Had I heard of this series before I saw the trailer for the show on Netflix? Nope. Did I read this book purely because I saw the trailer on Netflix? Yup. Did this book have a month’s long waitlist at the library despite being first published in English in 2007? Yes, it did.
The Last Wish is the first collection of short stories that proceeds the main Witcher Saga. They tell the stories of Geralt of Rivia, who we first meet while he is recuperating at a temple after being injured in battle. During his stay, he has flashbacks of recent events in his life, which form the basis for the short stories.
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher – someone who has superhuman physical and mental abilities who hunts beasts and monsters. I found this collection of short stories to be a great introduction to the characters and series. Having not read any of the other books in the saga, I can’t say if they add any new information or clarify anything. The stories in The Last Wish do take place first chronologically in the series so I think they help set up the characters in the books. I’ve also never played any of the RPGs so I can’t comment on that either.
What I can say is that I found the stories to be great fantasy. There are a lot of medieval fantasy elements – elves, dwarves, magic, swords, taverns, knights, and princesses, to name a few. The book seems to be set in an unnamed Eastern European locale with Geralt traveling from town to town looking for monsters to kill.
Most of the monsters are based on mythology and fairy tales. I definitely caught hints of Beauty and the Beast, Rapunzel, and Snow White. There are vampires, werewolves, basilisks, djinns, striga, manticores, wyverns, watersprites, trolls, and many more. It all made for interesting stories where I couldn’t wait to see how Geralt was going to triumph.
This is a good introduction to the series and the world it inhabits. I think I’ll get on the waitlist for the other books in the saga.
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