Product Description

For more than a hundred years humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over and now the races once again fight each other - and themselves: dwarves are killing their kinsmen, and elves are murdering humans and elves, at least those elves who are friendly to humans . . . Into this tumultuous time is born a child for whom the witchers of the world have been waiting. Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra, has strange powers and a stranger destiny, for prophecy names her the Flame, one with the power to change the world - for good, or for evil . . . Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, has taken Ciri to the relative safety of the Witchers' Settlement, but it soon becomes clear that Ciri isn't like the other witchers. As the political situation grows ever dimmer and the threat of war hangs almost palpably over the land, Geralt searches for someone to train Ciri's unique powers. But someone else has an eye on the young girl, someone who understand exactly what the prophecy means - and exactly what Ciri's power can do. This time Geralt may have met his match.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2966 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-21
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

About the Author
Andrzej Sapkowski worked in finance until the success of his fantasy cycle about the witcher Geralt of Riv turned him into Poland's bestselling writer. He lives in Lodz, in Poland.

Customer Reviews

Even better than the last wish!
This book arrived in the post yesterday and was pounced upon as soon as it arrived. I read it super fast and now intend to reread it and savour every last word. The action is as great as in 'The Last Wish', and we see new depths to Geralt's character as a result of the actions he has had to take in the past. We gain more knowledge of Yennefer (and she becomes slightly more likeable as a result) and the introduction of 'new' characters Cirilla and Triss Merigold pads out the book nicely. I also thoroughly enjoyed the addition of more witchers to the mix, and Dandelion was as amusing as always. My only complaint is that now I have to wait until next year for the sequel!

This book manages to mix drama, humanity, a rapidly worsening political situation, and humour in equal parts. It had me laughing out loud in places (which is unusual for me) and really feeling for the protagonists in others, as well as drawing a few alarming parallels with current world situations - interesting given it was written some time ago and is still very relevant today. Sapkowski manages to make some very dry, pointed comments on the nature of humanity, both singly and when it bands together as a group and gains 'mob mentality'.

All in all, a great book and highly recommended.

continued on from the first...bring on the next installment !
The first book was a slightly different view of the usual fantasy stereotypes with a few original pieces and made for a riveting read.
Was pleasantly surprised that the author has continued the cracking pace and scene setting that marked the first book. Big holes all over the place in the plot and the characters but they got me thinking ( and trying to fill them in in my head...) and hoping that they're worked on in the next book(s)

Why didn't Gollancz first publish the second book of short stories, but jumped straight to the novels???
I love Sapkowski's books about the witcher Geralt, having read them all in Czech translation. I was very happy when I learned some years ago that they would finally get translated into English, and I was quite happy with the English translation of "The Last Wish".

But I'm very surprised and even a bit angry to see that the publisher jumped straight to the first novel of the pentalogy without first translating and publishing the SECOND BOOK OF SHORT STORIES ("The Sword Of Destiny"). There are three short stories in that book which form a direct prologue to the pentalogy - why is Ciri Geralt's "Child of Surprise", the beginning of the war with Nilfgaard and the fall of Cintra. The short stories also give a lot of insight into the relationship between Geralt and Yennefer, which is something I think very important to know before starting on the novels.

I'm glad that Gollancz is publishing the novels about Geralt, but I REALLY HOPE that they will realise their mistake and publish the second book of short stories, so that the English-speaking readers won't miss out on important history of Geralt.