Reading the witcher books before playing Wild Hunt.

[davincy1977]

Reading the witcher books before playing Wild Hunt.

I am thinking of reading the books, but wont they be huge spoilers to the game?

Any suggestions?

 

[luc0s]

Nope, no spoilers.

The books are all set before the games. Everything that happens in the books is (I believe) 2 years before the events of The Witcher 1.

In fact I get the feeling that CDPR kind-of expects you to at least have a basic understanding of what happened in the books. There are so many book references in TW3 and a lot of stuff concerning Ciri might not make much sense if you haven't read the books.

A friend of mine who hasn't read the books asked me about Ciri. Hey told me that he felt Ciri's introduction was quite sudden and out of the blue. He didn't understand why Ciri is important and why everyone is looking for her. If you read the books you'll perfectly understand what the deal is with Ciri and why everyone is looking for her.

 

[dragonbird]

And if you do plan to read them, it's best to read before playing. The books won't spoil the game, but the game has a lot of book spoilers.

---------- Updated at 07:46 PM ----------

Nope, no spoilers.

The books are all set before the games. Everything that happens in the books is (I believe) 2 years before the events of The Witcher 1.

In fact I get the feeling that CDPR kind-of expects you to at least have a basic understanding of what happened in the books. There are so many book references in TW3 and a lot of stuff concerning Ciri might not make much sense if you haven't read the books.

A friend of mine who hasn't read the books asked me about Ciri. Hey told me that he felt Ciri's introduction was quite sudden and out of the blue. He didn't understand why Ciri is important and why everyone is looking for her. If you read the books you'll perfectly understand what the deal is with Ciri and why everyone is looking for her.

I still haven't read the last few books. Yup, there were a few game things I didn't know, but most of it came out naturally. I agree though that Ciri's importance could have been explained better. (And her relationship to everyone else)

 

[EliHarel]

The other way around, actually. TW2 to a lesser degree and TW3 at its beginning spoil some of the books' biggest reveals.

 

[vesemas228]

Yep what @Dragonbird said. Pro tip: Audible.

The main things the books provide is a history of relationships between the characters. In the game story there's no introductions.. the setting assumes a level of familarity with the witcher universe.. That background is literally absent. There's a bunch of situational stuff that's also assumed.. eg, all the references to war, the sides of the war, the mages, the wild hunt, the locations etc. the game is presented assuming you know all the background. Actually.. it would probably be rather weird if you didn't know at least some of the background..

The flip side of that of course is if you do know the background.. its amazing.. and fits ontop of the witcher lore pile perfectly (at least from what i've played so far).

 

[Dude27]

Books take place before Witcher 1, so of course you won't spoil anything.
In fact quite the opposite it will aloow you to immerse into the world of Witcher even more. And you will get alot more pleasure after completing books and games.

 

[sz0ty0l4]

i couldn't read them because i didn't have enough time. But i wanted to know the story and the charracters so i've just read some summarys about the books and now i can understand the game alot better and it feels a lot better.

 

[exboomer]

And if you do plan to read them, it's best to read before playing. The books won't spoil the game, but the game has a lot of book spoilers.

---------- Updated at 07:46 PM ----------



I still haven't read the last few books. Yup, there were a few game things I didn't know, but most of it came out naturally. I agree though that Ciri's importance could have been explained better. (And her relationship to everyone else)

I agree. The devs shouldn't of expected everyone playing the game to have read the books and they should of done more to introduce Ciri and provide more of her backstory.

 

[Vargeras]

the only thing you spoil is how the books end, which is kinda disappointing for me, since I had hoped the would woulg explain a bit more, but it doesn't.

 

[exboomer]

Nope, no spoilers.

The books are all set before the games. Everything that happens in the books is (I believe) 2 years before the events of The Witcher 1.

In fact I get the feeling that CDPR kind-of expects you to at least have a basic understanding of what happened in the books. There are so many book references in TW3 and a lot of stuff concerning Ciri might not make much sense if you haven't read the books.

A friend of mine who hasn't read the books asked me about Ciri. Hey told me that he felt Ciri's introduction was quite sudden and out of the blue. He didn't understand why Ciri is important and why everyone is looking for her. If you read the books you'll perfectly understand what the deal is with Ciri and why everyone is looking for her.

So is there anyway those of us who haven't read the books to get the Cliff Notes version of them?

 

[davincy1977]

U can buy the books from the ibook app, though they are quite expensive.

 

[Floppinger25]

I still haven't read the last few books. Yup, there were a few game things I didn't know, but most of it came out naturally. I agree though that Ciri's importance could have been explained better. (And her relationship to everyone else)

Agreed. I haven´t read the books and the audience with the Nilfgaardian emperor was quite....awkward.

I was like "Nilfagaardian emperor? What does he want? Why is he interested in Ciri? Why does he even know of her? Best be brusque and don´t tell him anything, who knows what this power monger has planned."
Learning that he´s her father definetly explained things. I would have liked to have known that before the audience.

 

[JacenSolo]

Even tho the game spoils the bigger reveals from the books i think anyone who's really into the world of the Witcher should read the books.

They are an absolute blast to read.

 

[davincy1977]

Well i also discovered you can read all the witcher books on the Scribd app in the applestore for free.

 

[dukeandearl]

I have only read "The Last Wish", but I found it helpful regarding the relationship with Yen, since just playing the previous games I wasn't able to get a handle on why he's smitten with a lady that kind of treats him like a servant.

 

[prottenstein]

I read the tales and I've started Blood of the Elves. I think it all boils down on the personal feeling and preferences.
It's not the first time I read some books after playing a related (video)game.
It's happened with Tolkien and the Lord of the Rings, it's happened with the Dresden Files and now it's happening with the Witcher.
Even if the games can give a lot of spoilers, for me it's just a different experience.

 

[GZulu]

The lore (Books/'FLUFF") does not spoil anything. In fact the game was written in a way that expects you to know a bit about the world and it's end state at the end of the last book...

 

[Ray76]

Reading books before the game will deliver you the best experience. I doubt the W3 story will be that amazing for you if you won't read them. Books cover lot more about the characters and Ciri in particular than game does.

 

[Frybread]

I didn't finish the books until my second play through. But once I had read them all I had a better understanding of many of the minor characters that it made the game a little more enjoyable for me.

 

[GZulu]

But one then gets that The Witcher 3 as a game should stand on its own and not rely on Books to fill in Plot Gaps the game has. Many feel that (no me, obviously, I've read some of the books) the game doesn't give enough information about the newly introduced characters and they feel alienated/estranged/confused.

You guys can guess why that is.