Sword
of Destiny (The Witcher series)
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Publisher: Orbit
American
release date: December 1, 2015
Format/Genre/Length: Paperback/Fantasy/LGBTQ/400 pages
Overall Personal Rating: ★★★★★
Geralt of Rivia, known as the
Witcher, returns in another collection of short stories chronicling his
adventures.
The Bounds of Reason – The people Geralt does jobs for are not
always appreciative, and are sometimes downright dishonest. Having almost had
his personal possessions stolen, Geralt makes the acquaintance of a man called
Borch, known as Three Jackdaws, and his girls, Téa and Véa, two Zerrikanian
warriors. They travel together to an inn known as the Pensive Dragon, where
they eat and drink well, and talk about things such as dragons. Taking to the
road again, they attempt to cross a bridge, only to find their way barred by
soldiers who insist that only those with a safe-conduct can go through, by
orders of King Niedamir, Lord of Caingorn. They aren’t the first to be stopped
from crossing, and among the others Geralt finds Dandelion, who mentions the
King and a dragon. Apparently a dragon appeared on the pastures outside
Barefield and now the hunt is on. Three Jackdaws, amused by the tale, offers to
pay the bribe required to get them through the blockade, to search for the
dragon. They run into the other groups who’ve been allowed past, including a
group of dwarves, a cobbler named Sheepbagger and his contingent, a sorcerer
named Dorregeray, and the sorceress Yennefer, whom Geralt hasn’t seen in four
years.
A Shard of Ice – Geralt and Yennefer are living together in a town
called Aedd Gynvael, which translates to a shard of ice. Something about this
town is rubbing Gerald the wrong way. People seem to know things they aren’t
telling him. When Geralt tells the mayor he doesn’t intend to stay for any
length of time, the mayor suggests he might like to talk with the wizard
Istredd. When Geralt goes to see him, his worst suspicions are confirmed.
Eternal Flame – Geralt runs across Dandelion, who is having a
variety of objects lobbed at him by an angry woman. The two men head to the
nearest inn, but Dandelion is broke, as usual, and Geralt has spent his unds on
a new jacket. At the inn, they run across a Halfling of Dandelion’s acquaintance,
Dainty Biberveldt, who is talked into buying them food and drink. Imagine their
surprise when another Dainty Biberveldt burst into the room, the first one’s
doppelganger. And the fun has just begun.
A Little Sacrifice – Geralt finds himself intervening between a
lovesick duke and the object of his affections—a mermaid. The two would-be
lovers are at an impasse, neither willing to concede what the other wants. The
duke wants her to have legs and live on land, Sh’eenaz wants him to grow a tail
and come into the sea with her.
Geralt and Dandelion are traveling
together and broke. It’s Dandelion’s fault, but Geralt is not angry. When an
opportunity arises for Dandelion to make some money, he acts as if what he is
being offered is beneath him, but Geralt unhappily reminds him they need the
money. His nose out of joint, since Geralt seems to pick and choose his jobs
without commentary, Dandelion agrees to accept the offer with Geralt’s promise
that he will accept the next job that comes his way. As it turns out, another bard has also been
hired for the occasion, one whom Dandelion knows—Miss Essi Daven, aka Little
Eye.
Sometimes love requires a little
sacrifice.
The Sword of Destiny – Geralt finds himself in Brokilon, which is
not a safe place to be, as evidenced by the bodies he finds. Brokilon is a
forest and it belongs to the dryads, who do not suffer intrusion lightly and do
not hesitate to shoot their arrows at trespassers. Geralt finds one person
still alive, a man he knows by the name of Frexinet. The wounded man begs
Geralt to find a princess, and then they are attacked. Good thing Geralt has
friends in high places. But is this something he wants to become involved in?
Destiny has a way of happening
anyway.
Something More – While crossing a bridge, Geralt finds a merchant
cowering beneath his wagon, having been abandoned by his companions. He
convinces the merchant, whose name is Yurga, that he means no harm but that he
needs to leave this place quickly as it is dangerous. Yurga begs Geralt to help
him and he’ll give him anything he wants? Geralt says he wants whatever Yurga
comes across on his return but did not expect, and Yurga agrees. However, in
protecting Yurga, Geralt himself is gravely injured and Yurga must save him.
Sometimes what you ask for is something
more.
This second collection of Witcher
stories is every bit as good as the first. Andrzej Sapkowski takes what could
have been an ordinary sword and sorcery tale and brings it to life. He gives
depths to his characters, monster or human, and he does a great job of
world-building. His action scenes are riveting, and I can see Geralt in my
mind’s eyes, whirling and slashing and dodging and throwing up witcher
signs. I love Geralt, he is a great
character and, despite his claims to the contrary, I believe he is more human
than he lets on, capable of greater emotions than he thinks he is. I love
Dandelion (although I would never date him, I much prefer Geralt). Together,
they make a great team. I don’t care for Yennefer much, but I’m afraid we haven’t
seen the last of her. In this book, we first meet Ciri. I know we’ll see more
of her.
Geralt must have gone through hell
to become a witcher, and that as a child. It’s inconceivable that someone could
do that to a child, and yet apparently it happened. What an unnatural sort of
mother was Geralt’s to allow this to happen. I love the theme of destiny that
runs through the stories, and how everything works out because of it.
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