Reviewed by Sohail Ahmed ||

Author Andrzej Sapkowski is best known for creating the “Witcher” series, but few have actually become well acquainted with the eight-part series. The eponymously titled video game franchise, which has spawned a Netflix series and other on-screen adaptations, is the first step for many on an immersive journey that takes both aficionados and academics alike to the heart of “Geralt of Rivia”, the protagonist and hero, and likely a household name. My journey, however, traversing the different mediums, started with both the digital adaptations, and has just now spurred an interest in the original canon, which starts with The Last Wish, a starting point par excellence of an introduction to a world I thought I already knew and understood, but in reality, had just scraped the surface of. 

The Last Wish was published as a follow-up or sequel to another high fantasy novel by Polish author Sapkowski, only to become the de facto first installment of the Witcher Series. While I will not be delving into the Plot line of The Last Wish, I will be comparing some of the formalist elements including aesthetics and style, as well as the various mediums of adaptation and their respective depictions and portrayals of both the characters and the world at large. Firstly, for those neophytes among us who have yet to enter the world of the “Witcher”, the canonical first entry to the literary series is the BEST place to start your Witcher Journey, and for several reasons this is so, chief among them, the literary canvas, an open slate that allows you to conjure up images of the world all your own, unlike the digital adaptations which thrust you into a world that has already been built up. By far the most salient feature of the literary medium is the immersive experience that awaits you, one actualized by the author that doesn’t necessarily translate well to the digital adaptations. Just don’t, however, forego the texts in search of on-screen marvels that will only lead you to the same place as they did in High School, up late at night scouring SparkNotes for all the idiosyncrasies and nuances that were “lost in translation”! Yes, I am talking to you, and perhaps my adolescent self as well! In any case, take your seat, buckle up, and get ready for a guided tour through the annals of Geralt’s world. 

Let’s get to the “Meat and Potatoes” already! Here I will lay out the similarities and differences between Geralt’s various depictions/portrayals across the three mediums. This will be divided between a similarities and differences column in order to truly juxtapose all elements at hand:

SIMILARITIES

• Geralt is not as old as he looks (the gray hair).
• Video Game franchise also contains the same background story: Geralt, from an early age, has been hardened and has gone through mutations. 
• In all three formats, Geralt proclaims his allegiance to his guild, represented by the “Wolf” medallion, the very guild that took him in and made him who he is today. 
• Witcher’s are viewed as outcasts, pariahs in ALL three formats/mediums.
• Narrative Style remains the same in all three formats, as much of the conversations involve a sense of stoicism, sarcasm, and clever conversations that often carry ulterior motives. This is especially true for the Video Game, in which the player must make his own decisions regarding the Witcher’s every “response”. 
• “Morality” is often eschewed, leaving the reader to come to their own conclusions about not only Geralt, but the cruel & indifferent world he inhabits.  

DIFFERENCES

• Geralt’s attire changes in all three formats/mediums, whereas he looks much younger in the TV Series.
• In the book, not much detail regarding Geralt’s upbringing is presented at the beginning, and that information is revealed gradually through the various scenes, and in no particular order, incentivizing the reader to fill in the proverbial blanks and make their own deductions. 
• The significance of the “Wolf” medallion is brought up only in passing in the Text, while the symbolism behind it remains scattered, or even elusive (as per the first thirty pages). 
• In the TV Series & Video Game, the immersive qualities allow one to discern the social status of Geralt through a sensory experience. One has to use their own imagination when reading the Text. 
• Canonical differences do exist, and much of that has to do with where the three formats/franchises pick up Geralt’s story. While The Last Wish takes place at the very beginning of Geralt’s story, the third installment of the video game, as well as the first season of the TV Show, pick up his story at later points in the Witcher Chronology. 

All in all, these variations between the three mediums present a different version of Geralt, but ultimately the only thing that can provide an accurate depiction of “Geralt of Rivia”, in all his glory, is an amalgamation of all three. That being said, I strongly encourage those of you who have yet to read The Last Wish to do so first, as the jump-cut style from scene to scene provides slight glimpses into Geralt’s personality, and the way he deals with humans and monsters alike, as well as his own moral compass, something ingrained in him since his childhood training to be a Witcher, an orphan turned mercenary as a spoil of war. Dandelion, the bard and philanderer sidekick, and Yennefer, sorceress and Geralt’s heartthrob, and the coterie of other colorful characters that make this high fantasy novel work so well is the natural and organic progression through the story irrespective of chronology, as measured glimpses, akin to a slow drip, are what really put things in Perspective. I do so hope that you all reading this will have the chance to comb through the first installment, and possibly the next seven novels as well, if you haven’t yet done so, and for those with a strong affinity for the video games or television series, take a chance on the literary canon, for perspective is not simply gained or acquired, but developed over time, and with prolonged exposure, any seasoned veteran of high fantasy would attest to the same. The rest, however, I will leave to you, the astute reader, to discover, discern, and glean!