The Last Wish cover art

The Last Wish

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

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About this listen

 Introducing Geralt the Witcher - revered and hated - who holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in the bestselling series that inspired the Witcher video games and a major Netflix show.

Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin.

Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good . . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

Andrzej Sapkowski, winner of the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement award, started an international phenomenon with his Witcher series. The Last Wish is the perfect introduction to this one-of-a-kind fantasy world.©1993 Andrzej Sapkowski Action & Adventure Dark Fantasy Dragons & Mythical Creatures Fantasy Fiction Magic Mythology Funny

Critic reviews

Like a complicated magic spell, a Sapkowski novel is a hodge podge of fantasy, intellectual discouse and dry humour. Recommended
Character interplay is complex, unsentimental and anchored in brutal shared history
Delightfully dry humour, mythology brimming with radical creatures and a group of interesting characters, The Last Wish is a great introduction to this universe
Sapkowski has a confident and rich voice which permeates the prose and remains post-translation. I'd recommend this to any fan of Heroic or Dark fiction
One of the best and most interesting fantasy series I've ever read
Like Mieville and Gaiman, [Sapkowski] takes the old and makes it new . . . [a] fresh take on genre fantasy
There's lots of imagination on show, the writing has a strong voice, and the Witcher is an entertaining character
Refreshing and a lot of fun to read
Captivating, often nerve-wracking, and truthfully . . . rip-roaring fun
I will passionately say that The Witcher is a character that demands your attention in whatever format you desire. Whether it be the games, comics, books or audiobooks. In each you will find a complicated character that roams the world in a fantasy setting that is hard to beat.
All stars
Most relevant
loved listening from start to finish. Had to stop listening at points due to the urge to burst out laughing at some of the wit but the humour is second to the amazing writing.

Surprisingly witty, funny and all round Amazing.

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What did you like best about this story?

Good build up of the Witcher's world and the characters, often presenting intriguing situations with shades of grey (an nice juxtaposition to the black & white of the fairy tales it derives stories from).

Have you listened to any of Peter Kenny’s other performances? How does this one compare?

I only know Peter Kenny by his Witcher work, and it is all top-drawer. Easily the best audiobook performance I've ever heard. Delivers dialog with character, emotional nuance and differentiated voices.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Definitely. But pleasingly, as a short story collection with an overarching narrative, it holds up well to brief bursts too.

Any additional comments?

The translation is very good, and presents an interesting and coherent story in English. Dialog feels well-written and natural, with little to mark it as a translation rather than native.That "little bit" is the tendency to repeat the chapter titles in the dialog, which occasionally feels forced. In the original Polish Sapkowski is praised for his intricate wordplay, so I think these title repeats are non-translatable pieces of writing.

This tiny oddity is why I have deducted a point from the story. However I feel this book is very strong despite this minor flaw, and the voice acting is beyond criticism.

Anyone who wonders if the narrative strengths of the witcher III is repeated in the books, I can assure you that it is. These books match the best mileu and characterisation of the game.

Phenomenal voice acting, good story

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played the witcher 3 game and only recently discovered it originally came from a book series. i really enioyed this audio book of short stories, gives more back story to geralt and overall lore, look forward to continuing the series.

loved it

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You gotta read this just for the narrator. rEvIeW ReQuIrEs aT lEaSt 15 WoRds. Lol

Narrator is amazing

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Fantasic story with absolutly amazing voice acting.

As a fan of the game series the book does very well for me personally to set foundations for characters and backgrounds that the games portray. Being pulled into the Witcherverse with such beautiful writing and captivating voice acting makes for a great read(listen).

I loved learning more about some of my favourite characters and also the world in which they reside.

Enter the world of the Witcher.

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