Finally, we’ve reached the conclusion of the Witcher saga, the final novel before the events of the games take place, The Lake of the Lake.
This is the culmination of Ciri’s quest, Geralt & company’s search for her, and all the machinations that have been bubbling throughout the saga, and it’s an epic conclusion.
Like the previous novel, there’s a bit of a frame story here, although it takes a couple different forms. Ciri telling her story to Galahad is the larger frame, but there is also a fair amount of framing as the sorceresses Nimue and Condwiramurs attempt to piece together the truth of Ciri’s history.
There are so many good moments in this novel, and although I felt a couple parts went on a bit too long (specifically the war section and the ending), it’s a fantastic story.
The section in Toussaint is great (especially Regis giving advice on how to deal with vampires), I love the entire section with the elves (especially when Ciri makes her escape and learns the truth about their world), and the confrontations at the end are satisfying (if a bit heartbreaking).
Unfortunately, I’ve heard that The Witcher 3 doesn’t really do Eredin justice, which is a disappointment because he’s pretty cool in the novel. Are there other Eredin fans out there? He steals the scene whenever he’s on the page!
Click for Lady of the Lake spoiler
And the revelation about Emhyr’s identity is one of the most unexpected twists I’ve ever seen. Before I first read The Lady of the Lake, I accidentally read a spoiler about his true identity… and dismissed it as the person who wrote it getting Emhyr and Duny confused.
When I reached that part of the novel, I was shocked. I just stared at the page in disbelief (and then started laughing over my earlier assumption when I saw the spoiler).
As I mentioned in my Tower of Swallows review, there is definite foreshadowing, which makes it the best sort of twist.
Anyway, if you’ve been enjoying the Witcher novels, The Lady of the Lake is where it all comes together.
And of course, the games pick up afterwards. We’ve already looked at The Witcher, but it doesn’t look like I’ll get to the other games this year after all. Next year, however, our journey through the Witcher series will resume!
What year is it? I’m not sure, but CD Projekt RED announced a new expansion for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.