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22 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
At long last..., 10 Jul 2006
Sapkowski has been a bestselling author of fantasy literature in most of Europe, but for some reason it took over 15 years for the 'English-speaking world' to notice him. Well, better late then never :)
I will admit I am not the greatest fan of fantasy: too often I have found the books to be simple clones of Tolkien work, and with writers paying no attention to how their fantasy civilizations would deal with such problems as trade or agriculture. Sapkowski's fantasy is one of my favorite exceptions: with lots of subtle references to the history of our world, we witness a an epic struggle between civilizations, where nobody cares about heroes or legends, but 'realpolitik' or economics are the real forces driving the changes. The series raises many concepts not common to fantasy: the issue of colonization, of history being written by the victors, of racial and ethnic hatred, of scientific (magical) ethics... Although to be completely honest I will add that most of the 'serious' stuff becomes really visible in the novels, and the stories, such as those to be found in 'Last Wish', are much lighter, some even humorous - although they all set the stage for the epic drama to come later.
Last but not least I should stress that although Sapkowski's world is harsh to 'would-be heroes', and Geralt has long ago shed any illusions that he can be one, he is quite intelligent and an extremely skilled and able fighter, so when push comes to shove, he will often end up victorious. I personally prefer such a main character to anti-heroes like Thomas Covenant, the Unbeliever, run-of-the-mills Conans or 'normal person caught in the middle'.
All in all, it's one of the best fantasy books I have read.
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27 of 30 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A short comment from a Polish reader, 5 April 2006
Quite obviously, I haven't been able to read the book in its English version, as it's to be published in a year (and I wonder how on earth the preceding writer came across it - maybe he/she is the translator?), but I've been a fan of Sapkowski's for years, and I'm truly happy to see that the book is finally being translated into language No. 1 (take it as flattery, ladies & gents ;-)). His writings have become extremely popular in their Czech, Russian and Spanish versions, which is no wonder. The world created is as consistent as that conceived by Tolkien; yet, the books are less tedious (with all my respect to J.R.R.T). The plot is at least as attractive as that of Harry Potter, yet more mature, and definitely addressed to an adult audience. The books are compelling, but at the same time "demanding": Sapkowski hides numerous allusions and references to the contemporary world, both on a historical and phylosophical level, and plays with the reader, making up names that are often riddles, again anchored in the present.The author has - maybe not turning it completely upside down - taken some gilt off fantasy worlds; oddly enough, many fairy-tale characters like elves, dwarfs etc. turn out to be more human than usually presented in this type of literarure, which does not at all deprive them of their magic aura. This, however, does bring in a new value to fantasy as a genre. (as one Spanish critic put it: "un soplo de aire fresco" - for those interested, here's the link in Spanish: tinyurl.com/l7ony). To sum up - I am impatiently waiting for the book to appear; for those who will like it, I've got very good news: the short stories are only the top of the iceberg, as A.S. has written A SAGA in five volumes. And THAT is truly a feast for book-lovers (well, fantasy lovers at least ;-)) Best to @ll - DeWolf
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
And it only gets better..., 2 Oct 2007
I must admit that I know Andrzej Sapkowski's books so to say "first hand", being Polish and all. And, believe me, Geralt's saga only gets better with every novel. It is an absolutely beautiful mixture of action, mythologies, humour, psychology, magic, feelings, cultural references and quotes, sharp observation and unique talent. Andrzej Sapkowski uses words in a wonderful manner and he is probably most eloquent person I have ever met (and I had a chance to meet him personaly during a SF convention).
I am not sure about the translation; it is very difficult for me to judge how much it reflects the original fluency and eloquency. When I re-red the book in English it sounded strange, but maybe it was just because I already knew it almost by heart in Polish. I really hope that the translation encompasses the richness of the original. But, translation aside...
The Witcher is fantasy as it has been never written before, very fresh and captivating. Geralt's world is so far from usual cliches, or, rather, uses the cliches only to mock them. In a sense, it is a very modern world, with modern problems and ideas, populated by rich, full-booded characters. The story is far from obvious and there is a good measure of humour which makes "larger than life" heroes much more humane. Ach, well, I could go on and on in my poor English... Let me just say that again: It gets even better. First two novels are composed of short stories published over a period of time in Fantastyka magazine. Those stories were compiled together, glued, so to say, to form a novel. But when the main plot of all seven novels really kicks in... well, see for yourselves, it is just great!!!
I cannot express how happy I am for Andrzej Sapkowski to finally reach the English speaking readers. And how happy I am for English speaking readers by the way:) And I just hope that The Witcher the game will be as good as the novel.
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