 Cover ofThe Witcher (1990) | |
| Author | Andrzej Sapkowski |
|---|---|
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
| Genre | Fantasy |
| Publisher | SuperNowa |
| Published | 1986–2024 |
| Published in English | 2007–2018 byHachette |
| No. of books | 9 |
The Witcher (Polish:Wiedźmin,pronounced[ˈvjɛd͡ʑmin]) is a series of 9 fantasy novels and 15 short stories by Polish authorAndrzej Sapkowski. The series revolves around the eponymous witcher,Geralt of Rivia. Witchers are monster hunters given superhuman abilities for the purpose of killing dangerous creatures.The Witcher began with a titular 1986 short story that Sapkowski entered into a competition held byFantastyka magazine, marking his debut as an author. Due to reader demand, Sapkowski wrote 14 more stories before starting a series of novels in 1994. Known asThe Witcher Saga, he wrote one book a year until the fifth and final installment in 1999. A standalone prequel novel,Season of Storms, was published in 2013. Another prequel,Rozdroże kruków, was published in 2024.
The books have been described as having a cult following inPoland and throughoutCentral and Eastern Europe. They have been translated into 37 languages and sold over 15 million copies worldwide as of July 2020. They have also been adapted into a film (The Hexer), two television series (The Hexer andThe Witcher), avideo game series, and aseries of comic books. The video games have been even more successful, with more than 75 million copies sold as of May 2023.[1]
| No. | English title (original Polish title) | Pages | Release | Series | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Polish | English | Polish[2] | English | |||
| The Witcher (Wiedźmin) | 235 | － | 1990 | － | Short story collections | |
| 1[a] | The Last Wish (Ostatnie życzenie) | 286 | 288 | 1993 | 2007[3] | |
| 2[b] | Sword of Destiny (Miecz Przeznaczenia) | 343 | 384 | 1992 | 2015[5] | |
| 3 | Blood of Elves (Krew elfów) | 295 | 320 | 1994 | 2008[6] | The Witcher Saga |
| 4 | Time of Contempt (Czas pogardy) | 319 | 331 | 1995 | 2013[7] | |
| 5 | Baptism of Fire (Chrzest ognia) | 336 | 343 | 1996 | 2014[8] | |
| 6 | The Tower of the Swallow (Wieża Jaskółki) | 428 | 436 | 1997 | 2016[9] | |
| 7 | The Lady of the Lake (Pani Jeziora) | 520 | 531 | 1999 | 2017[10] | |
| 8 | Season of Storms (Sezon burz) | 404 | 384 | 2013 | 2018[11] | Prequel novels |
| 9 | Crossroads of Ravens (Rozdroże kruków) | 292 | 2024[12] | 2025[13] | ||
The Last Wish contains four of the five stories inThe Witcher, in addition to three other stories. The fifth story, "The Road with No Return", is not in the book.
In 1985,Andrzej Sapkowski was a 38-year-old traveling fur salesman with an economics degree and a love of fantasy literature. He decided to enter a short story competition, limited to 30-pages, held by Polish science fiction and fantasy magazineFantastyka.[14] He did so at the urging of his son Krzysztof, who was an avid reader of the magazine.[15] Sapkowski submitted "The Witcher" (1986), which was conceived as a retelling of a Polish fairy tale where a princess turned into a monster as punishment for the incest of her parents.[16] He had to wait about a year for the results of the contest, and came in third place.[14] Sapkowski felt that his work was the best in the competition, but the jurors relegated it to third because fantasy was considered to be for children at the time in Poland.[14] However, reaction from readers was overwhelmingly positive and Sapkowski wrote more stories, about one or two a year, in response to their demand.[14]
He based "A Question of Price" (and later "Sword of Destiny") on the universally known fairy tale in which a monster or sorcerer saves somebody's life and then demands payment.[16] The first four stories dealing with the witcherGeralt of Rivia were collected into a 1990 short story collection titledThe Witcher — now out of print — by publisher Reporter.[17] It includes 1988's "The Road with No Return" ("Droga, z której się nie wraca"), which is set beforeThe Witcher stories and features Geralt's mother-to-be.[17]
After what he called a chance meeting, Sapkowski made a deal in 1990 withSuperNowa to publish the series.[16] They released the second short story collection,Sword of Destiny, in 1992.The Last Wish was published by SuperNowa in 1993 to replaceThe Witcher as the first book, and includes all of its stories except "The Road with No Return" (the only story without Geralt).[17] Although new short stories were also added toThe Last Wish, they chronologically take place before those inSword of Destiny.
"Something Ends, Something Begins" ("Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna") is an alternate ending toThe Witcher Saga about Geralt andYennefer's wedding that was written in 1992 as a wedding gift for Sapkowski's friends. It and "The Road with No Return" are included in some Polish editions ofThe Last Wish orSword of Destiny.
With the positive reader reception to his short stories, Sapkowski decided to write a fantasy saga.[14] He claimed that Polish publishers at the time believed only Anglo-Saxon fantasy authors were worth publishing and that Polish writers of the genre were too risky. SuperNowa were the only publisher willing to take the risk, and "Now everybody envies" them.[16] For the saga, the author expanded on the story he used for "A Question of Price" and "Sword of Destiny".[16]Blood of Elves, the first novel inThe Witcher Saga, was published in 1994.[14] The story focuses on Geralt of Rivia andCiri, who are linked by destiny. Ciri, princess of a recently conquered country and a pawn of international politics, becomes a witcher-in-training. Geralt is drawn into a whirlwind of events in his attempts to protect her.
Three more novels quickly followed at a pace of one a year;Time of Contempt (1995),Baptism of Fire (1996), andThe Tower of the Swallow (1997). The fifth and final installment,The Lady of the Lake, was published in 1999.
After 14 years, Sapkowski releasedSeason of Storms in 2013. Set between short stories included inThe Last Wish, it is a standalone prequel toThe Witcher Saga.[18] In 2020, Sapkowski stated that he had "some plans" for a new entry inThe Witcher, but "My future plans are vague, nothing is fixed yet".[19] On 29 November 2024, the ninth installment of the series —Rozdroże kruków (lit. "Crossroads of Ravens") — was published in Poland.[12] The book is a prequel to both theWitcher Saga and the short stories and describes Geralt as a young and inexperienced witcher shortly after completing his training in Kaer Morhen.[20]
Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna (Something Ends, Something Begins) is a 2000 collection of short stories by Sapkowski, including two fromThe Witcher: "The Road with No Return" and "Something Ends, Something Begins".[17] Published in 2012,Maladie i inne opowiadania (Maladie and Other Stories) is another Sapkowski short story collection that includes "The Road with No Return" and "Something Ends, Something Begins".
Chosen by Fate: Zajdel Award Winner Anthology is a 2000 English anthology by SuperNowa, in cooperation with the Silesian Club of Fantasy Literature, that includes a translation by Agnieszka Fulińska of "The Witcher" short story entitled "The Hexer". 2010'sA Polish Book of Monsters is an English anthology edited and translated byMichael Kandel that includes a translation of "The Witcher" entitled "Spellmaker".Maladie and Other Stories (not to be confused with the above Polish book of the same name) is a 2014 English e-book sampler with translations of "The Witcher", "The Edge of the World", and the first chapters ofBlood of Elves andBaptism of Fire.
With Sapkowski's permission, the Polish publishing house Solaris published a collection of eight short stories entitledOpowieści ze świata Wiedźmina [pl] (Tales from the World of The Witcher). Written by Russian and Ukrainian fantasy writers (includingAndrei Belyanin andVladimir Vasilyev), they are set in the world ofThe Witcher and feature its characters;[21] Vasilyev story is part of hisThe Witcher of Grand Kiev universe.[22]Szpony i kły (Claws and Fangs), a similar collection of eleven short stories by authors chosen through a 2016 competition by the Polish magazineNowa Fantastyka, was published in 2017 by SuperNowa.[23][24][25]
When he first createdThe Witcher, Sapkowski had not thought up any background on the world of the series, "I began with short stories; you don't create universes in short stories, there is—literally and metaphorically—no place for them". But when he switched to writing full novels, "the necessity of some coherent background became imminent. And slowly, step by step, something resembling a universe started to emerge. But it's only in the background, so it plays a secondary role in the story".[26] Although admitting to usingSlavic mythology often due to it being very rich and abundant, Sapkowski said he does not have any preferred mythologies, folklores orbestiaries that he draws on for monsters inThe Witcher; "The story dictates the necessity. And, mostly, I put aside existing mythologies and invent something myself".[19] He said that the monsters in the series can be put into one of three categories. First, those that already "exist" with established names, appearances, habits and habitats, such as dragons. Second are those that he invents but gives names that can be found in nature, mostly insects because they are "horrible and scary". Third are those that are completely original creations, some of which are only named, because, "When it has no importance as far as the storyline is concerned whatsoever, why bother?"[16] The author has also stated that he personally abhors politics and considers his books to be politically neutral.[19]
The stories are set on an unnamed Continent,[27] which was settled several thousand years earlier byelves from overseas. When they arrived, the elves encounteredgnomes anddwarves. After a war between the elves and dwarves, the dwarves retreated into the mountains, and the elves settled in the plains and forests. Human colonists arrived about five hundred years before the events in the stories, igniting a series of wars. The humans were victorious and became dominant; the non-human races, now considered second-class citizens, often live in small ghettos within human settlements. Those not confined to the ghettos live in wilderness regions not yet claimed by humans. Other races on the Continent are halflings anddryads;werewolves andvampires appeared after a magical event known as the Conjunction of the Spheres.
During the centuries preceding the stories, most of the Continent's southern regions have been taken over by the Nilfgaard Empire; the north belongs to the fragmented Northern Kingdoms.The Witcher Saga takes place in the aftermath of the first major war between the Nilfgaard Empire and the Northern Kingdoms, with a second war beginning in the middle of the series.
Although no map of the universe created by Sapkowski has been released, fans have created several maps. According to Sapkowski, the existing maps are "mostly accurate", and he uses a version created by Czech translator Stanislav Komárek.[36]
 Kovir & Poviss |  Hengfors |  Kaedwen |
 Redania |  Mahakam |  Aedirn |
 Cintra |  Temeria |  Lyria & Rivia |
 Nilfgaard |
The Continent can be divided into four regions. The Northern Kingdoms (where most of the saga occurs) consists of Aedirn, Cidaris, Cintra, Hengfors League, Kaedwen, Kerack, Kovir and Poviss, Lyria and Rivia, Redania, Temeria and Verden and several minor duchies and principalities such as Bremervoord or Ellander. The Nilfgaard Empire occupies most of the area south of the Northern Kingdoms. The eastern part of the Continent, such as the Korath desert, Zerrikania, Hakland and the Fiery Mountains, is mostly unknown. The book series mentions overseas countries with whom the Northern Kingdoms trade, including Zangvebar, Ofir, Hannu and Barsa.[citation needed]
Sapkowski created a language for the series known asElder Speech,[37][38] based on Welsh, English, French, Irish, Latin and other languages. Uniquedialects are spoken on the Skellige Islands and in Nilfgaard. In an interview, Sapkowski explained that he wanted the language to be reasonably legible to a reader, to avoid footnotes. As he said: "In my book, I do not want for anorc telling to another orc 'Burbatuluk grabataluk!' to be supplied with a footnote: 'Shut the door, don't let the flies in!'"[39][40]
The stories and novels have been translated into 37 languages worldwide.[41] Sapkowski denied having any involvement in the English translations, explaining, if the translator "is polite enough, sometimes he asks me questions, sometimes he presents me with a fragment of the first page, but it is his own will – I have nothing to do with it".[14] When asked his opinion on the quality of the translation, the original author stated, "We Poles, we say, 'Translations are like women: if they are beautiful, they are not true; if they are true, they are not beautiful.' I speak some 15 languages so for me it's very easy to read the translations and see if they are good or not. Sometimes it's terrible; sometimes I'm very happy because the spirit, the spirit, is in the translation".[14]
Sapkowski chosewiedźmin as the male equivalent of the Polish word for witch (wiedźma).[42] In his book 2005 book-interviewHistoria i fantastyka, Sapkowski states that he believes the word "witcher" is a natural male version of the English word "witch", and implied that the similarity between those two words, as well as between the German terms, was the inspiration coiningwiedźmin as a new Polish word.[42] Polish video game designerAdrian Chmielarz claimed to have invented the translation ofwiedźmin into English aswitcher around 1996–1997.[43]
Althoughwiedźmin is now usually translated into English as "witcher", an earlier translation of the title was "hexer" (the title of the2001 film adaptation and the first official English translation in the 2000 short story collectionChosen by Fate: Zajdel Award Winner Anthology);[44]Hexe andHexer are the German words for female and male 'witch' respectively.[42]CD Projekt used "witcher" for the title of its 2007 English release of thevideo game,[43] and Danusia Stok used it in her translation ofOstatnie życzenie that was published the same year.[45][46]Michael Kandel however used "spellmaker" in his 2010 translation of the "Wiedźmin" short story forA Book of Polish Monsters anthology.[47]
The Witcher series has been described as having a cult following inPoland andCentral and Eastern European countries.[48][49] They have been translated into 37 languages and sold over 15 million copies worldwide as of December 2019.[41] Two weeks after the Netflix TV adaptation was released in 2020, revenue from the books was reportedly up 562% compared to the same period in 2018.[50] Entries inThe Witcher series have earned Sapkowski theJanusz A. Zajdel Award three times; "The Lesser Evil" (1990), "Sword of Destiny" (1992), andBlood of Elves (1994).[51]The Last Wish won the 2003Premio Ignotus for Best Anthology in Spain.[52] In the United Kingdom,Blood of Elves won Best Novel at the firstDavid Gemmell Awards for Fantasy in 2009.[53]Sword of Destiny won the 2012Tähtifantasia Award in Finland.[54]
In October 2018, Sapkowski's hometown ofŁódź officially renamed a garden square Witcher Square (Skwer Wiedźmina) and announced plans to add benches, swings and other installations based on the series to the area.[55] In October 2021, amural of Geralt was painted on the side of a skyscraper in Łódź. Spanning three 70-metre high (230 ft) walls and covering almost 2,000 square metres (22,000 sq ft), it is the largest mural in Poland and one of the largest in the world.[56]
From 1993 to 1995, Sapkowski's stories were adapted into a six-issue comicThe Witcher byMaciej Parowski and Sapkowski (story),Bogusław Polch (art).[57]In 2011,Egmont released a 2-part comic book, titledReasons of State, containing an original story. It was written by Michał Gałek, illustrated byArkadiusz Klimek, and colorized by Łukasz Poller.
In 2013,Dark Horse Comics announced a comic book series calledThe Witcher, based on the video-game series and made in collaboration withCD Projekt Red.[58] It began publishing in 2014.[59] Most of the stories are based on original plots not written by Sapkowski, with different writers and artists working on different issues.[60]
In October 2015, aone-shotwebcomic titledMatters of Conscience was released byCD Projekt Red to expand on the events following theirsecond video game.
In 2007, a video gameThe Witcher developed byCD Projekt Red was released. A sequel,The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, was released in 2011 by the same team. The final game of the trilogy,The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, was released in 2015.[61][62] Sapkowski had no involvement with the video games, giving the studio license to create a completely new story using his characters.[14] All three games were positively received, withMetacritic giving them an 81, an 88, and a 93 out of 100 respectively.[63][64][65] They were also extremely successful commercially, selling more than 75 million copies as of May 2023, with over 50 million being fromThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt alone.[1]
CD Projekt Red developed a card game named "Gwent" that was included inThe Witcher 3: Wild Hunt as an in-game activity. They have created two stand-alone video games based on it, titledGwent: The Witcher Card Game andThronebreaker: The Witcher Tales, both released in 2018.[66][67]
Aremake ofThe Witcher was announced in October 2022, which was formerly first teased under the codename "Canis Majoris". EntitledThe Witcher Remake, it will be developed usingUnreal Engine 5, the same engine in use for the planned second trilogy. Fool's Theory will mainly develop the remake with full creative supervision fromThe Witcher series staff and CD Projekt Red.[68]
The Witcher was adapted into a2002 TV series and a shorter2001 film version, both titledThe Hexer (Wiedźmin) and directed byMarek Brodzki.Michał Żebrowski portrayed Geralt. In several interviews, Sapkowski has criticized these screen adaptations: "I can answer only with a single word, an obscene, albeit a short one."[69]
In 2015,Platige Image planned an American film adaptation of the novel series to arrive in 2017.[70] In May 2017, they announced that they would be producing aThe Witcher TV series in cooperation withNetflix andSean Daniel Company, withTomasz Bagiński as one of the directors and Sapkowski as a creative consultant.[71][72][73] Created byLauren Schmidt Hissrich, it starsHenry Cavill as Geralt.[74][75][76][77] On October 10, 2018, it was announced thatFreya Allan andAnya Chalotra had been cast as main female characters, Ciri and Yennefer.[78] The first season was released on December 20, 2019, with all eight episodes available.[79] A second season was announced on November 13, 2019.[80] All eight episodes were released on December 17, 2021, featuring many of the same characters and some new stars.[81] In September 2021, Netflix renewed the series for a third season.[82] Starting in the show's fourth season,Liam Hemsworth is scheduled to replace Cavill as Geralt.
Netflix released an animated film,The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf, on August 23, 2021, with their TV series showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich as producer and writer BeAu DeMayo, and animation provided byStudio Mir. Another animated film,The Witcher: Sirens of the Deep with Doug Cockle voicing Geralt of Rivia, directed by Kang Hei Chul, was released by Netflix on February 11, 2025.
A live-action prequel series,The Witcher: Blood Origin, was released by Netflix in 2022, set 1200 years before Geralt's time to show the origin of the Witchers developed by Hissrich.[83]
Atabletop role-playing game based on Sapkowski's books,Wiedźmin: Gra Wyobraźni (The Witcher: A Game of Imagination), was published byMAG in 2001.
Another tabletop RPG based on the video games, produced byR. Talsorian Games, was planned for release in 2016[84] but was delayed and finally released in August 2018.[85]
CD Projekt Red andFantasy Flight Games releasedThe Witcher Adventure Game, a board game designed by Ignacy Trzewiczek,[86] in 2014[87] in physical and digital forms.[88] The digital version is available on Windows, OS X, Android and iOS.
The board gameThe Witcher: Old World was announced in February 2021.[89] Designed by Łukasz Woźniak and produced by Go on Board in partnership with CD Projekt Red, the game is set prequel to the main video game series with deck building and role-playing elements. In May 2021, the game raised more than $3 million onKickstarter and was planned to be shipped in June 2022.[90]
In 2007, Kuźnia Gier developed two card games based on CD Projekt'sThe Witcher video game. One,Wiedźmin: Przygodowa Gra Karciana (The Witcher: Adventure Cardgame), was published by Kuźnia Gier;[91] the other,Wiedźmin: Promocyjna Gra Karciana (The Witcher Promo Card Game) was added to the "Collector's Edition" ofThe Witcher in some countries.[92]
Arock opera and a musical entitledThe Road of No Return [ru] based on the series were produced by Russiansymphonic rock bandESSE in 2009 and 2011–2012 respectively.[93]
sapkowski last wish.
{{cite book}}:|website= ignored (help)
| Books | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Comics |
| ||||
| Film and TV |
| ||||
| Music | |||||
| Video games |
| ||||
| Related | |||||
