A
Andrzej Sapkowski
Polish fantasy writer
The Last Wish
- Pages
- 352
- Published
- 1993
- Language
- English
Synopsis
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher — a monster hunter mutated and trained from boyhood to kill the beasts that plague a war-torn world. But in these interlinked short stories, the framing collection that introduces Sapkowski's saga, Geralt learns again and again that the true monsters rarely wear a monstrous face.
Between jobs he recovers at a temple, and each tale that surfaces in memory turns a familiar folk story inside out: a striga who must be freed from a curse, a djinn who grants dangerous wishes, a beauty with claws of her own, and a sorceress named Yennefer who will change the course of his life.
Wry, brutal, and morally knotty, The Last Wish lays the groundwork for the world of Geralt, Yennefer, and the tangled destiny that binds them.
Genres
Characters
Geralt of RiviaProtagonist
A witcher — a mutated monster hunter trained since boyhood.
RenfriAntagonist
The outlawed princess at the centre of "The Lesser Evil", the story's Snow White figure.
StregoborAntagonist
A sorcerer who presses Geralt to act against Renfri in "The Lesser Evil".
Yennefer of VengerbergSupporting
A powerful sorceress who becomes central to Geralt's life.
Dandelion (The Witcher)Supporting
A bard and Geralt's travelling companion, present in most of the collection's stories.
Frequently asked questions
Is The Last Wish a good starting point for The Witcher series?
This collection of short stories serves as an excellent introduction to Geralt of Rivia and the world of The Witcher, establishing key characters and lore before the main saga begins. It is widely considered the recommended first read for new readers.
Is The Last Wish connected to the Witcher video games or TV series?
The book is the foundational text for the popular Witcher video game series and the Netflix television adaptation. Many of the stories and characters introduced here directly inspire events and plotlines in those adaptations.
Does The Last Wish have a continuous plot or is it episodic?
The book is a collection of interconnected short stories, each presenting a distinct adventure for Geralt. While individual stories are self-contained, they collectively build the world and introduce characters who become significant in the overarching narrative.