“You can’t do that in a video game, unless you spend hours on dialogue.” *Spends hours on dialogue in The Witcher 3*

The Witcher series isn't just great . . . it's Something More

@PlotsAndPoints

6 жыл бұрын

backstept I see what you did and I appreciate you

@SuperCliffReviews

5 жыл бұрын

Boom!

@carlmart5797

4 жыл бұрын

Much more.

@ChildSarcophagus

3 жыл бұрын

If you play a Game of The Witcher, you win or you die. My recommendation: Choose the lesser evil.

@niloi._.da_boi

Жыл бұрын

this got me crying i just finished Sword Of Destiny 😭😭😭

The Witcher series is one of my favorite pieces of literature of all time. Especially these two collections, so no you are not overhyping it. :D It's just so... human. Many other fantasy books are trying to be the biggest, bloodiest, to have the most detailed world but i would gladly trade one of those 1000 page behemoths for one little shortstory from Sapkowski. Not to mention that the Czech translation by Stanislav Komárek is the best - literally, Andrzej confirmed it. Also the fact that author uses to some extent Slavic names and mythology is just so refreshing. It's just a small element, many readers (English, French, German etc.) won't even notice it but we do. To end this comment here is one quote from this book that shows the difference between the Witcher and GoT. The merchant was silent, bowing his head. “Yes... it happens. The world around us is horrible,” he murmured at last. “But that's not a reason for all of us to be even worse. Good is necessary. That's what my father taught me and that's what I will teach my sons.”

@FasherProductions

4 жыл бұрын

Well said

I once heard someone describe the witcher as the "Shrek of fantasy novels" and i somewhat agree with that.

I am currently re-reading this series and I can tell you from my perspective you aren't over-hyping things at all. The pure refreshing joy of the witcher series, especially going into the main saga, is that you get to experience what would be the focal point of other epic fantasy series as a backdrop to the stories of the characters you grow to love. There are wars, world shattering prophecies, magical spats but ultimately its a story about Geralt making his way in the world and Geralt has little to no interest in these things. The interpersonal relationships remain front and centre through the entire series and it makes every event so much more personal. You'll notice as you go through that sapkowski can quickly jump into the perspective of a one time POV character and use it to flesh out whole aspects of the world in an impressively short space of time. It never fails to pack a punch. I did a video with my own interpretation of Geralt as a character and his core conflict, for me, is one of how he sees himself vs how society views him and then ultimately how he choses to play into those stereotypes (for example where he talks to Istredd as 'the emotionless mutant' that is quite clearly being torn up by his emotions). I could honestly talk about this series forever so I'll stop here but I just want to say I'm thrilled that you're enjoying it as much as you!

@DanielGreeneReviews

6 жыл бұрын

You nailed it. Right on the spot.

A Little Sacrifice is probably the best story

@MegaBaltimoreravensf

4 жыл бұрын

as a grown man, I cried after that one. The last page of the story was heart shattering.

@currangill430

4 жыл бұрын

I think mine was Shard of Ice and Something More.

@zachhasse9306

3 жыл бұрын

So fucking sad :/

@niloi._.da_boi

Жыл бұрын

my favs (so far; i have only read upto Sword Of Destiny and ready to get my hands on Blood Of Elves) are "The Lesser Evil" and "Something More" but God that one made me tear up😭😭😭😭

Just finished the book after watching the series, to be honest they left out too many things, especially the first time Geralt meet Ciri. The books are better but the series as potential, yes they did things that were not there in the books, but I hope they stick the landing from now own, don’t want this to be like the last season of game of thrones Good day from France !

@therabbi9848

4 жыл бұрын

Yea leaving that out was a massive mistake. Might be my favorite part of the whole series.

@paulregan9304

4 жыл бұрын

There's so much that the show left out I think. So many of the really interesting philosophical discussions between characters are just condensed so they can put more action in for the Netflix audience.

The Blood of Elves saga (Witcher main novels) really is awesome. Especially books 3 & 4, Baptism of Fire and the Tower of Swallows.

@droho7597

6 жыл бұрын

not to mention the ice-skating scene. i've never read anything this inventive before...

No, you are not over-hyping the books at all. The Witcher is one of my favorite series and deserves a re-read here soon. The stories are gritty, fun, and real. I wish I could make a world like the Witcher--its grounded and beautiful at the same time.

@stephenshay9838

6 жыл бұрын

If you liked Witcher, I'm sure you'd like the King Killer Chronicles ;)

FORGOT TO SHOUT OUT MY PATREONS AT THE END OF THE VIDEO! So here are these beautiful people - ~PATREONS~ Hurricaneez1 - John-Patrick Alexander Ludvig Karlsson - Josiah Bialik Jeremy Joyner - Jóhann Sigurdsson Victor Fernandez - Alex Aire Nathan Thomas - TuRmz Sandra Jeremy - Cody Luhmann JoAnn Feltcher - Mexwell Bourne

So happy that you found this series!!! As someone who is about halfway through it I can tell you that it actually gets better. Can't wait to Geralt in your tournament

I just read the second book and the storyline that gives title to the book is completely amazing, it is what drives the future of the series and how it connects to the first book is great. I do must admit that I enjoyed much more the first book, however this is not left behind. Hopefully I’ll read the rest of the series. 4.3/5 I would say.

The interactions between Ciri and Gerald are so good

Just finished Sword of Destiny. Absolutely loving these books so far.

I love, love, love this book. I finished it just today and I can't wait to pick up the next one, and eventually play the games.

These books are amazing

Just finished the audio book of this today. Liked it even better than the first one. I loved seeing how Geralt met Ciri. Can't wait to read more.

I'm a newborn fan of the Witcher series, and I think that Andrzej Sapkowski produced a masterpiece that truly gripped my heart.

Books shouldn’t be allowed to have endings as good as this one. It’s just easily my favorite of any story. No competition

Just started and am looking forward to seeing where it goes! Thanks DG!

"There's no hundred-people cast." Well, that changes...

No, you're not overhyping it, The Witcher books are a masterpiece. After my fourth read it's now topped my favorites list and now sits at #1. Each new time I read it I catch a lot of little things that I missed and I'm able to see the way the characters are driven by each other much more clearly. The Lord of the Rings is the grandfather of all fantasy and created a lot of the common fantasy tropes we all know and love but the Witcher has taken it all to a whole new level. After reading the whole series I was just left speechless and can't even conceive how such a thing could come from someone's imagination. The Witcher makes GOT look like a novice effort and George RR Martin is a great writer but Andrez Sapkowski is just on another level.

@silverskall1432

4 жыл бұрын

The focus of A Song of Ice and Fire and The Witcher are completely different and to judge them by quality is very subjective, because one reader may find quality in amazingly written character relationships (The Witcher) while the other may find it in complex political battles between deep characters (A Song of Ice and Fire). If you reread ASoIaF you will notice that there are many, many plots that you won't get the first time around, and you will uncover whole new layers of storytelling and worldbuilding like putting together pieces of a puzzle. Alt Shift X, Preston Jacobs, IdeasofIceandFire (Daniel Greene did a Fantasy Chat with him once) are KZreadrs that show you how deep you can dive into the complexity of ASoIaF. An example of this would be: "A Song of Ice and Fire: The Dornish Master Plan" by Preston Jacobs. Don't want to come of as a fanboy to either of those, just saying they have different strengths and both execute them masterfully in my opinion.

@norightturn7047

4 жыл бұрын

@@silverskall1432 You're absolutely right. I find quality in the Witcher but despite George RR Martin being such a great writer his books never did it for me. Weird how that works out. I'm not saying they're bad just not for me I guess. I'm no expert on writing but I've read enough to recognize great writing and GRR Martin is a great writer....it's just that his books bore me to tears and I can't get past the fact that I could care less about his complexities in story structure, big battles, politics, etc because I never once cared about any of the characters for some reason. Maybe if I hadn't of read the Witcher series first? I just love those books so much but it's like comparing apples to carrots. Their focus is completely different.

You don't really get to see Yennefer's soft side until she meets Ciri. She changes.

I’ve recently started reading The Witcher series. Not knowing any better and not knowing the-series order, my first book was Sword of Destiny. I’ll eventually correct that small mistake and will read The Last Wish before continuing with the series. That said, Iwas

“Dandelion stuck with the first version. And he never sang it. Never. To no one”

Glad you're enjoying it too Daniel! I'm reading them aswell. Currently at the 3rd book in the main series and although I liked the prequal's mini stories just a little better I'm still very much enjoying my time with Geralt.

Dang! Well i just bought the last wish..gott read that and buy the other soon!

@DanielGreeneReviews

6 жыл бұрын

So happy I can help people find books to read :) main reason I run this channel.

@burge2695

6 жыл бұрын

Daniel Greene when i first saw one of your videos like 2 weeks ago..i noticed that you liked alot of the same series i liked too so pretty much anything you recommend i will put on my tbr list 😏

Wow , great review. I am a massive fan of Witcher books as well as this one is one of my favourite.

By far one of the most refreshing and emotional takes on fantasy. Love it!!

I am listening to Sword of Destiny and reading BLood of Elves now.

Yes. Everything. Lol. I LOVED this book. Your point about the interactions in this series being such an important part of the story hits the mark exactly.

My favorite book in the series. I'm not so sure I like the main plot so much. Mainly because of what became of Ciri, but I had other problems with the rest as well.

Glad you’re liking this series! When I read it I loved it too! You are not over hyping it.

Imho, you are not overselling it. At least I loved those books, too. :) That being said, the rest of the books are a little different since they were written as an actual book series, not collections of short stories that were then tied together in book form. Personally I liked the short stories better then the book series, but I think that really comes down to preference.

Ive read these first two and honestly have had trouble connecting with the characters. I think it’s the short story format that isn’t working for me. I’m hoping the next book will be better for me considering it’s more of a normal novel. I’ve really enjoyed the audiobooks though, the narrator is fantastic!

@kpico

2 жыл бұрын

How'd you end up liking the audiobooks?

I really recommend playing the games after you finish the books. Especially the third one and the DLC's. Such a perfect way to say goodbye to these characters.

I think that the witcher short story books are as if the best game master in d&d would play every character.

I want to read books and I'm horrible at it right now but the witcher has made me forget what I am reading. The only other books to make me do this was at points Harry Potter and Percy Jackson, this might be my favorite series of books ever.

I don't know, at times I felt like the books were about Ciri. Except for The Last Wish, she moves the whole story. It's interesting how I continue to care about the two coming together even if they didn't really spend that much time as father and daughter

@stephengrant4841

Жыл бұрын

That’s very true, towards the middle of the series she becomes more of a protagonist than Geralt.

You explained it perfectly. I agree with every single point.

IMO while the short stories are wonderful and captivating I think the authors true talent lies in the next 5 books which are all part of the same over arching plot. If you adore these first two as much as you say there's no doubt in my mind that you'll love the next books. Also if you didn't know there's an 8th book to be released in summer of this year which I believe is supposed to take up after The Sword of Destiny in a string of short stories if I'm not mistaken.

@kevinwarden2450

6 жыл бұрын

As someone who's neither read or played Witcher, can I skip the short story collections and skip right to the 5-book arc?

@coyote271280

6 жыл бұрын

that is a no, some of the more important relationship dynamics start in the short stories, characters are introduced in the short stories and so many things that appear like just another story, that end up being MAJOR plot points in the witcher saga later on.

@kevinwarden2450

6 жыл бұрын

Then I shall read them in order. :)

@captainwilhelm9657

6 жыл бұрын

Technically the 8th book has been out for years but it hasn't been translated into English yet and that translation is what's coming out soon. Also it's set between short stories in Last Wish.

My all time favorite series of books 💜🙌🙏

Love these books!!!

I don't think you are over-hyping the series at all. I read the whole saga and absolutely loved it. I will say that I prefer the short stories over the novels, but that's just a personal preference.

These books are so amazing

Don't worry, I think most of us pronounce it dan-delion (as do the audiobooks). It seems too weird to had dan-de-lion as a name.

@DanielGreeneReviews

6 жыл бұрын

I assume in the original language it sounds much more like a cool fantasy name. Just a guess.

@Sara866873

6 жыл бұрын

Daniel Greene It's Jaskier in Polish, I think, and means buttercup. And yeah it's not his real name, if I remember correctly it's "revealed" in the novels? He is one of my favourite characters and he and Geralt have some incredible and funny moments together. These reviews make me want to reread the books some time soon and I probably will ^^

You pronounce dandelion like the reader in the audiobooks so it's not weird

well then i cant wait for Geralt turn in the tournament then (from the sounds of it he could make it to the finals maybe)

@pokedoctor2087

6 жыл бұрын

Richard Bug but he's pitched against Ishmael so WoT bias might be an issue

Would Daniel or anyone else say that the Witcher land is as large and detailed as Randland, Roshar, or Westeros?

@DanielGreeneReviews

6 жыл бұрын

Not even close so far. It’s really not about the world so far, though that could of course shift. Just started book 3

@kevinwarden2450

6 жыл бұрын

Okay, cool. A fantasy doesn't need a huge world if the story is good enough. :)

@kalebkross

6 жыл бұрын

The later books really start to go into more world building and political stuff. It may not be quite as extensive as the ones you mentioned, but it definitely holds its own later on.

@errtu123

6 жыл бұрын

The world of Witcher is not very detailed or fleshed out. We don't even have a map approved by A. Sapkowski. That is because he never intended to create a world like B. Sanderson. Reader does get to know the political climate in the later books of the series. The world is a very classical fantasy world (all the typical races, all the typical creatures from legends and folklore)

This book made me cry, barely few books have made me do so....

Let's all be happy that this hasn't got a movie adaptation yet. Only the games could really do this world justice.

Hi Daniel. Have You read anything from Robin Hobb?

That was fast haha

I’m sorry but I’m halfway through Sword of Destiny (3 stories in out of 6) and I’m literally falling asleep every time I pick up this book. I really liked the first book, but these short stories feel so much more pointless and meandering. Will push through to get to the main series, but oof this one is a slog

@BookishEmperor

2 жыл бұрын

the main story is considered worse lol

I guess it's a preference but the tons and tons of dialogue and constant sitting around a fire or at an inn for 10 pages to talk about what they're going to do is a put off for me. I thought Last Wish didn't have as much of this as Sword of Destiny. I like the world and characters, sure. The lack of stakes in the Dudu story for example was just horrible for me, couldn't wait to get that over with. I'd say it's a 5/5 for uniqueness of setting. 4/5 for characters, even though most of them have a twist, I've found a decent amount of others that were just predictable. 2/5 for style. This is largely due to all of the dialogue and exposition through dialogue. It feels like I'm watching a T.V show and they're doing it because of budget cuts. Also, the fighting is cool but all the gripping and pirouetting and slicing left, then slicing right, then jumping over, dodging this and that, deflecting, stabbing, throwing... after a few of these, we get that Geralt is amazing and want to know if something different, unexpected happens during his amazing-ness and skillful fighting.

"You can't do that in a game unless you spend hours on dialogue" Hideo Kojima: hold my beer.

I’ve heard that the writing can be kinda jarring as a translation. Is it true?

@stephenshay9838

6 жыл бұрын

in places, but they don't happen often and by no means does it take away from the experience. I've read worse translations.

@stephenshay9838

6 жыл бұрын

you might miss some references though that don't translate well, so I've heard.

@AngryGoats555

6 жыл бұрын

stephen shay worse translations in other series? Is it only jarring in that it’s translated very literally? I’ve read translations of stories where, in the original language, there was a figure of speech or play on words, that didn’t translate into the English translation

@stephenshay9838

6 жыл бұрын

I can't attest to a figure of speech or play on words because I don't speak or read Polish. Things are often lost in translation, but you are not going to be jarred out of the experience. What you do get is maybe a spot here or there that might not make a lot of sense at first. What I meant by reading worse, is that I have read translated books from Russian--not The Witcher--that have been hard to follow. You don't get that here.

@AngryGoats555

6 жыл бұрын

stephen shay gotcha! Thanks!

If you play video games, then you should definitely check out the witcher 3- it is a masterpiece. The focus is on story and character interaction. But it is a sequel to the books.

@errtu123

6 жыл бұрын

it is not a sequel to the books... It is not canon at all. The game has nothing to do with the books other than using the world and characters. Its more like a alternate reality world.

@Cazaril

6 жыл бұрын

piotr jurkowski they are cannon if you want them to be. Some fans do consider the games to be sequels. Some fans, like you, do not. Quit trying to make art black and white. I don’t personally like the first two games so I choose to ignore them in the “canon” argument. The third game to me definitely feels like the books. A lot of The side quests remind me of the short stories with their humor and sometimes tragic nature. The wild hunt hunting Ciri definitely feels like a logical continuation from the books. It sounds like you havent even played the game before judging it tbh.

@errtu123

6 жыл бұрын

I disagree completely. Following this logic, any fanfic can be considered canon, which I find simply wrong. Wanting something to be canon doesn't make it so. Only the author could do that. And he said in an interview (which I'm not going to look for now), that he ended the series in the way he did, in order to make sure other people couldn't use his characters.

@Cazaril

6 жыл бұрын

piotr jurkowski We’re talking about literature and video games. To me there’s always room for your own interpretation when it comes to the arts. Let me give you another example then. After Disney bought star wars, they declared that almost(?) all the books written in the Star wars universe were non cannon. Yet you don’t find many star wars fans denouncing all of those books as non cannon. I think the Darth Bane story for example belongs in the cannon category. And calling the witcher 3 “fanfic” is more than a little insulting to a masterpiece of a game that has a very similar story as the main saga- that is, find Ciri. The game’s story has been praised by 99% of critics so let’s not act like it’s just some cheap fan fiction. If you agree with the author, that’s fine. To me, it’s not sac religious to disagree with him. Especially considering that the guy gives no credit to the games for making his books relevant outside of his own country. You can see in some of his interviews that He is really salty about the games, he sold the rights for a relatively low price and has been smacking himself ever since for missing out on lots of money. Edit: also When I say it’s cannon, i’m not saying it’s universally cannon, that all fans have to accept it. It’s cannon just to me.

@errtu123

6 жыл бұрын

By no means, did I mean it as insult. This is were our opinions differ. I believe in author's right of determining what is canon and what is not. Of course everyone has a right to their own interpretation, but it doesn't make it canon. SW is a good example, Disney changing so much is why a rift between various fans sprang up. It is why we now have various canons: Disney, EU, purist aka Lucas's movie canon, all movies canon, etc. I think the Witcher should be treated in a similar ashion: there is a book canon and game canon, which are separate beings, perfectly enjoyable and great in their own right. Also when it comes to SW, there is the matter of how different the books are from the movies. Feats of Jedi and Siths across the books are ridiculously overpowered compared to what we saw in the movies (so far at least). This is another reason why we have various canons (even before Disney bought SW).

I really enjoyed these books, but I don’t understand how they can ever be compared to series like Ice and Fire or Kingkiller chronicles. Enjoyable short stories with fun characters compared to raw, insightful, realistic epics with polished writing styles.

@vagabondvlad

3 жыл бұрын

The style of Sapkowsky is mush better than authors you mentioned. The Witcher's English translation lost many beautiful phrases, thoughts and witty jokes of original. Even with not perfect translation you can say that overall story give reader more unique experience, than Rufus or Martin ever did. I can find books similar to Song of Ice and Fire easy, but I could not find anything close to Witcher even a little.

Great but very much ripped off Michael Moorcock's Elric books.

@stephengrant4841

Жыл бұрын

The main character, certainly. I would agree wholeheartedly there, but everything else in the series is fairly original and well done imo, so I don’t care as much when Geralt develops differently than Elric does.

witcher world = slavic world

I just read the second book and the storyline that gives title to the book is completely amazing, it is what drives the future of the series and how it connects to the first book is great. I do must admit that I enjoyed much more the first book, however this is not left behind. Hopefully I’ll read the rest of the series. 4.3/5 I would say.