Title: Sword of Destiny
Publisher: Gollancz
Year: May 1992 (2015 Gollancz)
Pages: 374
ISBN: 9781473211537
Series: The Witcher #0.75
Genre: Fantasy
Reading Time: 15 - 23 Jan
Binding: Paperback
Goodreads
Stars:
★★★★★
Blurb:
Geralt of Rivia 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 deadly monsters and vile fiends which ravage the land and attack the innocent. He roams the country seeking work, but gradually comes to realise that while some of his quarry are unremittingly vile, vicious grotesques, others are the victims of sin, evil or simply naivety.
In this collection of short stories, following the adventures of the hit collection THE LAST WISH, join Geralt and his companions Dandelion and Yennefer as they battle monsters, demons and prejudices alike. . .
Review:
I really enjoyed this next instalment in The Witcher series, like The Last Wish this is a collection of short stories before the main books take place but unlike The Last Wish the stories seem very much to be in chronological order. That was only reason I withheld a fifth star on the review of The Last Wish and just look, here it is!
They're beginning to queue for this at the library, I might break and get the kindle versions as I'm sure I'm going to want to read this series again. A few thoughts on the book and world overall:
Geralt is a fantastic character to follow in this kin of world, we get to see all the action and dirty work as opposed to the usual royal battles and politics. See the magic at work and prejudices cause problems for our characters rather than observing it in side characters. The writing still translates to an easy read in English, I like the balance of dialogue and descriptions, everything is kept moving quickly in short stories.
Notes on the individual stories:
The Bounds of Reason -
This is a good short story and one of my favourites when I was watching the series. We get some real depth in characters despite there being quite a cast in this short story. I mean, dragons makes it pretty great. If you're like me and are also reading these short stories before the main books then this is the first time we've had some quality time with Yennefer that isn't Geralt first meeting her. It's clear there's a gap and a lot of history we've missed out on but seeing them be thrust together in this situation is an interesting run of the destiny theme throughout the stories so far.
A Shard of Ice -
This one puts a bit of a twist on a short romance. I think we learn a lot more about Yennefer in this story and especially more on why characters other than Geralt don't necessarily view Yennefer in a favourable manner. Manipulation, freedom, jealousy. Oh, it was probably the most emotion provoking story I've experienced so far.
Eternal Flame -
This was a funny one for me, in this short story we meet a doppler (shapeshifter among other names) that's causing a little trouble. There's not a lot malicious about this one, I just found myself grinning throughout!
A Little Sacrifice -
The opening chapter on this made me really laugh, however in terms of story this is probably my least favourite of the collection. Having said that, Little Eye is a character I think I'm going to yearn for a bit. Poor Dandelion.
The Sword of Destiny -
My first time meeting a certain little princess. I really like the additional world building in this one, there are so many more species and lands that I'm discovering exist. Ciri is just the right level of annoying and childish with Geralt's gruffness making the dialogue very amusing indeed. The last few scenes in which we encounter a group of men with some malicious intent was another layer of world-building I wasn't expecting us to actually see.
Something More -
The one I was waiting for and ready to launch off the rest of the series. Here we get some backflashes and some more background on Geralt. A really good top off to the collection of stories!
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