The last wish

280 pages

English language

Published Dec. 21, 2008 by Victor Gollancz Ltd.

ISBN:
978-0-575-08244-1
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4 stars (4 reviews)

The Last Wish (Polish: Ostatnie życzenie) is the third published short story collection in Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski's The Witcher series. Published by SuperNowa in 1993, it was preceded by 1992's Sword of Destiny, but is officially considered the first entry in the series and Sword of Destiny the second. The collection contains seven short stories interspersed with a continuing frame story: Geralt of Rivia, after having been injured in battle, rests in a temple. During that time he has flashbacks to recent events in his life, with each flashback forming a short story. The Last Wish was first published in English on 7 June 2007 by Gollancz, and has also been translated into several other languages. In 2003, it won the Premio Ignotus for Best Anthology.

12 editions

Bonne introduction à la série

4 stars

J'ai apprécié ce recueil de nouvelles malgré tout de même quelques imperfections, notamment le style d'écriture qui pouvait être un peu lourd par moment dans les tournures ou les mots employés. Et l'autre défaut c'est le final des nouvelles qui semblent parfois tomber comme un cheveux sur la soupe (en gros ça se dénoue un peu trop facilement et rapidement). Mais ne vous détrompez pas, j'ai apprécié ma lecture. En particulier le fait que l'auteur se soit inspiré de différents folklores et contes anciens pour les détourner et écrire ces nouvelles. Pour ma part, je connaissais déjà l'adaptation en série télé donc je n'étais pas perdue dans cet univers, mais je me mets à la place de quelqu'un qui découvre "Le Sorceleur" et je me dis que ce format de nouvelles organisées sans chronologie doit en dérouter plus d'un. Néanmoins, les deux œuvres sont différentes. Il y a des choses …

Review of 'The last wish' on 'Goodreads'

4 stars

As many people I started reading this after watching the TV Show (but haven't played the game, yet).

I was scared that it would be too similar to I was already seen but to my surprise, even though some of the events tell the "same story" (on a sense), the events within them are pretty different from what I saw on TV. Different enough I would say.

I did enjoy it though it was short in length, but in exchange you don't necessarily need to continue reading the rest of the books if you don't want to (right away) because it contains a tale per chapter that even if they are a full story when read in full it doesn't put the reader in a position where it needs to read the rest right away.

I recommend it if you like the fantasy genre, is a light read, short and …

Review of 'The Last Wish (The Witcher, #0.5)' on 'Goodreads'

3 stars

Translations haven't really worked for me that well in the past, so I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get through the first chapter, but I was actually pleasantly surprised by the competency of the writing.

What is ostensibly a collection of short stories, with some connective tissue starts strong, but I found myself growing tired of it near the end. It's a weirdly antiseptic book, all description and a minimum of internal monologue. It's hard to get a grasp on Geralt as he seems to act somewhat randomly and never getting to hear his thoughts means there is not a lot to hang his motivations on.

And the humour gets old fast.

And so does the weird sexism.

It has, however, made me appreciate the computer game a lot more, so I guess that is something...