The Witcher Novels Recomended/Needed/Skippable

[username_2093123]

The Witcher Novels Recomended/Needed/Skippable

Hello,I finished playing The Witcher computer game a few months ago. With Geralt losing his memory at the beginning, I felt comfortable not having read the books. It seemed like part of the game was creating your new version of Geralt, deciding who he favored, his views on killing, etc. But, Now after playing the game, I'm hesitant to go back and read the Books. This, I suppose, is coming from a Role-playing perspective. I'm scared to have the novels paint a completely different picture for me, part of me wants to let sleeping dogs lie, so to speak.I was wondering, what are your opinions on the novels? and in relation to the game itself?

 

[tommy5761]

Only two of the witcher series of books have been translated into English with a 3rd due in maybe 2012 .In my opinion the books give a pretty good history of the witcher world like surroundings and gives a decent background portrayal of some of the characters found in the game .Note however that the game takes place 5 years after the books ended so it won`t spoil anything for you from that perspective . If you search around the forum you will find several threads containing info about the books vs the game .Also you may find a few fan translations in the Sapkowski section

 

[GuyNwah]

A number of conversations and tales told in the game will make a lot more sense when you encounter them in context, in the books. For the most part, reading the books won't give you dissonance. The devs were meaning to honor Sapkowski with the game, and there are only a few lapses of any importance.

Spoiler

The big one, which comes in for endless discussion here, is the romance between Geralt and Triss.

 

[username_2093198]

Having only read The Last Wish myself, I get the distinct feeling that even the choices you can make are within the character of Geralt. You don't choose what he believes so much as choosing what beliefs he regards as more important given the situation.I definitely recommend you read the book, the Witcher inside won't be terribly different from what you've come to think of him.

 

[username_2093123]

Alright, thank you all. With the Approach of The Witcher 2 I've been really itching to read the books. And from the sounds of it, they will only enhance the experience.

 

[fenixp]

What I find really genius about the game is that no matter what choices you make, Geralt will always explain it in a Geralt way, making him always compatible with his past self.