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Andrzej Sapkowski
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The Last Wish: The bestselling book which inspired season 1 of Netflix’s The Witcher Kindle Edition

by Andrzej Sapkowski (Author), Danusia Stok (Translator) Format: Kindle Edition
4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 61,528 ratings
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Introducing Geralt the Witcher - revered and hated - who holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in the bestselling series that inspired the Witcher video games and a major Netflix show.

Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin.

Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

Andrzej Sapkowski, winner of the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement award, started an international phenomenon with his Witcher series. The Last Wish is the perfect introduction to this one-of-a-kind fantasy world.

Translated by Danusia Stok

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  1. Part of series
    The Witcher Saga
  2. Print length
    292 pages
  3. Language
    English
  4. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  5. Publisher
    Gollancz
  6. Publication date
    August 19, 2010
  7. File size
    3333 KB
  8. Page Flip
    Enabled
  9. Word Wise
    Enabled
  10. Enhanced typesetting
    Enabled
  11. See all details
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  1. “Because it would be the first proof I’ve ever heard of that a lack of faith has any kind of power at all.”
    Highlighted by 4,753 Kindle readers
  2. The result was pseudo-pretty women with the angry and cold eyes of ugly girls. Girls who couldn’t forget their ugliness had been covered by the mask of magic only for the prestige of their profession.
    Highlighted by 2,242 Kindle readers
  3. In order to become a witcher, you have to be born in the shadow of destiny, and very few are born like that.
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"This is a series you can sink your teeth into."―BuzzFeed News

"Delightful, intense, irreverent, and compelling....you have to read The Witcher books because they are rife with all of the elements that make you love fiction, and especially fantasy, in the first place....In a word, The Witcher delivers."―Hypable

"One of the best and most interesting fantasy series I've ever read."―Nerds of a Feather

"Like Mieville and Gaiman, [Sapkowski] takes the old and makes it new ... fresh take on genre fantasy."―Foundation

"Sapkowski has a confident and rich voice which permeates the prose and remains post-translation. I'd recommend this to any fan of heroic or dark fiction."―SF Book Reviews

About the Author

Andrzej Sapkowski is the author of the Witcher series and the Hussite Trilogy. He was born in 1948 in Poland and studied economics and business, but the success of his fantasy cycle about Geralt of Rivia turned him into an international bestselling writer. Geralt’s story has inspired the hit Netflix show and multiple video games, has been translated into thirty-seven languages, and has sold millions of copies worldwide.

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B0043M6712
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ Gollancz; 1st edition (August 19, 2010)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ August 19, 2010
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 3333 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 292 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.6 4.6 out of 5 stars 61,528 ratings

About the author

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Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski

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Andrzej Sapkowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj sapˈkɔfskʲi]; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer and former economist. He is best known for his best-selling book series The Witcher. In 2012 Sapkowski was awarded the Medal for Merit to Culture – Gloria Artis.

Bio from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. Photo by Czech Wikipedia user Packa (Own work) [CC BY-SA 3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0)], via Wikimedia Commons.

Customer reviews

4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
61,528 global ratings
Great Editions
4 Stars
Great Editions
Gorgeous illustrations. Wish the packaging would have been better. Bubble wrapped at the least. Because sliding about in the box, scratched the delicate dust jackets.
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Top reviews from the United States

Jessica Caitlin Sheldon
5.0 out of 5 stars Really great introduction
Reviewed in the United States on May 2, 2024
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Such interesting characters and intense storyline, even though the time line jumped around a bit it was easy to follow. The suspense of the mythical creatures and Geralt’s encounters with them is captivating. I’ve already purchased the next book in the series!
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Kathy Ville
4.0 out of 5 stars interesting but hard to follow
Reviewed in the United States on December 15, 2023
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I decided to read these books based on the Netflix series and because I love fantasy. I looked up a list to find what order to read them in and it said to start here. I love the premise of the story and the world building, but I found it hard to follow. I haven’t watched the TV series, and it seemed to me like the chapters jumped around and I found it confusing. I’m hoping it’ll come together more in my head when I read further into the book series. Otherwise I’ll probably need to reread at some point.
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Sam King
5.0 out of 5 stars A rich fantasy series with a world full of moral and political ambiguities like in our own
Reviewed in the United States on September 27, 2013
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There was a video game called "The Witcher" that was fun and thought provoking. I didn't play through "The Witcher 2," but I saw the trailer for "The Witcher 3" and my interest was rekindled. I decided to read the books that the video games were based on. They were great! They are about Geralt of Rivia, a witcher (mutant monster fighter) in a European folklore fantasy setting.

It was interesting reading the books after playing the video games. "The Last Wish" is a collection of short stories contained within a frame narrative, and the first story is about Geralt curing a striga's curse. This story was also shown at the start of the video game. The video game's representation of that event matches the short story play by play. Similarly, the quote from the "Witcher 3" trailer is taken, almost verbatim, from another short story. In general, the video game felt very faithful to the books. The setting, the tone, the character, and the philosophical issues were all similar to those seen in the books. The character of Geralt is wonderful, and the game does him justice. That is to say, if you liked the video games, I highly recommend the books.

The books, however, are better than the video games. The setting is analogous to our own. The moral dilemmas that the books raise are meaningful ones that people grapple with all the time. The protagonist is noble, if damaged, and the storytelling is great.

Before I extol the virtues of the books, however, I will say that the writing style is not my favorite. Sapkowski leaves a lot unsaid. It sometimes isn't clear when the book is transitioning from a short story to a frame narrative, for instance. This also means that dialogue also contains a lot of implicit actions. I am used to a writing style where dialogue has exposition interspersed, so I expect a conversation to happen in a mostly synchronous manner without much time passing between one person talking and another, but Sapkowski often has a significant passage of time. That's not to say that it's unclear -- I can usually figure out what was done based on the dialogue, but it does often take some rereading. Geralt also likes to leave things unsaid (while he does have long monologues, he just as often makes his point with no words or few words), so this could also be a perverse instance of the medium matching the message.

Now the virtues.

While the setting is European folklore inspired fantasy, I think that it matches our setting more closely than a lot of books set either in our world or a world very close to ours. In Sapkowski's world, humans invaded a continent inhabited by many other sentient species and conquered them (and most of those sentient species had done the same thing a few millenia past). Now, there are attempts at a tentative peace. Witchers themselves come from an older age when monsters were rampant and threatened survival. Now, more often than not, the threat is not some stark monster, but human greed with a benevolent mask. Cities provide protection from natural threats, but people don't know how to deal with the intercultural exchange that comes from living with many other different people or with the anonymity that comes from living with many other people in general. Centralized power has helped the sciences and arts flourish, but it has also led to corruption and war, and despite growing resources, many people still are poor. The world is bigger than most people know, and most people aren't experts in the world around them, so most people have a hard time separating myths from reality. A person has to work to make money to live, and a person also has to comport themselves so that they can sleep at night.

That's a pretty good description of Earth in the twenty first century. Europe exploited or colonized much of the world (and many of the people that it conquered were simply the conquerors on a more local scale), but the world is now attempting a tentative peace. We still carry the legacy of an age where we had to fight for mere survival (witness, for example, the popularity of guns) even though the struggles we face today are things like neocolonialism. A country that was founded on the notion of freedom and immigration has become nativist and struggles with pluralism. People, lost in the crowd, fall through the cracks, so children get left behind, and mentally ill people become homeless. Most people in the most prosperous nation on Earth don't think that the government is working well, and it has been at war for 214 years since 1776. With knowledge all around us, it's hard to tell myth from reality. And we have to make money to live and live so that we can sleep at night.

But how? Most of our age old wisdom is what got us into this mess! Who do we treat with compassion, how do we identify monsters, and what do we do when we find one?

One of the reasons that I like the books better than the video game is that the books feature moral dilemmas more strongly. One of the first short stories, "The Lesser Evil," features two parties trying to convince Geralt to help them against the other. His response to both: "Evil is evil... Lesser, greater, middling... Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred... if I'm to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all." While most of the time in the video games is spent killing monsters, most of the time in the books is spent musing about philosophy, politics, and why Geralt refuses to kill things that most see as monsters. People invent many monsters, according to Geralt, because then "they seem less monstrous themselves."

Some of the moral dilemmas are confusing. In one story, Geralt kills a group of people who are preparing to massacre a village, and he feels guilty about it because he might have been able to avoid anyone dying. In another story, Geralt kills a group of thugs (rather than disabling them, which would have been easy), but never indicates that he felt remorse. This isn't an issue of ambiguity, but rather a lack of attention to some issues. His stance on most issues, like pluralism, is fairly consistent at least.

Sapkowski also uses framed narratives to great effect. In framed stories, we often read of Geralt saying that he can't do something because of the Witchers' code, but in a framing story, he says, "I have at times hidden behind a code. People like that. Those who follow a code are often respected and held in high esteem. But no one's ever compiled a witcher's code. I invented mine. Just like that. And keep to it. Always -- Not always." Geralt is tormented, and framed narratives allow him introspection.

All in all, "The Last Wish" is great, and I'm happy to keep reading more books in the series! Note that "The Last Wish" is the first book, and the next book is "The Sword of Destiny," which is only available as a fan translation, and not "The Blood of Elves."
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Bryan Desmond
5.0 out of 5 stars Introducing Geralt of Rivia, the White Wolf.
Reviewed in the United States on June 1, 2017
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2019-11-13: (5 star) It's been one day longer than three years to the day since I last read this. I just noticed that. Totally unintentional, but kind of funny nonetheless. Anyhow, I'm back in the world of the Witcher for my second read. The impending TV show from Netflix had me all hyped up and I decided to revisit this collection, and read the next as well if I ended up enjoyed it more. Which I did. A lot more, actually. I don't know why that is. Probably it was just a mood thing, which is so often the case with entertainment, but I also think that reading it the first time around while simultaneously playing the video game (The Witcher 3) was a mistake. You'd think it would actually be a good idea, but the games and the books don't share continuity. The games are set further down the timeline than the books, and are their own story which doesn't infringe upon the story line in the books. So I think that essentially following two different stories at once about the same characters threw me off. I really enjoyed this collection this time around though, and settled on 5 stars after deeming more of the stories as being worthy of 5 stars than 4.

The Last Wish is a collection of six short stories surrounding The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, and they are intersected by a frame story (entitled The Voice of Reason) that follows Geralt's time with his friend Nenneke at Melitele's Temple. Geralt, while outwardly appearing to be a vicious, dangerous, and ill-tempered man--well, more than appearing, he is those things--is also a thoughtful, inquisitive man, with a complicated past; often of good humor. Each of these six stories offers us a view at who The Witcher is, where he comes from, and the manner of man he is. The world is changing. And these days, for a man whose job it is to hunt monsters for pay, it is a tough pill to swallow that humans are often capable of as much monstrosity as the monsters themselves. Maybe even more so.

I am going to list out the six stories below, and say a bit about each of them.

THE WITCHER: In which Geralt is called upon to deal with a striga at the palace of Foltest, king of Temeria. An excellent introduction story.

A GRAIN OF TRUTH: In which Geralt is welcomed into the house of Nivellen, a most interesting host. But as Geralt soon learns, Nivellen does not live alone. This story is in my top three, and I felt like it did a great job of showcasing Sapkowski's writing chops. The man is very descriptive at times, and sets a nice scene. The translation did not bother me so much this time around either, for whatever reason.

THE LESSER EVIL: In which Geralt visits the town of Blaviken (a name of some infamy for Witcher fans) and battles with choices, and, well, lesser evils. One of the most important stories of the collection when it comes to characterization of our White Wolf, and definitely in my top three.

A QUESTION OF PRICE: In which Geralt is invited by Queen Calanthe of Cintra to the banquet of her daughter Pavetta on her fifteenth birthday. This story rounds out my top three, and very well may be my favorite of the bunch. But you know, as I type this, my top three is less certain. Because the next story is darn good too.

THE EDGE OF THE WORLD: In which Geralt is traveling with Dandelion near the supposed edge of the world, the end of civilization, and struggling to find work, when a man tells them of a devil making mischief on his property. This story also serves as our first look at the elves, the Aen Seidhe.

THE LAST WISH: In which Geralt and Dandelion (let's be honest, mostly Dandelion) accidentally unleash a Djinn after a fishing mishap. This story serves as our introduction to Yennefer of Vergerberg, and Triss Merigold is also briefly mentioned.

And that's it. There you have it. A really nice collection of stories to introduce Geralt of Rivia, The White Wolf.

'“Evil is evil, Stregobor,” said the witcher seriously as he got up. “Lesser, greater, middling, it’s all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I’m not a pious hermit. I haven’t done only good in my life. But if I’m to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all."'

2016-11-12: (3 star) I decided to pick this up because I've just started playing 'The Witcher 3', and thought it would be interesting to play and read simultaneously, regardless of the separation of plot. I'm glad I did, this was a fun read. It is a series of short stories following Geralt of Rivia, a Witcher - monster slayer for hire.

I think that this book actually suffered from my reading it directly after The First Law trilogy, which I enjoyed immensely. It didn't quite live up to the hype I'd built up from that series. That and I feel that the translation (this series was originally written in Polish) is a little clunky here and there. All in all, its a short, fun read and I'll continue the series somewhere down the line.
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Top reviews from other countries

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Ivanhoe
5.0 out of 5 stars Lectura rápida y emocionante
Reviewed in Mexico on October 24, 2023
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Las historias son cortas, dinámicas y te llevan a ver los cuentos clásicos denotra manera. La bella y la bestia con vampiros. Lo recomiendo como introduccion al universo de the witcher pero sobre todo para entender la forma en la que el autor planea sus historias.
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Giorgio
5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic book
Reviewed in Spain on April 18, 2024
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Great book. And very good quality of pages I liked it
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Mina
5.0 out of 5 stars Cool world that successfully integrates classic lore and fairytales
Reviewed in Germany on March 31, 2024
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I know and like the tv series and season one shows most of the adventures here. So I had the advantage of knowing the world, the characters and what impact the events will have on their futures. But then, one doesn’t really need this information to be entertained and to immerse themselves into the wonderful yet harsh and at times cruel world of „The Witcher“.
This book tells adventures of Geralt of Rivia, aka the Witcher, as short and not too much interconnected stories. There is something like an overall arc, with Geralt recuperating in a religious sanctuary and telling priestesses about the adventures, but it’s not what you would call a classic novel.
I’d say that this is a good way to ease into the world and the series and although I already knew most of the adventures, I liked reading them, too. I like seeing Geralt‘s POV and getting to know his thoughts and I really love the harsh world, the politics and especially that the author integrates classic Eastern Europe pagan lore and legends and aspects of classic brothers Grimm fairytales. I will definitely read on.
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Fernando C.
5.0 out of 5 stars Introdução ao universo de The Witcher
Reviewed in Brazil on May 15, 2021
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Para quem chegou a jogar qualquer jogo da série The Witcher, o livro é bom para fazer uma imersão maior no desenvolvimento dos personagem. Para quem assistiu à série no Netflix, alguns dos capítulos viraram episódio da 1° temporada.
O livro é estruturado como cada capítulo sendo uma história, não necessariamente trazendo uma lineridade temporal entre elas. Com a 2° temporada da série, as histórias desse livro que não apareceram ainda devem ser contadas.
Comprei a versão digital e não localizei nenhum erro de digitação ou mesmo de diagramação.
Recomendo a leitura, principalmente para quem jogou ou ainda quer jogar algum jogo de The Witcher.
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valentina
5.0 out of 5 stars Great
Reviewed in Italy on August 27, 2023
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Great book
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