. With a new cast there is also a lot of room for confusion. Whether it be as I was listening to the audiobook rather than reading the physical edition, there are lot of new and alien names that aren’t structured as well as they could have been, which added to the confusion of the story.

Geralt is the strongest character by far and I always love his scenes. There is swordplay from him that I was looking forward to and it did not disappoint, I’m just always wanting more! I love Geralt’s interaction with the heroes we already know, such as Dandelion, and I enjoyed Geralt’s stalwart personality in this volume. If you have played the games like me then there are nice Easter eggs in Time of Contempt that the game used.

“It’s incredible,’ the Witcher smiled hideously, ‘how much my neutrality outrages everybody.’”

I am in part frustrated with this series as I was expecting lots more. I am still enjoying Sapkowski’s writing and have a feel for the characters, there is just a lot of potential here with not much happening so far. I am really hoping Baptism of Fire picks up the pace and progresses the story and hopefully will end with a big SCHOCKER or something like that. I am intrigued to see what the series will do with the full-length novels.

“But do you know when stories stop being stories? The moment someone begins to believe in them.”

3/5 - hoping/expecting too much maybe, but for one of the best-selling fantasy series of all time it hasn’t knocked me off my feet yet. There is enough to enjoy here and keep me ticking over to read the next instalment. Geralt is awesome, as always. Dandelion is fun, Yennefer full of cool moments and Ciri is growing. Let me know your thoughts on The Witcher Saga so far!

[Anniebananie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ich bin nach wie vor Fan!
Allerdings muss ich bei diesem Buch einen Stern abziehen, da mich das Buch in der Mitte mal kurz ein wenig verloren hatte. Zu viele Namen, zu viele Orte/Regionen und zu viele Erzählperspektiven. Da war ich dann kurz mal raus.
Der Rest des Buches war aber wieder absolut toll. Auch wenn wir gefühlt immer wenig Geralt begleiten, stört mich das recht wenig. Ich mag Ciri nach wie vor und vor allem bei ihren Abschnitten habe ich immer sehr mitgefiebert.
Die Handlung entwickelt sich vor allem gegen Ende nochmal in ganz ungeahnte Richtungen und so mancher Charakter wächst über sich hinaus. Hier vor allem lobend zu erwähnen ist finde ich Rittersporn, tolle Entwicklung, die er hier gemacht hat.
Apropos Handlung: ich finde es schade, dass der Klappentext Sachen enthält, die erst im letzten Viertel des Buches geschehen. Somit hat mich so mancher Plottwist nicht so sehr überrascht, wie wenn ich den Klappentext nicht gekannt hätte...
Das Buch besteht wieder nur aus 7 Kapiteln, aber mittlerweile stört mich das gar nicht mehr so sehr und die Übergänge zwischen den Kapiteln wurden im Laufe des Buches auch immer fließender, sodass der Kurzgeschichtencharakter langsam verschwindet.
Die letzten beiden Kapitel haben mir am besten gefallen, da hier so viel Unerwartetes geschieht und das macht einfach neugierig auf das nächste Buch und das ohne mit einem fiesen Cliffhanger zu arbeiten. Da versteht der Autor wirklich sein Handwerk!

[Lucy · Rating 4 out of 5]

”You were all right. Only I, the naive, anachronistic and stupid Witcher, was wrong.”

4.5****

Wow this was a great book. This was action-packed, political and war-filled. There were also some important revelations in reference to why Nilfgaard is desperately searching for Ciri. Additionally, there was backstabbing and people turning on each other.

I really enjoyed this one as we were able to see more of Aretuza where all the mages confer and are trained. We also get to see Ciri really hone in her skills with magic.

This focused on mainly the rise of elves and other races fighting and killing humans after generations of oppression, killing and slavery. It focused on Kings and their armies fearing invasion from nilfgaard and Elves, as invasion and backstabbing from their neighbouring kingdoms. It focuses on the questions of: What will people do for power? Also, what people will do to kill the witcher and get Ciri to achieve more power?

[myo ⋆｡˚ ❀ * · Rating 3 out of 5]

maybe i’m tripping but Geralt feels like a side character instead of a main character

[Mili · Rating 2 out of 5]

Finally, sorry but this was nottttttttt my type of plot. I mean...Ciri her storyline is great but the rest ( and it was mostly the rest ) was so boring. Soooo political, too many names and I just dont know who is screwing who. So sadly I got detached from the plot.

Putting this series on a break till I get back from vacation. I still feel a connection with the main plot, I looove the witcher concept and all the wizards. But I need less politics...

[Hamad · Rating 3 out of 5]

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The Last Wish ★★★★
Sword of Destiny ★★★★
Blood of Elves ★★★ 1/2
The Time of Contempt ★★★ 1/2

Time of contempt takes place after the events of book one and follows the same style. It follows Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer and shows how their fates are entangled together.

I was warned about the translation in this book but I honestly did not sense a big difference between this one and the previous books. There were certainly lines that could have been more polished but it did not take from my enjoyment of the story.

I think we are getting to know the characters more and more with every entry. I am not a big fan of the secondary characters in this series very much because I don’t feel we get the time to know them as well. Also, as in Blood of Elves, there were many name drops that were similar and confusing and I couldn’t tell who was who which always leave a bad taste in my mouth. The same goes to the world as there is no map and we get different names of places dropped all the time without much distinction.

s for the story itself, it gets more political in this one which is not bad but I think one of the best parts of the Witcher is his side quests that we saw in the anthologies and that should have been more included in the main series. For example, the Wyvern scene with Ciri was a simple but an interesting one and I think the mythology could have spiced things up!

Summary: Time of Contempt was a little better than Blood of Elves as the direction of the story was clearer. I do like the main characters and I wanna continue their story for sure. I think the writing (and translation) were good, I just did not appreciate the information dumping regarding characters and places. I wanna continue book three soon!

[Dana Ilie · Rating 5 out of 5]

After reading Blood of Elves, I was hooked! I could not wait to get my hands on The Time of Contempt. Let me tell you, it did not disappoint. The action is non-stop! A war which was on the horizon in the first book is now in full force.  And those that are trying to capture Ciri are getting closer every day. In book two we get a glimpse into why she is being hunted. Geralt The Witcher , is still trying to protect her from falling into the hands of those who want to use her powers for evil.   
If you’re interested in the Witcher story in general, or just dark fantasy, give it a read.
The Time of Contempt is an excellent continuation of the Witcher, and a stronger book than book one.

[Natasha Polis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Ummmm. These books are maybe not worth your time. I'm reading them to get ready for the show coming to Netflix. It's giving me great insight into the character, but since I've never played the game, I feel a piece is missing.

This one was more enjoyable than the first. I wish they weren't so chopping and spaced out as I feel the first three should have been condensed into one long story. I will keep chugging along but my DNF the next book.

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 Stars
I liked this one, but I don't think it's a stronger entry in the series but it still had some great moments. I don't mind when a book drops the title in it's text, but I am so tired of reading about the "Time of Contempt"... it was a little repetitive.

[V.D. Taylor · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn’t want to say it, but I’m disappointed. - 3,3333 ⭐

In the fourth book of The Witcher saga (The Time of Contempt), Andrzej Sapkowski sharpens the philosophical and political tone of the story, building a world where every virtue is put to the test. The title itself feels like a statement of intent: the era in which the events unfold is one in which humanity, compassion, and independent thought are systematically destroyed. This leads to a state of anarchy that, frankly, I don’t know how could be stopped — maybe through some artificial device like a deus ex machina, but I can’t imagine a natural solution.

Sapkowski uses fantasy elements to explore real moral and existential dilemmas. The characters aren’t your typical heroes or villains — their choices are often driven by fear, the instinct to survive, or a deeply personal sense of duty. This is where the thematic depth of the novel truly stands out: in a time of contempt, evil is not always obvious, and goodness rarely rewarded.

At the center of this part is Ciri — the princess with mystical powers who slowly becomes the moral compass of the story. She’s a young character placed in the midst of complex political intrigues, violence, and magical conspiracies. Her internal struggle raises the question: how do you remain yourself when the world around you only wants to use you?

The author masterfully constructs conflicts — between personal freedom and duty, between magic and morality, between fate and choice. The Witcher, Geralt, although seemingly pushed to the background, remains a symbol of neutrality and a desperate hope that one can stay out of political madness. But the novel itself shows just how impossible that is — even Geralt is dragged into the chaos and suffering spreading across the continent.

And now comes the issue: to arrive at these reflections, I had to read the book like I was studying for an exam. I literally googled some of the characters just to better understand which kingdom they’re from and what their motivations are, because honestly, there are just too many characters who aren't introduced clearly. Maybe they get more developed in the other books, but in this one, it’s around 150 pages filled with people and ideas that, unless the reader really dives in, I don’t know how they’ll grasp. And the worst part is that even after all that research, if someone asked me who’s who, I probably wouldn’t be able to answer.

Thinking about it now, this is actually the first time I’ve ever taken notes on a work of fiction. But I feel like I need to write something down — something genuinely interesting — just to avoid losing the thread.









Pre_read

Time to continue this adventure. I heard the fourth game is coming out soon—not that I’ve played any of them or know if I ever will, but at least I’ve got the books.

[Zitong Ren · Rating 5 out of 5]

I personally found this book to certainly be a step up from book 1, which I already really enjoyed. For me, this did what book one did, but it better and some of the criticism and critiques that I did have for book 1 were sort of fixed or improved upon at the very least. I also really found the characters to be much more engaging and there is this one chapter at the end of the book with Ciri, which I personally could not take myself away from, it was that good.

There were honestly just lots of scenes between different characters that were, in my opinion just straight up, so enjoyable and like right now, I’m loving anything between Yennefer and Geralt, cause frankly, I love the two, and any scene between them is beautiful. BEAUTIFUL, I tell you. believe me, please. I love at how headstrong Ciri is of a character, yet at the same time, especially later on, the author is able show her insecurities and also at how important some of these characters are to her and yeah, it’s awesome. So far, the characterisation has been very strong, and I hope it continues on that way in book 3 and beyond.

Compared to book 1, there did seem to be slightly less dialogue and a bit more descriptions, not to say that there wasn’t still lots of dialogue, yet I certainly liked it much better in this book. While still dialogue heavy, it was able to provide some of the history and worldbuilding that I was craving for a bit more of from book 1 and we certainly received some more of that and I really liked that about the book. Thus far, I am really loving the world that I have been dutifully and lovingly exploring for the past two books, and it really feels quite epic and grand to me, with all the kingdoms and cultures, despite the books being fairly short. I didn’t realise how large the world was, until it mentioned at how two cities were 200 miles away, yet on the Netflix map I was referring to, it showed the two cities being pretty damn next to each other, that it really gave me a sense of the scale. Worldbuilding: greatly improved yet sill would have liked more.

I also really liked the sort of whole politicalness of this book(I know it’s not a word, but you get the idea, hopefully). There was a lot more politics and intrigue in that direction, which I know people sometimes complain about when there is too much of it, yet I really liked it in my fantasy books, especially is it done well, since as a reader, you really don’t know what is going on all the sort of decisions people are going to make or the sort of influence a person may have(in this case, I am largely referring to Ciri).

I think due to the way the book is constructed with each chapter acting as its individual thing instead of being straight one after the other, it makes it seem like more things have actually happened than the book beckons for, which I think is fine and works really well here, since it managed to give the reader a larger picture, while keeping the actual word and page count down. Now, I don’t know what it is like in Polish and what things may be different, but from an English perspective, the way the story is told works just fine.

9/10

[Krell75 · Rating 2 out of 5]

"Potrei spremerti il cervello dalle orecchie..."

...disse il mago che picchiava lo strigo con il bastone di ferro.

Anche in questo romanzo la narrazione segue, o almeno ci prova, i due protagonisti: Geralt lo strigo e Ciri la bambina medium. Eppure sovente, sono altri personaggi a raccontare, in modo indiretto, eventi significativi accaduti in luoghi distanti.
Si ottiene un certo distaccamento e una mancanza di profondità relegando il testo ad un mero racconto. Che siano persone o regni o maghi o imperi o fortezze, il più delle volte, quello che ci viene raccontato è un elenco di riassunti con decine di nomi, luoghi ed eventi a loro connessi senza averli introdotti in nessun modo. Non hanno volto né contesto.

La caratterizzazione delle razze o se preferite "specie" non umane sono già viste mille volte. Gli elfi sanno tirare con l' arco, (davvero?) mentre i nani sono già scomparsi dalla storia; evidentemente a parte qualche scena comica presente nel primo romanzo, il loro contributo si è già esaurito.

Tutto il romanzo è piuttosto deludente, a parte quelle poche pagine dedicate alle vicende dei personaggi principali ma che faticano a decollare. Non basta inserire decine di regni e luoghi per creare un' ambientazione che risulti interessate, se poi rimangono semplici nomi sulla carta o descrivono civiltà fotocopia delle nostre, ma in mondi diversi.

Qui si prospetta una storia di guerra dalle proporzioni continentali, con decine di maghi potentissimi e numerosi eserciti, eppure ci vengono mostrati ampollosi banchetti, fiere paesane, fughe impossibili, tradimenti politici e qualche lavoro di coltello di spie al soldo di "nomi". Geralt è una marionetta tirata dai fili di altri, manipolato dalla maga Jennefer: appare, taglia qualche arto, spacca qualche testa, ammazza elfi e difende Ciri. Perché deve. E anche Ciri, come Geralt, rimane un oggetto utilizzata da tutti, sballottata da ogni parte dove serve meglio al potente di turno. I veri protagonisti sembrano sempre quelli dietro le quinte.

E poi, caro Sapkowski, hai inserito nella tua storia, maghi e streghe dai poteri mostruosi, capaci di una magia simile al sistema di Dungeons and Dragons, ma non sei in grado di mostrarmi uno scontro magico?

In sintesi questi due romanzi iniziali cercano di anteporre il conflitto politico alle classiche trame eroiche, ed è un bene, ma lo fanno in modo caotico, fuori centro e con toni adolescenziali.

-------------------------------------
"I could squeeze your brains out of your ears..."

...said the wizard who beat the witcher with the iron staff.

In this novel too, the narration follows, or at least tries to, the two protagonists: Geralt the witcher and Ciri the medium child. Yet often, other characters tell, indirectly, significant events that happened in distant places.
A certain detachment and a lack of depth is achieved by relegating the text to a mere story. Whether they are people or kingdoms or wizards or empires or fortresses, most of the time, what we are told is a list of summaries with dozens of names, places and events connected to them without having introduced them in any way. They have no face or context.

The characterization of the races or if you prefer non-human "species" have already been seen a thousand times. The elves know how to shoot with the bow, (really?) while the dwarves have already disappeared from history; evidently apart from a few comic scenes in the first novel, their contribution has already run out.

The whole novel is rather disappointing, apart from those few pages dedicated to the main characters' adventures but which struggle to take off. It is not enough to insert dozens of kingdoms and places to create a setting that is interesting, if they remain simple names on paper or describe civilizations that are carbon copies of ours, but in different worlds.

Here we are presented with a war story of continental proportions, with dozens of very powerful wizards and numerous armies, and yet we are shown pompous banquets, village fairs, impossible escapes, political betrayals and some knife work by spies in the pay of "names". Geralt is a puppet pulled by the strings of others, manipulated by the sorceress Jennefer: he appears, cuts off some limbs, breaks some heads, kills elves and defends Ciri. Because he has to. And Ciri, like Geralt, remains an object used by everyone, tossed around wherever she is best served by the powerful of the moment. The real protagonists always seem to be those behind the scenes.

And then, dear Sapkowski, you have inserted into your story, wizards and witches with monstrous powers, capable of magic similar to the Dungeons and Dragons system, but you are not able to show me a magical clash?

In short, these two initial novels try to put the political conflict before the classic heroic plots, and that is a good thing, but they do it in a chaotic way, off-center and with adolescent tones.

[Bradley · Rating 5 out of 5]

You know, when I come right down to this series, like any other epic fantasy I've read, it all hangs on how much I get into the characters.

No matter what kind of action sequences come around or how much cool magic gets thrown in our faces or what kind of war blows up, I'm still tied up in my love of Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri. When things get dark and the contempt surrounds everyone, I'm rooting for them. And the bard, too. :) And little miss unrequited. :)

After that point, I'm honestly amazed at how well I received this novel inside my head. Its structure and the way it flits from several different storytelling styles, its truly surprising (and awesome) jabs in the plot, and the wicked turns that come about later make me rather want to scream. But that's only because this book DOES NOT FOLLOW NORMAL STRUCTURE. Then again, neither did Blood of Elves. Or the two story collections. The way the tale comes out always keeps me on my toes, keeps everything feeling fresh, and there's no way I can't compare this against so many other epic fantasies, but one thing I CAN say is that it tells stories around corners. You may KNOW something is coming, but Sapkowski truly lulls you into believing that THIS cool scene here is the pinnacle of THIS section, and then he comes right around and slams your head against the table and you're either stunned or you get really pissed or it jerks tears out of you because the SCENE IS JUST TOO FREAKING GORGEOUS.

I'm sure some of you know what I mean. Yennifer and Ciri? As a mirror to a certain queen? OMG that just cut through all my defenses. And then the hits just kept coming and coming.

And coming.

Yes, this series has a hard world to live in. It's not just hard for the elves, but it's hard for women. But damn, if there aren't a lot of hard women in here hitting back!

The love story. I'm sorry, but I started blubbering like a little baby. I thought it was great in The Last Wish, but this just made me an ugly little mess.

I can't not give a book that affects me the way anything less than a full five stars. It not only holds up well against all these modern epic fantasies, but I see precisely where it blows the previous generation of fantasies out of the water, ushering in everything we now know and love. :)

[Trish · Rating 4 out of 5]

In this second full-length novel of the The Witcher series, the tale of Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt continues.

Ciri and Yennefer are traveling together, Yennefer planning on putting Ciri in the school of mages, Aretuza, where she’ll learn more about her talent and be safe at the same time. Because people are still looking for the „Lion Cub of Cintra“ despite rumors of her death spreading.
We meet people working with Yennefer and Geralt (considering their professions, they were bound to have made alliances), we also meet messengers to kings, we meet our favorite bard and we meet ordinary folk in market squares.
And we attend the Council of Mages after Yennefer and Geralt finally reunite.

The one moment that had me go „yay“ was when Yennefer and Geralt finally confessed their love for one another. Out loud. No tactics behind it. Just open honestly. We’ve all been waiting quite a while for this payoff.
And no, that still doesn’t make this story a love story per se. But they had proven their love for one another for a while and it was time they also confessed it in words to make it official (for themselves as much as each other).

I didn’t much care for the talk of breeding and blood lines at the beginning but the setting is medieval-ish so it did make sense. Moreover, I celebrate that this is not just a hard world and a hard place to live in for women (amongst others) but that there are some women here who hit back at the world (and at certain assholes) just as hard (in a realistic way).
The wyvern breaking free and wreaking havoc, Ciri bringing it down, the ongoing intrigue and Yennefer trying to stay one step ahead at all times because no amount of magic can save you all the time - just two examples of that.
Sadly, this development also meant a lack of monsters to be slain once again. Not least because certain creatures are all but extinct thanks to „progress“. I never enjoyed them being slain but I very much enjoyed the atmosphere they created. Thus, there was less of a mystical feel to the story here. We got more political talk in its place. At least we did get some magic to make up for that (and one hell of a mage kicking even the Witcher’s ass). Mostly though, it is about war preparations and the titular contempt everyone harbors for basically everybody else.

And then there was the war everyone had prepared for for so long. All the spying and betraying paid off, resulting in a coup and lots of dead mages, followed by all out conflict. It was inevitable but I wasn’t sure we’d be getting it in this 2nd novel already. And it didn’t stop there. From that moment on, we didn’t get a moment of rest. Chases, pursuits, sword fights as well as fights against mages, death and danger everywhere. The author knows how to make you afraid (technically, it’s obvious that Geralt can’t die just yet considering how many more books there are in the series, but I nevertheless found myself holding my breath in fear for his life).

The writing continues to be extremely good - or so I can only assume since this is a translation. Add to that the gorgeous elvish songs and prophecies that all but light up the darkness. Moreover, the chemistry between the characters, the family ties (there is no other words for it) they’ve built, the locations (be they inns or schools or castles or towers or whatnot), the breathtaking fights … all of it was very lively again thanks to just the right amount of detailed descriptions.

[Dannii Elle · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is the second full-length instalment to The Witcher series.

Where has the story-line I was promised in The Last Wish gone? What happened to my beast-slaying Witcher?

Whilst not an unenjoyable read, this was also not the tale I thought I was signing up for. The first prequel short story collection seemed to set this series up as being one thing when in fact it was the the second collection, Sword of Destiny, which was far slower in pace and more romantically focused, that better gave an indication for the later focus.

The events here were largely focused not around the Witcher, Geralt, as anticipated, but around the child of prophecy, Ciri. Despite being one of my favourite characters in this series I was always eager to return to Geralt's perspective but little of the plot progression actually stemmed there.

The full first half was very slow in pace but the latter did increase in scenes of action and tension. It left off on a cliffhanger that has me inclined to believe this more political focus, which has a historical fiction feel to it in places, will also permeate through the rest of the series and, unfortunately, it is not something I care to continue with. Definitely not a bad read, just different to the one I came here for.

[Велислав Върбанов · Rating 5 out of 5]

„— Пробва ли да ви подпита? Всички знаят, че шпионира за Хенселт от Каедвен.
— Сериозно? — Йенефер се направи на изумена, което беше възприето като превъзходна шега.“


„Време на презрение“ е превъзходно съчетание между шпионски трилър и военен роман във впечатляващия фентъзи свят на „Вещера“! Първата част от книгата е изпълнена със сложни шеметни интриги между отделните кралства и магьосници, а пък във втората част започва бруталната война на Нилфгардската империя срещу въпросните разделени кралства. Йенефер води Цири към училището за магьосници в Аретуза, а към даден момент пътят им се пресича с този на Гералт. След това Йенефер и Гералт отиват на важен банкет за магьосниците, като тогава са въвлечени в доста напрегнати и опасни събития...





„Необходимо е да се намери подход към елфите, защото никой освен тях не е в състояние да разбере нищичко в записите им. В повечето случаи елфическите ръкописи са претъпкани със символика и акростихове, а понякога — направо с шифрована информация. Старата реч винаги е най-малко двузначна, а в писмен вид може да има и десет значения. Елфите никога не са били склонни да помагат на някого, който се опитва да разбере пророчествата им.“


„— Извинява се за това, което е осъзнал едва сега. — Лютичето се загледа в небето, а в гласа му започнаха да се долавят ритми, характерни за баладите. — За това, което би искал да разбере, но се бои, че може и да не успее… И за това, което със сигурност никога няма да разбере. Извинява се и моли за прошка… Хм… Разбиране… Съмнение… Предопределение? Всичко е банално, по дяволите…
— Не е вярно! — тропна с крак Цири. — Гералт изобщо не говори такива неща! Той… Всъщност, той мълчи. Нали видях. Стои там с нея и мълчи…
— В това се състои ролята на поезията, Цири. Да говориш за онова, за което другите мълчат.“


„— Йен!
— Да. Откровеност за откровеност.
— Да не ти е лошо?
— Чаках това. — Тя изстиска един лимон върху сьомгата. — Не можех да реагирам на признания, направени мислено. Дочаках думите, можех да им отговоря и отговорих. Чувствам се прекрасно.“


„Под натиска на Нилфгард кралствата им ще рухнат като пясъчни дворци. Предложих ти го снощи и днес го повтарям — присъедини се към победителите. Плюй на победените.
— Ти си този, който е победен. Ти беше само едно оръдие за Емхир. Той се нуждаеше от Цири и затова изпрати за нея оня тип с крилете на шлема. Интересно, как ли ще постъпи Емхир с теб, когато му съобщиш за провала на мисията си?“


„— Цири беше права — прошепна вещерът. — Неутралитет. Неутралитетът винаги е подъл.“


„Аз, както всички знаят, съм наивен, безразсъден и анахроничен вещер. Но продължавам да не вярвам, че не се е пробудила съвестта на нито един магьосник.“


„Цири забеляза, че еднорогът постоянно криволичи, а не поддържа права линия на движение. Изпълни се с основателни подозрения, че животното съвсем не е жител на пустинята. Че просто се е заблудило в нея. Също като нея.“


„Те бяха измет. Бяха необичайна сбирщина, родена от войната, нещастието и презрението. Войната, нещастието и презрението ги бяха свързали и ги бяха изхвърлили на един и същ бряг, така както пълноводната река изхвърля по бреговете черни, дрейфуващи и изгладени от камъните парчета дърво.“

[Mogsy · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 of 5 stars at The BiblioSanctum http://bibliosanctum.com/2015/08/09/a...

For the first time ever, the English translations of the novels in Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher Saga series are being made into audiobooks, and I have been enjoying them immensely. Thus far, four Witcher books have been published in this format, including the short story collection The Last Wish. Today I’ll be reviewing The Time of Contempt, the second full-length novel in the sequence.

The story beings where Blood of Elves left off, following Yennefer and Ciri’s journey to Gors Velen where the sorceress hopes to continue her young apprentice’s education by enrolling her into a school for magic. Unhappy with these plans, Ciri devises a plan to escape and seek out Geralt, whom she has been told is not far from the city. However, on the way she is intercepted by the Wild Hunt and given an unexpected choice.

Meanwhile, more political intrigue and back-alley negotiations are happening in the shadows. A power struggle is developing, and the players must choose sides. How is a Witcher, sworn to neutrality, supposed to deal with this? Especially if that Witcher, a staunch and principled man, stumbles upon a coup that could lead to a bloody war that would tear apart the land? Gerald faces one of his hardest challenges yet in this novel, putting all his wits and fighting skills to the test.

If you’re even mildly interested in The Witcher video games, I would highly recommend picking up this series. Even if you’re not, you can still enjoy these novels for the excellent sword and sorcery fantasy books they are. Bottom line: these books are great, featuring plenty of spectacular action scenes along with magic and sword-wielding heroes; you really can’t ask for more than that. Geralt the Witcher is in especially rare form in this one, our favorite “white-haired fiend” demonstrating just how good he is at what he does – killing lots and lots of bad guys and monsters.

But of course, these books aren’t just about Geralt, even though he is often used as the face for The Witcher franchise. It’s easy to forget sometimes that the other characters are just as involved as he is, and once in a while, as in the case of this novel, they can even play a bigger role. In my eyes, The Time of Contempt is where Ciri truly gets her chance to shine. She may be destined for great and terrible things, but readers are reminded that despite all the grand prophecies about her, little Ciri is still a child. While still struggling to control the magic in her blood, she learns there is even more to her potential. It’s a lot to place on the shoulders of a young girl, not to mention all the people who want to kill her or use her in their political machinations. The development of her character in this novel shows that she is a strong-willed and spirited youth despite being burdened with a world full of troubles, and that in the face of danger she can still show plenty of good humor. For that reason, she was my favorite character in this book.

Also noteworthy is how much the story has matured over the course of this novel, raising the stakes in this world of shifting alliances and backroom deals. The plot comes alive, becoming more twisty and complex as the result of the lofty ambitions and power-hungry maneuverings of mages, rebels and kings. This book also sees a greater role for the Scoia’tael, the group of guerilla fighters mostly made up of elves, dwarves and other non-humans. Portending a time of war and misfortune, the spectral riders of The Wild Hunt also make their appearance in the sky, a promise that everything we see here is merely the beginning.

Narrator Peter Kenny continues to deliver a superb performance for this series, making the experience of listening to the audiobook memorable. He has a great voice for expressive storytelling, and is especially adept at doing accents and voices without drawing excessive attention. As a fan of the games, I had initial concerns that I would have trouble reconciling myself to anyone other than actor Doug Cockle as the voice of Geralt, but Kenny quickly dispelled them. He truly is a talented voice artist.

In sum, The Witcher series and its characters are a one-of-a-kind creation, and The Time of Contempt is another excellent novel in the sequence, not to mention a great experience in audio format. I’m enjoying them a lot, as you can probably guess; otherwise, I wouldn’t keep listening. Obviously this is a series I want to keep reading, and I’m already excited for the next one.

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

Thankfully this had a lot more action and character development to elevate the plot compared to Blood of Elves.

As I said previously, this isn’t going to be a fantasy for everyone. You have to invest in the slow burn, dense plot that weaves together lots of characters, many of whom never meet, over multiple books. There’s often no immediate pay off, with events taking years to come to fruition. Our three main heroes, Geralt, Ciri and Yen also spend minimal time together (although it’s a pleasure to read when they are). However, if you do take the time to read these close together, it’s worth it.

Time of Contempt continues the problem of Ciri. What she is and also what to do with her to keep her safe from the many, many people who wish her harm. With the continued civil unrest across the country due to Nilfgaardian invasion, people want her dead because of her links to Cintra, but there are also those who want to use her unusual ‘gifts’ for personal gain. Her relationship with Yen plays an important part in the early stages of the novel, and they have a lot of anger and resentment towards each other at first. Ciri is at the age where she wants to discover who she is as a young woman, and have the freedom to make her own decisions. She also misses Geralt dearly (as does Yen, but she’d never admit it).

In the mean time Geralt is busy trying to investigate the main threats to Ciri and taking them down. This includes a mysterious wizard we briefly saw at the end of Blood of Elves, and his even more allusive employer. He’s busy killing monsters to earn money to, essentially, private investigators to give him the right information. There’s a lot of internal struggle for Geralt as he wars with himself over what he should do with Ciri, and what he wants to do.

Playing the Witcher games, I knew quite a bit of the plot to the series (and, unfortunately I already know some of the major twists to come) but I loved that this had a massive plot development in the middle of the book. I particularly love that it hinges on Geralt going to take his morning wee away from Yen’s flowers. I sometimes forget how funny the series can be, especially with Geralt’s dry wit. The plot development really moved the tension and characters forward, and leaves Ciri in quite a precarious position by the end.

Shout out to my new favourite character, the unicorn ‘Little Horse’. Any fan of the games will know unicorns have a special place in our hearts!

[Markus · Rating 5 out of 5]

Strangely, perhaps my favourite of the Witcher novels (then of course not counting the ultimate masterpiece that is The Last Wish). There is something that draws me in about The Time of Contempt. Something I remember more fondly than the rest. It is slightly enigmatic, filled with intrigue and an overall sense of mystery.

As the most sorcery-centric and Yennefer-centric book of them all, it is no wonder that I would enjoy it quite a lot, but it also contains some rather memorable and world-shaking moments integral to the development of this exquisite setting. The 'incident' on Thanedd Isle alone is astonishingly well written, and takes up a significant portion of the book.

I suspect I shall have to read this again, at which point I may elaborate on the beauty of this gem. It certainly is, however, one of the most considerable successes by an author attempting to write a middle book without a whiff of second book syndrome.

Witcher reviews:
#1 The Last Wish
#2 Sword of Destiny
#3 Blood of Elves
#4 Time of Contempt
#5 Baptism of Fire
#6 The Tower of the Swallow
#7 Lady of the Lake
#0 Season of Storms

[Deborah Obida · Rating 4 out of 5]

I'm glad that this was better than Blood of Elves that was up and down. The writing here is slightly better cause I think it could have been better. There is finally a story progression. The fight scenes were great, I really enjoyed Geralt's scene at the summit. I still can't believe that happened, I expected more from the sorcerers.

“I mistook stars reflected in a pond at night for those in the sky.”

With the war still going on I wonder how the next book will be. None of the characters are in a good place. Nilfgardians have resumed the war with lots of allies, why can't they just gang up against them, its just one nation, more like empire now. I guess I'll find out in the next book.

[Marianna Neal · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 out of 5 stars

So, here's the issue I'm having: I need more Geralt.
Don't get me wrong, I love reading about Ciri, and Yennefer, and the random people they encounter, and the politics... But I read these books for Geralt, and when he shows up the whole thing is just on a whole different level. Basically, what I'm saying is that I'm still really enjoying the series, but I'm really hoping we get more of the, you know, main character? That would be nice.

[Celise · Rating 5 out of 5]

I feel like doing a super informal review for this one, just because this writer makes me feel so many feelings and The Witcher is on the fast-track to becoming my favourite series so quickly that I don't know how to put my thoughts into presentable order. So here's a bunch of words for you, and a few run-on sentences most likely. It's not gushy, I promise, just ineloquent. My review of The Blood of Elves is probably a better recommendation of the series.

Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer are some of my favourite literary characters. I don't ship anyone in anything more than I ship Geralt and Yennefer. I even enjoy Triss and Geralt a little. I think I love Ciri as much as I love Daenerys. After reading The Last Wish I took issue with the way that Sapkowski presented women. Not represented, because they were always developed, but I definitely thought some objectification was going on. That has been remedied for me with The Blood of Elves and The Time of Contempt, and I think I'll go back to that previous review and make note of that. I honestly didn't expect my mind to change on that one. Sapkowski is actually really good at writing developed female characters, and there are many of them.

The politics in this series are also easy to understand but unpredictable, which is ideal. They're not as complex as something George R.R. Martin would write, but they're not as basic as "these two countries are at war, here's a story about some characters who are involved". The minimal magic is also totally up my alley. I love fantasy, but I've never been a huge fan of magic in the genre. The Witcher mutation is super cool though, and when Ciri used her magic in the desert) I lost my shit. That was great. Overall though I love that these are more supernatural than magical.

My favourite part was probably the desert. I've never enjoyed a desert scene more than I enjoyed that one (and I just had a terrible reading experience with another book set in a desert and was not primed or excited when Sapkowski started describing that setting). There were just some great character building moments in that chapter, and it reminded me a little bit of some of the short stories in the anthologies, with there being monsters and all. And Little Horse! I wish there were more monsters/supernatural creatures like there were in the short stories but that's my only complaint. The novels are bigger picture than those, so I get it.

Switching tones now, and I don't have a proper segue.

I think it was implied in Blood of Elves that Ciri was attracted to Geralt, in that childish innocence kind of way. She was very jealous of Yennefer, and both Yenn and Triss kind of hinted at Ciri's infatuation. At least that's my take. I doubt it's going anywhere, but I thought it was fun to read because it makes sense. This man rescues her from helplessness and trains her to be a badass; naturally she's going to be jealous of this beautiful woman that Geralt also gives attention to. I'm sure as she gets older the infatuation will fade and it'll resemble more of a father/daughter relationship. It's totally normal for girls to have crushes on older people they idolize. My shipper brain sort of wishes they were a thing, but like not actually?

Ciri's romantic/sexual developments are always curious to me, especially because I think this male author did such a fantastic job. I was a little upset about the ending of this one, but I understand how it happened. I wasn't going to comment on it but ahh, Sapkowski just makes me care too much. So here's for the icky bit.

The ending of this book disturbed me. If Ciri is bisexual I'd be totally up for it. More LGBT characters in fantasy please! But that scene was REALLY RAPEY. Mistle (female) saves Ciri from being raped by Kaleigh (male) but then rapes her herself. This little girl is scared and alone, about to be raped by this dude. Along comes this woman who sends him packing, putting herself in the position of saviour, then lays down with Ciri herself. She's already traumatized and Mistle seems the better option over Kaleigh. Ciri who is young, scared, and curious is kind of into it for a second, which happens to people and makes sense, but Mistle totally took advantage of her. Not cool. Ciri washing herself off in the morning and feeling all bad made me so fucking mad/sad/upset (for Ciri, not at the author. I think he wrote it well, more subtly and less glorifying than many authors).

I'm not sure what I expected. All of the relationships are so angsty that Ciri was going to have something bad happen to her at some point. I'm happy that the author doesn't shy away from that shit. If the next book picks up in the same place, or if the incident is ever mentioned again, I hope that he treats things properly. He's been really good with his female characters so far, but I'm still nervous. I don't know, maybe it'll become some Daenerys/Drogo complex (which admittedly I shipped so hard), and if it's handled well by the author then that's fine. I just feel so bad for Ciri. Who knows, maybe it's never mentioned again. It just seems like he was setting up The Rats to be characters in the next one, which I'm up for. Maybe I'm a horrible person but I enjoy being made to feel like crap over my favourite characters. Just handle it well, please.

I know that characters don't need love interests to be interesting, especially in this genre, but Yennefer and Geralt are just such a fascinating love story that I expect it out of Sapkowski to do something like that for Ciri, who now seems to be his main character. I just want her to fall in love with some awesome character, male or female. Give me that please!

Uh so, for the sake of pretending that this was at all a review: I recommend this series! George R.R. Martin fans, get it. Patrick Rothfuss fans, get it (maybe? This series has that character growing up and learning their craft element, just seems like a similar subgenre). Except this is better (in my opinion, obviously). Video game nerds (you were probably already here before me), get it! For a better review, check out the one I wrote for Blood of Elves linked below. I don't know what happened here.

Reading order/Previous reviews:
The Last Wish
The Sword of Destiny
The Blood of Elves
The Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire
The Tower of Swallows/The Tower of the Swallow/The Swallow's Tower
The Lady of the Lake