Series: The Witcher 0.5
Release Date: January 31st 1993
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 360
Find it on: Goodreads. BookDepository. Waterstones.
Source: I was gifted a copy of this for my birthday a few years ago
Rating: 4.5/5 stars

Synopsis

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.

A collection of short stories introducing Geralt of Rivia, to be followed by the first novel in the actual series, The Blood of Elves. Note that, while The Last Wish was published after The Sword of Destiny, the stories contained in The Last Wish take place first chronologically, and many of the individual stories were published before The Sword of Destiny.

Review

I must admit I was really intrigued about reading The Witcher series, I had played a little bit of the game and the books sounded like something I would totally love so when I got a copy of The Last Wish for my birthday I was super excited to read it. And then of course it lay on my bookshelf for ages, I got distracted and never picked it up. Fast forward to now with all the buzz around the television show and I figured before I dive into the Netflix adaptation, I might just give the first book a go. I’m so completely annoyed at myself for having waited so long to pick these books up, I absolutely loved The Last Wish and I’ve already ordered a copy of Blood of Elves, this is everything you could want from an epic fantasy series.

The Last Wish is actually book 0.5 in The Witcher series and is a collection of short stories introducing the infamous Geralt of Rivia. Each story heralds one of Geralt’s adventures, and gives you a glimpse at his powers and skill as a witcher. He’s a fascinating character and I loved getting to know him and the world that Sapkowski has built. Full to the brim with evil monsters and fascinating creatures, I got completely swept up in these stories. If I can find myself completely hooked after reading a few short chapters of a short story, I can’t wait to read the full length novels.

Geralt is supported by a whole host of brilliant secondary characters – my favourites were Dandelion and Yennifer. Yennifer is definitely someone I want to learn more about and I’m hoping to see more from her in future books. All of the characters felt well fleshed out and the world building was executed incredibly well. I loved the unique and exciting world that Sapkowski and the stories are definitely fast paced and full of action. I’m so pleased I finally decided to pick this one up, because I’m desperate to read the next one. If you’ve played the game or watched the Neflix adaptation I’d definitely recommend picking up the source material – you absolutely won’t regret it. These short stories will leave you hungry for more but at least there’s plenty of books in the series to keep you going.