Before the infamous Netflix live action series Andrzej Sapkowski's exciting stories sold in the millions world wide and won plenty of awards and esteem in the science fiction and fantasy communities. The Last Wish, the first collection of short stories from The Witcher series introduces the rough and tantalizing main character Geralt of Rivia and lays out his world in a series of daring adventures.
From the blurb;
'Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher. 'He uses his legendary power and lifelong training to protect the innocent by hunting the vile fiends that ravage the land. 'But not all monsters are evil. 'And not everything fair is good.'
With each short story separated by a core story-arc told in sections Sapkowski leads the readers backwards through the recent events of Geralt's life. Event's that set him on a course towards his main story arc to be seen later in the Witcher Novels.
While laying out Geralt's arc and giving us insight into the powerful Witcher's personal struggles and issues with identity Sapkowski entices the reader with glimpses into different elements of the sprawling fantasy realm and hints at the worlds history.
While the Netflix series took a lot from these tales it must be noted that the Netflix writers also took their liberties with Sapkowski's work and the impact of the short story collection itself and the view of the world it creates is powerfully changed from what readers may have enjoyed on screen.
If you're looking to read The Witcher novels starting with the short story collections, and thereby The Last Wish, is an absolute must for any readers looking to get the most out of the fantastic fantasy series.
We give The Witcher: The Last Wish Four Stars
ISBN - 978-1-473-23106-1 Cover Price - £9.99 First published in Great Britain in 2007 by Gollancz an imprint of The Orion Publishing Gourp Ltd.