Book Review: The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski

The Lady of the Lake by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Second Nilfgaardian War continues as the Northern Kingdoms attempt to push back Nilfgaard while the search for Ciri by everyone concerned with her politically and magically continues, but it’s a certain Geralt of Rivia who is doing it out of love. The Lady of the Lake is the final book of Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher saga and penultimate book published in the series featuring the end of the story of Geralt, Yennifer, Ciri, and everyone else the reader as followed over the course of the series.

After the previous book, I came into this one without high expectations and so wasn’t disappointed but after finishing really didn’t feel satisfied. The entire book is framed as a story told by Ciri to Galahad—from the King Arthur mythos—that makes sense when we learn how they’re able to interact in the first place though not so much when it comes to the multiple point-of-views from the decisive battle of Brenna and any other point-of-view that isn’t Ciri, unless the entire series has been told by Ciri which seems a stretch. If there is a huge bright spot it’s Sapkowski’s writing of Brenna that decisively ends the Second Nilfgaardian War with multiple points of view spread throughout both sides. The main plot that deals with Ciri is an interesting arc showing off why everyone is looking for her as well as explaining why she’s talking with Galahad. The last quarter of the book felt like a very long anticlimactic wrap-up with the big event not really a surprise given how the book was opened, it felt like a lot of padding honestly especially the sections on Peace Conference which could have been handled with less text. Overall, this book was like the main series was for me, peaked in the middle with a meandering start and finish.

The Lady of the Lake completed The Witcher story arc, but honestly except for short sections of writing I wasn’t really into Andrzej Sapkowski’s work. While there is a full length prequel book still to be read, I’m overall impression of the series is meh.

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