From games to books

[karoleq11]

From games to books

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.404351-An-Impromptu-Witcher-Lets-Play-now-with-the-Witcher-2

I have recently found this on escapist forum. The person here started with games and ended up reading and reviewing all books (most of them fan translated). I really like seeing other people getting into the lore of witcher universe. I too started my adventure with Geralt from games. Fortunately I'm Polish so I had no problem in reading books. Forgive me any grammar mistakes.

 

[sfinx]

It's always nice when something awesome brings you to something else (also awesome).

In my case it was exact opposite. I read books many times before I played Witcher for the first time. I didn't care much about games, so I found it accidentaly (when I was searching for something about books), few years after release of first game. And I am so glad ..

 

[EliHarel]

I also began reading the books after playing the game. I'm just about to finish The Sword of Destiny, looking forward to The Last Wish once it arrives from Amazon. It's fun getting to continue Geralt's adventures as I wait with Witcher 2 (computer problems) and 3 (time-barely-crawling-by problems).

I understand that Sapkowski in his later book(s?) sort of took a dump on what the two games established. Is this correct? If so, it makes for a pretty awkward experience, withthe story branching in two different paths (CDPR and Sapkowski) that can't exist together.

 

[vivaxardas2015]

I understand that Sapkowski in his later book(s?) sort of took a dump on what the two games established. Is this correct? If so, it makes for a pretty awkward experience, withthe story branching in two different paths (CDPR and Sapkowski) that can't exist together.

No. The games take place after the events in the books (5 years after). Sapkowski's new book takes place in the beginning of his saga, so he never continued Geralt's story, and thus there aren't any alternatives to the events in the games.

 

[GuyNwah]

I also began reading the books after playing the game. I'm just about to finish The Sword of Destiny, looking forward to The Last Wish once it arrives from Amazon. It's fun getting to continue Geralt's adventures as I wait with Witcher 2 (computer problems) and 3 (time-barely-crawling-by problems).

I understand that Sapkowski in his later book(s?) sort of took a dump on what the two games established. Is this correct? If so, it makes for a pretty awkward experience, withthe story branching in two different paths (CDPR and Sapkowski) that can't exist together.

There is only the one new book, Sezon Burz (Season of Storms), that is more recent than the Witcher games. It would be unfair to say that it "took a dump on" anything the games established, for two reasons:
1. It's set way back around the time of The Last Wish, when Geralt's family and friends of the novels had yet to be established. I don't think it contradicts anything in Sapkowski's canon or the alternative canon of the games.
2. Sapkowski's canon is his alone and stands alone. He has made that point as forcefully as with a Mahakaman battle hammer. The games are not part of his canon; their origin may be his canon, but after that they stand on their own.

 

[Luxorek]

I remember reading this thread back in the day, when she was still reading the books. I enjoyed it, as I always do when non-Polish react to writings of Sapkowski. She made some clever observations.

I have to say though, that it got kinda akward afterwards and by that I mean massively creepy when the author of the topic started writing [or rather planning] her own fan-fiction [which I'm fine with] and had Ciri have romantic feelings for Geralt [which I'm not fine with].

 

[arkblazer]

There is only the one new book, Sezon Burz (Season of Storms), that is more recent than the Witcher games. It would be unfair to say that it "took a dump on" anything the games established, for two reasons:
1. It's set way back around the time of The Last Wish, when Geralt's family and friends of the novels had yet to be established. I don't think it contradicts anything in Sapkowski's canon or the alternative canon of the games.
2. Sapkowski's canon is his alone and stands alone. He has made that point as forcefully as with a Mahakaman battle hammer. The games are not part of his canon; their origin may be his canon, but after that they stand on their own.

And if anything it reinforced the canon of the game, since it hinted at the end that geralt cameback to life

 

[Mataresa]

http://www.escapistmagazine.com/forums/read/9.404351-An-Impromptu-Witcher-Lets-Play-now-with-the-Witcher-2

I have recently found this on escapist forum. The person here started with games and ended up reading and reviewing all books (most of them fan translated). I really like seeing other people getting into the lore of witcher universe. I too started my adventure with Geralt from games. Fortunately I'm Polish so I had no problem in reading books. Forgive me any grammar mistakes.

I read/skimmed through the thread there and it upset me in quite a few places. While I think, that the person makes the effort to read the books and to search for additional knowledge on the web is awesome, I cannot for the life of me understand, how that person can either not remember any names after dozens of hours of gameplay or constantly misspells them and uses variances, when at the same time complaining, that people say Joan D'Arc instead of Jeanne D'Arc.
Also complaining about women having there own schemes and calling that evil, or being captured and tortured and saying, that that makes them a helpless damsel in distress. What about male characters being captured? Most of them will get killed, cause it is not as fun to rape them, or look at Bond for example. Does having to be exchanged by the MI6 make him a damsel? No, it happens that you can't help yourself. That doesn't take away your selfworth.
But I should stop, as this is off topic and we had this lenghty discussion.

 

[Senteria]

After the two witcher games, I started to read the books as well. I am actually not a book reader at all, yet I loved those books!

 

[Gr3aves]

Same here. Got TW2 when it came out, loved it, got TW1, loved it, then the 3 translated books. Loved the short stories, but the beginning of Blood of Elves is a bit dull. Hopefully it will get back to short story level soon.

 

[Gilrond-i-Virdan]

I'd say short stories have some unique feeling to them - they are early works in the Witcher saga and have most humor and they are less gloomy than the rest.