I wasn't quite sure before reading these, but these Witcher short story collections should definitely be read before the 'Main Witcher saga' as a lot of this is build up for the Ciri storyline that I've heard referenced so much ("In the Witcher universe she might be the main character actually"). They should also be read in the order that they're presented. The weird thing is that you can't quite tell until you've read the 'One More' short story, the last one, where everything finally falls into place, where the themes, ideas and story seeds that have been built up so much beforehand, over the course of all these vaguely connected short stories, are finally brought into a satisfying resolution (or opening gambit to kick off the saga). Sapkowski makes frequent use of flashbacks or dream sequences wherein Geralt remembers past events, making it seem as if the short stories take place out of order. But if you do happen to read them out of order you're likely to get at least a little spoiled.
Where Sword of Destiny is just a genuine collection of short stories, albeit arranged in chronological order, The Last Wish has a loose overarching narrative wherein we are introduced to the Witcher world and in one particular flashback, the very first seeds of the Ciri Storyline, and I'll be honest: I didn't think I would be, and I wasn't expecting much but, having read the 2 collections back to back now I'm actually really invested in what might happen with Ciri and Geralt.
Sapkowski has an amazingly deft hand at evoking an emotional response in his readership. It's mainly melancholy; the passing of the old guard, the changing of the world, the vanishing of species, but also the more easily identifiable fear of the encroachment of death, both universal and personal, coupled with anger and sadness at the waste of life, at personal sacrifice without appreciation or acclamation.
There were also feelings that were harder to pinpoint.
I've mentioned it before here, but there's a heightened focus on the vagaries of love, its necessity in life, its many joys and its many, many problems. It was something I wasn't expecting at all.
Relationships to root for in fiction are crowdpleasingly easy, a dime in a dozen, but to have those difficult feelings adjacent to pure love explored so deeply, so thoroughly and with such feeling is already something. But to do so in under a dozen short stories is quite something else. I said it before, I'm invested already. And this doesn't mean I'm rooting for a particular relationship, no, not at all, quite the opposite; Team Yennefer I am not. But I do want to see more of these characters, their loves and their woes, I want to see more of this interesting world and the monsters and the different races, but above all and most importantly; I want to see and feel more of the voice that does the telling. Sapkowski is good. He's fresh and yet deep. An old world in a new coat.
The last wish
Strigai and feeding habits.
How to prepare for a hunt (, OR for
the reversing of spells).
Fangs and Teeth. The cock's crow.
A scene of carnage, fangs and tearing.
Beauty and the Beast, distorted.
A Curse, well deserved by old sins.
Honesty and hilarity in the telling.
Blood, broken spells, and love.
A Wizard's plight.
Snow White, distorted.
Offers and enticements.
Plans stopped. Massacre.
No evil, just souls in pain.
The Witcher Versus Destiny.
An invitation. A code, of sorts.
Oofh. Noice.
Tension building extraordinaire.
Of oaths, denying them and consequence.
Cataclysmic Force, and a happy interregnum.
The Witcher and Destiny.
At the edge of the horizon,
one can find the Devil,
and those he serves.
Elves are pricks, with reason.
Lady of the Flowers, bestower.
Moments of melancholy.
Copious amounts of humour.
Yennefer of Vergerberg.
Djinn and their purpose,
their hard gift of wishes.
Entwining of fates,
the desperate Last Wish.
Visions of the final end,
the Witcher's fateful lot.
-----
The Sword of Destiny
The Limit of Possibilities.
Three black birds, 2 warrior
women, 1 witcher and a hot tub.
The hunt (not so wild),
for the imaginary, Fables,
but then made real.
The most beautiful, dragon.
Of feelings, Wizards and Witchers.
The sorceress Yen, Yennefer, or Yenna.
Suicidal Intentions, the foolishness
of men with a woman on their mind.
Unfaithful love, a shard of ice to the heart.
Of the investments of changelings
and the halflings that might or might
not profit from them. Clever tricks.
Coexistence and hope eternal.
An evening of blanching and blushing.
Sunken cities and their protectors.
The worst illness: Not enough to sacrifice
a little, for love one sacrifices all.
But even a little is a hell of a lot.
Be of the self, or be of a part,
there is no middle ground; sacrifice.
The pain and joy of love and melancholia.
Perpetual war for the last forest.
An envoy to the queen, the same,
useless message. Destiny, a child
foretold, hidden in the mundane
matters of royalty. Two-edged sword.
Afraid of what might happen, you run.
In defence of humanity the Witcher wounds.
Illness brings memories, A rollercoaster of the past.
In a night of wild abandon the only constraining element;
love.
To walk with Death.
To walk with Death.
Calamity, destruction. perceived loss, Destiny stilled.
The present. What you did not expect waited all along.
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