So many names

It took a while to get into the story and the amount of names involved was overwhelming. But by the third chapter I really started to enjoy the book and by the end I loved it. The narrator really is so good.

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Disappointing (Apart from Peter Kenny's Voice)

The only good thing I loved about the book is the fabulous voice of Peter Kenny.

I find it hard to believe Sapkowski wrote this novel. This story is filled with unlikeable characters involved in a story that is so uninteresting, convoluted and hard to follow, it was a chore to listen to it. I just didn't care what happened to any of the characters.

I did finish it because it was Sapkowski and kept assuming it would improve (and I waited a long time to write this review because I am such a fan of the writer).

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Great book, difficult to keep track of names.

Peter Kenny is a great voice actor but there were some characters that had similar voice which made it confusing some times but otherwise a great book with an intriguing story and characters. The names of the characters were difficult at times because I’m not native to Eastern Europe.

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Brilliant all round

I've listened to the trilogy. The writing is solid, the story realised, and the narrator is wonderful. All that singing and Latin! wow.

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A new direction

This is the start of another classic, sapzowski series. This is a completely different vibe to the witcher, However has all the classic charming style associated with that series

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Great start to a new series.

As this is a concept I've come into blind, I don't know much back story. Unlike the Witcher where I had played the game and had a general sense of the whole idea. However, I think that Andrzej Sapkowski is off to a great start. The characters and story very well fleshed out and it definitely has the combination of brutally honest world views mixed in with amazing dark humour. Add to this the fact that Peter Kenny's narration brings the whole world to life and I for one, can't wait for book two to be released.

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7 people found this helpful

Heavy but so atmospheric

It is very rich in elements of the period - names, places, languages and folklore. I would advise against trying to remember every detail since there are just so many of them. It's better to see them as parts of the style. The ones worth remembering are repeated often enough.
It's not a light read, but if it's not a problem then I can't recommend it strongly enough.

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Excellent historical fantasy

Andrzej Sapkowski and Peter Kenny prove yet again that they form a genious duo!
Outstanding performance by Kenny!
The novel itself is a well written and entertaining one. There are many historical names, dates and events to keep track of, which may not be every listener's cup of tea, but this also adds depth to the novel.

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7 people found this helpful

Glorious Picaresque Fantasy

Fantastic characters, travel from one absurd adventure to another through a cruel and violent world. A Qioxtic main character whose virtue and foolishness, and perhaps the hand of fate, leads him from disaster to disaster learning little bit experiencing much.

Peter Kenny is a joy to listen to and brings it all to life. I hadn't been sure about this book before listening to it but think it is at least as good as the Witcher books whilst being refreshingly different.

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Worth listening just for the amazing performance

I nearly quit this after a couple of hours. It is fundamentally a bit silly and the array of strange sounding names, titles and geographical names is bizarre and utterly confusing. On balance I take the blame - it's not the author's fault that I am ignorant of the geography and history of the region and couldn't be bothered to look at a map (at one point he actually recommends the reader does this and in hindsight I would keep recommend keeping one to hand from start to finish, and maybe even jot down a few names).

I decided early on that I wouldn't continue with the sequel but by the end I was hooked and now look forward to it. It is worth listening to just for Peter Kenny. If you know the Culture series you will probably already love his performances but this is beyond anything I have heard.

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2 people found this helpful