-
The Last Wish (Paperback)
$7.09 - Save $5.61 44% off - RRP $12.70 Free delivery worldwide (to United States and
all these other countries) Usually dispatched within 48 hours | |Short Description for The Last WishGeralt de Rivia is a witcher; his sole purpose is to destroy the monsters that plague the world. But not everything monstrous-looking is evil, and not everything fair is good, in this international hit that inspired the video game "The Witcher." Original.
Full description- Publisher: Orbit
- Published: 01 May 2008
- Format: Paperback 384 pages
- See: Full bibliographic data
- Categories: Fantasy
- ISBN 13: 9780316029186 ISBN 10: 0316029181
- Sales rank: 1,178
Other books
Reviews for The Last Wish
The last wish, good stories!
i read The last wish a few days ago and i liked it. It's true what RedOberon say above, that a map would have been useful, but i find on google some maps who help me. I was not very careful with my book (from Orbit) so that after I finished to read the spine have some usage marks, but i don't care! Important is the book contents who was very good. I find some influences from stories like Cinderella, Snow White and Beauty and the beast but into a horror register. It was a pleasant reading! by Petraru George Flavian
- Top review
The Terrific Beginning to an Epic Saga
I decided to get into the Witcher Saga after watching playthroughs of the game online. Even then, without actually playing the game, I was captivated by the thrilling adventures of Geralt of Rivia. The Last Wish is a collection of seven stories which set the foundation of Geralt's tale. Instead of recycling old, tiresome clichés, Sapkowski offers an original and exciting read with a fresh take on the supernatural. Even the hero of the book, the Witcher, is pretty much unclassifiable; is he a warrior or a magician and where do his powers come from? (Note: this book won't answer all of these questions, it's too early for that anyway.)
Sapkowski's style is very accessible, always enthralling but never too pompous or self-important. His writing has great flow and is unexpectedly humorous. He makes fun of some very well-known themes from classic fairy tales (e.g. princes saving damsels locked in high towers) and uses small anachronisms that only add to the entertainment value of the book.
This particular version (the red one from Orbit), is the so-called mass market paperpack edition published in the US. It's pretty light but compact and it can easily fit in a bag/purse if you like reading away from home. The print is sharp and totally readable. The binding is sturdy and, if you are a careful reader, it will look like new when you're finished with it. The spine and edges of my copy are intact after I devoured it in a couple of days.
The only con with this edition is the lack of maps. They aren't vital to the story, you won't get lost or anything, but to every fantasy reader the geography of a novel is as important as its history. However, a quick google image search will work wonders! There are some huge, beautiful and meticulously drawn maps of the Witcher universe online, let alone some very helpful wikis if you really like to emphasize on the details. I don't know whether the UK edition by Gollancz has maps, probably not but it's hardly a problem anyway.
It's a shame that Gollancz/Orbit decided not to translate the second collection of stories "The Sword of Destiny" and instead went on to publish "Blood of Elves" which is the first "proper" novel of the series. I hear it introduces some characters who become pretty major later on and I'm hoping it won't feel like I've missed something when I start reading "Blood of Elves". Because if the rest of the books are as good as this one and if there's any justice in the universe, in a few years the Witcher saga is going to be what Game of Thrones is today. And it will absolutely deserve it. by RedOberon
share
tweet
