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The Witcher
This is the short story The Witcher which introduces the witcher Geralt and his famous fight with a striga. The short story was included with the boxed version of The Witcher Enhanced Edition video game.
The story begins with Geralt entering Vizima. Shortly afterwards, he kills three men in a bar fight. He is escorted to Velerad, the elderly castellan of Vizima. When asked to explain himself, Geralt refers to the bounty notices posted at the crossroads near Vizima, asking for an experienced monster hunter. At this point, Velerad tells Geralt of the Striga and her origin. Near the beginning of King Foltest's reign, he got his sister, Adda, pregnant. She and the baby died giving birth, both being buried in a double coffin. Seven years later, the daughter awoke and slaughtered the inhabitants of the palace. She had become a striga.
The intro sequence in The Witcher game is based on Geralt's fight with the striga in Vizima.
The story begins with Geralt entering Vizima. Shortly afterwards, he kills three men in a bar fight. He is escorted to Velerad, the elderly castellan of Vizima. When asked to explain himself, Geralt refers to the bounty notices posted at the crossroads near Vizima, asking for an experienced monster hunter. At this point, Velerad tells Geralt of the Striga and her origin. Near the beginning of King Foltest's reign, he got his sister, Adda, pregnant. She and the baby died giving birth, both being buried in a double coffin. Seven years later, the daughter awoke and slaughtered the inhabitants of the palace. She had become a striga.
The intro sequence in The Witcher game is based on Geralt's fight with the striga in Vizima.
48 pages, ebook
First published January 1, 1986
27 people are currently reading
631 people want to read
About the author
Andrzej Sapkowski
207 books18.9k followersAndrzej 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.
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.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
August 17, 2014
My sister bought this book (translated in Bulgarian by the title ''Вещерът'') a few years ago as a present for her boyfriend. I had no intention of reading it. I just wanted to have a sneak peek but ended up going through the entire book. I never expected it to be that good but... Wow! This story captured me. A true adventure! I enjoyed every word of this intriguing, hilarious but also terrifying fairy-tale, the strange characters and even the creepy creatures. I strongly recommend it to anyone who likes unusual alternative-medieval stories :)
August 26, 2015
To 4 książka z fantastyki jaką przeczytałam w życiu. Pierwszymi oczywiście był Tolkien. Sapkowski wyciął mi prawie 2 miesiące z życia. Trzeba się cieszyć jaką furorę robi gra komputerowa. Szkoda tylko, że film w wydaniu polskim okazał się takim bublem. Mam nadzieję, że jak gra zarobi dużo to i znajdą się producenci, którzy zrobią z Wiedźmina drugiego Avatara.
February 20, 2015
Fantazy literatúra podĺa môjho gusta. Séria príbehov, ktoré sú štýlovo spojené a ktoré využívajú staré dobré motívy (kráska a zviera, snehulienka, čert...). Výborné dielo, už sa teším na pokračovania..
March 6, 2014
The best book ever :)
May 28, 2014
Very well written. Read Russian edition, titled "Ведьмак"
January 31, 2015
Cinco relatos muy buenos que narran las andanzas del brujo Geralt, en el antiguo arte de "cazar monstruos."
Un mundo medieval, decadente, oscuro, donde incluso los personajes más virtuosos de la fantasía, los elfos, son retratados como seres tan corruptibles como los humanos.
esta obra se sale de la fantasía épica tradicional, borrando la siempre bien definida línea entre el bien y el mal que caracteriza a las obras de este género; manejando el mundo en escala de grises
Simplemente Magistral.
Un mundo medieval, decadente, oscuro, donde incluso los personajes más virtuosos de la fantasía, los elfos, son retratados como seres tan corruptibles como los humanos.
esta obra se sale de la fantasía épica tradicional, borrando la siempre bien definida línea entre el bien y el mal que caracteriza a las obras de este género; manejando el mundo en escala de grises
Simplemente Magistral.
December 20, 2017
I read just because a friend totally fascinated said I absolutely must read it. Yeah, well, a good read if you like these kind of fiction, but for me it was much too dark and because of that somehow unpleasant to read. On the other side there are many similar books and I don't get why this one is so extremely popular. Well anyway, not my style, not bad, not the best one either.
August 25, 2018
I picked up this book, because it was highly recomendet to me. I like how the author uses fairy tailes and incorporates them into the story. In many aspects it felt like traditional RPG game, but I did not enjoy it as much as I thought I would.
December 27, 2015
ჰუჰ ... ძლივს ... კაშკაშა 5 ვარსკვლავი ჩემგან ...
March 17, 2016
It was great.
August 17, 2016
Strasznie wciąga mimo trudnego dość języka, ale siat jaki tworzy Sapkowski w swoich ksiązkach jest niesamowity
August 29, 2018
Literatura najwyższych lotów!
October 10, 2025
Przesłuchałam w audiobooku, a dokładniej w formie słuchowiska. Pierwszy raz się z taką wersją spotkałam, ale muszę przyznać, że bardzo przyjemnie się słuchało.
Stwierdziłam, że spróbuję z Wiedźminem, bo czemu nie.
Subskrypcja na Storytelu już mi się kończy, więc chciałam jeszcze skorzystać, a to opowiadanie trwało tylko godzinę dwadzieścia minut.
Na ten moment nie za bardzo mam czas żeby kontynuować całą pierwszą część, a co dopiero serię. No ale sprawdziłam czy mi się spodoba i było świetne, więc przynajmniej jestem w stanie stwierdzić, że tak, będę Wiedźmina czytać ❤️
Stwierdziłam, że spróbuję z Wiedźminem, bo czemu nie.
Subskrypcja na Storytelu już mi się kończy, więc chciałam jeszcze skorzystać, a to opowiadanie trwało tylko godzinę dwadzieścia minut.
Na ten moment nie za bardzo mam czas żeby kontynuować całą pierwszą część, a co dopiero serię. No ale sprawdziłam czy mi się spodoba i było świetne, więc przynajmniej jestem w stanie stwierdzić, że tak, będę Wiedźmina czytać ❤️
August 28, 2021
Wiedźmińska przygoda z polowaniem na strzygę w roli głównej. Fajne.
February 22, 2022
az nabralem checi zeby zagrac w Wiedzmina
June 1, 2019
One of the best and most unique things I've ever read! Everything in this book is so different.. there is absolutely nothing out there that you can compare it to. The synical world, the real characters, the songs, the battles, the stories... a true fantasy masterpiece!
February 5, 2019
I am torn between this and Husycka trilogy. Wiedzmin was written in parts and as much as I love the story it lacks continuity like the trilogy.
Five stars anyway.
Five stars anyway.
March 8, 2019
Wiedzmin chef d'oeuvre
December 17, 2022
This was my first Witcher literature and I greatly enjoyed it.
I had seen gameplay and the first season of the show before and was interested in the writing so this short story, taken from the larger 'The Last Wish' collection did a wonderful job of showcasing Sapkowski's writing, the quality of the translation and the general tone of the world.
In many ways it reminded me of a Warhammer story, but way more grounded and seeped in real-world folklore and fairy tales. Like, Warhammer, it is a grimdark setting with mostly morally gray characters (the theme of 'what makes a monsters' is prevalent), gritty, visceral combat and a grim world.
I had read that Sapkowski made use of over-flowery prose but I generally am a fan of detailed, descriptive writing so for me it was a very welcome way of visualizing the world and characters.
The story is dramatic and well balanced. It serves well as an introduction to Gerald and the definition of a Witcher. There is amble of dialogue and thickening of the plot with a few key moments of intense action.
With this introduction done I am looking forward to diving deeper into the Witcher universe and am thinking of getting the boxset.
I had seen gameplay and the first season of the show before and was interested in the writing so this short story, taken from the larger 'The Last Wish' collection did a wonderful job of showcasing Sapkowski's writing, the quality of the translation and the general tone of the world.
In many ways it reminded me of a Warhammer story, but way more grounded and seeped in real-world folklore and fairy tales. Like, Warhammer, it is a grimdark setting with mostly morally gray characters (the theme of 'what makes a monsters' is prevalent), gritty, visceral combat and a grim world.
I had read that Sapkowski made use of over-flowery prose but I generally am a fan of detailed, descriptive writing so for me it was a very welcome way of visualizing the world and characters.
The story is dramatic and well balanced. It serves well as an introduction to Gerald and the definition of a Witcher. There is amble of dialogue and thickening of the plot with a few key moments of intense action.
With this introduction done I am looking forward to diving deeper into the Witcher universe and am thinking of getting the boxset.
September 21, 2021
I think this was the one I read, based on picture, number of pages and publisher.
Finiched it in about 30 minutes to an hour, and it is good. Made me curious for the rest of the series, which I hope to be able to read soon. Very dark and gritty. Difficult to say much more, as there is less than 50 pages of story. But I must say, those pages were quite a journey.
Finiched it in about 30 minutes to an hour, and it is good. Made me curious for the rest of the series, which I hope to be able to read soon. Very dark and gritty. Difficult to say much more, as there is less than 50 pages of story. But I must say, those pages were quite a journey.
June 9, 2025
На маю думку, кніга пераацэненая. Фармат даволі коміксны, дзе пераважаюць дыялогі, не хапае апісання свету, наваколля і персанажаў. Адносна шмат сэксуалізацыі жаночых герояў, што выглядае як нязграбны прыём прыцягнуць больш чытачоў. Самі ж гісторыі даволі цікавыя і чытаюцца лёгка. Разумею, чаму кніга такая папулярная. І я сам працягваю чытаць.
October 27, 2021
Начал читать с интересом, под конец надоело. Для галочки прочитать можно, но читать другие книги серии не хочу, лучше прочитать что-нибудь более полезное
April 23, 2023
No takie stabilne 3,5 znaczy nie była zła i słuchało się jej super ale to chyba nie moje klimaty. Chociaż będę kontynuować. Gerald I love you
January 4, 2025
Zaczęłam wiedźmina, feels wild this is gonna be so fun. Planuje w tym roku zgłębić całą sagę 👹
Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews