The Last Wish: The bestselling book which inspired season 1 of Netflix’s The Witcher

These short stories offer a succinct and introductory insight into the many facets of the Witcher's world. Had I not played the games or seen the TV series beforehand, I would have found the continuous dropping of names of people and places confusing. I wish the telling of the stories was more epic. Instead, the plot plods along consistently and without surprise in a rather Brothers Grimms-y folkloric kind of way. Still, a decent romp for those looking to immerse themselves in everything Witcher.

A delightful collection of short stories about the Witcher's past adventures, retold as he recovers from his injuries in a recent hunt. Obviously if you're a fan of the games, then you should be reading the series, but even if you're new to the series, there's a lot here to enjoy as a well written fantasy that pulls inspiration from European fairytales and mythology.

I only wish this novel had been longer. Sapkowski manages to build up a comprehensive view of his characters without obsessing over the unnecessary details, making for an easy and pleasant flowing read. The book is broken down into perfectly sized individual adventures as Geralt reminisces about his past, held together under the main backbone storyline. I found this makes it nicely paced to pick up and put down as necessary, although I found it hard to put down and powered through!