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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
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
Book Description
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.
And a cold-blooded killer.
His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
The international hit that inspired the video game: The Witcher.
And a cold-blooded killer.
His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
The international hit that inspired the video game: The Witcher.
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Most helpful customer reviews
12 of 13 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantasy like you've never read before,
By
This review is from: The Last Wish (Paperback)
Imagine a world in which elves, dwarves, and magic exists. Now, imagine that these creatures are not bound by conventional literary conventions of good or evil, and instead follow a more realistic pattern of individuals out to better themselves and damn the consequences. In most fantasy works, you have the protagonist, an upright, moral individual, and the antagonists, creatures of pure evil who need to be defeated. In Sapkowski's collection of related short stories, both protagonist and antagonists live morally ambiguous lives.I'm describing this badly, but the characters in the novel are wonderfully round characters that act more like people you'd read about in a daily newspaper (but dwarves, and magic, and swords and all) than people who live black-and-white, good-or-evil existences. Add into that mix a main character who's at home with a sword or with magic, and who belongs to a dying profession of iterant monster-hunters, and you've got an incredibly rich and complex world. The English canon needs more works from Sapkowski and his fellow Polish sf/fantasy writers. An amazing, amazing read.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars
A collection of shorts set in a morally ambiguous world,
By
This review is from: Last Wish (Paperback)
"The Last Wish" is a frame story composed of several short stories, all set within the Witcher universe created by Andrzej Sapkowski, the most famous fantasy authour in Poland, and probably all of Eastern Europe. "The Last Wish," along with another short story collection, "The Sword of Destiny," sets the stage for the Witcher Saga which spans five novels. Unfortunately for those who wish to read these fantastically imaginative and original stories in English, only this collection and the first book in the Witcher novel saga, Blood of Elves, have been translated from their native Polish thus far. Gollancz has not seen fit to translate "The Sword of Destiny," which chronologically comes before the first novel in the saga and helps to fill in gaps present in "Blood of Elves," and it's not altogether clear whether they ever plan to. It would be a shame if they didn't.Anyway. "The Last Wish" is the best place to start when looking to be introduced to the Witcher universe. It is composed of a number of short stories where the Witcher recounts past exploits, framed between his time spent healing at the Temple of Melitele in the Duchy of Ellander. These shorts are highly entertaining, ranging from the humourous (A Grain of Truth), to the very dark (The Lesser Evil). Throughout them all, philosophical themes are discussed and acted upon by Geralt and the surrounding cast, giving the reader much to think about, and leaving a lasting impression in all cases. Some of the tales, in common Sapkowski style, borrow elements from well known fairy tales, albeit with a darker twist. For instance, the short story 'A Grain of Truth' is about a monstrous beast that lives secluded in a forest castle, with his only chance of turning back into a man being true love. Also, in 'The Lesser Evil,' a supposedly cursed female wages bandit attacks along with her troupe of seven gnomes, who all end up slaughtering themselves, possibly over who gets to sleep in her bed next. "The Last Wish" is not epic fantasy. This is gritty, morally ambiguous, human fantasy done a decade before the Abercrombies and Lynches of today dreamed of it. The Butcher of Blavekin doesn't save the world -- he doesn't particularly care about saving it -- and only gets tangled up in the machinations of other human characters because of the complexities surrounding them, which, though he does all he can to avoid, seem to follow him around. As one character relates, whether Geralt likes it or not, a Witcher doesn't only hunt out the darkness that hides in the swamps and forests of the countryside, but also the darkness which lies within each of us. The translation here is done by Danusia Stok, who also translated "Blood of Elves." She seems to do a good job of sticking to the mood and atmosphere of the Witcher, though there are a smattering of bad speaker attributions here and there. One character somehow grimaces out words, though I'm not exactly sure how that's physically possible. Overall, though, the translation is a pleasure to read, and there aren't really any cultural jokes or references to go over a Western reader's head. There are numerous references to Slavic mythological beasts, but that's nothing a quick Wikipedia search can't remedy. If you want to get acquainted with the Witcher universe (and I highly recommend you do -- Sapkowski's creation is greater than 90% of the fantasy out there right now), have played the PC games and want to experience the source material, or are just looking for damn good fantasy, I can't recommend the Last Wish enough. You'll fly through the book, and likely want to re-read a few of the shorts again once you finish. My personal favourite is The Lesser Evil. Read it, love it, e-mail Gollancz and pressure them to translate "The Sword of Destiny," and to hurry up and publish the next novel in the saga. Oh, and Google the Witcher petition. Happy monster hunting!
5.0 out of 5 stars
Magnificent Read,
By
This review is from: The Last Wish (Mass Market Paperback)
This is just the begining of the "witcher" ... Beautiful classy novel by Mr.SapkowskiYou need a good imagination for this one! Enjoy
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