I know him best for being the most frequent narrator of the works of Iain Banks/Iain M Banks. The narration of this English translation is performed by Peter Kenny who is a rather prolific narrator. Just what is this world like? Where is Kaer Morhen and just what is…was it like at the home of the Witchers? Most questions are indeed answered, but always while leaving a few more in your mind. Geralt, the various other major characters and the book itself are all written in such a way that you want to find out more. He is well written as is the actual book. Despite being a prequel he also seems to be quite world weary even if he can be foolish in some regards.
He has quite a sharp and witty tongue on him along with his special blades and spells. Geralt himself is a rather entertaining character. If you aren’t a fan of short story collections than I recommend skipping to the first full length novel in the series Blood Of Elves if you are interested. The collection also contains a framing story between each story in the collection which flows together quite well. The short stories included are varied ranging from Geralt attempting to lift the curse on a striga (a werewolfesque beastly curse given to women), Geralt being forced to make an impossible choice that lead to one of his most unsavoury titles, Geralt and a rather amusing travelling companion named Dandelion (pronounced exactly how you think.) being hired to aid a town at the edge of the world from a so-called devil and many others. The book is a prequel of sorts to the main Witcher novels as it is a series of short stories set prior to the beginning of the first Witcher novel. Not to mention that Witchers are quite notably frowned upon by the ‘high and mighty’ of society.
You want Geralt of Rivia to hunt and kill unicorns that aren’t harming anyone just outside the town? He’ll refuse you outright. There’s a dangerous vampiric creature in a small sleepy rural town? He’ll kill it if he has to, but if he can persuade the creature to leave of its own free will without harming anyone? All the better. A Witcher is basically a monster killer for hire but one with a pronounced moral code. The Last Wish is actually a very good introduction for a first time listener to this universe as the book makes a point to simply explain the basics of this setting.
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