Calibandar Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I was wondering if anyone who has read him in the original language, or one of the translated non-English languages, could tell us a bit about what we can expect from his books, in particular The Last Wish which Gollancz is publishing next month. He seems interesting, but info is scarce sofar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sandello Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I've read all his books in Russian, so I telling you - these are very good, nearly on Martin's level. Go Geralt! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcf Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 I have a copy of the English translation and I'm looking forward to it - Vanin (a regular poster at wotmania, FBS and few others) is from Poland and has been singing the praises of Sapkowski for years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Agulla Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 They are excellent. I've read six books from Geralt's series (they still have to publish the seventh in Spanish) and I think that they are among the best fantasy books produced in the last decades.The first two books are collections of stories that have Geralt as protagonist. In most of the cases they are twisted versions of traditional European tales. In these tales there are several hints of a larger story that becomes the main story arch of the series in the other five books that are novels and not story collections. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filippa Eilhart Posted March 13, 2007 Share Posted March 13, 2007 apparently the language loses some of its savour in the translation. But everyone should read it and see for themselves.here is one of the stories from the collection (pdf). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rob B Posted March 14, 2007 Share Posted March 14, 2007 I was wondering if anyone who has read him in the original language, or one of the translated non-English languages, could tell us a bit about what we can expect from his books, in particular The Last Wish which Gollancz is publishing next month. He seems interesting, but info is scarce sofar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted March 15, 2007 Author Share Posted March 15, 2007 Sounds encouraging, looks like another Gollancz release to pick up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Gollancz sent me this book to review and I was intrigued, having never heard of the author or the series before. Apparently Sapkowski is a major fantasy author in this native Poland and this is the first English translation of his work.Full review here. However, in summary, I think anyone who likes Jack Vance (and that should be everyone) will enjoy this book. It alternates between melancholy and comedy, with some witty, sparkling dialogue and some genuine laugh-out loud moments (such as the innkeeper curiously unmoved by the destruction of his inn by an enraged genie: we later find out he's insured for 'magical damage to the property'). Terry Goodkind will hate this book: the nobility of goats is harshly abused in a sequence where the semi-hero, Geralt, is forced to engage in battle with an evil goat-man hybrid thing whose preferred method of combat is to hit people in the face with iron balls.This is the second in a series of eight books featuring the Witcher. A five-novel sequence will be publishd by Gollancz starting late next year, and there are two other mosaic novels as well to come (all of the books were completed and published in Poland long ago; The Last Wish was originally published in 1993, for example). Although only available in the UK at the moment, I imagine imports of the book will make their way across the Atlantic, and it is well worth checking out.There is also a PC roleplaying game coming out in September called The Witcher, based on the novels, and itself looking very promising.I know we have a few Polish board-members and I'd be interested to hear if they've read the author in the native tongue and what they made of him. Based on this book, he appears to be a quality writer (or has the best translator in the history of fiction). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Crannogman Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Witcher.. witcher...Of course!That's that computer game they're making. "The witcher." I knew it was based on some polish author. So the guy's actually good, eh? Might be worth checking out. (incidentally, I doubt this translation date is a coincidence, what with the game coming out soonish and undoubtedly gaining a bigger audience and more name recognition. And conversely, the book being published possibly attracting more people to the game.) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Yeah, I adjusted the first post with info on the PC game. There's a link to the game developers' page in my main review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maid Sansa Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Someone tell Filippa to come here and promote this book some more. :)Edit: the game looks gorgeous. I do hope it doesn't come out too soon, I have enough on my plate already! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Oh yeah, I forgot the funniest thing. An off-page 'villain' (for lack of a better word) is the dastardly Lord Hereward :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maltaran Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Oh yeah, I forgot the funniest thing. An off-page 'villain' (for lack of a better word) is the dastardly Lord Hereward :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kcf Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Oh yeah, I forgot the funniest thing. An off-page 'villain' (for lack of a better word) is the dastardly Lord Hereward :lol: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Calibandar Posted April 3, 2007 Author Share Posted April 3, 2007 Wert, this thread has a few opinions, you could combine them (perhaps).http://asoiaf.westeros.org/index.php?showt...mp;hl=sapkowski Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 :) Done.One question perhaps someone can answer: I've seen it repeatedly said that there are seven books overall (2 anthologies + 5 novels). However, his Wikipedia article lists eight (3 anthologies + 5 novels). Can anyone clear up the discrepency?Anthologies/Mosaic Novels1. Sword of Destiny (1992)2. The Last Wish (1993)3. Something Ends, Something Begins (2000)The Novels1. Blood of the Elves (1994)2. Time of Disdain (1995)3. Baptism of Fire (1996)4. The Swallow's Tower (1997)5. Lady of the Lake (1999) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filippa Eilhart Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 Something ends, something begins is an anthology of Sapkowski's miscellaneous short stories, including the one he started his writing career with (the road of no return*) and a sort of a parody story (the title story) about Geralt and Yennefer, that was written for some Polish writers' wedding, if memory serves. BoG might know better, he knows all these people personally :P*my unofficial translationeta: I didn't realise this before, somehow. they're starting with the second book? huh.eta2: no, wiki fucked this up. Last wish comes first, the sword of destiny is second. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Astra Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 :) Done.One question perhaps someone can answer: I've seen it repeatedly said that there are seven books overall (2 anthologies + 5 novels). However, his Wikipedia article lists eight (3 anthologies + 5 novels). Can anyone clear up the discrepency?Anthologies/Mosaic Novels1. Sword of Destiny (1992)2. The Last Wish (1993)3. Something Ends, Something Begins (2000)The Novels1. Blood of the Elves (1994)2. Time of Disdain (1995)3. Baptism of Fire (1996)4. The Swallow's Tower (1997)5. Lady of the Lake (1999) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Filippa Eilhart Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 the sword of destiny contains events leading directly to the events in the series, too.What story is Hereward in? I'd like to find out his original name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Werthead Posted April 3, 2007 Share Posted April 3, 2007 the sword of destiny contains events leading directly to the events in the series, too.What story is Hereward in? I'd like to find out his original name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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