Season of Storms Andrzej Sapkowski

Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski, a Book Review

Introduction

Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski is the last book in The Witcher series. This book delivers more of Geralt’s adventures and gives some light on the nature of Geralt being the witcher. I warn you though that this post is filled with spoilers about the book so if you hate spoilers, I suggest that you stop reading further.

Goodreads Blurb of Season of Storms

The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the Witcher video games.

 

Geralt of Rivia. A witcher whose mission is to protect ordinary people from the monsters created with magic. A mutant who has the task of killing unnatural beings. He uses a magical sign, potions and the pride of every witcher — two swords, steel and silver. But what would happen if Geralt lost his weapons?

 

In this standalone novel, Geralt fights, travels and loves again, Dandelion sings and flies from trouble to trouble, sorcerers are scheming … and across the whole world clouds are gathering – the season of storms is coming…

Book Review of Season of Storms by Book Estuary

Season of Storms Characters

Geralt of Rivia 

The white-haired witcher known as the white wolf.

Yennefer of Vengerberg 

A sorceress who is also Geralt’s lover. She has a short appearance in the book and was the one who bought Geralt’s lost sword from the auction.

Dandelion

He is a poet, bard, and a loyal and close friend of Geralt

Addario Bach

He is a dwarf encountered by Geralt when he was transported from a bad portal. He went with Geralt upon knowing that Geralt is going to Novigrad. They sailed through the Prophet Lebioda where they encountered a she-fox, also known as Vulpess and Aguara.

Lytta Neyd

Also known as Coral is a sorceress in Kerack and Mozaik’s mentor. She staged Geralt’s imprisonment in Kerack and eventually they had a tryst. She was also the one who connected Geralt to the mages of Rissberg who employed him that eventually led him to go after Degerlund.

Mozaïk

She is Coral’s assistant in Kerack and was even flirted by Geralt to annoy the former.

Belohun

He was the King of Kerack during the events told in the Season of Storms. He was engaged to Ildiko Brackley but he died hours before they would be wed.

Ildiko Brackley

She was engaged to King Belohun and was previously kicked out from Aretuza, the school for magic.

Egmund 

He is the son of King Belohun and had attempted to unseat the king leading to his exile.

Ferrant de Lettenhove

He is the royal instigator of King Belohun of Kerack and had a hand in blackmailing Geralt.

Ortolan

He is known as a legend in the wizard arts. He is in charge of the research and experiments done in Rissberg Castle.

Sorel Degerlund

He was a talented young mage who was also Ortolan’s assistant. He was fond of doing forbidden research and a specialist in genetics. He was responsible for several murders and was eventually killed by Geralt while he was on house arrest in the citadel.

Pyral Pratt

He was a former priest who became involved in organized crime. He is the person whom Geralt sought information about his lost sword. In exchange, he was thrown into an arena without a sword to fight a two-legged lizard that looks like a wyvern but is smaller than a large dog.

Brehen

He is also a witcher known as the cat of Iello. He was involved in the massacre in Iello hence his alias. He met Geralt at an inn and they had an argument in relation to the job offered by King Foltest to kill the Striga.

Algernon Guincamp

He is also known as Pinety and worked in Rissberg under Ortolan. He was a former lover of Coral and he was the one who hired Geralt to investigate the demonic occurrence which led Geralt to discover the evil experiments of Degerlund. He also gave Geralt the Viroledan blade.

Frans Torquil

He is a constable who patrolled the surroundings of Rissberg and Tukaj Foothills with Geralt to investigate the demonic occurrence there. His findings were seen as a threat by the mages of Rissberg which led to his attack. But, he persisted until the head of mages of Rissberg stepped down.

Nimue verch Wledyr ap Gwyn

She was a sorceress who had a great liking for the legends of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri. He met a white-haired witcher in Magpie Forest more than a hundred of years after Geralt was gone.

Otto Dussart

He is a werewolf encountered by Geralt in one of his jobs where he was asked to kill the latter. Upon realizing that the werewolf is not ferocious, Geralt let him go. To track and find Degerlund, he sought the help of Dussart knowing that werewolves have a powerful sense of smell. Dussart did not hesitate in helping Geralt and they were able to find Degerlund’s hideout and even killed one of Degerlund’s minions.

The Witcher Series Reading Order

Season of Storms is the 8th book in The Witcher series with events that occurred after the short stories in The Last Wish. Although it can also be read after The Last Wish book, I suggest reading this book last.

The Last Wish (1993)
Sword of Destiny (1992)
Blood of Elves (1994)
Time of Contempt (1995)
Baptism of Fire (1996)
The Tower of the Swallow (1997)
The Lady of the Lake (1999)
Season of Storms (2013)

Description of Geralt of Rivia’s Sword in Season of Storms

“The first sword…is steel. Siderite steel, the ore came from a meteorite. Forged in Mahakam, in dwarven machine forges. Its full length forty and a half inches, the blade, twenty seven and a quarter. Exquisite balance, the weight of the blade is exactly equal to weight of handle. The weight of the whole sword surely below forty ounces. Workmanship simple, but elegant.”

 

“And the second one, similar in length and weight, silver. Partially of course. Steel core clad with silver, also the edges are steel, pure silver is too soft to sharpen it enough. On the cross guard and down the full length of the blade are runic signs, that my specialist found impossible to decipher, but surely magical.”

 

“A Witcher’s sword…is noticeable for its build, it seems to be quintessence of what’s best in a sword. The best steel, and method of forging, specific to dwarven foundries and forges, give the blade it lightness, but also extraordinary resilience. Witcher’s swords are also sharpened in a dwarven way, a way that is secret, and will remain secret for ages as dwarves are very envious about their secrets. With dwarven crafted swords it is possible to cut in half a silken scarf thrown into air.” – Pandolfo Forteguerra

Some Important Events in Season of Storms

The book started with Geralt fighting an Idr, an insectoid-like monster. Then Geralt was suspected of stealing money from the King of Kerack and ended up losing his sword in the process. It turned out that it was Coral who staged such trouble for Geralt so he would come to her to seek help. They had a short tryst and eventually Coral told him that he was requested by the mages of Rissberg where her former lover, Pinety resided.

 

In Kerack, Geralt and Dandelion talked to Pyral Pratt and asked for information about the whereabouts of his sword. In exchange for the information that his sword was scheduled to be included in the auction in Novigrad, Geralt was forced to face a wyvern-like creature in an arena without a sword.

 

In Rissberg, Geralt and Frans Torquil patrolled the area for possible demonic activities. Geralt learned of the banned experiments of Degerlund and attempted to poison him but, he did not succeed and was forced to teleport Geralt far from his hideout.

 

Geralt was teleported in the post in Pontaria/Riverside where he met Addario. They agreed to travel together to Novigrad. Going there, they aboard the Prophet Lebioda and encountered the she-fox.

 

Geralt reached Novigrad but was too late for the auction of his sword clueless that Yennefer had already bought it and left it in a safe.

 

Geralt continued his pursuit of Degerlund and sought the help of Dussart, the werewolf to track the mage’s location. Geralt killed Degerlund there on the citadel for his evil actions.

Is Season of Storms worth reading?

For fans of The Witcher series, I highly suggest that you read Season of Storms. After 5 books in the series, I had not had enough of Geralt’s adventures and although the events in this book occurred prior to Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri’s story, Season of Storms offer actions and characters that will bring you back to the exciting world of the witcher, Geralt. Here you will see Geralt fighting more monsters, dealing with evil mages and greedy kings, and finding more allies. More information about the witchers, their creators, the effects of elixirs, and the nature of their swords are mentioned across the books.

 

If you can’t get enough of your witcher cravings after reading book 5, The Lady of the Lake, then Season of Storms will surely fill you with just enough adventures to satisfy you.

Overall Rating and Final Thoughts on Season of Storms

As of this writing, I consider The Witcher series as one of my top favorites amongst epic fantasy books that I’ve read. Season of Storms added some more things for me to like this series more and so I’m giving Season of Storms my 5-star rating and now I look forward to Andrzej Sapkowski’s other books being translated into English so I can be a part of that new fantasy world time and again.

Related post

Disclaimer: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

 

Book Title: Season of Storms (The Witcher #0.6)
Author: Andrzej Sapkowski
Publication Date: November 6, 2013
Print Length: 464 pages
My Rating: 5-star
Goodreads Link
Buy on Amazon

 

1 thought on “Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski, a Book Review”

Leave a Comment

Your email address will not be published.