The Lady of the Lake (The Witcher, 7)

This is probably one of the better Witcher books. As a final book in a series it is successful in tying up the various elements and drawing the saga to a satisfying conclusion. The book delves into newish, but previously hinted at, territory by exploring a multiverse concept. This isn’t necessarily a major part of the overall plot, but it helps define Ciri’s role in the series and lightly touches upon some elements concerning the nature of storytelling. It comes as a bit of a surprise that this propels the reader into our world for some segments of the novel, but considering the title and that the Witcher series has continually pillaged from various Northern European mythologies and folklore (‘Hans My Hedgehog’ perhaps being the most vital) it shouldn’t be that much of a shock. By this point the character of Ciri has extensively developed and supplanted Geralt as the saga’s lead protagonist. She has gone through a ‘coming of age’ type plot. She has proved, at least to herself, that she is not merely the vessel that others consider her and found an identity. Established as ‘the Witcher girl’ it raises the question of whether the eponymous figure of the series might refer to her rather than Geralt. Likewise, the ‘lady’ of this book’s title could refer to more than one character. There is, perhaps, a bit of a lack of Yennefer and Dandelion but the emphasis is clearly more on Ciri. Their roles and storylines are still reasonably satisfying, though. ‘The Lady of the Lake’ is considerably larger than the other Witcher books, even ‘The Tower of the Swallow’ which was substantially longer than the others. But whereas ‘The Tower of the Swallow’ squandered its greater length in convoluted, almost, retelling of events from differing perspectives, ‘The Lady of the Lake’ makes better use of it. Thus, for example, we are able to see more about the decisive battle between Nilfgaard’s armies and the allied Nordling forces. Virtually all the main characters aren’t present at this and seeing it through the eyes of the young, naïve Jarre and those that deal with the wounded and the dying in the field hospital is an interesting angle. A lot of the ‘final’ confrontations against the main antagonists of the series come considerably before the end of the novel. Perhaps, it ‘climaxes’ a little early, but this does leave a lot to deal with such as the war engulfing the land, the various power struggles and settlements and the fates of certain characters. Overall, the series has wandered a bit at times and become a little convoluted with its perspectives and experiments in storytelling. This is, perhaps, not the conclusion that all readers/fans might want but it works and seems suitable.

Having played all of the games and looking forward to what was the upcoming NetFlix series (at the time) I thought I would brush up on the Witcher Lore via the original books. To be clear, I've now read every single book in the series from the short stories to the main story spread over the remaining 5 books. The short stories piece is a nice introduction in the world and gives you some intel around the additional lore than may have been missing from the games. However, when moving onto the main story line the author seems fixated on providing an endless list of towns/locations/characters which have little or no bearing on the story to the point where you begin to lose track. This seems to get progressively worse with each book with some of the major story lines having vague or incomplete endings/reasons for being. For example geralt just happens to listen to some conversation "in a cave" via some "device" which drastically changes the outcome of the story. I don't know whether or not this story was lost in translation from Polish to English but it is simply not worth the investment in time. I am purely disappointed with the story and author for such a vague and tenuous storyline but also quite impressed how a video game producer managed to get something coherent out of it. I would not recommend this series at all other than the first two short story books.

Ciri, the witcher girl, Princess of Cintra, and Child of the Elder Blood escaped from her pursuers through a portal in Tor Zireal, the Tower of the Swallow. Rather than finding freedom on the other side, Ciri found herself imprisoned in the world of the elves who wished to use her powers for their own gain. To escape the horrors that await her, Ciri delves deep within herself to discover her true power: the power to travel through space and time. With so many ill intentions pursuing her, Ciri must travel across different worlds to reunite with the ones she longs to see most: Geralt and Yennefer. After nearly ten years of translating four books and two short story collections, the final installment to writer Andrzej Sapkowski’s popular 'Witcher' series has finally arrived in the States and it was well worth the wait. Geralt is closer than ever to finding Ciri, the ongoing war between the North and the South prepares to fight the deciding battle, and Ciri is discovering the powers she has always been told she possesses. While the previous books were most certainly Sapkowski at his finest, The Lady of the Lake was Sapkowski at his absolute best, completing his series in a near-perfect way. Readers will get so much more out of 'The Lady of the Lake' if they reread the entire series first for Sapkowski pulled out all the stops for the final installment. If readers have kept up with the, at times, confusing pages of politics of this fantasy world, the deciding battle is finally fought between the North and the South. Battles and wars are a norm in the fantasy genre and these scenes can be rather tricky to write effectively; however, Sapkowski wrote his deciding battle, the Battle of Brenna, in a very intriguing way. Rather than just focusing on the fighting, Sapkowski jumps between many different points of view, having readers witness the battle as a soldier, as a medic, and as an onlooker. While politics have played a crucial role in the Witcher series, The Lady of the Lake has a minimal focus on it and more of a focus on the characters. Nearly every character that has been introduced in the previous six books makes an appearance, with some playing larger roles while others make a small cameo. As for the major characters, all receive an equal amount of attention; however, for the readers who have eagerly awaited this conclusion, the fate of three characters is what they may be most curious about. Witcher Geralt of Rivia and sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg have traversed half the world, desperately searching for the one who they see as their own daughter and readers are anxious to know if the three most deserving of a happy ending finally get one. While readers will spend a good amount of time with Geralt and his companions as well as with Yennefer in her imprisonment by the powerful sorcerer Vilgefortz, readers will learn more abou...

While labeled as a novel this feels at times closer to the short story collections. There's Geralt and Ciri, but also long tangents of world building or what in the game was a nice DLC. It goes dark, mystical and grim, but also hopeful and magical. Whilst parts are probably better skimmed than analyzed, there are stand out gems and revelations

The Lady of the Lake is chronologically last in The Witcher books (Season of Storms was published later, but set earlier). Andrzej Sapkowski is at his best in this book. The short stories (collected in the first two books) are often regarded as the best in the series, and the first four novels, while good, never quite captured the magic Sapkowski wove while writing in Poland during the final years of Soviet military occupation. Everything comes together in this last novel, however. Geralt's seemingly impossible quest to find Ciri, who is fleeing from one horror to another, and Nilfgard's invasion of the Northern Kingdoms all come to an epic finish. As Ciri jumps from one world to another, Sapkowski does an excellent job of entangling The Witcher's world with Earth's history and fairy tales. Sapkowski also proves he is a master of showing different points of view and how one person's righteous justice is pure evil to another. 2022 is an especially good year to read this book. After reaching the end of Jarre's story as an idealistic army volunteer, try looking up stories told by former mercenaries who operated in Ukraine. Look up firsthand accounts of Donbass civilians and what they think of Zelensky and NATO. Maybe you'll even find articles from 2014 about a group of American investors headed by Joe Biden buying up Crimean oil rights which had just been nationalized and offered for sale by the newly installed Ukrainian government, triggering Crimea's secession from Ukraine. Then ask yourself how well Sapkowski understood what war is really about to the rich and powerful, what soldiers actually experience, and how little anyone cares about the people who become collateral damage.