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

I honestly tried to find the truly negative aspects about this book. I honestly did. But when it came to the dreamlike aspects, the tie-ins and total subversion of the tiny bits of the Arthurian Legend, or when it came to finding this to be a weak Witcher novel...?

Eh. No. It was very strong. Strong enough to keep my attention fully rapt from start to finish.

I mean, who DOESN'T like Ciri as a badass? She sure went through a ton of changes and misfortunes. All that extremely well done prophesy buildup from the first books, the way Yennefer and Geralt would do anything for her, or how the entire mess played out, lead to one of the best, most disturbing passages of full-out war I've read in a fantasy series. (And that's including Tolkein, mind you.)

But perhaps I'm not focusing on the right thing. What I should be pointing at is the future-timeline jumps, the little speeches from old survivors, the way the past is remembered or misremembered. These are the writings that pulled me under the lake and drowned me. It put everything... and I mean everything into perspective. We get the crap, the idealism, the hopeful, the romantic... and THEN we get the real, heartbreaking story.

And no. I'm not going to spoil what becomes of Yennefer and Geralt. I'll just say I cried. If you want to know more, then damn you, READ THE BOOK. :)

*smacks lips* So tasty.

One other thing: the writing style is NOT very traditional, but it IS evocative. I really appreciate how this series is UNLIKE most epic fantasy. It's much smarter than I think most people give it credit. :)

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