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A review by justjonsbooks
Sword of Destiny by Andrzej Sapkowski
5.0
This book ticked all the right boxes and I loved every minute of it.
I read The Sword of Destiny around the peak of my Witcher interest as I was already 2 or 3 books into the main series and had finally gotten used to the writing style. This was probably the reason why I enjoyed it so much compared to the first short story collection, The Last Wish, where I was having to come to terms with the writing and discovering all the characters. (If I read that one again today I would probably rate it higher) Even though I was still invested in the story arch of the main series, these prequel stories brought a nice change of pace while adding even more background depth to all the characters I love.
Beforehand I saw plenty of reviews saying that they didn’t like the fact there was a lot of emotional storytelling and not much action compared to the main books of the series, but I thought there was just the right amount of both. In fact I found these stories even more meaningful and memorable because of how thought provoking they are. Plus so many awesome moments stand out, it has a little bit of everything, even some stories that made it into the first season of the Netflix show.
I loved The Bounds of Reason and the quest for the dragon. Any story with Geralt, Dandelion and Yennefer together is gonna be a whole load of fun but the finale was epic and I will never forget Yennefer shooting out magic with her leg. (Gutted that move was never in the TV show) Also the whole twist with the Dragon was a fantastic surprise.
In a Shard of Ice I really enjoyed the tension between Geralt & Istredd. It left even me questioning who is Yennefers one true love. I always like learning more about Geralts and Yennefers complex relationship, whether they do truly love each other or if they are only connected because of Geralts last wish. But finding out about her relationship with Istredd was a surprise & something I didn’t know about before, but it also made a lot of sense after seeing in the TV show how their relationship first developed.
The story with Dandelion and the Dopplers was a whole lot of fun, as you would come to expect from a story focused around Dandelion.
A Little Sacrifice on the other hand was one of the most emotional stories out of the whole two collections. It had a great blend between funny moments such as the conundrum between the Duke and the Mermaid, epic moments like the Aquaman style sea fight, and my favourite parts, the heartfelt moments between Essi and Geralt. The last few lines of the ending however were absolutely heartbreaking. In fact I wish I never read those last lines because it left me upset for quite some time!
Finally we have the last two stories involving Geralt and Ciri and what the whole series really is about; Destiny. Geralt realising that the girl he has been protecting all along is actually the girl he was promised through the Law of Surprise. And then they part only to re-unite through another twist of fate and another law of surprise no less. I’ve re-read that last chapter when they run to each other 3 times now, it has to be one of my highlight moments of the entire series. Also let’s not forget Geralt meeting his mother? Woah!
I love the fact that throughout the book Geralt is so convinced that Destiny doesn’t exist, that only death awaits him. But after all these wild events he cannot help but deny that Ciri is so much more than his destiny. Love it!
I read The Sword of Destiny around the peak of my Witcher interest as I was already 2 or 3 books into the main series and had finally gotten used to the writing style. This was probably the reason why I enjoyed it so much compared to the first short story collection, The Last Wish, where I was having to come to terms with the writing and discovering all the characters. (If I read that one again today I would probably rate it higher) Even though I was still invested in the story arch of the main series, these prequel stories brought a nice change of pace while adding even more background depth to all the characters I love.
Beforehand I saw plenty of reviews saying that they didn’t like the fact there was a lot of emotional storytelling and not much action compared to the main books of the series, but I thought there was just the right amount of both. In fact I found these stories even more meaningful and memorable because of how thought provoking they are. Plus so many awesome moments stand out, it has a little bit of everything, even some stories that made it into the first season of the Netflix show.
I loved The Bounds of Reason and the quest for the dragon. Any story with Geralt, Dandelion and Yennefer together is gonna be a whole load of fun but the finale was epic and I will never forget Yennefer shooting out magic with her leg. (Gutted that move was never in the TV show) Also the whole twist with the Dragon was a fantastic surprise.
In a Shard of Ice I really enjoyed the tension between Geralt & Istredd. It left even me questioning who is Yennefers one true love. I always like learning more about Geralts and Yennefers complex relationship, whether they do truly love each other or if they are only connected because of Geralts last wish. But finding out about her relationship with Istredd was a surprise & something I didn’t know about before, but it also made a lot of sense after seeing in the TV show how their relationship first developed.
The story with Dandelion and the Dopplers was a whole lot of fun, as you would come to expect from a story focused around Dandelion.
A Little Sacrifice on the other hand was one of the most emotional stories out of the whole two collections. It had a great blend between funny moments such as the conundrum between the Duke and the Mermaid, epic moments like the Aquaman style sea fight, and my favourite parts, the heartfelt moments between Essi and Geralt. The last few lines of the ending however were absolutely heartbreaking. In fact I wish I never read those last lines because it left me upset for quite some time!
Finally we have the last two stories involving Geralt and Ciri and what the whole series really is about; Destiny. Geralt realising that the girl he has been protecting all along is actually the girl he was promised through the Law of Surprise. And then they part only to re-unite through another twist of fate and another law of surprise no less. I’ve re-read that last chapter when they run to each other 3 times now, it has to be one of my highlight moments of the entire series. Also let’s not forget Geralt meeting his mother? Woah!
I love the fact that throughout the book Geralt is so convinced that Destiny doesn’t exist, that only death awaits him. But after all these wild events he cannot help but deny that Ciri is so much more than his destiny. Love it!