Andrzej Sapkowski Review: Blood of Elves: The Witcher Saga: Book 1
Published: Feb 22, 2009 - 08:12 PM :: Print this article
Blood of Elves, written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, is the first book of The Witcher Saga, a five novel series about Geralt the Witcher.
Prior to Blood of Elves, Sapkowski had published only short stories about Geralt, which create a solid background for the saga, but are not required reading to fully enjoy the storyline.
Geralt, a mutant assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters, doesn't believe in fate. Yet it is fate that puts Cirilla, a child-princess from the conquered kingdom of Cintra, under his protection.
Geralt is holding Ciri in the ancient witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen, hiding from the war brought to the world by the Nilfgaard Empire. The girl is being trained by witchers, but Geralt knows that she can not become one of them. During the time spent in Kaer Morhen, Ciri displays some troubling and frightening abilities; and it becomes apparent that she has strong magical powers.
Geralt?s former girl-friend and mage, Triss Merigold, comes to their aid and teaches Ciri how to control her abilities. At the same time, strange new forces are starting to search for the lost child.
Geralt follows Triss? advice to take the girl on the road in hopes of finding her a better place to learn how to control her magical abilities, and starts his own search for the mysterious mage who tortured his friend Dandilion for information regarding Ciri?s whereabouts. The plot thickens when four assassins are hired to kill Geralt, and one of the Witcher?s friends prevents him from capturing the sorcerer he was hunting.
It seems that everyone has their own agenda and only one thing is certain, or Gerald can?t trust anyone...
In Blood of Elves, Sapkowski manages successfully to move from dynamic short stories (The Last Wish) into a full time epic fantasy saga with a complex plot, political intrigue and the violence of war. The moral ambiguity and dark, cynical humor make this book a unique catch that can be only compared to George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has played The Witcher computer game, as it brings much background and depth to the gaming experience. As for readers who haven't read anything by Andrzej Sapkowski yet, my advice is: read The Last Wish first and then decide if you like witcher Geralt.
Prior to Blood of Elves, Sapkowski had published only short stories about Geralt, which create a solid background for the saga, but are not required reading to fully enjoy the storyline.
Geralt is holding Ciri in the ancient witcher stronghold of Kaer Morhen, hiding from the war brought to the world by the Nilfgaard Empire. The girl is being trained by witchers, but Geralt knows that she can not become one of them. During the time spent in Kaer Morhen, Ciri displays some troubling and frightening abilities; and it becomes apparent that she has strong magical powers.
Geralt?s former girl-friend and mage, Triss Merigold, comes to their aid and teaches Ciri how to control her abilities. At the same time, strange new forces are starting to search for the lost child.
Geralt follows Triss? advice to take the girl on the road in hopes of finding her a better place to learn how to control her magical abilities, and starts his own search for the mysterious mage who tortured his friend Dandilion for information regarding Ciri?s whereabouts. The plot thickens when four assassins are hired to kill Geralt, and one of the Witcher?s friends prevents him from capturing the sorcerer he was hunting.
It seems that everyone has their own agenda and only one thing is certain, or Gerald can?t trust anyone...
In Blood of Elves, Sapkowski manages successfully to move from dynamic short stories (The Last Wish) into a full time epic fantasy saga with a complex plot, political intrigue and the violence of war. The moral ambiguity and dark, cynical humor make this book a unique catch that can be only compared to George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire.
I would recommend this book to anyone who has played The Witcher computer game, as it brings much background and depth to the gaming experience. As for readers who haven't read anything by Andrzej Sapkowski yet, my advice is: read The Last Wish first and then decide if you like witcher Geralt.
If you liked this article share it with others!
You can discuss this article on our fantasy forum .
