Buy Book "The Witcher. The season of thunderstorms. Book 8" in Ukrainian

The last book in the saga of the witch Geralt of Rivia, although not actually the last, but rather one of the first. Written 14 years after the publication of The Lady of the Lake, it differs from the rest of the books in the series in both plot and style. It seemed to me that this book was not written by Mr. Sapkowski himself, but rather a fanfiction, but his name is on the cover.

In “The Season of Storms” there will be everything your heart desires, except for Geralt’s usual character and the charm of the story. There will be theft and burglary, slander and denunciation, intrigue and seduction, bloody massacres and dismemberment, demons and the absence of demons, werewolf foxes, an auction, treason and a palace coup, and, finally, a storm and the rescue of the drowning. There will be casualties and miraculous rescue interventions.

In general, the whole plot looks somehow very crumpled and torn, with a lot of hooks of more interesting stories that were never fully revealed. It reminds me a bit of the style of the first books of the series, but at least there were separate complete stories, and here it seems like episodes of one, but somehow not connected to each other at all. Geralt himself is also somehow hard-headed and wooden, not like the one we got used to in 7 books (even if he whined about his mission from time to time).

So if you liked the main series, you can read The Season of Storms diagonally, not really looking for logic, just as an opportunity to see your favorite characters again. If you liked the series halfway through, then it’s better not to open The Season of Storms 🙂

“Season of Thunder” is the eighth and final book of the Witcher saga by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, which tells the story of the mutant mercenary Heralt of Rivia, who for a certain fee helps cleanse the world of terrible and dangerous monsters.

Briefly about the plot (but no spoilers, of course): The Witcher arrives in the seaside kingdom of Kerak, where he accidentally meets his friend Buttercup. But that’s not all the surprises fate has in store for him: Geralt finds himself embroiled in court intrigue, and also loses his precious witch’s swords…

The eighth book does not continue the seventh, but throws back in time: the witch wanders somewhere in the time period in which the events in “The Last Wish” unfolded.

In a way, this book is a prequel to the main story. But I was kind of bored reading it: Geralt kills monsters again, then indulges in pleasures with enchantresses, then tries to get out of the web of royal intricacies… Tosca.

To justify his place in the series, the author added a little extra to his “tale” in the epilogue, but overall, I don’t think it was worth sucking 300+ pages out of your hand for the sake of a couple of sentences. Although, perhaps it’s the fatigue in me, for this series has bored me thoroughly.

I’m glad the saga is over for me. But if you start a series, it’s worth going all the way to the end, which I did.

“The Season of Thunderstorms is the last book about the adventures of the white-haired witch Geralt of Rivia, a hired killer for hire for ugly people and various monsters.

However, the book “The Lady of the Lake” is the rightful end of the cycle. It completes the witch cycle. In terms of the chronological sequence of events in this fantasy world, The Season of Thunderstorms is a prehistory to the main story. It takes place before the beginning of The Last Wish.

In this novel, the reader learns about the theft of two witch’s swords in the kingdom of Kerak, where Geralt arrived on a mission. The loss of the weapons has put the witch in danger, so he must get the swords back as soon as possible. To do this, he agrees to another task that has a secret meaning. At the same time, Geralt meets a sorceress named Coral, who is involved in the events that happened to the witch in Kerak.

Although The Season of Thunderstorms is a backstory, it is important to read it after you have read the main story. Because closer to the end you will come across spoilers, the events of which are described in the last books of the series.

The last installment of the Witcher is not a continuation of the series, as far as I’m concerned. However, I liked this installment much more than some of the previous ones. The thing is that the previous two parts had too little of the witch himself, even though the series is called that, and too many secondary characters. At the same time, I wanted to read about him, his adventures, his life story, his battles with monsters, because that’s how this series began, and that’s what hooked me. But then there was less and less of the witch, and the last part disappointed me altogether.

I started reading the eighth book because, firstly, I already had it (I bought the whole series at once), and secondly, I was curious what happened in the eighth book, when everything ended in the seventh book. Of course, in my opinion, this is a completely separate book, but it is interesting because it is about a witch, not about anyone else. This book had everything I lacked in the previous ones. A minimum of secondary characters and a maximum of Geralt. To be honest, it was not entirely clear whether these events were future or past, but this did not affect the interest of the plot or the reading process. I swallowed the book. It was great!

When I started reading this book, I was even a little disappointed that it wasn’t a classic sequel. And that’s despite the fact that I wasn’t very impressed with the last books in the series. But the plot dragged on and by the end of the book I was absolutely thrilled. This is not a sequel. It’s not a prequel. This is another opportunity to meet a beloved character.That said, the book itself is significantly different from all the previous ones in terms of structure, narrative form. It is, if I may say so, more classic. But at the same time, with the inherent talent of the author, it could not be more interesting. And most importantly – it has “rays of goodness”, a happy ending and a little hint of a mystery. A little one like that. Which, by virtue of your own faith and imagination can be interpreted the way you want it. And thanks to the author for this ambiguity. And for the gift of hope. And for the belief that no matter how dark times are, if the need arises, there will always be someone who will dispel the darkness, protect and stand up for evil. The aftertaste of the book is wonderful.