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The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies determined to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous. There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting...… (more)
The Tower of the Swallow is the fourth novel in the Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. I read the English translation by David French (not the playwright).
Content Note: sexualized violence
Plot: Vysogota, an old hermit living a lonely life in the swamps, stumbles upon an injured girl – Ciri, as it turns out. As he nurses her back to health, she hesitantly starts to tell him her story and what brought her to his swamp and who injured her. Meanwhile, Geralt – accompanied by Regis, Milva and Cahir – is trying to find the druids in the hopes that they can let him know about Ciri’s whereabouts. Time seems to be running out as he is plagued by ominous dreams about her. But the druids have fled from the war and aren’t easy to find.
The Tower of the Swallow started well, but it kind of kept losing me in the end, and I was rather confused by a few things that I feel don’t make sense. In any case, I will finish the series now, but I have lost hope that I will really like it (apart from the first short story collection that led me on this reading journey to begin with).
This one is Ciri`s book, all the other main characters are in it just for a glimpse, like just to remind us of them. The changing point of view was an interesting new thing but quickly became simply boring and added nothing to the story. ( )
I appreciate how each Witcher book is structured. Here, while there's not a ton of movement in the plot (outside of some specific events with Yennefer and Ciri) it remains engaging because of Sapkowski's strong understanding of his characters.
Only two books left, and one of them is a prequel. Very curious to see how this all ends. ( )
Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
In una notte nera come il lutto giunsero a Dun Dâre,
dove la giovane striga aveva il suo rifugio,
e affinché non potesse sfuggir loro
circondarono il borgo senza indugio.
In una notte nera come il lutto vollero prenderla
con l’inganno, impresa disperata.
Prima che il pallido sole sorgesse, trenta cadaveri
giacevano sulla strada maestra gelata.
Canzone da cantastorie sullo spaventoso massacro avvenuto a Dun Dâre nella notte di Saovine
«Posso darti tutto ciò che desideri», disse la fata. «La ricchezza, il potere e uno scettro, la gloria, una vita lunga e felice. Scegli.»
«Non voglio la ricchezza o la gloria, e neppure il potere o uno scettro», rispose la striga. «Voglio un cavallo, che sia nero e inafferrabile come l’impetuoso vento notturno. Voglio una spada, che sia lucente e affilata come un raggio di luna. Voglio percorrere il mondo nella nera notte in sella al mio cavallo nero, voglio colpire le forze del Male e dell’Oscurità con la mia spada luminosa. Questo è ciò che desidero.»
«Ti darò un cavallo più nero della notte e più veloce dell’impetuoso vento notturno», promise la fata. «Ti darò una spada più lucente e affilata di un raggio di luna. Ma chiedi molto, striga, dunque dovrai pagarmi profumatamente.»
«E con cosa? Non posseggo nulla.»
«Col tuo sangue.»
Flourens Delannoy, Favole e leggende
Dedication
First words
Wie allgemein bekannt, dreht sich das Weltall - wie auch das Leben - im Kreis.
As is generally known, the Universe - like life - describes a wheel.
Quotations
Last words
Information from the Italian Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
«Perché ci hai messo tanto?» chiese con un sorriso. «Che cosa ti ha trattenuta?»
The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies determined to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous. There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting...
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Wikipedia in English
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Content Note: sexualized violence
Plot:
Vysogota, an old hermit living a lonely life in the swamps, stumbles upon an injured girl – Ciri, as it turns out. As he nurses her back to health, she hesitantly starts to tell him her story and what brought her to his swamp and who injured her. Meanwhile, Geralt – accompanied by Regis, Milva and Cahir – is trying to find the druids in the hopes that they can let him know about Ciri’s whereabouts. Time seems to be running out as he is plagued by ominous dreams about her. But the druids have fled from the war and aren’t easy to find.
The Tower of the Swallow started well, but it kind of kept losing me in the end, and I was rather confused by a few things that I feel don’t make sense. In any case, I will finish the series now, but I have lost hope that I will really like it (apart from the first short story collection that led me on this reading journey to begin with).
Read more on my blog: https://kalafudra.com/2022/10/01/the-tower-of-the-swallow-andrzej-sapkowski/ (