Rating: 5 out of 5
Ah… This world that Andrzey Sapkowski has created is definitely one of the best fantasy worlds about. The depth of emotion and the breath of feelings that separate one region, one class, one race, from another, and the grievances that come to being due to this make for an incredibly rich background for the action to take place in.
Witcher, Enchantress, and Princess… It sounds like a joke, but what comes together is a much more compelling story than I would have originally thought. Not only did I enjoy seeing Ciri train and grow, in wisdom as well as in character, but Geralt’s attempts from both afar and nearby to facilitate this and protect Ciri were easy motives to appreciate.
Yennefer’s task of training Ciri was another highlight. Yennefer, after all, is also a very complex character. However, this training was shown to the reader only in dialogue. The reader, therefore, had to imagine how all of this happened. Mr Sapkowski also used the same method with the original training that we saw through the eyes of another wizard, and I really came to enjoy it. The story progresses quicker, and all of the emphasis is on the growth of the characters.
I’m still tremendously enjoying the world of the Witcher with all its complexities. The race relations mentioned above feature strongly in this book, and create a dimension that many fantasies lack: that of racism and kin-strife. At the same time, as the minor characters in the very beginning describe it, Nilfgaard is also ascribed a racial overtone though they are much the same as the rest of the world.
I’m eagerly looking forward to the next volume!
