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Andrzej Sapkowski

The Last Wish (GOLLANCZ S.F.) Paperback – 7 Jun. 2007

by Andrzej Sapkowski (Author)

24,183 ratings

Part of: The Witcher Saga (8 books)

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Geralt is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent. He roams the country seeking assignments, but gradually comes to realise that while some of his quarry are unremittingly vile, vicious grotesques, others are the victims of sin, evil or simple naïvety.
One reviewer said: 'This book is a sheer delight. It is beautifully written, full of vitality and endlessly inventive: its format, with half a dozen episodes and intervening rest periods for both the hero and the reader, allows for a huge range of characters, scenarios and action. It's thought-provoking without being in the least dogmatic, witty without descending to farce and packed with swordfights without being derivative. The dialogue sparkles; characters morph almost imperceptibly from semi-cliché to completely original; nothing is as it first seems. Sapkowski succeeds in seamlessly welding familiar ideas, unique settings and delicious twists of originality: his Beauty wants to rip the throat out of a sensitive Beast; his Snow White seeks vengeance on all and sundry, his elves are embittered and vindictive. It's easily one of the best things I've read in ages.'

Print length

280 pages
Language

English
Publisher

Gollancz
Publication date

7 Jun. 2007
Dimensions

15.1 x 2 x 23.1 cm
ISBN-10

0575077824
ISBN-13

978-0575077829
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Product description

Review

"It's refreshing to see another take on familiar elements. There's a fairy-tale quality to much of THE LAST WISH." (Jonathan Wright SFX)

It is [his] world-weariness, combined with his battle-boned powers that make Geralt such an interesting character. Here's hoping THE LAST WISH is merely the opening chapter in his English language adventures. (EDGE magazine)

Sapkowski's 'The Last Wish' is a great collection of short stories centred around a witcher, Geralt - a rare sorcerous breed who hunts down the monstrous but is feared by the innocent. With a wonderous mix of Eastern European folklore and myth, beautiful princesses, mischievious demons and where all is not as it seems, 'The Last Wish' is a great read - perfect for dipping into or just reading cover to cover, as I did. (WATERSTONES.COM)

I really, really enjoyed this book. Despite the original language being Polish, the translation is quite good and captures much of Sapkowski¿s prose. None of the characters in Sapkowski¿s world are black or white; they are all shades of grey, including Geralt and the monsters. In fact, other humans tend to be greater monsters than the ones Geralt is sworn to track down and destroy. (THE DECKLED EDGE)

The Last Wish is an accomplished retelling of some well-known fairy tales, each transformed almost beyond recognition and given the darkest tinges of horror. This takes the book outside the norms of traditional fantasy writing, while still being anchored in (the more original edges of) sword and sorcery. (DREAMWATCH)

Sapkowski is very good at creating interesting, imaginative characters with unusual levels of depth to them, not least Geralt, whom people are consistently underestimating. The Last Wish is an enjoyable book full of stories both melancholy and comic. (THE WERTZONE)

This beautifully written character-based story from Polish author Adrezej Sapkowski is a refreshing champion in a genre that¿s starting to get a little homogenic. While there is the occasional nod to traditional European fairy tales (Snow White, among others), much of the application of supertext and tropes are from a new point of view. (THE SPECUSPHERE)

"Sapkowski's series has the potential to develop a new audience and appreciation of fantasy and like Mieville and Gaiman, take the old and make it new. This reviewer is certainly looking forward to the next installment of this fresh take on genre fantasy." (FOUNDATION)

Book Description

A European superstar comes to the UK for the first time!

Product details

Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gollancz (7 Jun. 2007)
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Paperback ‏ : ‎ 280 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0575077824
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0575077829
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 15.1 x 2 x 23.1 cm

Best Sellers Rank: 1,808,353 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
- 1,717 in Greek & Roman
- 5,854 in Fantasy Anthologies (Books)
- 8,981 in TV, Movie, Game Adaptations

Customer reviews:
24,183 ratings

Andrzej Sapkowski
12,569
Paperback
£4.99
Get it as soon as Wednesday, May 25
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Andrzej Sapkowski
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Sapkowski
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£5.33 delivery
Andrzej Sapkowski
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About the author

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Andrzej Sapkowski

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Andrzej Sapkowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj sapˈkɔfskʲi]; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer and former economist. He is best known for his best-selling book series The Witcher. In 2012 Sapkowski was awarded the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Czech Wikipedia user Packa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

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5 star		73%
4 star		17%
3 star		7%
2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Rev

read a chapter before you buy the book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 4 June 2019

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There are so many good reviews of this book, so I strongly recommend potential readers to download a chapter and try it out before purchasing. If I had done that, I would not have bought this book. I have read 40% of it with effort and will add it to the very short list of books I have dropped half way.
I agree with others that call the writing 'disjointed'. It stutters, short sentences that are good for fights but just don't fit with a relaxed dialog. I can't find a rythm in the writing, like those books that just take your breath out and force you to turn pages one after the other. The fights are quite good, but then there other things like rough and heartless sex scenes that make little sense (they would if the rest of the book was different, but as they are they add little). The reason for me to drop it is that the characters are all soulless. The witcher cannot talk straight, and if you take the character names out of the dialogs you don't really know who is talking. It feels like there are just a few characters that just change name and face and appear in different stories... I don't know, I cannot feel anything for them, just not my type of book. On top of it the stories don't seem to have much depth and add little to the witcher character. Perhaps the other 60% of the book is awesome, but after what I have read, I rather invest my time in something else.
In summary, hope you really like it (most reviewers loved it), but just in case take a peek at a chapter before buying it.

234 people found this helpful

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R. Clarke

Bite sized legends

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 1 June 2018

Verified Purchase

Although I read fantasy, I first encountered Geralt of Rivia in the video game, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt and as I explored this gaming world, I was inspired to discover Andrzej Sapkowski's books – starting with this first collection.

The last story in the book deservedly took third place in a magazine competition and sowed the first seed that created a universe. I enjoyed these original stories, discovering Geralt’s origins in pre-game events. (And these stories are echoed in-game.}

The collection is assembled to reflect the chronology of Geralt’s life, although we have yet to learn many things – and I look forward to reading more books. Sapkowski creates a brilliant and exemplary framing structure for these stories that gives them more impact – and adds to the unfolding plotlines that I know develop. (This is a writing technique that I need to learn.)

Some amazing and complex characters are introduced, including the sorceress, Yennefer, whose life is woven into a complicated relationship with Geralt that opens great possibilities. And then there is Dandelion, the bard whose tales and exploits are something else amusingly different. These are origin stories perhaps before the Witcher-universe had fully-formed, but the characters are relatable.

The tales are rooted in heroic deeds – even if Dandelion has a habit of re-telling them differently. The author demonstrates that he has been inspired by folklore. However, while the echoed fairy stories have a germ of truth, this is a grimmer tradition than Grimm, in a cutthroat environment. There are the Slavic monsters that a reader might expect but other mythologies play their part, adding to a rich tapestry.

The world rings with the realism of bloody steel and fangs, the smells of soiled streets and tempting food. The era doesn’t feel not static, even across so few stories. The times are changing and so are the people. Evolving? Maybe not - but sowing many seeds. This is a medieval world of superstition and persecution – and riven by discrimination that resonates today. Witch-burnings are inevitable, and nothing is black-and-white. Not all monsters are obvious or what they seem.

Is my interpretation coloured by exploring the game-world? Perhaps, but these are the roots of the legend that is Geralt of Rivia. I look forward to discovering how the writing evolved, and how the world of The Witcher builds in later stories and novels. This was definitely the place to start on my quest to enjoy how Sapkowski grew from a very good writer into a master craftsman.

Story – five stars
Setting/World-building – five stars
Authenticity – five stars
Characters – five stars
Structure – five stars
Readability – five stars
Editing – five stars

80 people found this helpful

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Chris Moore

A collection of short stories featuring Geralt, aka The Witcher

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 30 August 2016

Verified Purchase

This book is essentially a collection of short stories about Geralt of Rivia, who is better known as The Witcher. The stories relate the exploits of Geralt in which he has to demonstrate all the skills (including magic, fighting, sowrdsmanship, diplomacy, cunning, flattery, etc.) that he has developed during his training to become a Witcher. All the stories are real page-turners and different enough in their plots to easily maintain the readers interest.

The narrative flows easily, the plots are exciting and the translation from the author's native Polish is excellent. There were however a few instances in which I had to read the odd paragraph again where the sentences were rather awkward, but this in no way distracted from the story.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed this introduction to The Witcher, and will definitely be reading more of the books in the series by this very talented, imaginative author.

68 people found this helpful

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Justyna Tenel

Quite a decent translation of an excellent book

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2017

Verified Purchase

I still prefer the book in Polish, and I saw one particular sentence (the anti-djinn exorcism) translated with more panache, but this is quite close to how reading the original felt like, so I can definitely recommend it.

'The Last Wish' is a good introduction into the world of the Witcher, whether you come at it as the fan of the games or general sci-fi aficionado.

And even if you are neither there is something uniquely true about the human nature, the ever changing world and life in general that can be gleaned from it.

I read it originally as a teenager and in Polish, but years have passed, translations have occurred and the book is still very good.

57 people found this helpful

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