The Witcher books (SPOILERS)

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Hi guys, I just finished all books except season of storms which I understand the fan translation is yet completed.

I can say by playing the game first it actually helps a lot for me to visualize the story. The faces, voices and movement of the characters easily imagined while reading it. Now a few things I don't quite understand
1. How and why Coen fought in battle of brenna?
2. Geralt and shani relationship, were there more information other than that one time they got caught by dandellion?
3. Why did Yennefer and Ciri they had to talk to the lodge? I felt they were in control of their fate by that time (except wild hunt of course)?
4. I still don't get how did yennefer came up with the idea of going to the last place pavetta was seen. Looking for clues? Or she already knew about it and just planning to straight to Vilgefortz and fight him there? (which is stupid and worse than geralt in my opinion)

Hope some of you who are more accomplished reader can help me with these questions. Thanks!
1) No explanation for that. Probably he at least decided to take a side, after Triss' discussion in Kaer Morhen.

2) Nope, only that.

3) Because the Lodge called Yennefer and Ciri to have a discussion, they had to go there and it was the chance to clear all the things.

4) It was the last thing she could do. Everyone had left her alone. The Lodge didn't care about her position, to the eyes of the world and Geralt's. They needed only what she would have found if he had succeded. They didn't care about Geralt.
Dijkstra still wanted her to be considered as traitor, even if he knew she hadn't fled to Niflgaard or to Vilgefortz's side.
So, all for all, better going to a place than stand still doing nothing. She didn't care about her safeness because she was already screwed... by all. So she threw herself directly into the wolf's fangs even if she knew it was dangerous and probably a suicide mission. She had to sacrifice everything, her magic and all, knowing that she has no much left, because her reputation is at the stake. Anyway, everyone in Skellige knew it was a suicide mission. She suspected Vilgefortz was behind it, because when he teleported from Thanedd his signal got lost in the middle of nowhere, hence the Sedna Abyss. Also, it was the chance to shed light about Duny and Pavetta deaths.
 
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Is The road with no return canon ?

No one knows. It was second short story (though originally it supposed to be a mininovel) written by Sapkowski and he said he never intended for it to be connected to the Witcher Universe. Still he liked the name Visenna so much, he decided to reuse it as a name of Geralt's mother. Some other names were also reused by him in The Witcher, like Yaruga and Alzur. Then the matters complicated even more when the creators of the Witcher comic book series decided to turn it into the first issue of the series, where they explicitly showed that Visenna and Korin were Geralt's parents, but it was never approved by Sapkowski himself.

The Witcher games seem to borrow some ideas from it (like Koshchey), but overall ignore it, as evident by a reveal that vrans died out a very long time ago in the games timeline, while in The Road with no Return they were still around 100 years ago..
 
Still he liked the name Visenna so much, he decided to reuse it as a name of Geralt's mother.
Well, Visenna is the same person in Road with no Return and in Something More. So I think he decided to link both stories after all.
 
Well, Visenna is the same person in Road with no Return and in Something More. So I think he decided to link both stories after all.

As I wrote above, there is no conclusive proof either way that they are the same person or that The Road with no Return takes place in Witcher universe. All Sapkowski said is that he did not intended for them to be the same person when he wrote those short stories, but we don't know if he changed his mind since then or not..
 
As I wrote above, there is no conclusive proof either way that they are the same person or that The Road with no Return takes place in Witcher universe. All Sapkowski said is that he did not intended for them to be the same person when he wrote those short stories, but we don't know if he changed his mind since then or not..
Conclusive proof imho is that their description is the same. Hair, snakeskin headband, male clothes. She is sorceress (druidess), an healer. So I think that the name Visenna is not just a coincidence and he decided to make that character Geralt's mother. Maybe then he decided also to change his mind about that short story, we don't know. I'm only sure that it's the same character in both stories.
 
Conclusive proof imho is that their description is the same. Hair, snakeskin headband, male clothes. She is sorceress (druidess), an healer. So I think that the name Visenna is not just a coincidence and he decided to make that character Geralt's mother. Maybe then he decided also to change his mind about that short story, we don't know. I'm only sure that it's the same character in both stories.

Well maybe he only liked that certain aspect, and projected into canon.
 
As I wrote above, there is no conclusive proof either way that they are the same person or that The Road with no Return takes place in Witcher universe. All Sapkowski said is that he did not intended for them to be the same person when he wrote those short stories, but we don't know if he changed his mind since then or not..

I've read the german version and there is a preamble before each story. In the preamble relating to "The road of no return" he said that he actually didn't intend to make it canon, but then changed his mind. In the end, the story is canon.
 
I've read the german version and there is a preamble before each story. In the preamble relating to "The road of no return" he said that he actually didn't intend to make it canon, but then changed his mind. In the end, the story is canon.

I have this preamble in polish and he doesn't state anything about "changing his mind", just that he decided to reuse the name and mentions the comic book adaptation that tried to connect this short story to the Witcher Universe, but he disclosed it as a comic book writer vision, not his vision.
 
I have this preamble in polish and he doesn't state anything about "changing his mind", just that he decided to reuse the name and mentions the comic book adaptation that tried to connect this short story to the Witcher Universe, but he disclosed it as a comic book writer vision, not his vision.

It's been quite a while since I've read this book, so I may be wrong. Are you sure that he didn't write something like "Why not." or "I don't mind seeing it as canon." I know, he never intended the story to be canon, but for me it sounded like he doesn't dislike the idea of being it.
 
It's been quite a while since I've read this book, so I may be wrong. Are you sure that he didn't write something like "Why not." or "I don't mind seeing it as canon." I know, he never intended the story to be canon, but for me it sounded like he doesn't dislike the idea of being it.

He didn't say that he dislikes or approves the idea, just that some people believe that this is the case. So far, all we've got are speculations, which is why canonicity of The Road with no Return is one of those topics that keep coming back in fandom discussions and leads absolutely nowhere.
 
He didn't say that he dislikes or approves the idea, just that some people believe that this is the case. So far, all we've got are speculations, which is why canonicity of The Road with no Return is one of those topics that keep coming back in fandom discussions and leads absolutely nowhere.

OK, then I must have misread something.
 
I'm re-reading the saga again and by starting out with The Last Wish I have to admit I never realized how many fairy tales Sapkowski used in one way or another.
I even found some Rumpelstetl (Polish version) ... nice.

And a question to you Polish native speakers: Over here we have a saying "wo sich Fuchs und Hase gute Nacht sagen" when referring to literally the end of the world, which means something like "where fox and hare say goodnight to each other". Now, at the end of Kraniec świata, Jaskier is trying to find a name for his ballad, beginning with Tam, gdzie .... Well, and then the devil says "goodnight".
So the Polish equivalent to that German saying is "where the devils says goodnight"? Just asking to be sure. ;)
 
When does season of storms take place? I read some people say its before the last wish and some are saying to read it after the lady of the lake
 
When does season of storms take place? I read some people say its before the last wish and some are saying to read it after the lady of the lake

Season of Storms actually really complicated the short stories chronology. It looks like the correct one is this:

1. A Grain of Truth
2. Lesser Evil
3. The Edge of The World
4. The Last Wish (short story)
5. Season of Storms (as a whole)
6. A Question of Price
7. The Witcher (short story)
8. Voice of Reason
9. The Bounds of Reason
10. A Shard of Ice
11. Eternal Flame
12. A Little Sacrifice
13. The Sword of Destiny
14. Something More
 
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