Monster Slaying in a Not-So-Original World
The best thing about the second installment of Sapkowski’s Witcher series is that you can decide whether you want to continue reading right after the first two short stories. This is because the very first story in Sword of Destiny is, to put it bluntly, the weakest one, almost like an unintentional parody of itself. The second story, on the other hand, is the best, tying for first place with the last one.
Andrzej Sapkowski’s method remains the same as in the first book (see The Last Wish). The Witcher roams a rather unoriginal fantasy world, encounters various monsters and mythical creatures, while a cheering crowd behind him urges him to chop them up as quickly as possible. And the Witcher? Well, sometimes he chops them up, and sometimes he doesn’t.
Wait, Is This a Children’s Story?!
Unfortunately, the fairy-tale stereotypes once again drag Sapkowski’s book down. In the stories of Sword of Destiny, dragons hoard treasures in their caves. Okay, that was fine in The Lord of the Rings, but a few decades have passed since then. Even if we accept the premise that a dragon, this mindless beast, would first rob a few wealthy citizens before devouring them, then pack the stolen jewels into a purse with its paws—excuse me, claws—and haul them back to its cave, then sort them by carat value with a magnifying glass perched on its snout… it’s still a bit much to swallow that this monster can speak. And eloquently as fuck, at that…
Mind-Numbing Dialogues in Sword of Destiny
… just like most of the other characters. In other words, the overdone, pompous dialogues in Sapkowski’s fantasy novel have stayed the same. The most painful of these are Geralt’s conversations with the upper echelons of power (kings, princes, leaders, etc.), all of whom speak in the same ornate, adjective-laden tone.
However, the content of these dialogues seems to have improved slightly. Slightly. While not all of them are pointless babble, they’re still largely filled with meaningless philosophizing, which sometimes crosses over into soap-opera-level drama.
And something that wasn’t characteristic of the previous writing—excessive pathos—has now made its appearance in Sword of Destiny. At the end of the short story A Little Sacrifice, if you’re not already sobbing uncontrollably from the sentimentality, you might find yourself cringing on behalf of the author.
Let’s Talk About the Positives!
You might be asking, “For heaven’s sake, is there anything that has improved compared to the first book?!” Yes, there is. Everyone, brace yourselves, because here come the positives:
Uncle Sapko has leaned more into humor—sometimes it works, and sometimes… well, it doesn’t. But at least Dandelion isn’t as unbearably tiresome as before. In fact, you might even find yourself laughing at his lines! (Though you might still occasionally feel the urge to playfully swat him with a shovel.)
Sword of Destiny has a bit of a message: it shows the sure-fire recipe for how to ruin our natural environment. Thanks, we already know how to do that on our own. But even so, Uncle Sapko was way ahead of his time in terms of environmental awareness, so let’s give him two gold stars for that!
Love is a tangled web
There’s a well-crafted summary of the torments of love in Sapkowski’s collection of short stories (specifically in A Little Sacrifice). After all, tortured love is one of the novel’s central themes. The relationship between Geralt and the sorceress Yennefer, two infinitely strong-willed individuals, is one of the main connecting elements between the stories. And guess what? The woman is the stronger-willed of the two!
Uncle Sapko flirts with feminism and female empowerment here, with a strong emphasis on the expression of sexuality. In a medieval fantasy world, no less! If you were in Geralt’s shoes, you might already be reaching for your belt—if you weren’t afraid that Yennefer would just magically snatch it out of your hand. Eh, something’s not quite right here. 🙁
A Little Surprise!
The other recurring thread in Sword of Destiny also stretches back to The Last Wish. This revolves around the instantly likable, sharp-tongued Child of Surprise (a character that Sapkowski couldn’t have messed up even if he’d tried). The Law of Surprise carries significant responsibility, and Geralt does his best to avoid his fate at all costs. The final short story (Something More) reveals whether or not he succeeds. Incidentally, this last story is the most masterfully crafted in the two books so far. The author skillfully juggles multiple characters simultaneously, shifts between different timelines, and even manages to deceive the reader – more than once… Oh, if only all the stories had turned out this well!
Rating: 6.7/10
Sword of Destiny (The Witcher #2) by Andrzej Sapkowski
384 pages, Paperback
Published in 2015 by Gollancz
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Review of this previous volume:
The Last Wish
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Review of the Netflix series:
The Wtcher – The first three seasons