Andrzej Sapkowski created an international phenomenon with his New York Times bestselling epic fantasy series about Geralt of Rivia, which has gone on to inspire the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games. Now, for the first time in a single boxed set, and featuring stunning new cover designs, the five novels that comprise the Witcher Blood of Elves , The Time of Contempt , Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows , and Lady of the Lake .
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again.
Geralt of Rivia, the hunter known as the Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world—for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land the child, Ciri, is hunted for her extraordinary powers. Geralt and his allies, including the powerful sorceress Yennefer, must find a way to protect her, and to protect the world. And the Witcher never accepts defeat.
Witcher Novels Blood of Elves The Time of Contempt Baptism of Fire The Tower of Swallows Lady of the Lake Season of Storms (stand alone)
Witcher Story Collections The Last Wish Sword of Destiny
Hussite Trilogy The Tower of Fools Warriors of God Light Perpetual
The Malady and Other An Andrzej Sapkowski Sampler (e-only)
Translated from original Polish by Danusia Stok and David French
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.
Overall, this series is a great read, with strong characters and the constant introduction and exit of new ones keeping it engaging. At times, certain chapters felt disconnected from the main storyline, especially in the later books. My rating reflects those moments and the way the conclusion was wrapped up. I felt there was room for a stronger finish or maybe I just wanted there to be. Still, if you enjoy fantasy, heroic storylines, memorable characters, and the unwavering pursuit of love, it’s definitely worth reading.
This series is quite long and the storyline can sometimes be slightly hard to follow but the characters and the dialogue make up for it tenfold. This series has the best dialogue in any book I have ever read and was the main thing that kept me reading. The authors ability to make each character feel like a real dynamic person through dialogue is unmatched. Though it can be difficult due to it technically being a translation and the series hits on some very difficult topics. Overall, I cannot recommend this series enough for anyone wanting great fiction mixed with the struggles of man.
Favorite Books: Blood of Elves and Lady of the Lake
Dark, dark, DARK series. Definitely not for everyone. But one of the few series I read, really enjoyed, but I just can't explain why I enjoyed it so much. Perhaps it's the draw of the found family themes... the highlight of 3 otherwise morally gray characters who win your allegiance and loyalty just because they're fighting for connection in an insanely cruel and callous world.
10000/5 - Read from Late May- Late July (about 2 months!) One of the classics, that's for sure! I would recommend this to anyone who was a fan of A Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time. I absolutely loved reading this, and hope that more people start reading it!
Was drawn to this series from the Netflix show. Was not disappointed. Easy to read, nothing too graphic. Good characters, easy to follow story. Glad I had the boxed set, got to see how all of the characters arcs resolved. Would recommend.
I live the Witcher, Sapkowski has a unique writing style very fond of digressions not for you if you want a straight forward story but you can bear with it it makes for some highly enjoyable reading.