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I am confused about names...

I think these are some of the major books (and available for kindle)?
The Last Wish
Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire

Or which one should I start with?
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http://witcher.wikia.com/wiki/Witcher_series
Thank you!
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disi: I am confused about names...

I think these are some of the major books (and available for kindle)?
The Last Wish
Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire

Or which one should I start with?
Keep in mind if you wish to read the books, after you read The Last Wish you should read "The Sword of Destiny" however there is no official version. Good news is that there is a very good fan translation here.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1rde0VNEyFKNmpYdjNEcjFQQjQ/edit

Hopefully this isn't considered piracy or anything of the sort since they refuse to give us a proper english version. =P
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disi: I am confused about names...

I think these are some of the major books (and available for kindle)?
The Last Wish
Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire

Or which one should I start with?
avatar
Katanasteel: Keep in mind if you wish to read the books, after you read The Last Wish you should read "The Sword of Destiny" however there is no official version. Good news is that there is a very good fan translation here.

https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B1rde0VNEyFKNmpYdjNEcjFQQjQ/edit

Hopefully this isn't considered piracy or anything of the sort since they refuse to give us a proper english version. =P
Yes, I read this in the comments, like: "It took them 15 years to provide an english version of the books" ^^
Post edited January 08, 2015 by disi
I really enjoy Baptism of Fire.

The Scoia'tael are displayed as what they are, human hating murderers and terrorists, behaving like a superior race. While the Nilfgaardian kill everyone and plunder every piece of land they march through.
I read all books, an no, the humans are not good too, are like others, all saga it is about the hero who try to be good but almost all time it have to choose "the lesser evil"...
Humans kill humans and any races all the time.
Just the picture of the pure helpful elf from other genres and universes, is absolute not reflected in these books.

They assault a caravan, rob the dead and then threaten humans not to tell anyone their hiding place. Paying them with coin from their raid and if they do not bow, they kick their ass.
However,. if they tell the army where about the hiding place, the whole village is killed by human soldiers for collaborating with the elves.

The place and the war is pretty f***d up.
I am reading the books and right now "TIME OF CONTEMPT". I love it, I am a fan of Dark fantasy and have read many series but I really enjoy Andresz Spakowski style. Dark, direct, everybody is grey... As mention earlier Geralt neutral attitude means choosing the lesser evil among dumb kings, arrogant magician, crasy elves, etc. Funny enough I bought the games first but have not played yet as i want to read the books.
What about The Witcher Story that is part of the bonus content of The Witcher 1? Is it from one of the books, or has it been written specifically for the case of the game?
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InaneKorruption: What about The Witcher Story that is part of the bonus content of The Witcher 1? Is it from one of the books, or has it been written specifically for the case of the game?
It been written specifically for the case of the game
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InaneKorruption: What about The Witcher Story that is part of the bonus content of The Witcher 1? Is it from one of the books, or has it been written specifically for the case of the game?
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pigulici: It been written specifically for the case of the game
Actually, it's the very first story about Witcher, written by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Polish original dates back to 1986.
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pigulici: It been written specifically for the case of the game
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Minamir: Actually, it's the very first story about Witcher, written by Andrzej Sapkowski. The Polish original dates back to 1986.
I really did not know that, good to know...
I'm considering buying the first Witcher-novel, Blood of Elves, has anyone here read it? Is the english translation good?
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Random_Coffee: I'm considering buying the first Witcher-novel, Blood of Elves, has anyone here read it? Is the english translation good?
I am reading it right now (a few chapters in). So far I find the translation to be pretty good, but of course I can't read the original Polish so I don't know how accurate it is. But it reads well.

I recommend reading the short stories first. The Last Wish is available in English, but you really want to read The Sword of Destiny too if you can, as Katanasteel mentioned above. I've read the fan translation, and some of it was a little awkward but mostly it was OK. The important thing is that The Sword of Destiny introduces Ciri, who is a major character in the novels, and gives a lot more background on Yennefer, who is also an important character. Technically Yennefer is introduced in The Last Wish but she shows up a lot in The Sword of Destiny and readers learn more about her and Geralt.

EDIT: Specifically, the stories "The Sword of Destiny" and "Something More" in The Sword of Destiny collection are basically set-up stories for the events of the novels.
Post edited February 25, 2015 by Waltorious