How to Read the Witcher Books in Order
It kind of looks like The Witcher is winding down on Netflix. We're all thinking it, right? At the very least, it's the end of an era. The third season is out in 2023, but after it ends Henry Cavill is leaving the series and may/may not be replaced by Liam Hemsworth in season 4 and 5. Maybe he'll be great! Maybe they'll end up canceling the show instead. Just in case, it might be time to start reading The Witcher books from start to finish. Only it isn't that easy. Here comes some helpful explanation from yours truly about the order of Andrzej Sapkowski's books in the Witcher series to get you started. Nobody can recast characters in your imagination!
The most important thing to keep track of with this particular series is the timeline. Those who are familiar with the Netflix series know that struggle all too well. Remember how wild the interconnecting timelines were in season 1? I'm usually pretty smart about fantasy storytelling (not to brag) and I was so confused the first time around and decided to blame it on thirst-watching.
Let's start with the supplementary books (since they are technically all prequels in one way or another) before we get on to the saga proper.
Short Story Collections and Stand-Alone Books
- The Last Wish (2007)
- Remember how sitcoms used to do recap episodes where the characters would sit around and flashback to various points in the series? That's kind of what this book is like. Geralt recalls each short story as a flashback memory. It is sometimes considered "Book One" of the Saga but it is a collection of stories, not a regularly-structured novel.
- Sword of Destiny (2015)
- These short stories are set before the Witcher Saga but include familiar characters like Geralt of Rivia as well as Ciri. Like The Last Wish, some consider it "Book Two" in the saga, even though it was published halfway through. Along with The Last Wish, it is also where the Netflix series took a lot of inspiration from for season 1.
- Season of Storms (2018)
- This stand-alone novel is a prequel that takes place in and around the flashback stories in The Last Wish and has an epilogue set after The Lady of the Lake. And just to confuse things further, this is often called "Book Eight," even though it mostly takes place in Geralt's past.
The Witcher Saga
Blood of Elves and The Time of Contempt are more or less what season 2 adapted, FYI. So, you could read The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny, the above five titles, and then Season of Storms. That is certainly what Amazon wants you to do. You could also slot Season of Storms in between The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny if you're feeling daring.
But if that seems intimidating, I think it's absolutely fine to start with Blood of Elves and decide whether you want to keep going and get to the short story collections and prequel material later. Keep it simple!
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