Crossroads of Ravens

Crossroads of Ravens by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Goddamit now I have to play the Witcher games again

I first read the Witcher series in 2015; can't remember if it was because I played the games or I played the games because I read the books. Either way I absolutely devoured them; the core characters were all charming but flawed, the setting was my first encounter with a grittier, more 'realistic' fantasy and the writing had that intangible sense of 'quality' you get from a good author. It probably didn't hurt that I was all-in on the 'Witcher Expanded Universe' around this period between the mainline games, Gwent and Thronebreaker, but the books stood alone as a great read.

Crossroads of Ravens is a prequel, to an even greater extent than the first two books of the main series which function as a series of short stories establishing the world and our main cast. We join a version of Geralt fresh out of Kaer Morhen, on his first expedition to the outside world. Naturally he's about to be hanged, for having the audacity to protect the virture of a local farm girl from a soldier (by dicing him into small pieces). This setup not only informs the reader that Geralt included human monsters in his remit right from the start, it allows the introduction of Preston Holt, an old friend of Vesemir's with a noticeably different outlook on life.

If you've read the main series, don't expect many cameos by the main cast here. Vesemir is mentioned briefly, and a certain kindly priestess makes a few appearances at key points, but the book mostly sticks to its role as a prequel without leaning on characters it wouldn't make sense for Geralt to know yet. Despite offering lesser stakes and scope than the main series, the overarching plot of an old man's revenge weaves in the series typical gray morality with a tinge of hope. It also offers some interesting background on a particular piece of libellous literature which has an enourmous impact on Geralt's life in both the books and games, while interspacing the main story with typically interesting and well written 'side-quests' where contracts never quite go as expected.

I found the wording a bit jarring in the first few chapters, maybe just a bad translation, but after that I settled into the story like a comfy reading chair. If you liked the main series this prequel won't let you down, and if you haven't read it yet this is a great place to start. I was a bit skeptical the author was just cynically cashing on the success of the games by writing this (about a decade late), but happily that wasn't the case and this is a worthy entry to the Witcher canon. I highly recommend giving it a read.