Reviews

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

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beachybookstack's review

4.0

Sapkowski writes his books outside the usual narrative path I expect, which is nice, but also slightly confusing. More occurs in the center of the book than the end, which serves as something closer to an epilogue for scattered characters. Unlike the first book, this one has far more political intrigue because of the tensions building between kingdoms and socerers alike. I have enjoyed it but some sections run slow with Ciri. Not sure where the next book will pick up! I'll definitely be continuing the series once I have a break from my classes again.

ladykitsugo's review

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adventurous challenging mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

jungihong's review

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I know I'm missing by not being able to read in Polish, but still 4 books in I'm really enjoying the series.

cgdppl's review

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adventurous dark funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

This is one of the two books where I think the withcher series peaks. A truly great piece of dark fantasy literature. This one encapsulates what is in my opinion the essence of the whole series and its vibe.

victor_micro's review

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3.0

Gosh where do I begin...Weak and unstructured plot that doesn’t know what it wants to be. Politics can be interesting, but not if you market the series as a story about a witcher, which I as a reader got in very small doses. There is no monster hunting except one chapter, Geralt doesn’t move the plot further and is just a simple bystander. You’d think Cirilla, the actual main character of the story would be the one who moves the plot further, but she doesn’t. I am very confused because of the ending and the « love scene » or whatever that was supposed to be doesn’t make any sense in respect to the established character.
The cliffhanger is bad because the story doesn’t get its closure before laying the basis for the next one and frankly I could not care less at the end, because the writing just got worse and worse.
I would roll my eyes each time I would see the word « contempt » which is abused and put forcibly into dialogues. I swear that at one point it was repeated 3 times on the same page. The descriptions are bad, going into the type of earrings somebody wears or kinds of dresses and it gets tedious. The structure of the story itself is all over the place. The cast of characters is gigantic and barely few of them have any importance to the story. When one character commits suicide I felt... nothing. I could not distinguish who that was from the masses, it didn’t feel important, but I feel like it should have.
It is soooo far away from The Last Wish which was one of the most interesting fantasy books I have ever read. This one however made me not want to continue reading this series.
Sorry, but the game delivers better stories than this book (which is crazy and unbelievable).

veraann's review against another edition

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3.0

The Witcher #2
Fantasy
Trigger warnings for rape content in this book.
I want to like the Witcher books more. Geralt is a great character. The world is immense. This book has a lot of politics and many factions competing for control of the world. There is a prophecy that surrounds Ciri.
I do not like that all the women in this world are all portrayed as promiscuous and barely clothed.
I think if I liked more characters in the series I would probably still enjoy it as a whole. But I really dont like enough of them to care what happens next.

snoopydoo77's review

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5.0

It has been a while since I read the last Witcher book, but it was easy to fall back into the world... with Geralt, Yennifer, Ciri, Dandelion and the rest of the big cast.

I'm so glad I went back to this world. I knew I loved it but it gets better with each book and I already know that I will be sad when I’m caught up and its done and over.

I love the writing and the telling of the story. I liked the way the story is being told by everyone and always a little different yet the same. It’s hard to explain... for those who read the first few books, you should know.

Everyone is pretty much split up and on their own in this book, for the most part.

There is so much happening its insane, the war is in full swing and nobody is safe. Everyone is affected in some way, shape or form by the war.

I loved the relationship between everyone even when they are not together. Everyone grew so much in this book it was great to see...

I loved Yennifer and Ciri’s relationship. The good the bad and everything in between. I also loved Yennefer and Geralt.... and of course, Dandelion. He quickly became of my favorites.

I think what I love most about these books is that not everything goes always smooth and our main people get beaten down ... A LOT... But always get back up and never, ever give up on each other.

Overall, I love the story telling, the world but most of all the characters and their relationships with each other.

This book ended with and pretty shocking cliffhanger and I cannot wait to read the next book.

If you like fantasy / high fantasy and you have not read this series, I highly recommend it. It is well worth the hype and I see now why there are games and show about it.

For this book... I think I rate it 4.5★ there were a few times it was a bit too confusing but overall, I loved it and I eventually got it.