Five Star Book Review

Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens

For me a five-star book is something that either I want to read again or something that is so profound it makes an immediate impact. There are lots of ways that books can be compelling: a unique idea, an interesting set of characters, a complex plot, an artistic use of the English language and more. Reading is also a subjective experience, so what appeals to me as a reader may be very different for you. I read a lot for both pleasure and work, but these short reviews are a way for me to show my appreciation for the work and the craft of the author of the reviewed work.

I came to the Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski after playing The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, like many English readers of this beloved Polish series. I was fascinated by the depth of the mythology within the game, and I loved the character of Geralt of Rivia and the dark world shattered by both war and the monsters that lived on the edge of society. I greatly appreciate Andrzej Sapkowski’s books[1] from the short stories through the connected story of Geralt and Ciri, but Crossroads of Ravens which is a story which comes before any of the other books may be my favorite. This is the way to write a backstory which balances developing the young Geralt fresh from his training, his interactions with Preston Holt, an older witcher, and continues to give a window into the previously established world.

Crossroad of Ravens does allow the young Geralt to spend more time developing his skills as a professional monster hunter than most of the other books in the series, but it is also a story where our protagonist finds himself snared in an ongoing struggle. As Nenneke, the priestess of Melitele, can say late in the book, “Revenge only brings joy to vapid and primitive minds.” And perhaps there is something to stories of revenge that appeals to some base part of our need for some fairness in the world, but this is a well-told story of a long-delayed revenge and the things that are more important than revenge. All of Sapkowski’s characters have emotional depth and are willing to sacrifice for what is important. I enjoyed being able to go back in the story to a young and naïve Geralt learning to survive in a world that hates him as a witcher, something other than human, and relies on his skills at the same time. A very quick read for me and it was good to be on the path with the witcher again.

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[1] Like most people who read the books I was intensely disappointed by the Netflix adaptation which either fundamentally misunderstood the source material or intentionally chose to rewrite it into something barely recognizable that felt cheap and shallow.