University has been neglected recently in favor of The Witcher. I've finished a quarter of Baptism of Fire, and I'm having a hard time putting it down. Time of Contempt was a fun read with a lot of political focus, but the more adventure-oriented BoF is a welcome change, as well as spending more time with Geralt.
My feelings and impressions so far:
My feelings and impressions so far:
The coup attempt in the island of Thanedd was cool. I had this morbid, masochistic fascination as I read how Geralt had his ass handed to him by Vilgefortz - you're so used to reading how Geralt is unmatched, and suddenly enters this cocky superstar and takes our witcher back to preschool. It was a harsh reminder that Geralt isn't invincible, let alone immortal, and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens with Vilgefortz, as well as Geralt's injuries. I remember in the first Witcher game, when you finally meet the errant witcher Berengar in chapter 4, he mentions something about Geralt's injuries. It's fun, now, to know what event he's referring to. Also, it was fun following Ciri in the Frying Pan, as well as seeing her join the Rats - yet another arc that I'm eager to see develop, as well as the consequences of what happened to her magic in the desert, when she played with fire.
Sometimes I have a bit of difficulty following all the different characters and allegiances (the mages, and the different Nilfgaardians), but it's nothing major, and I'm certain it was the same when I originally read A Song of Ice and Fire. Also, I would've liked for there to be a map attached to the book, because too often I seek maps on the internet to understand where the mentioned locations are. Again, a minor issue.
The thing I feel is the greatest "miss" at the moment is Nilfgaard. At first, it felt as if this conflict between Nilfgaard and the northern kingdoms had the potential of being a very nicely-done "grey" war, without a clear good and evil: Nilfgaard, on one hand, is a conquering empire, and on the other hand it seems to bring stability and economical prosperity to its lands, as well as freedom for all races. The northern kingdoms, on one hand, are the independent lands and underdogs against the mighty empire, which instinctively makes you root for them, yet on the other hand they seem quite venomously racist. I think keeping the impression of Nilfgaard as an "Enlightened Conqueror" would've made the conflict much more ambiguous and interesting. But the more I read, the more Nilfgaard is coming off as a cruel and merciless empire, willing to go to any lengths for its goals, leaving in its wake scorched earth and thousands of massacred innocents. It's not that the northern kingdoms are suddenly a noble lot, but Nilfgaard - at this point in my read - is coming off as a much greater evil. That's not to say I'm not enjoying it, far from it.
It's an interesting journey for me, since I know from the first game that the war will lead to an epic and decisive battle at Brenna, and on the micro scale it ends with Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri in Rivia, while the first two "die". However, though I'm aware of these two major events taking place somewhere in the future and near the end, my understanding of them is still very vague, and it's still fun to see how the story leads to them.
Sometimes I have a bit of difficulty following all the different characters and allegiances (the mages, and the different Nilfgaardians), but it's nothing major, and I'm certain it was the same when I originally read A Song of Ice and Fire. Also, I would've liked for there to be a map attached to the book, because too often I seek maps on the internet to understand where the mentioned locations are. Again, a minor issue.
The thing I feel is the greatest "miss" at the moment is Nilfgaard. At first, it felt as if this conflict between Nilfgaard and the northern kingdoms had the potential of being a very nicely-done "grey" war, without a clear good and evil: Nilfgaard, on one hand, is a conquering empire, and on the other hand it seems to bring stability and economical prosperity to its lands, as well as freedom for all races. The northern kingdoms, on one hand, are the independent lands and underdogs against the mighty empire, which instinctively makes you root for them, yet on the other hand they seem quite venomously racist. I think keeping the impression of Nilfgaard as an "Enlightened Conqueror" would've made the conflict much more ambiguous and interesting. But the more I read, the more Nilfgaard is coming off as a cruel and merciless empire, willing to go to any lengths for its goals, leaving in its wake scorched earth and thousands of massacred innocents. It's not that the northern kingdoms are suddenly a noble lot, but Nilfgaard - at this point in my read - is coming off as a much greater evil. That's not to say I'm not enjoying it, far from it.
It's an interesting journey for me, since I know from the first game that the war will lead to an epic and decisive battle at Brenna, and on the micro scale it ends with Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri in Rivia, while the first two "die". However, though I'm aware of these two major events taking place somewhere in the future and near the end, my understanding of them is still very vague, and it's still fun to see how the story leads to them.
Also, poor Geralt's journey feels as if it was for naught, seeing as the druids burned his only known source of information. Btw, I'm glad he was slightly more mature in this book, because in Baptism of Fire he was acting like a little bitch throughout most of their adventure. And lastly... what an ending! That scene on the lake... mm-mm-mmh! Honestly, I wonder at times whether the franchise should have been titled "Witcheress", with the games having us play Ciri in her early 20s. 
