The Tower of Swallows by Andrzej Sapkowski

The world is at war and the prophesied savior is nowhere to be found. The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, races to find her in the fourth novel of Andrzej Sapkowski's groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games. The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies including Dandelion, Milva, Regis, and Cahir, to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous. There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting. . . Witcher collections The Last Wish Sword of Destiny Witcher novels Blood of Elves The Time of Contempt Baptism of Fire The Tower of Swallows Lady of the Lake Season of Storms Hussite Trilogy The Tower of Fools Warriors of God Translated from original Polish by David French

Incredibly entertaining.

I don't know how I feel about the shift in narrative styles, but it worked pretty well and the story was great. I felt vindicated when Ciri sliced Rience's fingers off.

Very good book. And Unicorns! I was a bit confused with all the characters. I was listening to the audio book though. If I had been reading the print version I could go back and look up where I had heard them before. The narration was wonderful.

Besides the books of short stories, I really haven't enjoyed the Witcher novels. I kept trudging on because of my love for the game and the show. I'm glad I did. This one was far superior to any of the previous.

I will preface this review with a warning. Sapkowski's treatment of women is extremely bad in his books and this one isn't an exception. There is humiliation, mutilation, rape, harassment, assault, etc. It's awful and disgusting. One could argue that it's because this is set in the Middle Ages, but this book gets graphic at points.

Ironically, this book follows Ciri more than Geralt, showcasing how much of a badass she is. We continue where the last book left off. The story telling devices Sapkowski uses are interesting and dynamic. The pacing only felt sluggish when there was heavy exposition, but most of those points were necessary. This book didn't hold back any punches. It really made me love Ciri even more than I already did. It also made my affection for Yennefer stronger. Interestingly, I felt mostly frustrated with Geralt in this book. His chapters didn't captivate me as much.

I'm very excited to read the next book! I couldn't say that with any of the previous books, so that's definitely an improvement!