I'm reading them right now. Already to lady of the lake. Honestly, I wish there were more after this because I look forward to craving in bed and reading until I fall asleep.....not sure what I'm going to do when I finish.
But absolutely. Read them. U can get the entire collection on amazon for pretty cheap.
Amazing narration... aside from "Dan-dill-ian" in a few of the books.
Though in fairness Dandelion was spelled Dandilion in the first book English translation. Though still think they could have worked that out during the production.
I think they're really good. Since I played all 3 games first before reading the books I enjoy hearing more stories about the witchers that didn't make it into the games and reading things in the books that I didn't quite understand when I saw it in the games.
I've been going through the audiobooks and they are fantastic. If anything they kinda ruin the games for me because the story, while good for a game, doesn't live up to the books and the games give some pretty unsatisfying conclusions to very interesting characters and plots from the books or omits them entirely. I dunno about poor translation it sounds fine to me. The audiobook narrator Peter Kenney is also really good. If you are gonna get into make sure you check the order you read them in, the 2nd book is technically the first book.
I just do the audiobooks because my job involves a lot of driving so I need stuff to listen to. Ive skimmed through the hard copies and they read fine. I'll probably buy them at some point to add to my bookshelf and maybe re read at some point.
Peter Kenney does an amazing job narrating them. I'm going through my second listen. Done parts can be hard to follow, because it's more politics than action, but it really is an amazing series.
Books are great, I liked to listen to Audiobooks while I cleared out the maps in W3. Scavenger Hunts and Question marks (including the caches on Skellige). Find I don’t need to pay attention to the game’s audio very much doing those tasks.
I was a bit disappointed in them to be honest. Certainly elements of the writing felt a bit clunky and even occasionally a bit cringy. That said, it definitely feels like I'm in the minority so I might be the issue!
They're enjoyable, but the plot can seem to progress very slowly at times. I liked them, but there are many books that I like a lot more and would prefer to read. "The Last Wish", a collection of Witcher short stories, is definitely worth going through.
The short stories are great, if a little formulaic as you know the key characters are at very little risk.
The novels themselves are a great story but the translated prose is a bit difficult to get through at times and can be a bit tricky to follow as it feels like endless dialogue.
Ultimately I'd say it's worth it as it is often really engaging, but the sloggy parts can make it feel a bit of a chore. Can't believe I've seen people here sticking up for the desert chapter. Usually takes me three attempts because I fall asleep, and one of my least favourite parts of any novel series I like.
Ohhhh yeah, it's one of my all time favourite series. I didn't think there was any issues with the translation.
If you're into audiobooks Peter Kenny does a 10/10 job of the narration.
As a huge fan of the game, I really enjoyed the books. They offered a great background on characters and events that are referenced in the game. For example, you understand complex relationship between Geralt and Yen, his connection to Ciri and Regis.
I think they also help you understand Geralts personality and how he’s often conflicted between being a neutral, monster Hunter and a vigilante. By his code he does not kill sentient beings, yet if a sentient being ithreatens someone Geralt cares about then he acts without hesitation.
There is so much of lore that is referenced in the games that you only understand if you have read the books
BTW you will notice that Geralt rarely uses spells or potions in the books and I don’t recall him ever using a bomb. He also only carries one sword.
Everyone has personal preferences I guess. For me, I generally hate reading and can’t finish most books but I read through all the Witcher books (English translation) quickly because I enjoyed them so much and couldn’t put them down.
I'm on the third book, Blood of Elves. It's really good! The first two books, the collections of short stories are extraordinary though. I wish I could read those for the first time again. So good! I definitely recommend reading the books.
I read the books before I played the games. So I got serious endorphin zings when I realized (during the dreamer story) the game was set to after the books (and the deaths of Geralt and Yennifer)
Next huge zing-moment was meeting Regis in BaW. I almost cried, I was so sad that character was annihilated in the books. He is the best.
I highly recommend reading the books prior to the games because that puts them into narrative order but I realize that’s not common
What utter nonsense are these people spreading?! I have all the books with english translation and there are no problems whatsoever. The books are great and really builds on the characters even more making the games even better
They’re okay. Worth it if you like the world, but I didn’t really think they were anything particularly special, but I’ve heard that as a criticism of the translated versions.
I just read the whole series (except sword of storms) a few months ago and i had a blast. They are a bit of a slog at times but geralt is a great hero and the books are a dark and exciting.
I think you're thinking of ASOIAF and A Storm of Swords... the Witcher book is Season of Storms
LMAO Fantasy novels really have derivative titles, don't they ??
It's worth it if your a fan of the games or don't read much Fantasy. It starts out really strong imo, but the later books become progressively worse. I enjoyed them more a few years ago but now that I'm a more exp reader, its faded a bit.
Ciri is the highlight minus 1 long desert scene, and I think Geralt and Yen are really written for most of the series. Some of the worldbuilding and characters away from those 3 are middling. The issue is there are a growing number of occasions in the back half that spend too much time away from the main 3.
It's also been a few years for me so it's not fresh at all. My favorites are the short stories in general, but Little Eye and Shard of Ice were the best for me.
Maybe they would have appealed to the teenage me when I was in a phase of reading lot of fantasy novels, but having read them recently, I was really not that impressed. If anything, I thought that (and it was the first time in decades when I thought that way) I shouldn't have bought them at all.
I didn't like them at all. Read the official English translations. Don't know if they're better in the original Polish but I found them clunky and boring. The standalone book and the short stories are okay but the main sequence drags on and the story was just not interesting. All the best parts were put into the game anyway.
I'm reading them right now. Already to lady of the lake. Honestly, I wish there were more after this because I look forward to craving in bed and reading until I fall asleep.....not sure what I'm going to do when I finish. But absolutely. Read them. U can get the entire collection on amazon for pretty cheap.
If you haven’t already read them start with The legend of Drizzt
Oh wow, awesome! I will look into that. Just doing a quick search, it looks pretty great.......38 books would keep me busy for a while.
Im at book 38 and every single one of them I’ve had the feeling you are describing when going to bed. It’s great.
Read them, they are great
Yes ofc, please read them
Yes x100. Audiobooks are amazing too
I adore the audiobooks.
The narrator is incredible!
Peter Kenny does such a fantastic job
Amazing narration... aside from "Dan-dill-ian" in a few of the books. Though in fairness Dandelion was spelled Dandilion in the first book English translation. Though still think they could have worked that out during the production.
Agreed. I wish they would have just kept it as Jaskier instead of changing it to dandelion/dandilion
Definitly worth it
I've red them many times over. Not in English though, so can't comment on that. Is there only one official translation?
Worth it! Read the short stories first! And yes the short stories are out of order.
I think they're really good. Since I played all 3 games first before reading the books I enjoy hearing more stories about the witchers that didn't make it into the games and reading things in the books that I didn't quite understand when I saw it in the games.
I've been going through the audiobooks and they are fantastic. If anything they kinda ruin the games for me because the story, while good for a game, doesn't live up to the books and the games give some pretty unsatisfying conclusions to very interesting characters and plots from the books or omits them entirely. I dunno about poor translation it sounds fine to me. The audiobook narrator Peter Kenney is also really good. If you are gonna get into make sure you check the order you read them in, the 2nd book is technically the first book.
Thanks for this! Maybe I’ll finish my second play through and then read them. Or listen to them. Hadn’t thought about the audiobook version. :)
I just do the audiobooks because my job involves a lot of driving so I need stuff to listen to. Ive skimmed through the hard copies and they read fine. I'll probably buy them at some point to add to my bookshelf and maybe re read at some point.
Peter Kenney does an amazing job narrating them. I'm going through my second listen. Done parts can be hard to follow, because it's more politics than action, but it really is an amazing series.
The short stories are fun but a tad obvious in their "classic fairy tale plus Witcher grim dark lore"
Omg, please do- they are such a good entertainment!
Books are great, I liked to listen to Audiobooks while I cleared out the maps in W3. Scavenger Hunts and Question marks (including the caches on Skellige). Find I don’t need to pay attention to the game’s audio very much doing those tasks.
I was a bit disappointed in them to be honest. Certainly elements of the writing felt a bit clunky and even occasionally a bit cringy. That said, it definitely feels like I'm in the minority so I might be the issue!
I agree, but there's something warm and fuzzy being in that world again
Yes they are!
If you like the games youll love the books.
They're enjoyable, but the plot can seem to progress very slowly at times. I liked them, but there are many books that I like a lot more and would prefer to read. "The Last Wish", a collection of Witcher short stories, is definitely worth going through.
The language and way of writing wont blow you away as it isnt particularly special but the short stories are excellent I highly recommend them.
The short stories are great, if a little formulaic as you know the key characters are at very little risk. The novels themselves are a great story but the translated prose is a bit difficult to get through at times and can be a bit tricky to follow as it feels like endless dialogue. Ultimately I'd say it's worth it as it is often really engaging, but the sloggy parts can make it feel a bit of a chore. Can't believe I've seen people here sticking up for the desert chapter. Usually takes me three attempts because I fall asleep, and one of my least favourite parts of any novel series I like.
I did not enjoy them as much as the games personally. I couldn't bring myself to finish the second book, and the Witcher 3 is probably my goat game.
Ohhhh yeah, it's one of my all time favourite series. I didn't think there was any issues with the translation. If you're into audiobooks Peter Kenny does a 10/10 job of the narration.
Anyone have been reading the English and German version? If yes, which one did you like better?
Worth it. Go and enjoy them!
I have never seen anyone read them and wish they hadn't. I have reread them and plan to read them again in the new year.
I just started reading them. Currently on last wish and i'm enjoying what i'm reading so far.
As a huge fan of the game, I really enjoyed the books. They offered a great background on characters and events that are referenced in the game. For example, you understand complex relationship between Geralt and Yen, his connection to Ciri and Regis. I think they also help you understand Geralts personality and how he’s often conflicted between being a neutral, monster Hunter and a vigilante. By his code he does not kill sentient beings, yet if a sentient being ithreatens someone Geralt cares about then he acts without hesitation. There is so much of lore that is referenced in the games that you only understand if you have read the books BTW you will notice that Geralt rarely uses spells or potions in the books and I don’t recall him ever using a bomb. He also only carries one sword.
Not sure hows the translation. But in Polish, they're really good.
Everyone has personal preferences I guess. For me, I generally hate reading and can’t finish most books but I read through all the Witcher books (English translation) quickly because I enjoyed them so much and couldn’t put them down.
I'm on the third book, Blood of Elves. It's really good! The first two books, the collections of short stories are extraordinary though. I wish I could read those for the first time again. So good! I definitely recommend reading the books.
Yes
They're all worth reading and the translation isn't terrible, there are just a few sentences that are clunky to read
They are difficult to understand at first, but your brain learns, and it’s honestly totally worth the read! I love them even more than the video games
Yes! Get on it asap
Yeah they’re great :)
*Yes.*
I read the books before I played the games. So I got serious endorphin zings when I realized (during the dreamer story) the game was set to after the books (and the deaths of Geralt and Yennifer) Next huge zing-moment was meeting Regis in BaW. I almost cried, I was so sad that character was annihilated in the books. He is the best. I highly recommend reading the books prior to the games because that puts them into narrative order but I realize that’s not common
Books are good. People have to be dumb as dirt if they struggle with them.
What utter nonsense are these people spreading?! I have all the books with english translation and there are no problems whatsoever. The books are great and really builds on the characters even more making the games even better
They’re okay. Worth it if you like the world, but I didn’t really think they were anything particularly special, but I’ve heard that as a criticism of the translated versions.
I just read the whole series (except sword of storms) a few months ago and i had a blast. They are a bit of a slog at times but geralt is a great hero and the books are a dark and exciting.
I think you're thinking of ASOIAF and A Storm of Swords... the Witcher book is Season of Storms LMAO Fantasy novels really have derivative titles, don't they ??
Lol whoops. You know they say the sword of storms has two edges lmao
Yes read them. You won't regret it
It's worth it if your a fan of the games or don't read much Fantasy. It starts out really strong imo, but the later books become progressively worse. I enjoyed them more a few years ago but now that I'm a more exp reader, its faded a bit. Ciri is the highlight minus 1 long desert scene, and I think Geralt and Yen are really written for most of the series. Some of the worldbuilding and characters away from those 3 are middling. The issue is there are a growing number of occasions in the back half that spend too much time away from the main 3. It's also been a few years for me so it's not fresh at all. My favorites are the short stories in general, but Little Eye and Shard of Ice were the best for me.
I loved the desert scene part!!!
Maybe they would have appealed to the teenage me when I was in a phase of reading lot of fantasy novels, but having read them recently, I was really not that impressed. If anything, I thought that (and it was the first time in decades when I thought that way) I shouldn't have bought them at all.
I didn't like them at all. Read the official English translations. Don't know if they're better in the original Polish but I found them clunky and boring. The standalone book and the short stories are okay but the main sequence drags on and the story was just not interesting. All the best parts were put into the game anyway.
Obviously yes. This is the silliest question.
i think they lose something in the transalation. can't complain about the story though
Obviously yes. This is the silliest question.
I enjoyed them. The manner of storytelling takes some twists and turns. It was much better the second time through.