I’m not the biggest reader of fantasy, and have only read a handful of books in the genre compared to most people I know, but there is one series – or saga – in particular that I love, and that is The Witcher Saga by Andrzej Sapkowski. These books mean a lot to me, as I started reading them during a low period in my teens, and The Witcher Saga soon became my favourite fantasy series that I’ve ever read. It was this series of books that kept me going during that low period in my life, and I owe so much of this to Sapkowski and his iconic creation, Geralt of Rivia, the titular Witcher.
Because of how much Sapkowski and his characters changed my life, I’m going to discuss the man’s writing, and what it is in The Witcher that makes them so good and made Sapkowski one of my heroes.
The Witcher Saga follows Geralt of Rivia as he puts his skills as a Witcher to the test and becomes embroiled in a matter of destiny. Starting with a series of short stories, they eventually became the titular Witcher Saga, and one of my favourite series in any medium. Of course, all of this started from the mind of Andrzej Sapkowski.
A Polish author, Sapkowski studied economics and worked for a trade company before he published the first Witcher story (titled “The Witcher”) in Fantastyka magazine in 1986. Soon, he would write more stories, and eventually write the saga that changed my life.
How Sapkowski gave me hope:
The Witcher Saga takes place in a very dark fantasy world, but through Sapkowski’s writing, the stories maintain an element of hope as they continue. Having started these books during a low point in my life, I was very receptive to dark stuff. They have some shocking moments and verge on hopeless at points (I always found Time of Contempt to be particularly dour), but keep the hope alive in the form of Ciri.
First appearing as a young princess, Ciri – also known as Cirilla – is an increasingly important child as The Witcher Saga is told. First appearing in the story “Sword of destiny” in the second short story collection (Also called Sword of Destiny), Ciri becomes as much of a focal point as Geralt does. By the end of The Witcher Saga, I feel that Ciri becomes as important as Geralt, if not more so, and even becomes the joint protagonist.
But despite how dark these stories became, even during her lowest moments, Ciri’s story gave me hope. Not just for herself, Geralt, and the rest of the characters of The Witcher Saga, but Sapkowski gave me hope too. He made me feel that if Ciri could rise above all these obstacles in her life, and could motivate Geralt to do the same, I could also rise above my own issues, and I owe this all to Sapkowski. In the darkest points of The Witcher Saga, Sapkowski managed to not just give his characters hope, but one of his readers.
I may be the only person to have found hope while reading The Witcher Saga, but I like to think that other people have had the same experience as myself whilst following Geralt and Ciri on their journey. These books mean so much to me that I listen to all eight of them every year, to the point that Geralt and Ciri have become two of the people I rely on most in the world. Since doing this, I have read through the whole Witcher Saga three times, and I don’t plan on stopping anytime soon.
Why Sapkowski Inspires me:
Along with giving me hope, Sapkowski has also inspired me as a writer and storyteller. The Witcher Saga is one of the finest examples of fantasy storytelling, and reading Geralt’s adventures inspired me to start working on my own fantasy work (whether it will ever see the light of day remains to be seen). His writing is fantastic, as are his characters and his world. From Geralt and Ciri to Yennefer of Vengerberg and Dandelion/Jaskier, the characters that Sapkowski occupies The Witcher Saga with have continued to occupy my thoughts numerous times.
His features such as The Wild Hunt and Striga draw from fascinating areas of Celtic, Slavic, and Germanic mythology, but Sapkowski makes all of these elements his own in The Witcher Saga.
Sapkowski weaves numerous plotlines and characters (like, A LOT of characters) as The Witcher Saga is told, but each story comes to a natural conclusion and leaves enough there for readers to think about what has happened, and what may happen in the future.
Sapkowski’s books are a masterpiece in multi-book storytelling, worldbuilding, character, and writing. Each book has enough of an ending to stand on its own, but as a whole, The Witcher Saga is breathtaking, and it has inspired me more times than Geralt has killed a monster (or human, for that fact).
Where to start with The Witcher:
I hope that I haven’t bored you too much with my rant about why Andrzej Sapkowski and The Witcher Saga mean so much to me. If I haven’t, or you’re interested in the saga, I really recommend starting with the short story collections, especially The Last Wish. If you want to forgo the short stories, then The Witcher Saga starts with Blood Of Elves.
There’s also The Witcher series on Netflix, which I enjoy enough. Though I don’t love it as much as Sapkowki’s Saga, it’s pretty fun and the Netflix Witcher is a good starting point for laypeople. Henry Cavill is very well cast as Geralt (even though Sapkowski once said he’d like Mads Mikkelsen to play Geralt), and brings the Witcher to life. Freya Allan is similarly great as Ciri, who I should probably mention is my favourite character, if that wasn’t obvious enough. Funnily enough, Ciri is also my favourite character from the show, regarding book-to-screen adaptation, especially in the Second Netflix season.
Additionally, The Witcher video games are there, and they’re great. That’s it, that’s the statement; they’re every bit as good as you’ve heard, and playing as Geralt is the closest most people will get to being a Witcher in real life. Witcher III: The Wild Hunt is one of my favourite video games of all time, and the games do a really interesting job of adapting the saga for the video game format. Oh, and Doug Cockle as Geralt is my definitive voice of Geralt, to the point that I read Geralt’s lines in his voice whenever I read The Witcher books. Seriously, check his voice out in this trailer for The Witcher III
I owe more to Sapkowski than I could ever put into words, but he, Geralt, and Ciri have done more for me than some people have, and I will always be thankful for the hope he has given me. Whether I’m in a Time of Contempt or needing a Baptism of Fire, Sapkowski and Geralt have always been there to grant me a Last Wish. Hence, Andrzej Sapkowski is one of my heroes. And yes, I spent several minutes making that sentence up.
Have you ever read The Witcher Saga, or found hope and inspiration from a book series? Maybe you’ve found a particular writer to be an inspiration? I’d love to hear who inspires you and is your hero!
Until next time,
Conrad 🙂
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