posts/witcher-reading-order.en.html

   1 <!-- subject: Reading order of {The Witcher} -->
   2 <!-- date: 2022-07-31 16:29:33 -->
   3 <!-- update: 2024-11-22 00:10:26 -->
   4 <!-- tags: witcher, wiedźmin, sapkowski -->
   5 <!-- categories: Misc -->
   6
   7 <p><small>Updated in November 2024 to include Crossroads of Ravens.</small>
   8
   9 <p>Without beating around the bush, the reading order for the Witcher books is
  10 as follows:
  11
  12 <style>
  13 .read-order tbody th {
  14     vertical-align: center;
  15     text-align: center;
  16     min-width: 3em;
  17 }
  18 .read-order tbody th span {
  19     font-style: italic;
  20     writing-mode: vertical-rl;
  21 }
  22 </style>
  23
  24 <table class=read-order>
  25   <tbody>
  26     <tr><td>1.<td>The Last Wish
  27         <th rowspan=2><span>Short<br>stories</span>
  28     <tr><td>2.<td>Sword of Destiny
  29   <tbody>
  30     <tr><td>3.<td>Blood of Elves
  31         <th rowspan=5><span>The Witcher Saga</span>
  32     <tr><td>4.<td>Time of Contempt
  33     <tr><td>5.<td>Baptism of Fire
  34     <tr><td>6.<td>The Tower of the Swallow
  35     <tr><td>7.<td>The Lady of the Lake
  36   <tbody>
  37     <tr><td>8.<td colspan=2>Season of Storms
  38     <tr><td>9.<td colspan=2>Crossroads of Ravens
  39 </table>
  40
  41 <!-- FULL -->
  42
  43 <p>Confusion regarding the order is quite understandable.  There is a handful of
  44   discrepancies which may make a new reader wonder.  Let’s address them one by
  45   one to dispel any lingering doubts:
  46
  47 <ul>
  48   <li><i>Blood of Elves</i> comes third even though in some editions it might
  49     say ‘Book 1’ on the cover.  That numbering, if present, refers to the books
  50     in The Witcher Saga which consists of five novels.  The saga starts soon
  51     after the events described in <i>Sword of Destiny</i>.
  52   <li><i>Season of Storms</i> comes after the saga even though chronologically
  53     it takes place before it.  The book references events from the other books
  54     and has been written with the assumption that reader is already familiar
  55     with the rest of the series.
  56   <li><i>The Last Wish</i> comes first even though it was published in Poland
  57     after <i>Sword of Destiny</i>.  It’s a collection of stories which had been
  58     already printed in <i>Fantastyka</i> magazine.  At that time, reader
  59     of <i>Sword</i> was aware of those preceding stories.
  60   <li><i>Sword of Destiny</i> comes second even though it was released in
  61     English fifth.  This one is on the publisher who, I’m speculating, concluded
  62     that it was easier to market the saga.
  63   <li><i>Crossroads of Ravens</i> ends up at the end of the list, mostly due
  64     based on publication date, even though its story happens before the rest of
  65     the
  66     series [<a href="https://www.facebook.com/permalink.php/?story_fbid=1064832985652772&id=100063782421587">1</a>].
  67 </ul>
  68
  69 <h2>Something Ends</h2>
  70
  71 <p>Another noteworthy book is <i>Something Ends, Something Begins</i>
  72   (pl. <i>Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna</i>).  It’s an anthology including,
  73   among others, two stories related to the Witcher series: ‘A Road with No
  74   Return’ (pl. ‘Droga, z której się nie wraca’) and ‘Something Ends, Something
  75   Begins’.
  76
  77 <p>‘A Road’ wasn’t planned as a part of the series but eventual later stories
  78   imply that Visenna described there is the same one Geralt meets in ‘Something
  79   More’.  As a result, the short story is often discussed in context of the
  80   Witcher canon.  As far as I know, Sapkowski never categorically stated things
  81   one way or another, but its worth noting there are many incompatibilities with
  82   the worlds in ‘A Road’ and that in the Witcher series.
  83
  84 <p>‘Something Ends’ is a lighthearted non-canon story describing Geralt’s and
  85   Yennefer’s wedding.  It was first published before the saga, yet it references
  86   characters and events from novels.  Some call it an alternative ending though
  87   the author rejects such label.
  88
  89 <p>As far as I’m aware, the two stories have not been officially translated into
  90   English.