Genre: Historical fiction, Fantasy
Series: Hussite Trilogy #1
Page Count: 560 (It did not feel that long.)
Publication Year: Originally published 2002, my version published 2020
Publisher: Orbit
Special Notes: *Thank you to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for providing me with an early copy in exchange for an honest review.*
Quotes are taken from uncorrected copy and may not match the published book.
Translated from Polish by David French.
Summary: A man gets into trouble and spends the rest of the book on the run.
I’ve been disappointed by Sapkowski in the past, but I wanted to see what he’s like outside The Witcher world.
There are quite a few DNF reviews for this book. Completely understandable. I, too, was considering whether or not to finish. But while I considered, I kept reading and then I decided it’s not absolute garbage.
The plot is a mess. Reynevan, the protagonist, is caught with another man’s wife and after wreaking havoc escaping the husband’s kin, the plot dissolves into random adventures involving bandits, murder, imprisonment, magic practitioners, mini battles, and political and religious upheaval. I think this book would’ve done better as a series of short stories like Sapkowski’s first Witcher books. As it is, the isolated events and characters only clutter the novel.
The historical side is pretty confusing since I had basically no knowledge of the Hussites or their Reformation. Names, people and events are bandied about and it left me in the dust for the most part. I know some of them were real, but being hit with a never-ending wave of Polish/Czech history is not easy for my Americanness. The prologue nearly killed me. It’s just name name name name name name name and I’m sitting there like, “Wha-? Huh? Who?” I did go back after finishing the book and I’m fairly sure only a couple of those people are mentioned again. So aside from establishing that someone is telling this story to strangers, the prologue doesn’t help the main story.
Because witchcrafters were on the Church’s Most Wanted list, it’s cool that he chose to add that fantasy element. Sometimes the magical people they encounter are really weird and they jerk the plot more onto the supernatural side which is distracting. But I would’ve preferred more magic over the complicated history.
The names are baffling. I suppose I should’ve suspected I’d have trouble, but it’s worse than I ever could’ve imagined. I tried sounding them out by syllable but when you get to names like Długołęka, Ziębice, Mikołajek, Wojciech, Hlušička, and Grzegorz Hejncze…I mean, what’s an American to do? I tried to remember the people and locations based on what the name looks like, but they still became jumbled. I don’t know what’s worse: the impossible names or the befuddling Latin.
That’s right. Latin. I don’t know about you, but I can’t read Latin. So encountering a plethora of words, phrases and whole paragraphs of the stuff really didn’t help my experience. Almost none of it is translated, and yet sometimes sentence comprehension hinges on those words. I looked up some of them, but I had to let the majority go because it would’ve been too much trouble. The Latin in the this book can go requiescat in pace for all I care.
The protagonist, Reinmar/Reynevan (don’t know how to pronounce those names either), is an idiot. The only things he does well are bandage wounds, spout the occasional spell, and bring forth endless trouble. He’s foolish, shortsighted, doesn’t listen to sound advice, and he’s boring. And unlike Geralt (protagonist of The Witcher), he can’t fight worth a bean. I like how one of the many people he meets says that if they collaborate again, Reynevan needs to learn to use a sword, a dagger and a crossbow.
I like Scharley, Reynevan’s main travel companion. He’s protecting Reynevan on their journey towards the increasingly illusive idea of safety. He’s interesting and I wish he was the protagonist instead. His humor, loyalty, fighting skills, and disdain for Reynevan’s antics make him the bright spot in this book.
Samson, Horn, and Raabe are the only other characters I liked. A bunch of other characters do a great job of not striking a memorable chord. A problem is that most of the characters arrive in groups, so trying to separate all these new people becomes a painful and confusing chore.
There are disorienting jumps in people’s location; for instance, someone goes from riding a horse to running into that horse but there was no mention of dismounting. I had to reread several bits to make sure I understood where everyone was. I assume that’s Sapkowski’s fault. But a horse is referred to as both a colt and a stallion on the same page, so the translator adds to the sloppiness.
I’m not a fan of the overly detailed descriptions of people’s clothes and coats-of-arms. The rest of the description is pretty good and the fights/battles are engaging.
In comparing the two different translators of The Witcher books (Stok and French), I felt less of a spark in French’s work. I think that spark is part of what’s missing here too. I don’t know how to describe it, but I sense a disconnect between Sapkowski and French, while Stok bridges the gap. Maybe it’s just me.
In typical Sapkowski fashion, these is no map (or maybe the ARC just doesn’t have one). It’s marginally forgivable this time because several of the places mentioned are/were real and I found a map online that helped. I suppose a map is not 100% necessary, but I always like knowing where people are and where they’re headed.
Instead of a title, each chapter begins with “In which…” Two of my favorites are:
In which modernity boldly encroaches on knightly traditions and customs, and Reynevan, as though wanting to vindicate the title of this book, makes a fool of himself. And is compelled to admit it. In front of the whole world.
In which the old truth is confirmed once again that when all’s said and done, you can always rely on old university friends.
I think Sapkowski is a good writer, but the amount of things he chooses to include is his downfall. To quote myself: After consideration, I’ve identified the problem: Sapkowski can’t write engaging long stories. If he has to complete the story in under eighty pages, he does good. But as soon as the story can take many books to tell, it goes bonkers. This is why this book should’ve been a collection of short stories.
In conclusion, if you’ve read and loved all of Sapkowski’s work, you’ll probably like this too. If you don’t like info-dumps and loose plots, you should stay away. For me, Scharley and a dash of curiosity kept me reading. I don’t regret finishing it because it alerted me to a time in history I knew nothing about. I’ve done some of my own research and gained a bit more knowledge, which is always a good thing.
I don’t know if I’ll read the next book. If I had it right now, I’d give it a look. But it’ll probably be another year before the sequel is released and I doubt I’ll care by then.
Check out my rating here.