Operation Backlog Completion 2026

The Wild Hunt is Almost Here

 Books, Video games  No Responses »  Tagged with: , ,
May 182015
 

All right, so when I said I wouldn’t talk about The Witcher again until I played the first game, I was mistaken. And despite my plan to catch up on the entire series in time for The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, I’m not going to make it. I haven’t even started playing The Witcher yet.

And Wild Hunt comes out today.

Witcher-3-Ciri

I know, its release date is actually tomorrow, but digital copies will become available at 1 AM in Warsaw, which is this evening in the United States. But even if I consider tomorrow as the actual day, I can’t play through The Witcher and The Witcher 2 in a single day.

But I’m still excited. Even though I planned to not even order Wild Hunt until I finished the previous games, speed-reading the fan translations of The Tower of the Swallow and The Lady of the Lake over the past couple of days left me even more excited than I was already.

I know what the Wild Hunt is, and why they want Ciri (probably).

I know how the books end, and how the games begin (sort of).

I know that the Witcher series still has plenty of surprises in store for me, and I can’t wait to see how the games continue the story. Now, the author of the books considers the games to be non-canon. In his eyes, the story ended with The Lady of the Lake. Right now, I can see both perspectives. Lady of the Lake had an unusual ending, one I’m not wholly satisfied with. It concluded the main plot well enough that, if there was nothing else in the series, I think I’d be content with it.

On the other hand, since the games do continue the story (canon or not), I’m happy that it isn’t over yet. I wouldn’t want to end here, without playing the games.

Now I’m starting to ramble. The point is that even though I won’t be ready in time for The Witcher 3, I still intend to play the games soon. My new goal: finish the Witcher series by the end of the summer. If you also need to catch up on the series, the order is…

  • The Last Wish – This short story collection has a different tone than the rest of the series, but it sets the main events of the saga into motion. Take a look at my review for more information.
  • Sword of Destiny – This is also a short story collection. Like The Last Wish, some of its stories tie into the overarching plot.
  • Blood of Elves – The first novel centers around Ciri and truly begins her story. I also reviewed this one.
  • Time of Contempt – The plot really begins to pick up in this next novel, which also introduces the Wild Hunt. As I indicated in my review, it has the most self-contained plot in the series.
  • Baptism of Fire – The last novel translated into English continues the story and introduces some memorable characters, along with a brief interlude of bizarre humor. Once again, you can take a look at my review if you want.
  • The Tower of the Swallow – This felt like one of the darkest novels in the series (though they all have some pretty dark moments), but also one in which we really learn more about Ciri and what she is capable of.
  • The Lady of the Lake – Old enemies are confronted, new enemies reveal themselves, and everything comes to a climax in the last novel.

The first game picks up a few years after the last book, and that’s where I’ll be headed next.

What about you? If you’re interested in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, are you planning to play it right away or wait a while? How familiar are you with the rest of the series? What do you think about Ciri and the Wild Hunt?

Baptism of Fire: The Start of a Journey

 Books, Reviews  2 Responses »  Tagged with:
Apr 202015
 

Baptism-of-FireOur journey through the Witcher saga meets a journey in the Witcher saga, in the third full novel (and currently the last one with an official English translation), Baptism of Fire.

If you’re mainly interested in reading the Witcher series for Geralt of Rivia, this might be the novel (excluding the short story collection) you enjoy the most. Where Blood of Elves focused on Ciri and Time of Contempt balanced its story between the major characters, the third Witcher novel centers around Geralt’s search for Ciri, with only a few deviations.

The Time of Contempt left Ciri in a bad situation, and Geralt knows he has to find her before it’s too late. Despite his initial attempts to go alone, he is joined by the ever-amusing bard Dandelion and the fierce archer Milva, along with other companions the pick up along the way.

Character interactions are the strongest part of this book, and that alone is reason enough to recommend it. They’re a weird, dysfunctional band of heroes, almost like a party you’d see in an RPG. Their differences, conflicts, and loyalties are what make the journey so interesting–more so than the plot itself.

To my dismay, Baptism of Fire is more like Blood of Elves in the sense that its plot feels too much like a part of something larger. The journey is the core of the story, and while subplots are resolved, the main plot is left for the next book to complete. While the novel ended with quite a striking scene, it didn’t feel as conclusive as it should have.

It also features some major mood whiplash, as the fairly dark story about war, corrupted innocence, and other grim topics transitions from a serious moral discussion on vampires’ right to exist to… a story that sounded more like it belonged in Discworld than The Witcher. Lines like “I finally began to do absolutely unacceptable things, the kind of things no vampire does. I flew under the influence” left me unsure if it was a parody of vampires, anti-alcohol PSAs, or both.

I mean, what was that scene? Why was it here?! Dandelion’s comic relief fits the universe, but this took the weird fairy tale retellings of The Last Wish and dove even further into the surreal.

With that said, as long as you don’t mind the sense that this is just part of the overarching story (and try not to think too hard about the vampire story), Baptism of Fire is a great dark fantasy book with entertaining characters and some intriguing developments.

So, as a quick recap, we have:

The final two novels are The Swallow’s Tower and Lady of the Lake (as well as a newer book in the universe unconnected to the main saga), currently available in English only as fan translations. I’ll take a look, but the next time I talk to you about the Witcher, it should be about the first video game!

And speaking of video games, stay tuned for my upcoming review of Tales of Symphonia…

The Time of Contempt: War, Politics, and the Wild Hunt

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Apr 102015
 

Time-of-ContemptOur mad quest to catch up on the entire Witcher saga before The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt comes out in May has brought us to The Time of Contempt, the second full novel in the Witcher Saga. The previous book, Blood of Elves, set the stage for Ciri’s story, which properly began in the short story collection Sword of Destiny.

(Although Sword of Destiny is currently available in English only as a fan translation, an official English version is coming out and can be pre-ordered now.)

When I reviewed Blood of Elves, my only criticism was that it didn’t feel like a complete story, just the setup for a larger plot. I’m happy to say The Time of Contempt does not suffer that problem.

The plot threads the previous book introduced are expanded upon, and it still sets the stage for future events, but its central plot feels more focused. While The Time of Contempt works toward the overarching saga with hints of prophecy and the Wild Hunt (we’ll get back to that in a minute), it concentrates on the political machinations and conflicts that are immediate threats, such as the growing power of the sinister empire Nilfgaard. It also feels much more balanced between its protagonists. While Ciri remains at the core, Geralt has a strong role in the story as well.

As in the previous Witcher books, this one brings together action, believable character interactions, a grim world, and sporadic moments of humor to craft an enjoyable narrative. Whether Geralt’s growing sarcasm at a dinner party full of spies or a truly unsettling scene with a character suffering dehydration, The Time of Contempt drew me into the story and didn’t let me go. It also has a few notable plot twists which I won’t spoil here.

One of my favorite parts was the brief introduction of the Wild Hunt. Previously, all I really knew about the Wild Hunt came from previews of The Witcher 3.

What are these guys? Other than "terrifying"?

What are these guys?
Other than “terrifying”?

Now, in folklore, the “Wild Hunt” is basically a group of spectral huntsmen galloping through the sky. It’s considered a sign of bad luck. The song “Ghost Riders in the Sky” is a reference to the Wild Hunt. The Great Hunt and the Heroes of the Horn in the Wheel of Time series may also be a reference, especially since the hunters in the Wild Hunt are often said to be gods or heroes, such as Woden or King Arthur. Of course, sometimes the Wild Hunt is depicted as evil, too.

I’m sure I could go on all day about folklore and different references to the Wild Hunt, so let’s get back to the Witcher saga’s Wild Hunt. Early on in The Time of Contempt it’s mentioned that the Wild Hunt has been seen, and then we get to see them for ourselves as Ciri flees through a storm filled with specters from her past–and the specters of the Wild Hunt.

The vague, ghastly shapes of riders become visible in the ribbon sliding across the sky. As they come closer and closer, they can be seen ever more clearly. Buffalo horns and ragged crests sway on their helmets, and cadaverous masks show white beneath them. The riders sit on horses’ skeletons, cloaked in ragged caparisons. A fierce gale howls among the willows, blades of lightning slash the black sky. The wind moans louder and louder. No, it’s not the wind. It’s ghostly singing.

The ghastly cavalcade turns and hurtles straight at her. The hooves of the spectral horses stir up the glow of the will ‘o the wisps suspended above the swamps. At the head of the cavalcade gallops the King of the Wild Hunt. A rusty helmet sways above his skull-like face, its gaping eye sockets burning with a livid flame. A ragged cloak flutters. A necklace, empty as an old peapod, rattles against the rusty cuirass, a necklace which, it is said, once contained precious stones, which fell out during the frenzied chase across teh heavens. And became stars…

It isn’t true! It doesn’t exist! It’s a nightmare, a phantom, an illusion! I’m only imagining this!

The King of the Wild Hunt spurs on his skeleton steed and erupts in wild, horrifying laughter.

O, Child of the Elder Blood! You belong to us! You are ours! Join our procession, join our hunt! We will race, race unto the very end, unto eternity, unto the very end of existence! You are ours, starry-eyed daughter of chaos! Join us; learn the joy of the hunt! You are ours. You are one of us! Your place is among us!

‘No!’ she cries. ‘Be gone! You are corpses!’

The King of the Wild Hunt laughs, the rotten teeth snapping above his rusted gorget. The skull’s eye sockets glitter lividly.

Yes, we are corpses. But you are death.”

You know, somehow I don’t think that’s Woden or King Arthur.

What a passage! As soon as I reached that, I couldn’t wait to learn more about the Wild Hunt–and just what’s up with Ciri, our mysterious child of prophecy.

That little tease is the Wild Hunt’s only real presence in The Time of Contempt, but that’s a good thing. If I’d read the book when it first came out, instead of after learning about the third game, I wouldn’t have realized the Wild Hunt’s significance. It serves as a tiny hint of stranger things on the horizon, and I think it works very well.

As for Ciri, we get some definite answers about here in this book, but I won’t spoil them for you. Let’s just say… things are going to get interesting.

The Time of Contempt is an excellent continuation of the Witcher saga, and a stronger novel than its predecessor. If you’re interested in Geralt, Ciri, the Witcher story in general, or just dark fantasy, give it a read.

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