#Want More of ‘The Witcher?’ Here Are All of the Books – Review Geek

Since they feature a ton of jumping around in time and weren’t necessarily written as a lengthy singular narrative, you have two main options here for reading The Witcher book series. You can read them either in order of their original Polish publishing date (which we note), or in order of the story chronology (how we listed them below, and the way we recommend). We’ve also included links for the audiobook and physical copy of each book.

Ultimately, though, it doesn’t totally matter which order you read (or listen to) the books in, though we do recommend keeping the five novels together. Also, you can read them before, during, or after watching the series or playing the video games. They’re just a bunch of fun Witcher stories, no matter how you spin it, and that’s good enough for us!

This book is one half of the witcher short story collection, and in it, the world of The Witcher is introduced to the reader. Although it was the second to be published in the series, it’s the ideal place to start with the books, as it introduces the characters, monsters, and lore of the fantasy world across seven short stories. It’s also the book where Dandelion and Yennefer are introduced and where everything you see in the video games gets introduced.

Each of the stories are interspersed with an overarching frame that introduces Geralt to us and teaches us more about him, his backstory, and what it’s like to be a Witcher. The Last Wish is the best way to get a decent, yet brief, introduction to the world and it’ll prepare you for the rest of the books in the series.

The other half of the witcher short story collection, Sword of Destiny contains six short stories. And like The Last Wish, this collection also details Geralt’s journey through the world around him, but with a focus on the concept of destiny. And of course, we also get to see the titular character deal with personal relationships and further test and form his values and notions of morality. It’s also where fan-favorite character Ciri is introduced, so what’s not to like?

Blood of Elves is where the main novel series begins and, finally, we get to bite into a more delicious and complex plot. In the book, we get to take our first steps into both the Kingdom of Cintra and the Empire of Nilfgaard and dive into the philosophies and politics of those worlds. The book also nets us a little more time with Ciri and Geralt (as he begins to train her at the witchers’ keep), and introduces Philippa and Queen Calanthe.

In Time of Contempt, the plot of Blood of Elves continues marching forward. Slowly we see the intertwining of Geralt’s and Ciri’s destinies, and both Yennefer and Tissaia get more involved in the story. We see many more magical elements and events in this novel—and some equally incredible battles, dangerous encounters with monsters, and generally foreboding moments—as Geralt is tasked with protecting Ciri.

While recovering from the battles in the previous novel, Geralt spends some time in Baptism of Fire in the Brokilon forest. Here, Geralt encounters the vampire Regis, the elven archer Milva, a Nilfgaardian knight named Cahir, and the dwarf Zoltan Chivay. This is also the book where our boy officially receives his “of Rivia” title. We’re introduced to the elf sorceress Francesca Findabair in this book while learning about Geralt and Cahir’s dreams.

And of course, no book in this series would be complete without a big battle, lots of plotting, and magical scenes with Yennefer. Which this novel totally features. We also see both humans and sorcerers being threatened by a big bad.

This is the penultimate book in the main witcher series, so naturally, lots of events ramp the heck up in The Tower of the Swallow. Plot arcs for Ciri, Geralt, and Yennefer each continue to build, while a series of spies get to work, bandits and other possibly nefarious groups are encountered, and a couple of intense high-sourced plans are set in place.

More of Ciri’s backstory gets unveiled in this book, via Vysogota, an aging philosopher living in the Pereplut swamp. We also learn of a prophecy alongside Geralt, concerning (who else) Ciri. And hey, how about that massive cliffhanger, amiright?

Well, here it is, folks: the final novel in the witcher series. In The Lady of the Lake, we read two frame stories—one of which includes Sir Galahad, who is King Arthur’s knight and who encounters Ciri bathing in a lake. I hate spoilers just as much as the next guy, and I really don’t want to give anything else away here, so you’ll need to just read this one to find out.

Make no mistake, though: things get plenty intense and otherworldly here. It makes the entire series worthwhile. So go buy the books and read them already!

Published over a decade after the last novel, Season of Storms is a standalone novel and one many in the fandom dub optional. It features ideas and plots that aren’t critical to the rest of the book series, but it does wonders for furthering world-building, character development, and entertainment.

In this title, Geralt embarks on (what else) a deadly mission wherein a contract goes wrong and he finds himself without his favorite weapons. He races to get them back while dealing with scheming sorcerers, a king, and a lot of things that can go wrong. Like, really wrong.

The fandom is also torn on when to read this book. Chronologically, it takes place in between two of the short stories in The Last Wish collection—namely The Last Wish and A Question of Price; however, some say this book is best read last, as it provides a fine retrospect and ties many loose ends together.