Jordan Cornell
Lantern Staff
The Witcher is a Netflix original television series that was released on Friday, Dec. 20, 2019. The show is in the fantasy genre with dragons, witches, elves and other magical creatures and things. It was a highly anticipated show with a cult-following as The Witcher is a popular book series that was made into a video game in 2007.
The Netflix adaptation made headlines as an amazing show drawing in fans who haven’t read the book or played the video game. Henry Cavill played the role of Geralt of Rivia, the monster hunting main character, and his portrayal blew audiences away. As an interesting side note, Cavill has been a longtime fan of The Witcher story and when he heard it was being made into a television series, he sought out producers to allow him to audition.
This show is intricate and can be a bit confusing. Each episode follows the story line of three separate main characters, but the characters stories are being told in three separate timelines. An improvement I would offer is for the show to identify the time period, so the viewer could track the timelines better. I personally had to watch the series twice to understand what exactly was happening. There are very important details that I missed because of the confusion over timelines. All in all, this is an excellent series with a captivating story.
The show itself has beautiful scenery and talented actors, but could improve the CGI for the few fantasy characters they include. A dragon made an appearance in the sixth episode, and the graphics were so rudimentary it served as a distraction to a great storyline. Good news to other fans: A month before the show was released, it was renewed for season two. We will get to enjoy Geralt’s storyline for at least another season. I give the show an 8/10; it’s an amazing show that just needs some adjustments.
After finishing The Witcher on Netflix and being introduced to The Witcher world, I looked into the book series and purchased “The Last Wish,” which is not the first book in the series, but is a short story that is recommended for readers to read first. It allows the reader to become introduced to the fantasy world that includes witches, magic and monsters.
I really enjoyed this book as I had just completed the tv series and was excited to experience more of this supernatural world. The book is set in medieval times, although no specific date is given. This book was a great way to be introduced to The Witcher world as it follows the first season of the tv series closely. There is one big difference however, and it is the same with most book adaptations: the book goes into so much more detail.
Geralt of Rivia, a famous monster hunter, is a quiet man, and was a hard character to read throughout the tv series, but that is not at all the case with this book. By following the written story, the reader is given insight to Geralt’s thoughts and emotions that could not be portrayed in the tv show. With the additional details, the reader is able to make a stronger connection with the characters and their stories. I can’t wait to start the next book in the series and am glad that there are eight books in the series to enjoy. I rate
“The Last Wish” 8.5/10, a wonderful book that just goes so much more in depth.