Where to Start with Andrzej Sapkowski: A Reading Guide
Where to start with Andrzej Sapkowski and The Witcher — whether to begin with The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny, or Blood of Elves. A complete reading guide.
Andrzej Sapkowski (born 1948) is the Polish fantasy novelist who — beginning with short stories published in the 1980s and collected in The Last Wish (1993) — created Geralt of Rivia and the Witcher world, one of the most original and most widely adapted fantasy settings in contemporary popular culture. The Witcher series draws on Slavic mythology and Eastern European folklore rather than the usual Anglo-Saxon or Norse influences, and deconstructs classic fairy tales through a morally complex lens that refuses easy heroism. The series has been adapted as one of the most successful video game franchises in history (CD Projekt Red’s Witcher series) and as a Netflix television series. Sapkowski is the most internationally recognised Polish writer of the twentieth century.
Where to Start: The Last Wish (1993/2007)
The essential starting point — and the best introduction to both Geralt of Rivia and Sapkowski’s distinctive approach to fantasy. The Last Wish is structured as a framing narrative (Geralt recovering in a temple, talking with the priestess Nenneke) with a series of interlaced stories: his encounters with a cursed prince who transforms into a striga at night, with a djinn, with a beauty called Renfri who is also known as a bandit, with a Snow White variant in which the dwarfs are bandits and the Queen has legitimate grievances, and with his first encounter with Yennefer of Vengerberg.
Each story is a fairy tale retelling stripped of its moral clarity. The monsters are not simply evil; the humans are not simply good; the Witcher’s role is to solve a problem, which frequently means determining whether the ‘monster’ is actually the problem — and if so, whether Geralt is willing to be the solution. The storytelling is efficient and the moral questions are genuinely interesting. The Last Wish establishes Geralt’s voice (dry, sardonic, tired), his world (morally complex, politically fractured, drawing on Slavic rather than Anglo-Saxon mythology), and his relationships (particularly with Yennefer and with the bard Jaskier/Dandelion).
Sword of Destiny (1992/2015)
The second collection of stories — and the introduction of Ciri, the child of destiny who becomes central to the novels. The stories here are somewhat more emotionally direct than The Last Wish and include the first development of the Geralt-Ciri relationship that drives the novels’ arc. Strongly recommended before starting the novel series.
Blood of Elves (1994/2009)
The first Witcher novel — the beginning of the continuous narrative arc that the two short story collections have been building toward. Ciri is now fully established as a character; Geralt’s responsibility for her is central. The novel is more densely plotted and politically complex than the short stories, introducing the full scope of the world’s political situation. Best read after both short story collections.
Reading Andrzej Sapkowski
Begin with The Last Wish — it is both the introduction to Geralt’s world and among the finest fantasy short story collections published in the past forty years. Read Sword of Destiny immediately after. Then commit to the five novels if you want the full arc; or stop after the two collections with a complete and satisfying reading experience. The Witcher world’s moral complexity and its Eastern European roots make it unlike most English-language fantasy; approach it on its own terms.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where should I start with Andrzej Sapkowski?
The Last Wish (1993; English translation 2007) is the essential starting point — a short story collection introducing Geralt of Rivia, the Witcher: a mutant monster hunter who exists in a morally complex world of fairy tale retellings and Eastern European folklore. The stories deconstruct fantasy tropes by applying them to Sapkowski's specific world, where monsters are not always evil and humans are not always good. The Last Wish introduces Geralt, establishes the world's tone, and sets up the characters and relationships that the novels develop.
What is The Witcher series reading order?
The Witcher series should be read in this order: The Last Wish (short stories, 1993), Sword of Destiny (short stories, 1992, published later), then the five novels: Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows, and Lady of the Lake. The two short story collections introduce Geralt and establish his world; the novels follow a continuous narrative arc. Many readers read only The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny without continuing to the novels, as the short stories form a complete experience. The novels are less accessible to readers unfamiliar with the short stories.
What is The Witcher world like?
Sapkowski's Witcher world is a secondary world based on Slavic and Eastern European folklore rather than the usual Anglo-Saxon or Norse influences of most Western fantasy. The world has recently suffered a series of wars; the human kingdoms are politically fragmented; non-human races (elves, dwarves) are persecuted minorities in most places. Witchers are created through brutal mutations that give them enhanced speed, reflexes, and resistance to toxins but render them incapable of human emotional responses (in theory). Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist, is an unusually morally reflective Witcher — his defining characteristic is that he tries to find the 'lesser evil' in situations where no good option exists.
How does the Netflix series compare to the books?
The Netflix Witcher series (2019–present), starring Henry Cavill (later replaced by Liam Hemsworth) as Geralt, adapts primarily The Last Wish stories in its first season and diverges increasingly from the source material in subsequent seasons. Readers who come to the books from the series will find Sapkowski's world somewhat different in tone and detail — darker, more politically complex, and more overtly fairy tale in its structure. The video game series (The Witcher 1, 2, and 3 by CD Projekt Red) is similarly adapted from but divergent from the books. The books stand entirely independently of both adaptations.
