Blood of Elves: Booktrack Edition

By: Andrzej Sapkowski

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 10 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's summary

The story of Geralt of Rivia continues as war rages on in this epic fantasy—now, the story of The Witcher continues in the saga that inspired the second season of the Netfix series.

Blood of Elves: Booktrack Edition adds an immersive musical soundtrack to your audiobook listening experience! * The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher. For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.

Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world—for good, or for evil.

As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all—and the Witcher never accepts defeat. *Booktrack is an immersive format that pairs traditional audiobook narration to complementary music. The tempo and rhythm of the score are in perfect harmony with the action and characters throughout the audiobook. Gently playing in the background, the music never overpowers or distracts from the narration, so listeners can enjoy every minute. When you purchase this Booktrack edition, you receive the exact narration as the traditional audiobook available, with the addition of music throughout.

©2009 Andrzej Sapkowski (P)2018 Hachette Audio

Love the, hate the soundtrack

I find myself liking the characters and story more and more. Peter Kenny does exceptionally well. Sometimes I forget the female characters are being voiced by a man. I have but two criticisms. I get the feeling that many of these books could've probably been a single book or trilogy. This was too short and had too much of a set up. Secondly, the soundtrack in this was too much. I can very honestly do without.

Great reading, terrible music

The reading is fantastic. But there is a largely unnecessary and often intrusive piano soundtrack under long stretches. It’s weird, it’s not on the previous books, and I wish there was an option of a version without it. It’s really distracting.

slower paced but worth it

absolutely loved it but slower paced than the short stories which takes getting used to.

Book and performance were great, book track is OK

I edited this review after my second listen through and having finished all the other books in The Witcher series. I listened to the other books without the book track, , and I enjoyed them more because the cumbersome booktrack wasn't getting in the way. Sure, it helps paint a better picture at times, but there is ALWAYS music in the background even when it is unnecessary or clunky. The author, performer, and producers do an AMAZING job of setting the scenery without it.

I didn't let the tacked on book track take away from the 5 star rating, but on it's own I'd give it 3 of 5 stars.

excellent reading

I figured dikstra would be more megalomaniac than skeevy schemer but otherwise couldn't ask for a better narration.

Great listen,

I really enjoyed this has a bit of music in the background which can be really nice

Booktrack, edition were have you been all my life?

you really get a sense of feel, wonder, and depth when listening to this version of the book. it's unlike anything I've listened to prior. I highly, recommend this version and I hope that the other books get the same treatment.

Incredible!

First off, the narrator's accent makes this book far more immersive than it otherwise would be. (fits the atmosphere) Also the sound effects make it so much easier to visualize what is going on in the story.

Good story, bad narrator

I loved the story and it is definitely good to read after the Netflix series, bit I didn't like the way the narrator read it. he would read three or four words fast and the pause and do it again. it got better towards the end and he was really good at distinguishing voices. I like how he pronounced "dandelion" like a name instead of the flower it was supposed to be.

From Short Stories to Novels

While still very enjoyable, some of what made The Witcher so entertaining is lost in the transition from short stories to a full novel. Some parts are very political in nature and it's difficult to keep track of everything. Not to mention it's, at times, outright boring. But I understand this is setup for the rest of the series and I very much look forward to what will happen to Yennefer, Ciri, and Gerald!
As far as the music goes, I found it unnecessary. In my experience, it wasn't distracting nor did it add anything to the novel.