It's a very good month to be a fan of The Witcher, the monster-hunting fantasy series from Polish author Andrezj Sapkowski. On October 30, Netflix will premiere the fourth season of its Witcher television show, which brings Sapkowski's work to life on the small screen. It will be the first season to feature Liam Hemsworth as the stalwart warrior Geralt of Rivia, after previous actor Henry Cavill hung up his sword following season 3.
But you don't need to wait for the end of the month to return to the Continent. On September 30, Sapkowski's latest Witcher novel, Crossroads of Ravens, released around the globe. This is a prequel novel which explores Geralt's very first adventures as a fledgeling witcher. That means it's the earliest piece of The Witcher story that Sapkowski has written. As such, it's got plenty of secrets and pieces of lore which add greater context to the overall arc of Geralt's life. We've seen where he ends up in The Witcher Saga novels. Now, we can see where he began.
I've had a chance to read Crossroads of Ravens, and I'm pleased to report that this is not only a good book, but arguably one of the strongest and most focused in the entire Witcher series. If you enjoy The Witcher, then Crossroads of Ravens is an essential read. Read on for our SPOILER-FREE review.
Review: The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski
Just as the set up for this book indicates, The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens takes place in Geralt's younger years. But this isn't just a prequel for prequel's sake; it showcases how Geralt's distinctively wry worldview is formed during his first years on the Path as a witcher after he leaves Kaer Morhen. He's only 18 years old in this book, which means that he's a very different character than the Geralt that we know and love. At the same time, there are still enough common threads that he always feels like the same person, just at a very different point in his life.
Sapkowski did a great job of bringing this younger version of Geralt to life, making him familiar enough so that it doesn't feel jarring to longtime readers while also bringing out some of the character's younger, more naïve tendencies. This book is a learning experience for our stalwart witcher, and not an easy one at that.
Much of that process revolves around another witcher named Preson Holt, who takes Geralt under his wing shortly after our hero leaves Kaer Morhen. Holt is a grizzled veteran who has slain many monsters and seen the seedy underbelly of the world. Vesemir might be the mentor fans most associate with Geralt, but Holt is an apt foil who not only imparts wisdom and sword skills, but bitter life lessons as well.
Of course, Holt has his fair share of secrets, which Geralt uncovers throughout the book. His story is as compelling as Geralt's, and by the end their lives are tied together in a way that makes Holt a permanent part of Geralt's journey to become a renowned witcher.
Crossroads of Ravens expands The Witcher lore in important ways
One aspect of Crossroads of Ravens that I really enjoyed is how much it digs into the deep lore of The Witcher world. There are two important pieces of lore which have long lingered in the background of Sapkowski's series which this book finally sheds more light on: the creation of the first witchers, and the pogrom that ruined Kaer Morhen. It's fascinating to finally have some concrete information on these events from the author.
If you're a fan of The Witcher show, games, or books, you will want to read what Sapkowski has to say about these events — especially the Kaer Morhen pogrom, which is much fresher on the timeline in Crossroads of Ravens than it is in the other books. Without getting into spoilers, the pogrom is an important piece of the story for this prequel.
This came as a pleasant surprise for me. I went into Crossroads of Ravens with fairly low expectations, because I did not particularly like the previous Witcher prequel novel Sapkowski wrote, Season of Storms. That one came off as a fairly random sidequest during Geralt's life before he met Ciri, and it tended to meander in ways that I found distracting. Crossroads of Ravens is the exact opposite, digging deep into important events during a formative period of Geralt's life, with some of the sharpest writing Sapkowski has done in the series in years.
Part of what makes the book work so well is that it feels like the perfect marriage between Sapkowski's short stories and his longform Witcher novels. The first two books in the series, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, consist almost entirely of short stories about Geralt's adventures. They still stand up well even though Sapkowski has written plenty more books in the series since then.
After the short stories, Sapkowski wrote a five book sequence called The Witcher Saga, which is what forms the basis for most of the Netflix show. There were some growing pains as Sapkowski changed mediums, especially with the first book, Blood of Elves. The novels have plenty of high points, but they also aren't quite as tightly woven as the short stories. There's a feeling that even though Sapkowski writes a good novel, short stories might be the medium where Geralt and his monster hunts truly shine the most.
Crossroads of Ravens takes elements from both the short stories and novels in the series, and combines them in ways I didn't expect. The result is arguably the most perfect Witcher book Sapkowski has written to date. The pace is sharp, the characterization excellent, the monsters plentiful, and the dangers complex and interesting. Unlike Season of Storms, Crossroads of Ravens never loses sight of its overall narrative. Each quest serves the greater story, bringing Geralt closer to the man he'll become by the time of The Last Wish. This book is no idle curiosity for direhard fans, but rather an unexpected culmination of Sapkowski's many years working on the series that I think he could only have written at this late stage in his career. The result is a fantastic read that has everything a fan of the series could want and more.
Verdict
Crossroads of Ravens is a crucial new story in the life of Geralt of Rivia, and a book that any fan of The Witcher should read. Andrzej Sapkowski has returned to his fantasy world and proven why, even after it's been adapted in other mediums, he is still the grandmaster of the witchering trade. Best of all, because this book is a prequel, it's a great entry point for new readers of the series as well as a welcome treat for longtime fans. I highly recommend it, especially if you're looking to get in The Witcher mood ahead of the fourth season of Netflix's show.
The Witcher: Crossroads of Ravens is out now from Orbit, wherever books are sold.