The Tower of the Swallow

Part four of “Geralt is actually not a witcher anymore”.

I feel that the series gets better with each book and here the story and events are the most solid and to the point. Until Dijkstra shows up (although this episode is pretty short). And as always there are a lot of points of view and time jumps, however this time around they have a little more sense, purpose and context and show the story from different angles which enriches it.

While some points of view are not too interesting or last a bit longer than needed, the episodes where Ciri tells the story from the future and first person narrative from Dandelion are the best, as we’re rarely shown their perspective. And the dialogues are really immersive most of the time—when characters don’t repeat the same thing.

Also there’s a lot of classic-witcher, visceral action moments, which also feel better than ever, but some episodes can be too brutal for some readers.

And that scene on a frozen lake is just insane.

However the ending is not satisfying, as it’s too open and there are no hints at what's happening with other characters.

So I will definitely finish the story and hope the last book is even better!

This book took the series from a fantasy adventure to a full blown drama. There is no plot, no witchering, and until where I read, no political intrigue and barely any mention of most of the main characters.

The beginning narration style was very of putting. It is told by Dandelion, as if he is telling a story that happened a long time ago. It gave a fairy tale feel, not what I was looking for.

The story is focused solely on Ciri's lack of magic and insufficient fighting skills. For someone meant to be the destroyer of the world, trained by the witchers of Kaer Morhen, and one of the most powerful sorceress in the world, Yennefer of Vengerberg, it sure looks like she ain't cut for the job when she can't even deal with a bounty hunter.

She is captured, beaten and treated like a dog. Then thrown into an arena to fight to the death for other people enjoyment. This already took 1/3 of this very long book. There is nothing of original or exciting about this. It's just her suffering for the lost of her friends and then whining about not wanting to kill people, “Please don't make me do this...”.

I read the reviews after I stopped reading, and it doesn't seem to get better, not in this or the next book.

Read 05:58 / 16:24 36%

3.5 Will review at www.fantasyliterature.com