Salagubang reviewed The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski
Review of 'The Lady of the Lake' on 'Storygraph'
5 stars
That was a great ending for Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt.
French language
Published April 28, 2012 by Bragelonne.
The Lady of the Lake (Polish original title: Pani Jeziora) is the fifth and final novel in the Witcher Saga written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published in Poland in 1999. It is a sequel to the fourth Witcher novel, The Tower of Swallows (Wieża Jaskółki).
That was a great ending for Ciri, Yennefer and Geralt.
The (currently) final book of the Witcher Saga concludes Ciri's story and manages to tie the disparate story threads together. Since book 4, Time of Contempt, Ciri has been separated from her 'foster-parents' Geralt and Yennefer, who have been searching for her ever since. In Lady of the Lake Ciri travels between worlds and times, trying to find her way home, after fleeing from the elves who want to use her for her Elder Blood. In truth, everyone and their brother wants to use and abuse Ciri, and it's been wearing me down. Five books of people threatening or perpetrating violence against her. So many almost-rapes, etc. No light reading for sure, and a bit too much for me.
There was a rather confusing bit where Ciri showed up in our world, or in the world of the Arthurian saga, and it was all in all a bit bewildering.
However, …
The (currently) final book of the Witcher Saga concludes Ciri's story and manages to tie the disparate story threads together. Since book 4, Time of Contempt, Ciri has been separated from her 'foster-parents' Geralt and Yennefer, who have been searching for her ever since. In Lady of the Lake Ciri travels between worlds and times, trying to find her way home, after fleeing from the elves who want to use her for her Elder Blood. In truth, everyone and their brother wants to use and abuse Ciri, and it's been wearing me down. Five books of people threatening or perpetrating violence against her. So many almost-rapes, etc. No light reading for sure, and a bit too much for me.
There was a rather confusing bit where Ciri showed up in our world, or in the world of the Arthurian saga, and it was all in all a bit bewildering.
However, there was also a whole chapter about the final battle of the war of Nilfgaard against the kingdoms of the North, and the ramifications of the war, and that was excellent. Gritty realism, interesting characters, no sugarcoating.
I've been a bit hard on the later books of the series, and I truly did not enjoy them as much as the earlier books, but all in all, I am glad I read the series. It gives me a true appreciation for the story of The Witcher 3 that so effortlessly picks up the characters from the books and makes the continuation of Ciri's story so believable. The books make me want to pick up the game again, see Toussaint for myself, get to experience Geralt again. I have two DLCs to play through, after all.
It's a gritty series full of blood, gore, racism and sexism, so your mileage may vary.