The Tower of the Swallow

Part four of “Geralt is actually not a witcher anymore”.

I feel that the series gets better with each book and here the story and events are the most solid and to the point. Until Dijkstra shows up (although this episode is pretty short). And as always there are a lot of points of view and time jumps, however this time around they have a little more sense, purpose and context and show the story from different angles which enriches it.

While some points of view are not too interesting or last a bit longer than needed, the episodes where Ciri tells the story from the future and first person narrative from Dandelion are the best, as we’re rarely shown their perspective. And the dialogues are really immersive most of the time—when characters don’t repeat the same thing.

Also there’s a lot of classic-witcher, visceral action moments, which also feel better than ever, but some episodes can be too brutal for some readers.

And that scene on a frozen lake is just insane.

However the ending is not satisfying, as it’s too open and there are no hints at what's happening with other characters.

So I will definitely finish the story and hope the last book is even better!

This book was angling to be an all-timer with it's pacing and the genuine joy it brought with each passing page. The biggest problem with these books tends to be that they lose steam and, sure enough, this one did.

Ciri's story is great but the story being told from this many perspectives breaks up the narrative almost too much and slowed down the last act a lot.

To be honest I am a bit split on how I feel about this book.

The cover does not seem to really portray the story which seem to be more focused on #cirillaofcintra than #GeraltOfRivia who while had some part in the story was really more of a backdrop to the story than any main plot or story.

The writing at times was good but at other times kind of boring and found my attention wavering. Some of the politcal plot lines I found really didn't add much of anything of value.

However the story of Ciri's capture by bounty hunters, her eventual escape, finding of shelter, and eventual finding of the tower of swallows was certainly a good read, but really could of done without the rest.

3/5 stars on good reads. Didnt love it but didnt hate it. Will be posting a video review tomorrow

So this book picks up right where the previous left, which ended in a little bit of a cliffhanger.
I loved the writing style using different timelines, jumping back and forth, and varying points of view. It gets confusing sometimes but in the end everything clicks together.
And the plot focus is Ciri, the last third of the book we don't even hear about The Witcher anymore.
There is lots of violence in this book, people getting killed, tortured, injured in a myriad of ways. I think it's one of the darkest books in the series so far, and Ciri's story is definitely harsh and cruel. I caught myself cringing a few times.
Now, it's the first time I ever saw a sword fighting scene on a frozen lake on ice skates!
There are some great new characters, like the hermit Vysogota on the good guy side and the spine-chilling bounty hunter Bonhart, on the villain side.
As always, I can't wait to check out the next book in the series.