Title: Blood of Elves
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Series: The Witcher #1
Genre: Fantasy
Publisher: Orbit
Publication Date: Published May 1st, 2009
Edition: Kindle Edition, 324 pages
Source: Library
Synopsis:
For more than a hundred years humans, dwarves, gnomes and elves lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over and now the races once again fight each other - and themselves: Dwarves are killing their kinsmen, and elves are murdering humans and elves, at least those elves who are friendly to humans... Into this tumultuous time is born a child for whom the witchers of the world have been waiting.
Ciri, the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe, the Lioness of Cintra, has strange powers and a stranger destiny, for prophecy names her the Flame, one with the power to change the world - for good, or for evil... Geralt, the witcher of Rivia, has taken Ciri to the relative safety of the Witchers' Settlement, but it soon becomes clear that Ciri isn't like the other witchers. As the political situation grows ever dimmer and the threat of war hangs almost palpably over the land, Geralt searches for someone to train Ciri's unique powers.
But someone else has an eye on the young girl, someone who understand exactly what the prophecy means - and exactly what Ciri's power can do. This time Geralt may have met his match.
I can see why it's recommended to read the short story collection(s) before reading this book. It starts after Geralt had already met Ciri and they're Kaer Morhen. There is no back story mention on who Ciri is, why she's with Geralt, what a Child of Surprise is. None of that. So, definitely read the short stories first, apparently, I missed one, Sword of Destiny. I plan on reading that one next. There's still going to be some comparisons to the show and the Wild Hunt Game now, so, sorry ahead of time if that's something that could bother you.
This book mostly alternates POV with Geralt and Ciri, though more is from Ciri's pov. There are brief perspectives with Dandelion, Yennifer a handful of nobles who are discussing what to do with Ciri if they find her first and the "mysterious" Emperor of Nilfgaard. This book mostly focused on what Ciri's powers are, and what the Elder Blood is, and what it could mean. I actually really liked learning that, the show never mentions it, and the game doesn't cover it in much detail.
While Ciri gets help from Yennifer on how to control her new powers, Geralt is being tracked by a mysterious assassin who is out to kill him and try to find the location of Ciri. Geralt thwarts these attempts, though still has yet to know who seeks to kill him and capture Ciri. As readers, we know, and because of the games, I know who they are and why they want Ciri. I'll leave that out for those who haven't played the games.
Though the relationship between Ciri and Yennifer starts out rocky, they quickly grow very close and it's very sweet once they did.
There's a lot of back and forth with the POVs making this a quick read, it just took me nearly a month because of stress. I hope the waitlist for the next book in the series I'm planning to read doesn't take as long as it says it will (10 weeks currently).
This book mostly alternates POV with Geralt and Ciri, though more is from Ciri's pov. There are brief perspectives with Dandelion, Yennifer a handful of nobles who are discussing what to do with Ciri if they find her first and the "mysterious" Emperor of Nilfgaard. This book mostly focused on what Ciri's powers are, and what the Elder Blood is, and what it could mean. I actually really liked learning that, the show never mentions it, and the game doesn't cover it in much detail.
While Ciri gets help from Yennifer on how to control her new powers, Geralt is being tracked by a mysterious assassin who is out to kill him and try to find the location of Ciri. Geralt thwarts these attempts, though still has yet to know who seeks to kill him and capture Ciri. As readers, we know, and because of the games, I know who they are and why they want Ciri. I'll leave that out for those who haven't played the games.
Though the relationship between Ciri and Yennifer starts out rocky, they quickly grow very close and it's very sweet once they did.
There's a lot of back and forth with the POVs making this a quick read, it just took me nearly a month because of stress. I hope the waitlist for the next book in the series I'm planning to read doesn't take as long as it says it will (10 weeks currently).
While I didn't 100% love this book, the final chapters really got me hoooked and made me pick up the next novel immediately.
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