The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski Review

I’m not usually a fan of short story collections, but I was hoping The Last Wish would change my mind. But it didn’t, so let’s talk about why.

Geralt the Witcher is not a beloved man. His magic powers make people fear him. But his experience has taught him that not every monster is evil. Sometimes humans are the true monsters.

My thoughts on The Last Wish

Ok. My main problem with short story collections is that I never get the world building or character development that I want. That was the case here also. For a book with the subtitle “Introducing the Witcher” there wasn’t much introduction. Toward the end Geralt became a little more developed, but not enough for my taste. I’m hoping that development and world building will come later in the series.

Another thing that drove me crazy was the number of open ended questions. Even the “last wish” was open ended. I mean I figured it out, but still that is the whole focus of the story. I probably wouldn’t have minded it if every other topic was answered. You can’t just start a conflict and end it openly every time. Readers need some answers. And, yes, it’s a great plot device sometimes, but not if 80% of the book is that way. Plus, the vague, or non-existent, descriptions of the monsters was a little disappointing as well. I love fully fleshed out, immersive worlds, and I just didn’t get that with this one.

Now let’s talk about the things that I did like. I liked Geralt after he developed a little personality. The banter got wittier and I appreciated that a lot. It’s the main reason I kept reading.

Next, I liked Yennefer, even thought their relationship developed a little fast…….ok, a lot fast. But I loved her personality and I think she brings a little spice to the story.

Lastly, I liked the flashbacks. They were a bit tricky to differentiate at the beginning, but it got better. I thought it was a great plot building tool for this particular story. It kept me interested enough to want to read the next one, in hopes to learn more about Geralt of Rivia.

My Rating: 3/5

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