Tasha⛓️Sorsha

Had such high hopes getting through this, and then WTF was that ending? I hated it so much that not only did I not bother reading Luka's story at the end, but it full-on ruined whatever enjoyment the rest of the book held.

I adore Halloween for many reasons, but now I'll also be viewing it as a romantic time of year thanks to this book.

This book had me for most of it, but damn was I ever let down by that ending!

Ok, so I fully admit I came here after I watched the tv show, which I loved and thought was amazingly done. So to say that I was evisceratingly disappointed by the book is an understatement lol.

Let's be serious, guys. From a technical standpoint the writing is just plain bad. It's a lot of telling instead of showing, and Geralt is the flattest cardboard Gary Stu I've read since James Bond. Sorry to the cult following, but Henry Cavill brings more depth and personality to the character than Sapkowski apparently ever could.

And then we have the blaring sexism. Now, I've already read several reviews from folks who have brought up all the problematic points so I'm not going to get into it. Let's just say I should have known better than to expect more from a male author writing fantasy in the early 90s lol. The show fixed most of his mistakes, which I appreciate.

And for those of you defending it with the old, “BuT iT wAs ThE MeDiEvAl ErA, tHaT's HoW wOmEn WeRe TrEaTeD” let me ask you this: You guys remember that time in our Medieval period when witches cast spells, and elves roamed the earth, and dragons flew in the skies?? Yeah, me neither. It's FANTASY. It can literally be whatever you want. It is perfectly possible to create a devastating, war-torn world with intricate politics and brutal violence without all the rape and objectification of female bodies. You're telling me you're willing to accept dragons and monsters, but you can't fathom a world where rape isn't commonplace, not every male character is a creepy sexist prick (including the ones we're supposed to root for), and not every female is an offensive stereotype specifically written for the male gaze? Your imagination isn't taking you far enough.

Not for me, I'll stick to the show.

Devastating as promised. 😔 That epilogue really got me.