Although Blood of Elves is technically the first book in the Witcher saga, it follows on a series of short stories that Sapkowski wrote for the Fantastyka magazine in Poland.
They were later regrouped together with a framing story in The Last Wish. Blood of Elves however, does not pick up where The Last Wish left and is essentially a stand-alone novel. However, understanding some minor plot details—such as the Law of Surprise, and Geralt’s involvement with Ciri—requires the prior knowledge supplied by The Last Wish.
Blood of Elves starts by introducing us to the underlying plot of the novel; the kingdom of Cintra has been attacked by the Nilfgaard empire, Queen Calanthe is dead and the only survivor of that terrible night is Cirilla—Ciri for short—‘the lion cub of Cintra’. Whether by chance or fate she was rescued from those who would see her dead by the Witcher Geralt; the very man who many years ago rescued her father.
But not all is as would appear and there is more to Ciri than meets the eye. She is not only a princess of Cintra but also a child of prophecy—although only some believe this to be true. She possesses a magic powerful enough to make even the great sorceress Yennefer envious. Geralt and the women that surround him, occasionally accompanied by the bard, Dandelion, will have to fight dark magicians and powers greater than they realise to keep the young girl safe.
Geralt is a Hunter. But he is no mere hunter. He is a Witcher; no longer an ordinary human, Geralt has been “enhanced”, “altered” by the concoctions he drinks, trained in ways only the Witchers understand. He is superhuman—stronger, faster and more resilient. Witchers are monster hunters, respected the world over for their great skill. Witchers are not to be taken lightly, however, or seen as kindly knights. After all, the rumours say that they lack the emotional capacity of their fellow humans. Furthermore, their moral compasses don’t always point north.
Geralt is a renowned hero; strong and dark with the capacity to crush whatever stands in between him and his goal. Whisper speaks also of his handsomeness—if only thanks to the flock of female hearts he’s been gifted—despite the large scar on his face.
As far as main characters go, Geralt doesn’t make for a friendly companion to the reader, he is taciturn and violent, and made strange and alien through the potions he takes, which sometimes change and mutate his body. But beyond that, there is also a man, scared of his emotions and failing at times to understand them. And it is exactly that hidden softness that stops Geralt from being nothing more than a killing machine.
The Lion Cub of Cintra—Ciri—first introduced at the age of nine, makes an interesting counterpart to Geralt. Ciri is every bit a wilful tomboy as she is a petulant princess. Due to the Law of Surprise, Ciri should have belonged to Geralt, and subsequently been in his possession, when she turned six but, due to Ciri’s grandmother’s—Queen Calanthe—intervention, she stayed in Cintra following the death of her parents.
Ciri, however, wanted to go with Geralt, although he turned her down, citing her gender as his reason. Women are not fit to be Witchers. But when Cintra falls, Ciri permanently joins Geralt on his journeys.
For all her youth and, at times, petulance, Ciri is strong girl with a strong magical potential buried deep within her that threatens to burst out at any given moment. She sees Geralt much like a father and develops semi-familial bonds with a lot of the other women who surround the Witcher.
Throughout the book, many of Geralt’s female companions join, aiding him with the task of both tutoring and protecting Ciri.
First we meet Triss Merigold, redheaded sorceress and victim of unrequited love, for the Witcher seems emotionally sealed to her advances. Despite this, she spends much of her time casually flirting with him whilst she protects Ciri from the Witcher’s potions and helps her learn magic of a very different kind from the Signs the Witchers wanted to teach her.
Second is Nenneke, priestess of Melitele, and good friend of Geralt. Although her involvement is lesser than in The Last Wish, Nenneke holds an important, somewhat motherly role towards Ciri when it comes to her learning her power.
Last but not least is Yennefer, one of the most powerful sorceresses to live and Geralt’s only true love. Yennefer is a bitter character who often seems to shun Geralt despite it being well known that she shares his feelings. She can easily be seen as always angry and headstrong, sometimes to the point of being irritating as she seems incapable of listening to anyone’s counsel but her own.
Despite being a book clearly aimed at men, with its grisly monsters, bloody wars and particularly enchanting women, Blood of Elves lacks important male characters beyond Geralt. Dandelion holds the role of the bard and as such tends to stay out of trouble unless it comes knocking on his door, and although his path regularly crosses Geralt and Yennefer’s, he never becomes truly involved in the plot.
Then we have the Witchers living at Kaer Morhen—the Witcher’s headquarters—who serve mainly as padding in the story, giving Geralt and Ciri essentially a blank base of operations, without any sub-plots being spawned from the lives and interactions of the other Witchers. Even Vesemir, the oldest of them all, seems to bear little relevance to the plot and lacks any real development as a character. The Witchers at Kaer Morhen are as bricks and mortar as the estate itself.
The other men Sapkowski introduces are all evil, either working for themselves or merely tools of concealed enemies, intent on one thing and one thing only: killing Ciri.
Blood of Elves proves to be a very clear translation which seems to carry through the author’s swift but efficient style. He doesn’t waste time on details and prefers to introduce his characters in brief but efficient descriptions. There is a certain lack of description of the world around the characters and it is easy to get confused as to what the locations the protagonists are interacting with are like. It can feel as though you’re standing in a black, white and greyscale world, with no idea as to where you’re standing. The world is, unfortunately, blank.
Sapkowski’s true strength is demonstrated through his combat. Geralt does not fight like a normal human and Sapkowski captures perfectly, in an often blow-for-blow account of the fights. It’s a rush of adrenaline for the reader and definitely one of the points that make this book the well-paced, exciting ride that is it.
One of the greatest problems I had with Blood of Elves was that Sapkowski doesn’t give us a map; there is nothing for the reader to refer to as names of countries, cities and empires are flung about casually on the page as though the reader should have intrinsic knowledge of the world.
But despite the presence of elves, dwarves and other familiar fantasy creatures, Sapkowski’s world is foreign to a non-Polish reader as it includes a lot of reference to Polish folklore and old legends. Beyond that, Sapkowski’s world is rich in political intrigue that constantly are weaved within the main strands of the plot and can lead to a high level of confusion when the lack of map means the reader has no concept of where anything is in relation to anything else. This lack of worldbuilding leaves the reader suspecting that they are standing on a stage, in front of various cardboard backdrops.
Why should you read this book?
Blood of Elves is a gritty bit of fantasy with a dash of political intrigue, and human experimentation and enhancement that border on genome mutations. A lot of things happen, fast, and for any reader who enjoys a fast paced book packed with action and adventure, Blood of Elves will fit the bill just right.
But it’s also more than just that; Blood of Elves is also a story of people, of how they are brought together and of how it affects them. It’s a tale of reconstructed families doing their best to protect each other.
Blood of Elves is for any fantasy addict who is looking for something a bit different, a mixture of grit with an inlay of subtle philosophy about the world and who we are.
3/5
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