Book Review: The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Time of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

The fallout from the first Nilfgaardian war is affecting politics and future war plans only for a certain white-haired individual to interfere. The Time of Contempt is the second Witcher novel by Andrzej Sapkowski sees Geralt, Yennifer, and Ciri come together at a conclave of magicians only for things to go to hell.

Throughout the book there is a sense that things are happening but the characters and thus the readers only see what’s happening to them until everything hits the fan. Sapkowski builds the events up slowly as the main characters come together on the Isle of Thanedd for a conclave of mages when two coups, one supported by the Nilfgaardians and the other by the Northern Kings who are planning covert action about the Nilfgaardians as well. The entire book feels more coherent than Sapkowski’s previous outing as the main narrative took over 60% of the book while aftermath took up the rest especially as Ciri makes an important decision near the end of the novel. Though there is a quick succession of point-of-view narratives across the continent, they are framed in a conversation between Dandelion and Geralt providing a better flow than the previous book. Thanks to a series by the YouTube channel Wizards and Warriors, I have a rough idea of the political and physical landscape of the continent which helped to understand where things were because there is no map which is the only thing that takes away from Sapkowski’s world building. Overall, this is a better book than the previous novel and makes me look forward to the rest of the series.

The Time of Contempt is an improvement on the opening novel but with the same great action and character development thus making me interested in where Andrzej Sapkowski takes things.

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