toss a coin to your witcher
- paigenherbooks
- Jan 16, 2022
- 5 min read
Rating: 4/5
Geralt of Rivia is one of my favorite characters to have ever crossed the pages of my books. He is funny, he gives absolutely zero, he is strong, and has long, beautiful silver hair, and he respects women. What is there NOT to love! The second installment of the Witcher books, "The Time of Contempt, was just as good as the last one, with new and more twists, turns, betrayal, and of course love and magic!
Synopsis: Geralt is a witcher: guardian of the innocent; protector of those in need; a defender, in dark times, against some of the the most frightening creatures of myth and legend. His task now, is to protect Ciri. A child prophecy, she will have the power to change the world for good or for ill-but only if she lives to use it.
Side note: if you want some banging music you should all check out the Witcher playlist on Spotify! Toss a Coin to Your Witcher is honestly one of my most played songs...and I am not ashamed to admit that!
Also, to define what a Witcher is for anyone who isn't familiar. Witcher's are advanced humans who are trained to kill monsters. For lack of better term they are monster hunters, who kill for coin, and have no feelings. Subjected to horrible torture and training as children they are as lethal as they come.
Alas, back to the story!
So, as I stated earlier, this is the second installment in the Witcher series (technically third because their is a prequel, but this is the second in the "main" series) and this book took me, once again, on a great adventure with my bestie, Geralt. The writing as always is great! Never too flowery or flamboyant but Andrzej Sapkowski tells the reader exactly what we need to know to understand what is going on. My ONLY negative take away per se, is that I think the book should have a map and an index of characters, or at least cities and their rulers. There is so much world building and content, that don't get me wrong, is so fascinating and I love it. But, sadly, sometimes it's very hard to follow due to the plethora of kings and queens, or minor leaders, as well as names of countries. I would love to see where the countries are, to visualize where our main cast of characters are traveling, as well as who they are interacting with!
Aside from that, I enjoyed this read! The story gets deeper into the chaos that is surrounding Ciri, our end of the world girl! This book also was from Ciri's point a view, I felt, a lot more than the previous installment. For the last quarter of the book, it was only her perspective, save the last two pages. I loved this! I missed Geralt terribly, I'll be honest, but being able to see what she was doing, as well as see her face some of her hardest times, was endearing. I feel closer to her as a character, and I enjoy close character connection! Especially with Ciri! Her mind and the way that we see the story from her point of view is always so unique in my opinion. First off, she's really the only one that kinda understands what she is and what exactly is going on with her...and the fate of the world. At the same time, to flip the coin, she has absolutely no idea. She's just navigating these prophecies and these visions, and trying to figure them out. This, in my opinion, is like a game for the reader. I can try to predict what the ending outcome will be. Right now, I'm on the side that Ciri will not turn evil.........I hope not.
I also felt like this in this book, we had less Yennefer (magical, fantastical sorceress/love interest/teacher), which also makes me sad. I love her. She is so spunky but collected. The definition of a lady in my opinion. But along Yenn, comes Dandelion, my favorite sarcastic singing bard! I love him. He didn't have too much of a role in the book, other than side quests or filling in information, but he was still and always will be just a fun side character!
Geralt. MY MAN. Geralt, as always did not disappoint. I always love reading from his point of view because of the black and white way he views things. If Geralt was country he would be Switzerland. 100%. I also love how his connection and relationship with Ciri grows, but then due to outside factors, we see this relationship start to take different turns. In Geralts eye's he's protecting her. Trying to stay calm, cool, and collected to be able to understand and protect her the best way she can. To Ciri, she feels as if Geralt is pulling away and not giving her that love and attention she has been receiving. I think it will be interesting to see how this relationship builds or dwindles due to that fact. And the fact that Geralt has literally no idea where she is.
Which brings me to Ciri's own little story at the end!! My girl literally escapes barely with her life and then wanders in a desert for who knows how long. Those scenes were hard to read. Watching her struggle and almost die constantly was very sad. Though, seeing her mental thoroughness and her continuation to not give up, was amazing. She is honestly so bad ass, yall don't even know!! I think this book defined a lot of Ciri's capabilities as well. In the desert we see a glimpse of her full power, but also the consequences that come along with it. I cannot wait to see how this continues to grow or diminish with the rest of the story.
The Witcher is so intriguing and interesting as a fantasy novel and series. It reminds me of Skyrim as well as Lord of the Rings, which is honestly the best combo ever. This installment in particular dove deeper into the politics and the secrecy surrounding Ciri and the "mess" that Geralt has gotten himself into. The whole world alongside the fight scenes that make me think that I can easily wield a sword, as well as the magic that is found everywhere, makes the Witcher one of my comfort reads. A nice little tale about death, destruction, the end of the world...but also love, sacrifice, loyalty, magic, and ultimately family.
ALSO if you don't want to read the Witcher, I still highly suggest the Netflix show! It's fantastic, or their is a video game as well! All a little different with their re-tellings!
happy reading friends,
xoxo,
paige :)
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