Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
The book is marked as The Witcher, #0 but I recommend that you read this book last in the series to understand the story flow.
The Tower of the Swallow by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Finally, the plot picks up in this book after a long drag and hiatus in The Time of Contempt & The Baptism of Fire. This book continues on the unique Sapkowski tradition which began in The Time of Contempt of beginning, repeating and ending with a riddle or catchphrase which subtly hints the plot thesis of that book and this time the riddle, regarding the mirror like lake, with which The Tower of the Swallow ends also forms the title of next book The Lady of the Lake.
Monsters and the Witcher killing them for coin, has now long phased out and replaced with politics, war and Ithlinne’s prophecy about Child of the Elder blood and the world’s destruction as main themes in the Witcher books. While I miss the monster hunting tales, I nevertheless continue reading/listening to get a closure on the fate of the dear White Wolf (Geralt) and the Chosen One (Ciri).
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Baptism of Fire by Andrzej Sapkowski
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
This book fares better than its predecessor The Time of Contempt, as in, atleast some action or events takes place in the story. I really liked the storytelling and there are many moments where I chuckled at the sarcastic but humorous exchanges between Geralt (protagonist of the series) and his companion Dandelion and the author’s narration.
But plot wise, this book is also a drag just like the The Witcher, #2 which dampened a little bit of my spirits, as sequentially, this is actually book 5 out of 8 series Witcher books, where one might expect a thickening plot and fast progressing story. 1 star off for this reason.
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The Three-Body Problem by Liu Cixin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
TL;DR – Brilliant hard sci-fi which reads smoother than most mystery thriller books alongwith precise cultural, political, theoretical and fundamental science concepts, building the Three-Body world painting it’s rich, not-so-unrealistic exciting plot as a perfect stage for it’s successive reads.
Full review –
Cixin Liu’s brilliant first book in the Remembrance of Earth’s Past trilogy has left me wanting more. The audiobook was a breeze to listen to while dealing with complex subjects of quantum theories, fundamental physics, chemistry and theoretical & experimental physics.
I must admit that I didn’t begin expecting too much since this was my first Chinese-English translated book; and even found the first chapter setting stage for Maoist China in 1960s, moving against western (‘reactionary’) scientific beliefs, a bit bizarre and thus boring, even for an authoritarian China, since I always considered laws/discoveries of Science were widely universal. But with one google search, I was pleasantly surprised to learn the chapter indeed packed real facts and this was my first learning into China’s cultural revolution.
From this point on the book progresses more as a mystery thriller novel with excellent character building and progressing timelines laced with various cultural, modern societal, political, and scientific subjects which keeps the oblivious reader captivated with excitement all the while the book’s plot transforms into a surprising hard sci-fi read.
I’d recommend not reading any summary or the backcover of the book if you want to fully enjoy and get surprised by the books excellent storytelling. I can’t wait to begin #2 in the trilogy!
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Stringed Words 