Season of Storms (The Witcher, 8) Paperback – November 6, 2018

This was certainly a breath of fresh air after Lady of the Lake, the Witcher sagas' ending. I enjoyed seeing an adventure that solely revolved around the Witcher. There was a little too much of everything else that was not the Witcher's storyline in the last couple books of the Witcher saga. I enjoy reading about those other storylines like the one following Ciri, Yennefer, and even Nimue in Lady of the Lake, but those should never be more of the story than the Witcher in my personal opinion. All that aside, I liked seeing Geralt get his own story. I really do not have many complaints other than the fact we did not get as many cool "Witcher killing monsters Witcher style" scenes because he went almost the whole story without his Witcher swords (which in my opinion did not need to be as big as a plot point as it was, especially given how rushed it felt at the end when he finally did get them back). I liked that we got to see more of Geralt's time with Dandelion, and I hope we get even more if/when Sapkowski writes the next book. I also liked that there was at least one mage that he was able to befriend from the Castle Rissberg, and I would not mind seeing him make a reappearance in another book. I recommend this book to anyone who loves or even simply likes reading and going through the Witcher stories.I will also add something someone else said in their comment/review that I forgot about when initially writing my own review: I too found "the allusions to pop culture and modern politics" "disconcerting." Like that same person said: it was "just at the edge of being visible, for the most part, but once or twice rather blatant, and broke my suspension of disbelief." This is especially surprising given a quote from an interview with Sapkowski himself after asked what he thought "is resonating with audiences about your Witcher books and their adaptations right now, in the political/cultural climate of 2020?" His response was "I am a bit puzzled to understand what political climate has to do with my books or their adaptations. I personally abhor politics and try to stay far as I can from it. I consider my books politically neutral." Then when you look at those few moments, that someone else had alluded to in their review, it is hard to think the quote just referenced belonged to the same person who wrote those moments.

Finally we have a high quality hardback edition of the Witcher books and they don't disappoint.

Love this series

Looks brand new! Very happy

Written well, very entertaining

I enjoyed this book a great deal.It occurs time-wise after the Witcher meets Yennefer, but before the events in the Circi stories.Without giving too much way (spoilers below), this book feels closer to the original Polish versions of the stories than previous English versions. The stories have an "adult" feel to them and are less "politically correct." The characters and their stories feel more natural and less focused and filtered through a current political filter.In the first town that Gerault comes to, he almost passes out in room inhabited by extreme farting, loud mouthed women guards. Some bathroom humor ensues, and eventually there is a scuffle with the amazons.There are at least two love interests in the book (not including remembrances of Yennefer).We get to explore a bit more of the world, which is fun, and the Witcher and his dwarven companion give us a bit more philosophy in a good natured, enjoyable way.We also find out a good bit about the mages and where some of the terrors in the countryside *actually* come from.All in all, a good book for a mature reader.** Spoilers Follow **The Witcher has his swords stolen, and then he is framed by the mages and physically exploited by a female mage (he doesn't seem to mind much).Dandelion actually has a pivotal role in this book and saves Gerault's bacon on several occasions.The story takes us from some simple monster hunting to the Witcher's framing to some shady criminals to some even shadier mages who need the Witcher to "eliminate" one of their own gone rogue.The Witcher barely escapes with his life after learning that *gasp* most of the creatures that he has been fighting over the years were actually *created* by the mages guild. (Actually that *was* a shocker for this reader.)After a couple of additional complications, including the introduction of a fox-woman, child stealing, shapeshifter, Gerault is reunited with his swords.It is a fun romp, and I enjoyed the snarky banter and anti-hero aspects of the Witcher even more in this book than previous ones.My take is that this collection is closer to the mother tongue than the previous versions and thus has a better, more natural flow to it. I've mentioned it a couple of times because it becomes obvious as you read the stories.**PC warning** One caveat, if you are easily offended, or you have very specific views about who is *allowed* to be portrayed as a villain then you might not like this book. **PC warning off**

This was another great adventure with Geralt. We get a taste of his profession, a dash of his love life, and a view of the world of the Witcher. It feels familiar and exciting, and it hit just the spot.What was disconcerting was the allusions to pop culture and modern politics. Just at the edge of being visible, for the most part, but once or twice rather blatant, and broke my suspension of disbelief.

This last Witcher novel is set before the saga starts, namely sometime during the short story era. However, it differs wildly in tone and writing style from any of Sapkowski's Witcher books, and should definitely be read last. It's unevenly written, everyone behaves out of character, it's crude and juvenile, and Sapkowski even breaks his own canon. It's pretty clear he had no intentions of writing more Witcher stories, so this is basically all his half-finished ideas unpolished and slapped together with a bit of old glue.It is, however, incredibly entertaining, exactly because it's so outrageous. It has some truly funny moments, a lot of "are you kidding me??" moments, one really beautiful story which has been adapted into one of the Witcher comics, and the ending wraps it up nicely with the saga after all.If you're a fan of this universe, you definitely shouldn't miss this one, if you want to have a good laugh or shake your head. There are even a few cute moments in there. It's... definitely not boring.

Witcher series is a must read if you like fantasy. Quite different from lord-of-the-rings inspired fantasy. Not all moments in all books are great, sometimes the pace stalls. But overall a great series.

Another epic compilation of stories about Gerald and his adventures. Totally addicted to them, have become a firm favourite reread.

This tale is consistent in quality story level to the entire series, but as in this review title, it contains more violence, sadism and rape than the other books. Hard to believe, I know. Sapkowski's misogyny is worse in this one. I love the series but the constant detailed inclusion of so much rape culture is hard for this woman to stomach.

I liked that this is a full length story rather than just a chapter or two of a Witches adventure. The use of Latin and made up elven words continue to annoy but can be forgiven as not too much in this book. It is a flowing story and keeps the interest going throughout.

'The Witcher' series by Andrzej Sapkowski is one of my favourite fantasy series, and 'Season Of Storms' is a very welcome return to world of the Witcher.The story is a standalone and is set before the main saga of Ciri and the Blood Of Elves, and has the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, having his swords stolen and imprisoned on a trumped up charge. Once released, Geralt tries to track down his swords and the culprit who stole them. Along the way, the usual Witcher hijinks ensue; seducing beautiful sorceresses, slaying monsters, dealing with mad wizards and of course, saving his friend Dandelion at least once. Add in some of the intrigues of the court of the King, and some supernatural goings on, and it's good return of 'The Witcher'.As always the world building in the medieval setting is very much in depth and always a joy to read, as is the writing, which is full of the humour, sarcasm and horror that I know and love from from the rest of the series.It's a great and enjoyable read and a good addition if you're a fan of the series. But if you've not read any of the books yet, I'd recommend starting with the short story books first; 'The Last Wish' (my favourite of the series) and 'Sword of Destiny' as an introduction to the series, before diving into the rest of the books.If you go for the audiobook option, it's once again read by the awesome Peter Kenny. His narration adds a whole lot more and really brings the story to life, and is absolutely recommended!As the main story of The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia finished with the book 'Lady Of The Lake', as author Sapkowski has said (although the videogame 'The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt' is set after the books), I hope it's not the end of stories featuring Geralt, Dandelion, Yennefer, Triss Merigold and more, and we get to revisit more of their adventures in the future.