All 8 books in The Witcher Saga, ranked worst to best
By Daniel Roman
The Witcher season 3 is out now on Netflix, returning us to the Continent for the show’s most epic outing yet. This season is notable for the fact that it features Henry Cavill’s final performance as the show’s titular monster-hunter, Geralt of Rivia, before Liam Hemsworth takes over the role. But that’s not the only reason to get excited: season 3 is also adapting The Time of Contempt, which marks one of the biggest turning points Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher book series.
In celebration of the new season, we’re looking back on the saga as a whole. Long before Netflix came into the picture, before CD Projekt Red crafted its mega-hit video game series, Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels and short stories had already captivated readers the world over. Let’s go through each book, ranked worst to best!
8. Blood of Elves (The Witcher Saga #1)
As it was the first full-length Witcher novel, Blood of Elves was a huge step forward for the series. It also experienced some growing pains. Up until Blood of Elves, Sapkowski had written mainly short fiction revolving around Geralt and his on-again-off-again sorceress paramour Yennefer of Vengerberg. Blood of Elves is somewhat torn between Sapkowski’s previous style of weaving together short stories, and the novel-length works that would go on to define The Witcher Saga proper. The pacing isn’t as smooth as some other entries in the series, and the ending is rather anti-climactic.
That’s not to say Blood of Elves doesn’t have its highlights. It’s the only time in the book series that we really get to spend time at the witcher keep of Kaer Morhen. It features a great set piece at the elven ruins of Shaerrawedd, which we saw adapted in the season 3 premiere of Netflix’s TV show. It also introduced readers to the city of Oxenfurt, as well as Redanian spymaster Dijkstra and his sorceress co-conspirator Philippa Eilheart, both of whom went on to become fan favorites.
Overall, Blood of Elves pales in comparison to both the short fiction collections where Sapkowski was really in his element, as well as the later novels in the series where he’d nailed down his approach. It’s not a bad book, but if any single volume of The Witcher Saga isn’t going to survive the literary equivalent to the Trial of the Grasses, it’s this one.