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Review: Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski
Published: 2009 by Hachette
Format reviewed: Paperback, 398 pages
Series: The Witcher #1
Genres: Fantasy
Source: Bought on Amazon
When an invading empire conquers her country, Ciri is rescued by a monster hunter called Geralt of Rivia. The princess slowly learns magic and trains as the first female witcher (as the monster hunters are called). However, her guardian has his hands full trying to keep her safe from the various factions trying to kill her.
My first encounter with Geralt of Rivia was through a computer game called The Witcher. This fantasy RPG was released in 2007 and quickly became popular, leading to a sequel. The third game is now set to be released mid-2015. I found the games featured some excellent story-telling and I appreciated the way they asked the player to make some difficult choices as Geralt negotiates tensions between the ruling humans and the races they oppress.
These computer games were inspired by a series of novels by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The popularity of the games led to the novels being translated into English fourteen years after they were first published. Having enjoyed the games (with a few reservations), I was intrigued enough to try the books.
Surprisingly, I found the games kept pretty true to the feel of the book, despite not being an exact retelling. Since this is only the first book in the series, it is difficult for me to pinpoint where all the differences lie. The most obvious one is that the game has tweaked the circumstances towards monster-hunting while the book focuses more on the political machinations. The difference wasn’t as great as I expected, but it did make me aware of just how often the book involves people standing around talking. While there were some instances where this approach worked, others felt too much like infodumping and I wondered whether there was a better way of delivering the information.
The structure of the book was quite interesting. Each chapter reads like a vignette, with time skips in between. I liked the way this kept events moving forward and the conclusions were reasonably satisfying. The conclusion to the book as a whole was less satisfying, leaving it feeling more like setup than story.
There’s a strongly European influence on the worldbuilding. Part of it is the physical setting: ruined castles, dark forests, warmer nations to the south. Part of it is also political. This is a world with a long history, often involving bloodshed as each wave of invaders seeks to conquer the last. This has resulted in a cluster of small kingdoms who squabble almost as much with each other as the empire that threatens them all. These kingdoms are also very keen to make sure the races they previously conquered remain subdued and there are references to pograms in the recent past. Such echoes of European history make this much more than a straightforward, hack-and-slash fantasy narrative. For me, this examination of racism and violence lifted it a little above the standard fantasy setting.
Despite the presence of elves and dwarves, this is fantasy much more in the vein of George R.R. Martin than R.A. Salvatore. If you like your fantasy dark with plenty of intrigue and moral ambiguity, Blood of Elves may be for you. However, before you dive into it, I’d recommend reading The Last Wish. Although Blood of Elves is billed as the first in the series, it was preceded by a book of short stories and these stories provide some necessary context.
Mirrored from Earl Grey Editing.
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I think you just nailed one more reason I don't get on with most high fantasy right there: shallow depth of time. Where do elves come into it, though?
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The elves were the original settlers of the continent before things got complicated. They retreated to the mountains where the elders hope the humans will let them be. The hotblooded youngsters war against the humans and I think there are still some that live in human towns, though very much treated as second class. It is also implied that Ciri, the princess, has a distant line of elvish blood.
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Dang. I'm going to assume disease from the early colonists did most of them in 'cause otherwise I'll be very annoyed: you had me intrigued when you said the setting worked properly, but the idea that colonists likely at the same level of tech/magic must win is uncomfortable, and Tolkien had the Valar intervene to make his few elf/human hybrids capable of having decendants, so one wonders what's going on there...
[sigh] You are good at selling things and being positive, my friend. Part of me is intrigued to see well-done magic integrated in a late mediaeval setting, but I would throw a tantrum at the rest. [goes back to the Sil]
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Eh, history is written by invaders who win, especially in a European context; it's just utterly unexamined acceptance. Part of why I'm glad I grew up on Moorcock is that he was deliberately writing against the right-wing dynamics of the kind of fantasy that happens when people try to be Tolkien but don't have the Prof's depth of compassion or reason.
Hope you're improving over there, and eating plenty o' blackberries.
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Moorcock remains a hole in my education, though I have a couple of his books on Mt TBR for when I get to them.
Thank you! My hay fever is still present but less severe. We are sadly out of blackberries. I'm hopeful the weekend might change that.
Hope you are doing well, too.
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Oh? Which? You'll probably just think they're a mess, a) since you're not a teenager and b) are used to far better, but it was groundbreaking back in the 60s. He does elves right, though.
Alas! More honey...may you get a good picking-walk in soon.
I am frikkin' freezin', one of those 'can't get warm' days; I blame it on the lab being far too hot and adjusting me wrong.
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I hope you've warmed up by the time you get this. Tea can only help so far, unfortunately.
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brr.
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Seems like the kind of weather for which one needs a samovar.
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Avoid Gloriana: it's interesting, but is also screwed up. I think you'll like Corum, though.
Amen to that! Alas that I don't really have space for one.
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Thanks for the recommendations!
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