Submitted by SillyMattFace t3_107jox0 in books
I posted this in r/Witcher but thought I’d get a more unbiased view here.
The Witcher books seem to get a massive amount of praise, especially in reference to the Netflix series ruining them.
Having quite enjoyed the show, I thought I’d be in for a real treat here. But so far it’s been hard to engage.
I started with the short story collections, and as I draw to the end of Sword of Destiny I’m finding it to be a slog.
I think the writing is a large part of it. Descriptive passages often feel overly verbose and have an awkward flow to them. Dialogue also tends to feel very stilted and unnatural.
I’m reading in English so it’s possible just a translation thing. Is English considered to be a particularly weak version of the series?
It’s not the worst thing I’ve read by any means and there have been plenty of things I have enjoyed, but on the whole I’m not looking forward to the rest of the books right now.
For fans, is the short stories indicative of the rest of the series? If I’m struggling now is it worth forging ahead?
And for readers in general, is this series really the masterpiece the fandom claims it to be?