Published by: Orbit
Genre: Adult, Fantasy, Kings, Magic, Mystery, Romance, Violence
Rating: 
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good... and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
This is chock-full of spoilers, so please don't read it unless you have watched The Witcher Season 1.
I am not even going to pretend otherwise - I only picked this up because of Henry Cavill and the show The Witcher.
But mostly for Cavill. Because, you know. I only had a crush on him since The Tudors, no big deal.
So, the book. Right. Most of it is already depicted in the show and it too plays with timelines a lot.
Geralt is way more talkative in the book than he is in the show. I have to admit I liked book Geralt better. He was more real and, if not relatable, then more human and down to earth rather than super hero-ish, paranormal hottie. Again, nothing wrong with that but I prefer my characters to have feelings and emotions once in a while.
Yennefer was on the same boat-the show focused more on her transformation and how gorgeous and dark and mysterious she is now, rather than her power and personality. Actually, it's mentioned in the book that Geralt initially thought she wasn't even that good looking:
...Yennefer, although attractive in her own way, couldn't pass as a great beauty.
In fact, it was stated that all sorceress had to go through a transformation to become pretty because of their profession and they were described as "pseudo pretty" with "cold eyes of ugly girls". That was still shown in the show, but I think the message was undercut a bit by how stunning Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) was.
Renfri's story - the fight scene between her and Geralt kicked ass in the show; beautifully choreographed and shot. Geralt's devastation over killing Renfri was more believable in the show but again, their interaction just didn't have the same impact as in the book.
I have to say, the translation was not the best for me. The edition I got from the library was old and I don't know if there is a new one out there, but the dialogue was very stilted in parts and words weren't really flowing. Originally, the book came out in 1993 so I kind of get it, translating game wasn't that great back then. I'm told Sword of Destiny is better, so we'll see.
All in all, I enjoyed the show as much as the book. I think Geralt and Yennefer's characters were more explored in the book in comparison to the show which was way flashier.
I'd suggest you watch the book first and then watch the show.
I am not even going to pretend otherwise - I only picked this up because of Henry Cavill and the show The Witcher.
But mostly for Cavill. Because, you know. I only had a crush on him since The Tudors, no big deal.
So, the book. Right. Most of it is already depicted in the show and it too plays with timelines a lot.
Geralt is way more talkative in the book than he is in the show. I have to admit I liked book Geralt better. He was more real and, if not relatable, then more human and down to earth rather than super hero-ish, paranormal hottie. Again, nothing wrong with that but I prefer my characters to have feelings and emotions once in a while.
Yennefer was on the same boat-the show focused more on her transformation and how gorgeous and dark and mysterious she is now, rather than her power and personality. Actually, it's mentioned in the book that Geralt initially thought she wasn't even that good looking:
...Yennefer, although attractive in her own way, couldn't pass as a great beauty.
In fact, it was stated that all sorceress had to go through a transformation to become pretty because of their profession and they were described as "pseudo pretty" with "cold eyes of ugly girls". That was still shown in the show, but I think the message was undercut a bit by how stunning Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) was.
Renfri's story - the fight scene between her and Geralt kicked ass in the show; beautifully choreographed and shot. Geralt's devastation over killing Renfri was more believable in the show but again, their interaction just didn't have the same impact as in the book.
I have to say, the translation was not the best for me. The edition I got from the library was old and I don't know if there is a new one out there, but the dialogue was very stilted in parts and words weren't really flowing. Originally, the book came out in 1993 so I kind of get it, translating game wasn't that great back then. I'm told Sword of Destiny is better, so we'll see.
All in all, I enjoyed the show as much as the book. I think Geralt and Yennefer's characters were more explored in the book in comparison to the show which was way flashier.
I'd suggest you watch the book first and then watch the show.
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