The Last Wish book review.
The Last wish is a fantasy novel written by Andrzej Sapkowski. Written in polish in 1993 and
later translated to english in 2007. The novel is a part of the eight part Witcher series which
has also gotten a video game and a netflix series adaptation. The book itself is a series of
short stories focused on Geralt and his adventure around his profession. The stories are all
different stories however they all play into the same story line.
Geralt is a Witcher, a modified human who has improved visual perception, smell, faster
healing, and is much stronger than the typical human since in actuality he is not human at
all, being a witcher, Geralt has undergone made modifications to achieve this superhuman
strength. He uses his strength, as you can read in the book, to slay monsters for coin but he
also accepts quests from time to time. He does not always take up these quests unless they
are from someone he knows or a lot of coin is in it for him. He travels on his horse which is
always named ‘Roach’.
The quest that Geralt does accept are varied; he helps kings and queens, and also does this
for his own good. After helping Queen Calanthe of Cintra he does not want a reward so he
opts for the ‘law of surprise’ which is something the indebted does not possess yet. These
chains of events later make him meet the beautiful, amazing, powerful and lovely sorceress
Yennefer.
The book itself is divided into 7 chapters and 14 parts with each chapter beginning as “the
voice of reason” then with its own individual short story. In the first short story "The Witcher,"
we are acquainted with Geralt and watch how he got the injury he is recuperating from all
through the novel. This is, personally, my second favourite chapter. It really shows you the
things Geralt is willing to do for coins.
In these short stories there are many characters however there are 3 main characters in my
opinion; Geralt, Dandelion and Yennefer. Geralt meets these characters in various manners
throughout the stories. All of the stories are connected to the same storyline and world in
which Geralt lives in. Geralt meets Dandelion in Voice of reason 5 even though Geralt
expresses that he is not fond of Dandelion following him around he does show much
concern when Dandelion gets injured. What I found interesting is that though Geralt is
“immune” to most human emotions he still cares and worries for his friends.
Yennefer is also given a spotlight in this series, she is powerful and beautiful. Geralt meets
Yennefer while searching for help for his friend Dandelion who got injured. Immediately after
seeing Yennefer, Geralt gets bewitched. He finds that he often finds Yennefer on his
adventures and quests; this is due to a special event that happens during the books.
My opinion is incredibly positive of this introduction to the witcher series. The stories are
loveable and the characters too. Yennefer being my favourite character and the “the last
wish” being my favourite short story. I recommend this book to all young adults and adults
too. There is some graphic content but i'm sure most people will enjoy it.
This book is related to one of the themes that our english class is currently working on,
Human ingenuity. The book itself is not all that much connected, however the writer of this
book had such a great idea, creating a whole world in which Geralt and his companions
exist. Sapkowski thought of so many creative ways to include his own polish culture such as
customs and folklore.