Topic: Books You're Currently Reading?

I finally finished Sword of Destiny. Like its predecessor The Last Wish (although technically SoD was published first, iirc) it’s a book of ups and downs, magnified by the fact it’s a collection of short stories. As expected some stories land a little better than others, but on the whole it’s an effective way to introduce the world of The Witcher. The biggest challenge continues to be the difficulty keeping track of characters which drop in and out of the separate stories, some of which show up and unceremoniously disappear, while others are tethered to Geralt and recur in some of the stories. There’s nothing inherently wrong with this because it does weave a rich and believable world, but it just makes it hard for me to follow, especially when the names of the characters and places are so foreign. The repetition of the important and recurrent characters and places does underline the most fundamental building blocks of the narrative, so it’s not all impenetrable.

There was a point though toward the second half of SoD where I was feeling especially lost with flashbacks and dream sequences intermingled with the jumping stories and I felt like I was adrift at sea and unsure where things were supposed to be headed. The continued mention of the concept of “destiny” reached a point of near aggravation, and then everything rapidly fell into place in the final stretch. I felt like it wasn’t until the last few pages (well on audiobook for me, the last few minutes) that things clicked and I saw the semblance of an arc and character development trajectory. It was then that the book really elevated in my mind and the whole thing felt quite satisfying.

The way the book ends does lead quite well into the next book, which is the first traditional novel The Blood of Elves. I hadn’t expected that. Not a cliffhanger necessarily, but more of a true “here is the set up of who these people are and how they are in their current situation” so that there’s a natural desire to know what’s next for them. I’m only in the very beginning of BoE but I feel motivated and excited to continue the series right now. I’m intimidated by the length of it, but encouraged by the fact these books aren’t very long and so even 4 or 5 of them is not like tackling Wheel of Time or The Stormlight Archive. 😅

@Ravix Oops… forgot to tag you on my little impression summary above.

As I re-read my thoughts there, I guess it comes across slightly negative, so I should add that I am really enjoying the books — Obviously since I’ve committed to continued the series, but I didn’t really say that clearly. Geralt is really growing on me. I find him way more relatable than I expected. I’m fascinated by the world, the creatures, and the different cultures present. I really think I’ll enjoy the novel-styled books even more than these first two, because I want to see a continuity of Geralt’s adventures in a chronological package.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Hey buddy, sorry for taking so long to reply, but I've been bedridden fighting off a flu for the last week and have been quite out of it. All better now, though
I think my issues with audio books and the like is that... hmm, not really sure how to put this... I'm more susceptible/attentive to visual cues than audible ones? Meaning, when I try to listen to something that doesn't have a corresponding visual cue, whatever comes across my vision will distract me from what I'm hearing. And when I manage to shut out visual stimuli when listening to these things, one of two things tend to happen: My mind drifts away and starts pondering all major and minor aspects of the universe or I simply fall asleep (sometimes it is difficult to tell which of those is occurring )
Music is different though, I seem to be able to absorb music almost regardless of what is going on around me or in my head. In fact, I'm the kind of guy who function best when I have a music playing, which is probably why reading with some chill music on in the background works so much better for me than listening to a podcast or audiobook.

As for Life on the Mississippi, thanks for the updates I don't like skipping parts when reading (I might miss something important! FOMO is real! ), but it will certainly help me "power through" dull bits knowing it will get a lot better further in.

@Th3solution no problem 😄

I get that, this was why I tried to warn you a little of the time jumps at the end really getting crazy on audiobook where concentration can waver slightly. Even catching me out when I know the timeline order to begin with.

But yeah, it is kind of funny how Geralt and Ciri arc is in one place, and then instantly we jump forward to a point where Geralt is now travelling alone without Ciri. Then he instantly gets wrecked and passes in and out of consciousness flashing back to various times, including the time when he first went back to speak to Queen Calanthe and discuss the fact he has no interest in ever claiming a child and all it would take is to be simply asked not to, despite what we just went through. It's a good scene as both are incredibly stubborn individuals and they really test each other on the role of the perceived contract and their individual thoughts on destiny But the way it eventually catches up to the present whilst also feeding you information from the past to build the picture is pretty satisfying in the end.

In a way I regret steaming forward in the series recently. I've been listening to them a lot, as I exercise and when i'm chilling so i'm now coming to the end of Baptism of Fire, which means thinking back to Blood of Elves has again all become a bit of a blur (i'm really excited to be at the point I am though, as this is where a lot of characters really shine all at once) but I don't want to accidentally mention anything that might not have happened, for you, yet.

I can probably say "Dear, Friend" and you may know that 😅 and if not, you soon will know.

Prepare yourself for much more wordy chapters, full on round table discussions, complex machinations, and the slow-burn. I feel like Sapkowski does slow burn really well, though. And the payoffs are always worth it in my eyes.

Also, perhaps a visual aid with a 'not quite official' map to take on your journey

Easy enough to save to your phone or tablet, and you can zoom in to the relevant areas when mentioned as the setting or as a place of interest 😄

@Ravix Oh, nice — I will definitely keep a copy of that for reference.

Even though I’ve come to the conclusion that I’m not going to quite start the game yet, is there an actual timeline for the game’s narrative? From what I understand there’s no exact link storywise from the game to the books, so there’s not spoilers in one for the other, or significant characters that need intro now? I know Yennifer, Dandelion, and have a background of Ciri (although from the few hours of the game I played, Ciri seemed to be much older). They name dropped Triss in that one story, and I know I recognize her name from people talking about the game, but there was literally nothing about her in the story other than she’s one of the names on the monument of people Geralt knows.

@Ravix @Th3solution Beautiful maps! I used this one, which was created by a team of cartographers from (deep breath) the "Department of Political and Historical Geography of the Faculty of Geography and Regional Studies of the University of Warsaw" (impressive name).

When I started having the map at hand as I read the stories, the various placenames and geopolitical machinations became a lot easier to follow for me. So yeah, I too would recommend having a good map at hand when reading

@Th3solution I'll defer to our resident Witcher in Chief, the honourable @Ravix, for the definitive answer to your question, but I'll mention that I played the game after having read all the books and didn't feel that the one spoiled the other in any way. If anything, there were a lot of small references in the game to things happening in the books that I wouldn't have caught if I hadn't read the books.

@Th3solution i'd advise to not look too deeply into the links between, if at all, until you have at least finished the books, as that is the only way you will spoil either for yourself. I played the game first, then consumed the books as quick as I could handle, and apart from accidentally thinking in the back of my mind that one of the characters might secretly be one of the game's villains (they weren't, it was totally just my mind confusing a couple of similar names for a while and that book character later became one of my favourites anyway) it didn't affect my enjoyment in any way by doing it this way. But I was constantly surprised, enthralled and moved by what I was reading as I got to know the depths of the characters i'd already grown to love in the game, and the "cameos" in the game worked in reverse for me, as I saw the origins and journeys of some of the game characters that I didn't know were from the books until they popped up there too. So it is entirely possible to play The Witcher 3 and then still be surprised by the books and vice versa.

But yeah, The Witcher 3 sold however many million copies and became massive because it can be played as a standalone thing, it kind of uses the influences and themes from the books in its main plot and some side stories and obviously it follows on from the other games a bit, but this is why it works so well for newbies, there's obviously the 2 games before it, and all the books, but apart from references, and certain characters it shouldn't matter too much when actually playing. The Witcher 3 doesn't spoil the books, but it expands on the ideas and furthers some relationships, and the books won't really spoil the game, only enhance it. But i'd not reach out and look for information, especially online, as there are obviously 2 other games before, and they may lead to people talking of actual book spoilers, so I don't want you to spoil them for yourself by feeling you need to find out more yet. Trust that it will come naturally whichever order you choose 😄

Just think of the games as a non-canonical revival or reboot style product that are so good that they are now their own individual canon that fit in really well with the books due to care and attention and pride. Whereas something like the show, well that was a badly adapted version of the books that changes things in grating and annoying ways because the showrunner is an ego maniac who didn't really understand the books well enough by the time she started having people sh**ing out scripts 😁 and apparently a book already with multiple complex and realistic flawed "girl-bosses" has to be changed so said showrunner can pretend that she is in fact Yennefer, or Yennefer is she, and somehow she chose to make the character far dumber to suit her own tastes because of it. But I digress.

Tldr: don't worry about the timeline or actively looking for links. The game is kind of part adaption, part continuation and part new entity. Both seperate and yet faithful. Unless Sapkowski wrote it, it isn't canon. But CDPR created something huge by genuinely caring about the source material and thus it is a new canon in it's own way and one they can keep adding to in future releases, whilst still faithfully referencing what came before.

@FuriousMachine nice. Yeah I think the others probably used and expanded on that one and stylised it a little. I find them a little easier to read than the green one, too 😄

It's amazing to think how small a section the Witcher 3 takes of the entire map. Makes me ponder whether portals will be a bigger part of TW4 (fast SSD capabilities and portals do go hand in hand, too 😄) and there are some key locations I'd hope Ciri gets to visit that are so far apart for an actual open world game, and it is maybe easier than saying "one year later" multiple times if they do want to visit some of these key locations from the books.

The way they talk about wanting to release 3 games fairly quickly makes me think they will be building something that can be stitched together easier, and making a bunch of smaller contained locations that can also be travelled between and revisited between multiple games would save a lot of time from making 3 massive separate open world games with multiple massive regions. I suppose they kind of already did this a bit with TW3 though, as there were multiple locations alongside the actual main open world map and then all the DLC stuff too. (What a game)

It will be interesting both technically and in what direction they take the story if they do intend to achieve such a fast turnaround, though.

Exciting times.

Did you read Crossroads... by the way? What did you make of it?

@Ravix So Geralt has been waiting more than patiently, but he keeps getting shunted aside - most recently by a washed-up Norwegian detective and a housemaid that keeps getting into trouble... but it's soon your turn, Geralt, I promise!

I’m 3/4th of the way through “The Will of the Many” by James Islington. It’s been absolutely phenomenal, with exceptional world building, and well written characters.

I finished Balzac's Lost Illusions novel, I thought it was very good, one of the lengthy novels that happen to be my usual preference (it's almost 700 pages long!) And I think it's a book anyone interested in being a writer or any kind of artist should read, as, though the book focuses on literature, it's moral lessons and realist style seems like it could be accessible to anyone interested in breaking into the arts. Be warned, though, there are definitely some dark moments in the novel.

The next book I intend to start should be another Mark Twain novel, The Innnocents Abroad.

@BlAcK_Sw0rDsMaN Hope the next Twain will be as enjoyable as the previous two were for you. Looking forward to hearing your take on this one as well

I just went back over our recent "correspondence" in this thread, as I had the nagging feeling that I had forgot something and now I spotted it: Frantz Fanon! In spite of you mentioning it to me twice, I managed to miss your recommendation.
Well, no longer, Black Skin, White Masks is added to my non-fiction pile. I'll still read the Malcolm X autobiography at some point, but this one will likely take precedence. The premise is very intriguing and it feels like it will provide some valuable and interesting insights into the struggles of the time. Thanks for the (double) head's up, buddy

@FuriousMachine No problem. I'll be sure to keep you updated with regards to Twain and I look forward to hearing what you think of Fanon, and X.

just started reading Star Wars Legacy of the Force book 7: Fury

Just finished The Redbreast, the third entry in Jo Nesbæ's "Harry Hole" series, and it was by far the best one yet! I gave it four and a half stars in my Goodreads review. (I should add that the fact that the novel is set in the city I've lived in the past 30 years adds a bit of bias, but all the rating is fully deserved nonetheless)

Next up, the final Housemaid novel from Freida McFadden, The Housemaid is Watching

Thank you for your patience, Mr. Of Rivia, your story is very important to us and we will get to you as soon as possible. You are currently number - three - in line.

A Story of Light: A short Introduction to Quantum Field Theory of Quarks and Leptons.

The game I just finished focuses on some interesting theories relating to the quantization of electromagnetic field as it relates to light so I'm doing a refresher in a specific side of quantum field theory. It sounds heavy but it uses minimal mathematics while still being able to focus on the essential aspects of relativistic quantum field theory. In lay-mans terms the building blocks and development of quantum field theory from the original quantization of electromagnetic field to the gauge field theory of interactions among quarks and leptons. They touched on something really specific in that game and this is the only way to be sure. It's only about one hundred pages in length, I plan on zooming through before bedtime. It requires basic understanding of the special theory of relativity and quantum mechanics as it relates to the Lagrangian and Hamiltonian formulation of Newtonian mechanics. Again the building blocks of that same Quantum Field Theory. It's a really well made game and it seems like they went to a lot of effort with the science too. Unfortunately no Art-books that I can find.

I'm re-reading The Ultimate History of Video Games vol 2. It an vol 1 are as thick as phone books, but some really interesting deep dives, especially around Nintendo and Sony and how the PlayStation came about.

@GirlVersusGame now you've got me watching PBS Spacetime again Some great introductions with Matt O'Dowd