Synopsis
Witchers are not born. They are made.
Before he was the White Wolf or the Butcher of Blaviken, Geralt of Rivia was simply a fresh graduate of Kaer Morhen, stepping into a world that neither understands nor welcomes his kind.
And when an act of naïve heroism goes gravely wrong, Geralt is only saved from the noose by Preston Holt, a grizzled witcher with a buried past and an agenda of his own.
Under Holt’s guiding hand, Geralt begins to learn what it truly means to walk the Path – to protect a world that fears him, and to survive in it on his own terms. But as the line between right and wrong begins to blur, Geralt must decide to become the monster everyone expects, or something else entirely.
This is the story of how legends are made – and what they cost.
Review
“No, I’m not inclined to wait until the law comes to its senses.
The good that is done comes back around.
Evil too.”
I loved this book so much. It is definitely going to be one of my top 10 reads for the year 2025. This is one of the few books I loved from page 1 to the end. I was instantly transported to the marshes of Kaedwen. The author’s visual imagery and David French’s translation into English are both exceptional and I had no trouble visualizing a proper mental movie as I read through this book. This is the story of the beginning of Geralt of Rivia, as he sets out for the first time from Kaer Morhen after having completed his witcher training. And whatever one’s level of exposure to The Witcher franchise: only the TV show, games (all/only Witcher3,) all the books, or only some of the books, or any combination of the above or even none of the above – this is a perfect point to jump straight in. It is a proper standalone tale.
Witcher 3 is one of my most favorite games and in my opinion, this book captures the tone of the witcher 3 side quests most closely. As with the game, the book too had me pausing after every few chapters to stop and think about the tough choices and if there were different decisions Geralt or others could have taken. I love thinking about consequences and characters this way. This book in particular and the Witcher books in general, both explore the concept of the lesser evil very well. Morally grey is just more emotionally engaging than outright black and white- and Sapkowski and the Witcher just gets it.
Talking about characters, this year I’m leaning more towards character journeys in books than ever before and this book is now canonically one of the most formative steps in establishing Geralt’s worldview and moral code. There is a clearly defined main antagonist that Geralt and the plot linearly travel to for the most part and yet I feel like I learnt more about Geralt’s character arc in the in-between moments. Anyone who is a fan of the character of Geralt will love this book. I think most people’s introduction to Geralt is Geralt as a badass monster hunter with specific rules, so this book is a very good way to peel back all the layers of his character and see how he wasn’t such a cynic always. In fact, the opening of the book is him dealing with some consequences that arise out of his actions from youthful naivete. It is awesome watching young Geralt step into the unforgiving world of the continent for the first time.
This is the book where Geralt takes the first step in learning the world is worse than the monsters he hunts and I loved it. I sincerely hope Sapkowski keeps writing more in this world- prequels focusing on Geralt or sequels focusing on Ciri or even something new in the world. I will be there on day one for Andrzej Sapkowski and the Witcher.
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