Review - The Witcher: Sword of Destiny by Andrezj Sapkowski

As I noted in my review of The Witcher: The Last Wish, I mentioned that I do love fantasy stories. They are a nice change of pace and offer an escape from reality that is welcome.

The second, chronologically, book in The Witcher series is another collection of short stories about Geralt of Rivia. In this book, Sapkowski takes us deeper into the heart and mind of Geralt. We see a good deal of character development, when compared to The Last Wish. We also get a more detailed look into the relationship between Geralt and Yennifer, the sorceress who dances in and out of the pages of the first book.

One thing I did not particularly care for in this book was how the individual stories seemed to jump around a bit. It’s clear that the beginning picks up sometime after the end of The Last Wish and the end of Sword of Destiny makes sense when looking at where the book started. However, some of the stories we read in the middle bounce around. It’s difficult to try to keep up with where they fall in the timeline of Geralt’s life. Admittedly, I had to re-read several sections to realize that what was being conveyed was a flashback Geralt was having. To my dismay though, there are very few clues given that tell us when the memories are taking place.

After doing a little more research into The Witcher series, I learned that Sword of Destiny was actually the first book in the series that was published. Perhaps this is part of the reason for the flashbacks not making as much sense to me, someone who was only marginally familiar with the series from the start.

While I enjoyed The Last Wish more, I think it was vital to read Sword of Destiny for the context it will provide as I move through the books.

I’m excited to continue my journey with Geralt in the next book of the series, Blood of Elves, as it is the first novel.