Đọc The Witcher Sword of Destiny

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4.0 out of 5 stars The tales are exciting and addictive to say that a story can be finished within about half an hour.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 27 January 2019

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Much like The Last Wish before, Sword of Destiny is a collection of short stories following a talented witcher called Geralt of Rivia. Although you can start the series with Blood of Elves which is where the full-length novels commence, I can't recommend enough that even though a handful of these short stories are hit-and-miss, that they will add considerable depth to the future narrative arcs.

The Last Wish featured mostly isolated stories with the Witcher tackling a certain monstrosity for a set payment. He travels around the world to where his peculiar killing and magic techniques are needed to tackle a problem and individuals will hire him. In the first book, apart from a couple of brief interludes, there were no recurring characters. It was solely about a certain adventure at one end of the world and then another a thousand miles away. Sword of Destiny features a handful of main characters from the series who become more fleshed out as there presence recurs. Geralt's friend and lady loving bard Dandelion, his mysterious sorceress love interest Yennefer and a potential child of destiny called Ciri. If you've played The Witcher computer games I imagine you a familiar with these characters, the sort of missions set and the monsters the Witcher is assigned to eradicate, and how beautiful and vast this created world is.

I found the stories in The Last Wish more consistent but two or three of my favourites are from this entry. If you decide to read the short story collections first I'd truly recommend starting with The Last Wish and not Sword of Destiny. Two stories in The Witcher #1, one including Yennefer and one including a Queen and a Princess, add huge depth to the action and events that occur in this collection, especially with certain relationship complexities.

The Witcher tales are exciting and addictive to say that a story can be finished within about half an hour. Sapkowski doesn't dumb down the world and there are a plethora of complex characters and demons throughout these pages. My favourite story is here is The Bounds of Reason and it features about twenty-five different well-crafted characters who set off on a mission to kill a wounded dragon. I found this narrative exceptional, unpredictable, thrilling with a hell of a twist at the end. This sets Sword of Destiny up brilliantly. This constructed world does feature typical fantasy tropes but nothing feels forced. It all feels enticing and original. I'm not looking forward to seeing more of the Elves in the next book!

I won't go into the details of the stories too much as it might approach spoiler territory. I will confirm that these tales feature many fantasy races as well as mermaids and underwater warriors, showdowns with sorcerers, a group trying to trace a doppleganger, and also meeting Ciri. It features monster hunting of course but not as much and as frequent as The Last Wish. Each The Last Wish story played like a level on the Witcher games. These are less standalone and cleverly building up for the full narrative which will start with Blood of Elves.

I adored The Bounds of Reason, A Little Sacrifice and Sword of Destiny. Eternal Flame and A Share of Ice were very average. The final story Something More I really struggled with initially. It follows two timelines as Geralt in a fevered state and I sometimes got confused where and when we were. If it was a full-length story I wouldn't have finished it but I did and I'm glad I fought through as the ending is highly satisfying with setting up what can possible happen in the next outings.

I decided to read all of the Witcher books before the TV series is released and I am glad that I have taken on this venture. I've read the first two books within four days and I can't wait to move on further. I often struggle with short stories but I can recommend these highly. The Bound of Reason is one of the top two finest short stories I've ever read alongside Sebastian De Castell - The Fox and the Bowman.

4.0 out of 5 stars Kindle Edition - Amazing but publisher/editor/translator could do better for your enjoyment dear reader- few words from a Pole

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 19 July 2017

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My enjoyment of this book which I originally read in Polish in the 90s, is only marred by sometimes clunky translation. I must say that 'The Last Wish' was done much better.

Some phrases are clunky, some difficult to understand the original meaning of, some are clear copies of certain Polish expressions without looking for better alternatives in English, some due to sloppy editing are a bit illogical or grammatically incorrect.

Also there should be reference section/ sections- for stuff (cultural or language related) clear as day to Polish person, but alien to non-Poles reading. As this time I was reading the book, at roughly the same pace as my British friend, I found myself explaining a lot of context, which should have been made clear, to those willing to understand.

Surely this could be fixed for next editions, right lovely publishers/translators?

All in all, still an amazing book, all of the above notwithstanding, but some editing/ additional information would make it even better.

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 January 2022

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I was first introduced to the Witcher world through the series of games when they came out. Last year I read last wish and watch season 1 on netflix, and this year I watch season 2 and sword of destiny.

It is unfair to compare the TV show with the books because they are very different but this is not bad. I think the TV show does a good job of taking the anthology books of The Witcher and weaving it with the main series.

This is the second book of anthology tales. Thoroughly enjoyable. I find Andrzej (maybe it's the translation) meandering in his storytelling at times. But they are a really good way to immerse yourself into the world of Witcher before getting into the main series.

As with last wish most of the stories are self-contained although there is a thread that runs through some of these stories with plot points picked up from the previous book.

The next book in publication order is blood of elves, which starts the main story arcs. But the next book in the chronology of the world is actually the last book written: season of storms.

5.0 out of 5 stars A series worth investing in

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 13 May 2022

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I think I was drawn to the first book in this series, The Last Wish, by the novelty. There is noting new about twisted fairytales, but the way Sapkowski so thoroughly subverts and turns the genre on its head is really quite unique. The writing (or perhaps the translation) was a little clunky and the structure felt overly constructed. This book, the second in the series, is much more story driven. It is still episodic, but they hang together in a more meaningful way, I started to get pulled along by the flow of the story arc.
Geralt continues his search for purpose in a world that despises him, amongst those who see him only as a tool for killing to used for their own end. There are some absolutely cracking short stories in here, and great character development. We start to get more invested in the main characters, but some of the minor characters, that only stick around for a single chapter are so beautifully drawn, Essi Draven, the feisty love lorn bard, and Villentretemerth, really stood out. The world that the author creates for these characters to inhabit it complex and coherent, immersing yourself in it and unravelling its mysteries is a real buzz.
As soon as I had finished this book I downloaded the next - two books on, I haven't stopped yet, they keep getting better and better.

5.0 out of 5 stars !!

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 20 January 2022

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Sword of Destiny is another collection of short stories set in The Witcher world where Geralt of Rivia has more adventures and meets his destiny. I love this world and the stories Sapkowski writes.
In this collection we got to see more of Geralt's character and his relationship with Yennefer. We saw characters from The Last Wish but we were introduced to new ones as well.
The relationship between Geralt and Ciri is like a father - daughter one and I really liked how this was shown.
My favourite story is The Sword of Destiny where Geralt meets his child of destiny, Ciri.

I cannot wait to pick up the first full novel.