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steph7n's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Unlike many readers, I actually already know the plot of the final book through some intentional research. I know the kind of ending that it offers. I personally don't mind the tragic ending because, despite the author’s insistence that the game isn't canon, I treat it as such, and therefore, many of the tragic ending is actually undone in the game.
What sours me is not the plot per se but the way the plot is delivered. It seems to me that throughout the five books, Sapkowski is trying different writing styles to see what sticks. That doesn't do it for me. My major criticism for the second book is related to how the author jumps not just from the perspective of one character to another but also jumps from one timeframe to another without much indication to the readers. This book only makes it worse by jumping the universe on a whim.
I decided to cut my losses at 26% in the middle of Chapter Four. Thanks to ChatGPT and various internet sources, I pretty much already know what I need to know regarding the plot. I believe the rest are fillers and details that I will probably forget once I get to my next book anyway.
Graphic: Gore, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, and War
timmytunter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Infidelity and Classism
comradehaasboy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
lonelylooper's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Incest, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Drug use, Cannibalism, and Colonisation
ladywhiskers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
opinkb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
Moderate: Cursing, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Vomit, Colonisation, and Deportation
starsfall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pedophilia
Okay wow this book was a lot. There were many plottwist that left me quite confused. I really loved how there were so mant different povs, so many characters. Although sometimes I was a bit lost with so many names and places.camoo3032's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Homophobia, Infertility, Slavery, Excrement, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Colonisation
saltylane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I didn’t necessarily expect a happy ending for everyone… But at least an ending that actually had conclusions that really mattered or that made sense would’ve been nice.
Overall, I rather enjoyed the series, despite its many flaws. With the switching perspectives, it did get confusing as to what was going on and what character was doing what. It often went to characters that I wasn’t really sure why they were even included… Unless they were just trying to close up plot lines? I don’t know; they didn’t really matter. It didn’t really seem very important that So-and-So died in such a way or succeeded in XYZ. Sure, sometimes it was nice to see what older characters that we hadn’t seen in a while were doing… But overall it wasn’t really important to the plot what was going on in their lives.
The reader for this audiobook is very talented! He really knows how to manipulate his voice to the different characters and stick with it consistently. The voice acting was also very good with emphasized emotions relevant to the scenes.
I’m really interested in seeing how the series on Netflix adapts all of the storylines. Hopefully it’s a little bit less convoluted…
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Torture, Xenophobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
tilo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Das Ende ist sehr sonderbar. Man mag darüber denken, was man möchte, aber speziell zu diesem Teil hat es schon gepasst.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Incest, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, Medical content, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Ableism and Colonisation