Blood of Elves (Mini-Review)

Blood of Elves is the first novel in Andrej Sapkowski's Witcher series. Without a ruler, there is a political struggle to decide who will rule Cintra. Whoever is crowned king must have Princess Cirilla as his bride or else no one will accept his rule. It isn't enough that Ciri is an important political figure, she is also of great interest among those who specialize in magic. It is Geralt of Rivia's duty to protect the princess, but that's easier said than done.

I had other obligations, so I had to pause reading the book so I could read other things. This makes reviewing the book a little hard as there was a great amount of time between reading the book and finishing the last fifty pages. If I even had fifty pages left to read.

Anyways...I should have read Sword of Destiny after The Last Wish but here we are. I figure that Sword of Destiny would cover much of the same ground as the first season of Netflix's The Witcher and I really wanted to read what happened next. So there could be a lot of things I get wrong because I didn't read the books in the right order.

It was a little odd how thirsty Triss Merigold is for Geralt of Rivia. I know he's the main character but...really? She's a good presence for Ciri who has been living with the all male Witchers at the start of the book. Triss is there to reprimand the Witchers for not realizing that there are some physiological differences between men and women. She also teaches Ciri about makeup calling it 'confidence'. Yet whenever she turns her attention to Geralt she stops being a character and more of a lovesick puppy that won't be happy unless she does the nasty with him.

Canonically Geralt and Ciri have a father and daughter relationship. Ciri is Geralt's adopted daughter that he got through the Law of Surprise. Yet some of the wording in the book makes me think that Ciri is sexually interested in Geralt and other women are jealous of her. I am reading things the wrong way and I had to constantly remind myself that I was making a big deal about nothing. But I guess I found another ship I should be very careful about who I mention it to.

There is a good amount of time spent in the book discussing the political landscape of the series. You find out how the royals are playing their games to get the power that Cintra offers. You also learn about how those who deal with magic feel about Ciri and her importance to them. You also find out what the common people feel and what they know. That last point really makes the world feel real since most people don't know the whole truth. All they know is what their trusted sources say.

Dandelion proves himself to be an interesting character yet again. While he isn't the bravest or the smartest, he can hold his own. I was impressed by what he strived to do even if he failed.

I would recommend Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski to fans of The Witcher. I would also recommend Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski to fans of fantasy.