The Last Wish

By: Andrzej Sapkowski

Narrated by: Peter Kenny

Length: 10 hrs and 27 mins

Publisher's summary

Introducing Geralt the Witcher - revered and hated - who holds the line against the monsters plaguing humanity in the best-selling series that inspired the Witcher video games and a major Netflix show.

Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers and lifelong training have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin.

Yet he is no ordinary killer: he hunts the vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.

But not everything monstrous-looking is evil; not everything fair is good...and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.

Andrzej Sapkowski, winner of the World Fantasy Lifetime Achievement award, started an international phenomenon with his Witcher series. The Last Wish is the perfect introduction to this one-of-a-kind fantasy world.

©1993 Andrzej Sapkowski (P)2014 Orion Publishing Group

A Brilliant Introduction Into "The Witcher"

If you could sum up The Last Wish in three words, what would they be?

Thrilling, brilliant, engaging

Who was your favorite character and why?

Who's everyone's favorite character? It's Geralt, of course! Before reading the book, I was under the impression that he would just be a Batman-like stoic hero, but he's far from it. Sure, he's a badass, he knows everything about killing monsters and all that you'd expect from him, but he's also a good listener, he's considerate and not condescending, he even demonstrates a sense of humor at a few occasions!

What does Peter Kenny bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

While it is, once again, the boring answer that everyone would go to, it's definitely the voice acting. While some of the characters were a bit hard to understand (if you listen, you'll know exactly who I'm talking about), he overall did a very good job giving each one a personality, to the point where I was honestly a bit disappointed when I learned that Peter Kenny didn't voice Geralt in "The Witcher" games. He nails the character!

If you were to make a film of this book, what would the tag line be?

"Last Wish - The Beginning of The Witcher" Boring and obvious, but hey, that seems to be the theme of this review, so who cares.

Any additional comments?

Overall, I can't find much wrong with "The Last Wish" - it's just great from start to finish. Definitely a good read for anyone regardless of how familiar they are with the franchise.

Great performance

I played all games. This book is very nice background, as the games refer to it's events often. Very entertaining and not as predictable as I'd thought.

So gritty and realistic with fantasy mixed in

loved it so much, not at all what I expected. I think it's on par with George R. R. Martin epic saga. I started this book because of the game and stayed cause of the depth of characters, their motivations are so realistically realized. Give fire and ice a break a get inside the world of Geralt and company.

A promising start

After playing the games, this is the first book in the series I've read. I see where the inspiration for the games comes from, much of the dialogue and stories could be taken from a quest in the games. The narrator is really good, and it is a promising start, I plan to keep reading. The only negative here is that it all feels a bit meandering without a real arch, much like an arbitrarily picked snippet from the life of Geralt. This not a problem if you are familiar with the world and the characters, but as a newcomer I would have had a hard time getting into it with all the jumping around and without a clearer thread to follow in the narrative.

Exciting, well told, and even provoking in places

Just a great book. Peter Kenny's only fault is that ghosts get a bit annoying with their slow and breathy voices when they have a lot to say. Other than that I can't imagine anyone doing a better job of this book.

Great

Fantastic book and a fantastic narrator! Having a love/hate(sort of) relation with the games i had to listen to Andrzej's work and what a lovely work indeed! Perfect shprt stories that never leave you bored but only more curious about Geralt and his friends and foes!

Fantastic book well worth the purchase!

Where does The Last Wish rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I'm new to audiobooks, but this was such a fantastic experience that it convinced me to get a platinum membership and get the rest of the series!

Who was your favorite character and why?

My personal favorite character is quite predictable, the main man Geralt of Rivia himself. Geralt is a very unique and rich character. At first glance in the books and the games he may seem like a brooding, bland and emotionless stereotype, but don't judge a book by it's cover! Geralt has plenty of depth. He has a sense of humor, he has friends he would do die for and is quite often genuinely funny. Geralt is a stoic badass, but he is also a person in every sense of the word. He struggles with real issues regarding morality and hard decisions and he is relatable. I can with the utmost certainty say that Geralt of Rivia is one of my favorite protagonists across all mediums.

What about Peter Kenny’s performance did you like?

This is what surprised me the most. I wasn't sure how i was gonna feel about Peter Kenny portraying Geralt since i did play the games first so i already have an image of Geralt, and that image is voiced by Doug Cockle so i thought it was going to be very hard to accept this change, but it wasn't.Peter Kenny's performance was quite frankly fantastic and i'm very impressed. His voice is very easy to listen to and he was able to seamlessly transition between a wide variety of accents and keep the flow of the story. I'll be sure to keep an eye out for his name when i buy audiobooks in the future!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Well, i liked all of the short stories and it is very hard to pick a favorite, but without giving away too much i'll have to say that the one that stood out to me was the story called "A Grain of Truth". The story is inspired by the beauty and the beast and it involves a man who like Geralt, should not be judged based on his appearance.

Any additional comments?

I'd recommend it to anyone who has any interest in fantasy, be it high fantasy closer to Tolkien's work or darker, more realistic and reserved fantasy such as George R.R Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire. This series is very unique and deserves even more exposure. I also recommend having a look at the games if you haven't already!

Was a great story

It was realy capturing.
The narrator was realy anjoyable as well as the book itself.

Not the first one to read

It would probably be better to first read books that have specific set of events. This one, though interesting and obligatory once you read other books, is not the best for start.

Performance is pretty good. In some cases hard to understand, namely when voicing the sylvan, that was a bit exaggerated and annoying.

An absolute masterpiece.

This is a second "read" for me, and I enjoyed it just like the first time. gripping story and writing. Peter Kenny can be a bit fatiguing at times, but deliver all in all a great performance.