The Witcher

[Erunion]

So I just finished the Witcher 3 (Wild Hunt, Heart of Stone, and Blood and Wine). 

 

It was fantastic. 

Yes, it was pretty, the gameplay was fun/etc., but what made it so good was the characters (and story, and plot, but mostly the people). They are absolutely brilliant. 

The story just gave me so many feels for these brilliantly real characters (spoiler alert)

Spoiler

When Yennefer comes to my vineyard and she and Geralt chat, I was just grinning from ear to ear. Not because what they were saying was particularly funny, but because these two people who had been through so much together could finally relax and be happy. 

The fact that I cared so much to see them so happy is just fantastic storytelling.

(Also, obviously, Yennefer and Geralt are meant to be together. Triss is nice and all, but Yen and Geralt are just right for each other in a way that Geralt and Triss aren't. That and Ciri is happy with them together.) 

 

So anyway, I fully intend to dive into the books the games are based off of; because even if the translated prose doesn't work for me, I suspect the characters will still click. 

Am I right to think so? Are they as good as I hope they'll be? 

[Savanorn]

On Monday, December 19, 2016 at 4:58 PM, Erunion (The Incorrigible) said:

So I just finished the Witcher 3 (Wild Hunt, Heart of Stone, and Blood and Wine). 

 

It was fantastic. 

Yes, it was pretty, the gameplay was fun/etc., but what made it so good was the characters (and story, and plot, but mostly the people). They are absolutely brilliant. 

The story just gave me so many feels for these brilliantly real characters (spoiler alert)

  Hide contents

When Yennefer comes to my vineyard and she and Geralt chat, I was just grinning from ear to ear. Not because what they were saying was particularly funny, but because these two people who had been through so much together could finally relax and be happy. 

The fact that I cared so much to see them so happy is just fantastic storytelling.

(Also, obviously, Yennefer and Geralt are meant to be together. Triss is nice and all, but Yen and Geralt are just right for each other in a way that Geralt and Triss aren't. That and Ciri is happy with them together.) 

 

So anyway, I fully intend to dive into the books the games are based off of; because even if the translated prose doesn't work for me, I suspect the characters will still click. 

Am I right to think so? Are they as good as I hope they'll be? 

Hmmmmm. 

Maybe. 

One thing you might want to note is the literature doesn't really support the idea that Yen and Geralt are right for each other. They can work, but there's a lot of baggage and they've tried and failed many times. 

This said, read the anthologies first. I'd recommend going The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny then the main sequence beginning with Blood of Elves. 

It should be noted that the main sequence is very heavily focused on Ciri as opposed to Geralt. 

All this said, I liked the books. They are quite bleak but also clever and can hit some really strong notes of genuine emotion. 

[Mestiv]

I have to disagree that books are  focused on Ciri. She has a lot of "screentime", but throughout most of the books Geralt has more. 

[Savanorn]

On Tuesday, December 27, 2016 at 8:06 AM, Mestiv said:

I have to disagree that books are  focused on Ciri. She has a lot of "screentime", but throughout most of the books Geralt has more. 

Geralt has more time on the page, but a lot of those are focused on Ciri. 

Ciri has a lot of time on the page, and a lot those are focused on Ciri. 

 

[Oversleep]

I just want to note that the fact that Ciri has a lot of focus should not drive you away; I have only played through first Witcher so I don't know what they did with Ciri but the books are good, period.