Baptism of Fire

The Witcher, Book 3

By: Andrzej Sapkowski, David French - translator

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

A deadly coup within the Wizard's Guild leaves the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, gravely injured, and his ward Ciri missing in the third 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 Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup, an uprising that has left Geralt seriously injured.

The Witcher is supposed to be a guardian of the innocent, a protector of those in need, a defender against powerful and dangerous monsters that prey on men in dark times. But now that dark times have fallen upon the world, Geralt is helpless until he has recovered.

While war rages across the lands, the future of magic is under threat and those sorcerers who survive are determined to protect it. It's an impossible situation in which to find one girl—Ciri, the heiress to the throne of Cintra—until a rumor places her in the Niflgaard court, preparing to marry the Emperor.

Injured or not, Geralt has a rescue mission on his hands.

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

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

"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

"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

"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!"—p.p1 {margin: 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; font: 16.0px Calibri; -webkit-text-stroke: #000000}span.s1 {font-kerning: none}Fantasy Book Review

"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

MY FAVORITE STORY SO FAR OUT OF THE 7!!!

For a moment I thought Time of Contempt or Sword of Destiny would be my favorite book out of the series. This introduced to me two of my favorite character ( both second to Ciri and Geralt ) but won't spoil the names. However the story kept me wanting to read more but now I regret going through it so fast and must read again or pick up the last two as soon as possible .

Best in the series so far!

Loved this book! Peter Kenny was an amazing narrator as always, but the story just flowed so well! There was a lot of time spent with Geralt, which was a good decision. The journey he embarks on in this section of the series was fantastic. Along with his companions there is just an astounding amount of character development. There is a lot of world building too, but from the ground up, as we see various locales from our characters POVs in much more detail. We visit characters other than Geralt as well, and while more brief they also felt very well developed. Plus, I won't even begin to mention the amazing new characters that we meet!

ironic

For now he is truly Garolt of Rivia. Listen and understand why that's an ironically funny thing.

A Joy to Read

I could listen to this book over and over. Such amazing writing and characters that stick with you. Baptism of Fire will always be my favourite of the series. The narrator does an amazing job with all of the characters and makes it even more enjoyable.

redeemed!

I loved the first two books (last wish and sword of Destiny) and i loved the next two (blood of elves and time of contempt) but the second pair wasn't as good as the first pair. I'm glad this book redeemed the series for me a bit! i loved the character dynamics and the complex story telling!