The Witcher – how to read books?

The whole world is talking about The Witcher. We have books, comics, series, computer and board games, recently also for smartphones. But what is the best way to start the adventure with our hero? From books, of course. That is why, especially for you, we have prepared a guide: The Witcher – How to read books, in which we help you find yourself in the whole maze of novels prepared for us by Andrzej Sapkowski.

The character of Geralt of Rivia (aka the White Wolf, aka The Butcher of Blaviken) first appeared in the story “The Witcher” in the magazine “Fantastyka” in 1986. A series of loosely connected stories soon gave rise to a full-fledged saga, which very quickly became a leading example of both Polish and world fantasy. The stories themselves, however, did not have a strict plot sequence and constituted a collection of independent stories. For this reason, establishing a definitive chronology can be quite a challenge for new readers.

The Witcher universe – The Witcherland

Andrzej Sapkowski’s work has found fans all over the world. CD Project Red’s RPG (Role-Playing Game) games, which are a non-canonical continuation of Geralt’s adventures, have been awarded many times by the most respected voices of the digital scene. Fans of The Witcher series, also award-winning, also eagerly await the next part of the adventures of the Butcher of Blaviken. Well, in July, the first ever WitcherCon – a digital convention of fans of the White Wolf – took place, while Netflix also announced the premiere of the animate series “The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf” in August.

The Witcher – how to read books? You can read them in order of publication.

Geralt’s story consists of three collections of short stories, five volumes of The Witcher Saga and an additional Season of Storms. So in order of publicationit is:

1. The Sword of Destiny – a collection of short stories (1992)
2. The Last Wish – a collection of short stories (1993)
3. Blood of the Elves – Volume I of The Witcher Saga (1994)
4. Time of Contempt – Volume II of The Witcher Saga (1995)
5. Baptism of Fire – Volume III of The Witcher Saga (1996)
6. The Tower of the Swallow – Volume IV of The Witcher Saga (1997)
7. The Lady of the Lake – Volume V of The Witcher Saga (1999)
8. Something Ends, Something Begins – Short Story Collection (2000)
9. Season of Storms – Beyond The Witcher Saga (2013)

The Witcher – how to read books? Order recommended by fans

Knowing the order in which the individual titles were published, it is easy to conclude that this is the ideal reading order. Fans of books, however, managed to organize the stories presented in them according to the chronology of events. It differs significantly from the one presented by the publishers. Here is the order in which you should read The Witcher in order to avoid disturbing the sequence of events:

1. The Road of No Return (short story)
2. A Grain of Truth (short story)
3. The Lesser Evil (short story)
4. The End of the World (short story)
5. Last Wish (short story)
6. Season of Storms (novel but no epilogue)
7. A Question of Price (short story)
8. The Witcher (short story)
9. The Voice of Reason (short story)
10. The Limit of Possibility (short story)
11. Shard of Ice (short story)
12. Eternal Fire (short story)
13. A Little Sacrifice (short story)
14. Sword of Destiny (short story)
15. Something More (short story)
16. Blood of the Elves – Volume I of The Witcher Saga
17. Time of Contempt – Volume II of The Witcher Saga
18. Baptism of Fire – Volume III of The Witcher Saga
19. The Tower of the Swallow – Volume IV of The Witcher Saga
20. The Lady of the Lake – Volume V of The Witcher Saga
21. Something Ends, Something Begins (short story)
22. Season of Storms – (Epilogue Only)

The adventure with Geralt should begin with the stories that take place before the events of the Witcher saga, while Season of Storms should be left at the end to give certain threads the necessary context.

Article and photos source (Polish version): The Witcher – how to read books

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