Name: Connor J. Daley 's review of The Time Of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski
Item: The Time Of Contempt
Rating: 5
Author: Connor J. Daley

Andrzej Sapkowski

The Time Of Contempt

Vojtech

Fantasy-roman. Geralt is a witcher: guardian of the innocent, protector of those in need, a defender in dark times against some of the most frightening creatures of myth and legend. His task now is to protect Ciri, a child of prophecy. She will have the power to change the world for good or for ill - but only if she lives to use it. A coup threatens the Wizard's Guild. War breaks out across the lands. A serious injury leaves Geralt fighting for his life and Ciri, in whose hands the world's fate rests

The Time of Contempt

Connor J. Daley 

So I think this top portion will be the basis for my review for all five of the Witcher series (excluding The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny--Kind of, you'll see...)

I feel like it took me a long time to read these, when in actuality, I started the first one in January so that isn't really all that long. Some of the way I'm feeling may be based off a lapse in memory though because I read around 95 books around the reading of these so I may be hazy. 

For starters, I think Andrzej Sapkowski is a phenomenal writer. Secondly, I think David French did an absolutely wonderful job translating these to English. And thirdly, I think the Gollancz paperbacks were amazing--great cover art, nice quality--I actually managed to read them all without breaking the spines. 

Sapkowski has such a way about his writing that the dialogue in the novels can be truly captivating. He wields it so well that he has honestly created such a wonderful lush lore within his world that really carried the hundreds of pages he wrote. I think that overall, this attention to detail within every word uttered may actually have been in some ways at a detriment to his overarching story. 

So to speak, his great characters, the companions of the Witcher, and even the enemies, all have this way of leaving you wanting more. However, if you were to pull away all of that and the world's lore, the series itself is kind of about... nothing. I did find myself more than once getting to the end of one of the novels and being like wait... nothing happened? Destiny has brought the Witcher and Ciri together, and yet they are also destined to never be together... it's just the kind of realization that stings. If you read the first book you can skip to the final book for the ending because the others are just more of the same. Luckily for me, as I've already stated, I enjoyed the dialogue and the world building, I drank that sh*t up. It's just kind of weird/funny to realize negative things like that about something you've rated pretty well. Despite all of that, I really enjoyed them. 

Speaking of The Time of Contempt specifically, I really enjoyed the use of political movements in this one. This is a writer that really understands the world he was building and manipulating in this time of war. With that being said, I did find the attack of Thanedd Island to feel a little too convoluted. I know that it was in part to show how the characters are experiencing it, ie. they have no idea what's going on, but I do admit to finding myself more confused with what was going on than I would have liked. 

Geralt giveth Ciri, Sapkowski taketh away...

Colleen

2 Stars
 
*A bad omen for the quality of this series*


Look, I know these series is beloved by many. And there are some great aspects about these stories. But I don’t think those aspects outweigh the annoyances with this series anymore. I’ve given it a fair shot and read three installments. Unfortunately, things seem to get worse not better. And I’m just not willing to invest any more time in these books.


  “Always takes action. Wrongly or rightly; that is revealed later. But you should act, be brave, seize life by the scruff of the neck. Believe me, little one, you should only regret inactivity, indecisiveness, hesitation. You shouldn’t regret actions or decisions, even if they occasionally end in sadness and regret.”

The characters are memorable and some are compelling. The ties to Eastern European lore and mythology are great. And there are a lot of cool ideas in the world-building as well as some pointed social commentary. But the writing is ridiculously inconsistent! Even the “novels” of this series are still just short stories cobbled together in a slipshod manner. They are massively inconsistent in tone and pacing. Things are non-chronological and poorly explained. You practically need to draw your own diagram to keep everything straight. And the character development comes and goes like an out-of-range radio station. Seriously, did Yennefer even have character development in this book?? Because she seemed to just show up when a sex scene was needed. And then there were little annoyances such as how multiple characters from different parts of the world randomly and simultaneously started using the phrase “The Time of Contempt” as if was the code phrase for getting into a magical sex club, and they could only get in if they repeated the phrase every five minutes ad nauseam.

I was still sitting in the, “It’s ok, I guess,” opinion until the end of the book. I don’t want to get into major spoilers, but I found a scene at the end completely repulsive for multiple reasons. Let’s just say that when a rape scene and an immediately subsequent sex scene are described almost verbatim, it’s a hell no for me. (In addition to other problems with the scene.) And I’m just not willing to continue on with a series that has become increasingly disappointing rather than getting better.

Here’s to hoping that the show doesn’t follow the same downward trajectory!!


RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 2 Stars
Writing Style: 2 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 2 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 1 Star
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 3 Stars

Laura Newell

This book had the most forward progress of the four I've read so far. I enjoy the character growth and Ciri's journey as well as the various elements at play in the world.

Aidan Francis

Really enjoyed this one, especially all the time given to Yennefer and developing Ciri as a daughter figure

Claire Fuesting

I loved the growing relationship between Ciri and Yenn! I thought this book did a great job at giving the reader perspective on the politics and WHY Ciri is important in all of this. Though I do not care for the ending with SA. Sadly this is just a product of the time it was written

Jocelyne Lessard

** spoiler alert **
           The first few chapters bore me to death, but it got better.

3.5

*Now that I'm out of my history class. 
I actually really enjoyed some moments, but there was a line in here that really grossed me out, I can't remember it word for word but it does involve sexual assault. (Not to any of the main characters.) I understand it's fantasy, i just wanted to pointed it out. 

I adore Yennefer, I Love dandelion and I love Geralt. The relationships aren't always healthy but they're interesting, which is why I think they're great. 

Not sure how i feel about the ending.

Story Eater

I'm not sure how to feel about this one. It had the makings of awesomeness until the end, which I will not spoil here. I will say that I did not like it; I'm also very tired of seeing bestselling authors writing things such as are in the end of this novel and making money off of it. It's not commendable. It's not literature. It's not artistic. I may also be sensitive to it because of my profession, but that does not matter. It also begs the question of whether the art says much about the maker or those who consume it in mass quantities. 

That being said, I will continue with the series until the end because it may just be that something happens to rectify the lettered onslaught from the end of this. 4 stars for the rest of the book, but I couldn't rate it higher than 2 because I threw up in my mouth at the end.

Jelke Lenaerts

This book has a content warning for rape.

I don't know what it is about this series but I haven't given any of the books over 3 stars. Even though I love this world. I love Gerelt, Ciri, Yennefer and Dandelion. This book I kind ofgot it though. The books just don't have an overarcing plot. It only has an overarcing plot for the series. The books just feel very episodic. Every chapter feels like a different story and it just feels jarring. You get set into a story, then the chapter ends and you are someplace else, with different characters, at a different time. It just never makes me able to be really sucked into this book. It also tends to switch into perspectives from people we've never seen before and probably not see again, which also just didn't vibe well with me. There's enough things going on with our main characters, who are at different parts of the world most of the time, to just focus on them and keep it interesting. I don't know. The books don't really vibe with me but the overall story is pretty interesting and I love the world and our main characters so I'll keep reading.

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The Time Of Contempt by Andrzej Sapkowski

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