The Tower of Swallows

By: Andrzej Sapkowski, David French - translator

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

The world is at war and the prophesied savior is nowhere to be found. The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, races to find her in the fourth novel of Andrzej Sapkowski's groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games.

★ The New York Times Bestselling Series
★ Over Fifteen Million Copies Sold Worldwide
★ World Fantasy Award Winning Author
★ David Gemmell Legend Award Winning Author
★ Named One of the Greatest Book Series of All Time by Forbes

The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life.

But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies including Dandelion, Milva, Regis, and Cahir, to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous.

There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting. . .

Witcher collections
The Last Wish
Sword of Destiny

Witcher novels
Blood of Elves
The Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire
The Tower of Swallows
Lady of the Lake
Season of Storms
Crossroads of Ravens

Hussite Trilogy
The Tower of Fools
Warriors of God
Light Perpetual

Translated from original Polish by David French

Critic reviews

"This is a series you can sink your teeth into."—BuzzFeed News

"The universe of Sapkowski's The Witcher is one of the most detailed and best-explored in modern fantasy, offering endless opportunities for fresh ideas ... Complex character relationships enrich this already complex world; this is the sort of series fantasy fans will cherish."—B&N

"Delightful, intense, irreverent, and compelling....you have to read The Witcher books because they are rife with all of the elements that make you love fiction, and especially fantasy, in the first place....In a word, The Witcher delivers."—Hypable

"One of the best and most interesting fantasy series I've ever read. Though it functions well as adventure fiction, it has added depth and value as satire and commentary on fantasy literature ... Sapkowski is a genuine stylist."—Nerds of a Feather

"Like a complicated magic spell, a Sapkowski novel is a hodgepodge of fantasy, intellectual discourse, and dry humor. Recommended."—Time

"Like Mieville and Gaiman, [Sapkowski] takes the old and makes it new ... fresh take on genre fantasy."—Foundation on The Last Wish

"A breath of fresh air in a well-worn genre. Don't miss it!"—Dreamwatch

"Sapkowski has a phenomenal gift for narrative, inventing sensational events, creating a suggestive mood, and building up the suspense along with a dazzling, slightly cynical sense of humor."—Jacek Sieradzki, Polityka on The Last Wish

"Sapkowski's The Last Wish is a great collection of short stories centered around a witcher, Geralt - a rare sorcerous breed who hunts down the monstrous but is feared by the innocent. With a wondrous mix of Eastern European folklore and myth, beautiful princesses, mischievous demons and where all is not as it seems, The Last Wish is a great read - perfect for dipping into or just reading cover to cover, as I did."—Waterstones

"It is [his] world-weariness combined with his battle-honed powers that make Geralt such an interesting character. Here's hoping The Last Wish is merely the opening chapter in his English language adventures."—Edge

"I really, really enjoyed this book ... None of the characters in Sapkowski's world are black or white; they are all shades of grey, including Geralt and the monsters."—The Deckled Edge

"Sapkowski is very good at creating interesting, imaginative characters with unusual levels of depth to them ... The Last Wish is an enjoyable book full of stories both melancholy and comic."—The Wertzone

"This beautifully written character-based story from Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski ... a refreshing champion."—The Specusphere

The story is still good but...

It feels like the author is dragging his feet in order to lengthen his tale. The series could live without some of the storylines in this particular book. The whole part with Ciri joining the Rats gang could just go away. It just feels like unnecessary filler. Ciri's sexually abusive relationship with Mistle could definitely go away too. It would have been more poignant if she just realized that she had been the victim of ongoing sexual assault & dealt with her abuser accordingly. Ciri punishing her abuser would have been awesome. Instead, the author decided to make Ciri also develop feelings for her abuser, in a Stockholm Syndrome-like manner, where Ciri started worrying about whether or not she was the one who was being mean to her abuser.

It's also sad that Geralt doesn't even seem to use any of his amazing Witcher powers & skills in this book. I know that this book is saying that he's somehow not a Witcher anymore. But without Garalt being a Witcher, it almost makes his character seem pointless. Geralt actually almost seemed physically weaker in this book too, closer to being a mere mortal. Maybe, Geralt should have stayed in the Brokilon Forest a little longer and let his leg heal properly. But since that injury, he really hasn't been that impressive. I'm hoping that the concluding book of the series reorients the story and ends the series in a high note. It would be too bad that so many other good books were ruined by what I consider to be the worst book of this series laying a dud in the penultimate chapter if the Witcher Saga. I give this particular story only 3 stars with 4 stars overall since the narration was still fantastic. I'm hopeful that the final book will still be good since the other books in the series were so good. But without Geralt actually hunting and killing new mythical creatures, the story in this particular book began to falter & I fear that the last book might be a disappointment as well.

Peter Kinney does an amazing job.

Killin it, sapkowski. Killin it, sapkowski.Killin it, sapkowski.Killin it, sapkowski.Killin it, sapkowski.Killin it, sapkowski.Killin it, sapkowski. You did good.

GREAT

Another amazing book with excellent voice work. I can't wait to start the next book!

Narrator

Peter Kenny is a good voice actor/narrator he as many different voices and keeps the listener from being confused who is who. The were times in the story that were so long that it was grind to finish out the chapter. I would ask myself we haven't heard from this character(s) in a while and I would get a bit impatient. But I do like this story of the Witcher, Ceri, and Yennifer.

Best book so far

I thought this book was easily the best. There is a lot of drama and themes that have been independent of each other finally starting to intertwine.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and the narrator’s voice and accents as he read it.