2.5/5 stars
Unfortunately, this book did not work for me. It was boring until about 65% of the way into it. There was almost no plot and felt like a slapstick guy movie. A bunch of guys getting into hijinks by breaking the law. The titular "tower" almost had nothing to do with the plot. At first I thought our main character would be sent, and then at 50% I thought, maybe Adele (love interest, sort of), then I thought it was a metaphor. No, it turns out it was a real place, and they were only there for about 5% of the book (70-75%). It was basically meaningless and the title should be different. The main character made some stupid decisions, and was super naive. The book's writing was subpar, but that might have been a translation issue. Overall, very disappointed, and will not be continuing the series.
Also, just know this takes place in Poland. I thought it was a fantasy, and while there are fantastical elements, it was definitely more historical fiction.

I really wanted to like this book, as I am a huge fan of Andrzej Sapkowski, but it did not live up to my expectation or the quality of work from this author. The journey of our main characters was tedious and without direction. The Latin and foreign language used in the context of the book was not used effectively for the reader.

Thank you so much to Orbit Books for the eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review! All opinions are my own!

Oh Reynevan, part of me thinks that him and his entire lot needed a turn in the asylum. After bedding a knight’s wife and apparently falling madly in love (which she clearly didn’t return), Reynevan sets off on a series of misadventures when he should honestly be fleeing the country.

This is a very historically dense book, with many names and details that bogged the pace down quite a bit. That said, I don’t know a darn thing about the Hussite wars so I felt like I learned SO much, and it was interesting too to see why the wars started and how the church kind of just devolved into heretical “witch hunts” and went to the crusades. There is more history than fantasy but it felt so real that I had more than enough to keep my imagination going.

The atmosphere felt appropriate too, these religious groups hated each other. There is suspicion and people were encouraged to rat out their neighbors for clemency. Someone is killing merchants, the Knights are on their way out, and wallcreepers are turning into humans and making dark deals. I know a lot of people aren’t liking all the Latin left in the book but like the prayers weren’t spoken in English and do y’all really care what they say? Even the bits left in sentences make more or less sense if you know anything about word roots, and if not, I doubt much is being missed.

I did just love the characters too. Scharley had me literally CRYING I was laughing so hard during one totally fake exorcism scene. I didn’t realize that Sapkowski had a sense of humor but the banter and conversations and occasional one liners from side characters are amazing, and I think David French did a great job bringing the characters through the translation. Reynevan himself is a moron though, he got so much great advice and ended up ignoring all of it, captured, and imprisoned instead. Riding through the towns and hearing the different townspeople’s interpretations of happenings and politics was interesting too.

I think this series is really going to heat up in book two, with the wars starting and a lot of the setting and exposition out of the way. I will definitely be reading on when the next book comes out!

Thank you so much again to Orbit Books for the early copy!

Reviews can be seen at

https://onereadingnurse.com/2020/10/28/arc-review-the-tower-of-fools-by-andrzej-sapkowski/

And.

https://www.instagram.com/p/CG3KRyhgZM5/

We've only recently discovered The Witcher on Netflix, and that led me down the rabbit hole to Andrzej Sapkowski's books. When I had the chance to read an advance copy of The Tower of Fools, I jumped at it.

First off, it is a substantial book. Weighing in at approximately 560 pages, it isn't a light, easy read. It's longer than the average book, and it is chock full of historical detail. Before I picked up this book, I knew exactly nothing about the Hussite Wars. Once I started reading here, I had to go do a little research, so I learned a thing or two. And isn't that one of a book's objectives?

Second, our protagonist, Reinmar of Bielewa (also called Reynevan), is an idiot, bless his heart. He seemed determined throughout this book to throw himself in harm's way as fast as possible, disregarding any piece of good advice he might get in favor of his pursuit of Love. Never mind that the fair Adele (the original object of his affection) didn't return his feelings. He dashed headlong after her, and got himself into a lot of scrapes along the way. But thankfully, there are always those along the way who are willing to help him, whether out of the goodness of their hearts or to further their own agenda, and he might have learned a little bit from his journey. I hope to find out in book two of the trilogy.

There were parts of the book that were very heavy on historical detail. I might could have done with a bit less of that, as I'm not the aficionado of history that some people are. But it didn't keep me from reading and enjoying the book. Honestly, I got overtones of Terry Pratchett-type satire in some places, and it was quite entertaining. I particularly enjoyed the blurbs at the beginning of each chapter that gave the reader an idea of what to expect.

The titular Tower of Fools, Narrenturm, doesn't make an appearance until about 80% through the book, but it is an important part of the story. It also sounds like quite a horrific place. There are some descriptions of torture, but nothing graphic.

Overall, while I might have liked a little less history with my fantasy, The Tower of Fools is a jolly good read. I'm looking forward to the rest of the trilogy.

Disclaimer: I received an advance reader copy of the book from NetGalley and Orbit Books. All opinions here are mine, and I don't say nice things about books that I don't actually like.

This 'new' novel by Andrzej Sapkowski (originally published in 2002, but only translated now to English) is an historical fiction novel set around 1450 in the area between Poland and the Czech republic at the time of the Hussite Wars (which also sets the scene for the whole book). The main premise is the schism between the reformers, protestant Hussites and the Holy Roman Papacy. Knowing a bit of European history gives a nice background into the book but it is not mandatory to be able to read it. Some of the characters are real while others are fictional; as such, some should be recognizable by almost everyone and others only for history scholars. For the most part, the world of the book is real but there's a bit of magic thrown in. Even with magic, this is definitely more of a historical than fantasy.

Story: Our protagonist, Reinmar of Bielawa, sleeps with a married woman and flees to avoid the wrath of the husband's family. While everyone tells him to flee to Hungary, he invariably makes an increasing amount of stupid decisions that lead him, and his eventual companions, into more and more danger. I felt a bit like I was reading Odysseus - that is, if Odysseus was an idiot.

This is my main gripe with the book: the protagonist is mostly unlikable due to being foolish. his personality is fine - he's a nice enough guy and usually tries to do the right thing. But, given an option to do something smart or stupid, he picks stupid every time. After the 10th time it gets old and you really start to wonder why the other characters put up with it or bother to come save him yet again.

The other parts of the book are better. I like the history part (though there are so many characters and names I totally gave up trying to remember them already in chapter 1). While I've studied a bit of history of the region, I could not really tell where the real stuff ended and fiction began. It all feels very real. The description of medieval religion is very accurate and unapologetic. Neither side of the conflict is good and the horrors inflicted in the name of a proper style of faith are vivid enough to become a bit uncomfortable. Similarly, descriptiona of the age at large are very nice - this is not a fantasy setting with clean and happy peasants and noble knights. The world is gritty and dirty.

The writing (or perhaps translation) style is good, though it is very wordy and flowery at times, especially the dialogue. There are a lot of Latin quotes and if you know the basics you'll get a bit more out of the book. And like I mentioned before, there's an unlimited number of names and places, but luckily you don't have to remember the vast majority of them. The story has a good pace, though occasionally due to the main character's tendency to go in the wrong direction all the time, it's not quite clear if you are actually getting anywhere in the story. I did not realize this was not a standalone novel until the very end of the book.

For those who are thinking of reading this because of the Witcher books (likely fairly many): The writing style is the same and the world is similarly gritty. The war of the religions is similar to the war between the empires. The main character is like Dandelion without any of the charm plus a bit of a noble streak. The story is a bit like the part in the Witcher where Gerald follows Ciri around the map without actually getting furthering the plot in the process. There's a bit of the same dry humor here, as well as the tendency for various characters to be surprising philosophers. In short, if you loved the Witcher you might enjoy this but it really doesn't have the same charm. Reviewed from an advance reader copy provided by the publisher.

Tower of Fools, in which bad things happy to someone who mostly deserves it.

Tower of Fools is a historical fiction fantasy novel, the first of The Hussite Trilogy, which leans far more heavily into the historical fiction than the fantasy aspect. Following Reinman of Bielawa, or Reynevan von Bielau, as he seeks out his lost lost and tries to escape quite a few people and bad situations, that he usually puts himself in to.

First off, let me start by saying that I feel kind of like the fool for reading this one. I went in expecting fantasy in much the same vein as The Witcher series, so I’m the fool for not properly looking in to this a bit more. As fair warning to everyone else, this isn’t more of the same. If you’re reading Tower of Fools looking for another epic fantasy, this isn’t going to be the book for you. If you like historical fiction, this is worth a shot.

If you like historical fiction, this is kind of a fascinating book. There is a lot of interesting little historical tidbits and facts throughout, and it was interesting to learn more about something I previously knew nothing about. I did appreciate that the most about the book. But, I also know that I like history, and historical fiction, and I have a bit of a background in it. If you go in without any previous knowledge, this is a hard book to read. Sapkowski doesn’t give a lot of background information. There are a lot of words, and definitions that go without explanation because the assumption is there that if you know anything about the time period, or anything about the Hussities, or anything about religion even, you’re prepared for this book, which isn’t always going to be the case. He’s also rather guilty of large info dumps of names, which lose all meaning after reading several pages of lineages and jobs.

I did really struggle with the large info dumps of information, and honestly I struggled a lot with the story itself. It takes 26 long chapters to get to the Tower of Fools, and we stay there for a grand total of two chapters. That felt like a lot of lead up for very little to happen. The opening chapter is a the most ridiculous sex scene I’ve ever encountered, and a one point in the story, we also encounter a perverted werewolf. There’s just a lot of random events, and things that are hinted at that lead to very little, and feel very unnecessary to the story as a whole.

After reading the novel though, after going through some other reviews, it’s becoming quite apparent that there may be some things lost in translation here. Literally. Reading other reviews from people who have read both the Polish and English version notice that there is a lot of nuance lost, especially in terms of his writing. Some styles of writing just don’t translate well, and it sounds like this is one of them. Some of the writing feels awkward, and stilted, but because I have nothing to compare it to, I’m not sure if that’s because some phrases and idioms just aren’t translating well. I’m also assuming that a lot of the historical aspects of the book get a bit lot in translation too - things I may not have learned, so having an info dump of names doesn’t mean as much to me as it could someone else who read it in Polish. Heck, it might not even feel like a giant info dump of nonsense reading it in Polish, it might actually tie in to the story more logically.

So, while I have issues with the story itself, I just don’t think I went in prepared properly for a historical fiction. There are some small fantastical elements to the story, obviously I mentioned a werewolf earlier, but it doesn’t feature heavily, and I think knowing that going in, I would have gone in with a different mindset and been more prepared and would have enjoyed the book more that way. So while this one didn’t quite work for me, I think others will find a whole lot of enjoyment out of the story if they go in knowing what to expect.

As the first book in a trilogy, THE TOWER OF FOOLS has many characters to develop and many story threads to follow. The main core of characters has sent the first book into history with their journey from one disaster to another. This author's prior work, the Witcher series, set expectations very high for this publication and while it was an enjoyable enough read, it did not reach potential. It does have a good, solid base for the next story, so I'll definitely leave room for it on my TBR pile.

As a fan of the Witcher books, I was excited to read this book, the first in a new trilogy. The premise seemed interesting and I was expecting the fantasy aspects of the book to be similar to the Witcher series. However, this is a different kind of story.

Tower of Fools is historical fiction with magic which at times turns very dark. The main character, Reynevan, lives up to the title of the book and is essentially a fool. He makes foolish decisions that lead him into one bad situation after the other and is repeatedly saved by his friends. Most of the book is a long journey which slows the pacing of the story, and it takes a while before the main characters finally end up at the Narrenturm. The introductions to the chapters are clever and there are some funny moments as the characters find themselves in outrageous situations. However, there are several strange moments and uncomfortable scenes. There was a strange scene at the tower where Reynevan, of course does something desperate and foolish and what follows felt a bit deus-ex-machina.

This book was not what I expected and it’s not for me. Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Rating: 7/10

The Tower of Fools is a historical fantasy from the master behind the Witcher series, Sapkowski – back is the hefty, unique voice that is pervasive in his writings, the fantastical prose steeped in European lore and myth. Taking place in medieval Europe, this is a tale featuring an eclectic mix of characters, magic, factions and monsters. It’s a historical tale with an undeniable, fantastically researched sense of place; a plot that oozes mystery and is drenched is credibility, but one that takes a while to get going.

The plot sees Reynevan and his flight from the Sterczas, a family who blame him for their brother’s death and for cuckolding another brother with his beloved Adele – along the road of escape, he meets brigands, men of god, soldiers, a randy Werewolf, and Sharley – who is promised to help him escape a fate at the end of the sword. Along with a botched exorcism that results in Samson joining their band, there’s certainly no shortage of antics that drive the plot forward. This plot also features Sapkowski’s trademark character swapping – sometimes beginning chapters in mysterious meetings or with characters who don’t yet mean anything. There’s certainly no shortage of POVs, but for this one I felt that it made the plot drag a little. I was constantly searching for something to keep me enamoured, something (like in the Witcher) that made it impossible not to follow these characters to the end. However, I felt a certain disconnect from the plot and didn’t feel that it delivered the blurbed promises until well after midway in this quite-a-chonk-of-a-book.

I believe the pacing remained the problem throughout the book – I certainly don’t mind it being slower but I felt like Sharley, Reynevan and Samson didn’t get too far too quickly. Although, I did love them. Sharley’s supposed expertise in everything and jack-of-all-trades character did have me laughing in some parts and wowed in others. He was very interesting for one of the main character’s sidekicks, and the bits where he wasn’t on screen well the duller moments. Yet, there were pockets of excitements and strange intrigue throughout the book – with men who wouldn’t be slain, even when they lost their head.

As always with Sapkowski books, the dialogue was the strongest point for me. He seems to drop a lot of exposition in favour of hints throughout the dialogue; for example, you’ll have X character telling Y character to stop doing something, which may seem simple but the balance of getting it right or getting it wrong is tight – on the surface may seem easy, but it is no easy feat to pull off while maintaining genuine-feeling dialogue. Having said that, he does so perfectly.

Overall, this was a book that I’ve looked forward to for a long while; a book that I really tried to love, but struggled at times due to pacing – even leading to sections feeling like a chore to read. For those fans of Sapkowski, I would say give it a go. But those not familiar with his works, I would recommend the Witcher series as a starting point.

2.5 stars

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.

From the author of The Witcher series comes an epic work of historical fiction set against the backdrop of The Hustle Wars in the 1400s. Light fantasy ingrained within the story and plenty of jarring battle scenes. At times the pacing was a bit slow and bogged down with dense amounts of detail. A worthwhile; stunning attention to detail. Thank you NetGalley for allowing me to review this ARC, This is a voluntary review and all opinions are unbiased and my own.

Really good read! I loved the sound of this book before I read it. I love history and fantasy so combining them was perfect. The hero is cheeky and daring and manages to get into trouble frequently. I will say my eyes glazed over at the data dump in the prologue but after that it was great. Full of action and intrigue. I thoroughly enjoyed it.

I was excited for this one, especially after recently reading The Last Wish of the Witcher series. However, I could not finish this title. The pacing dragged, and I couldn't find anything to connect with to pull me through the story. The opening love scene was uncomfortable to read and from there, I found myself rereading passages to get names and events straight. I simply lost interest.

*I received this title as a free advance digital copy and this does not influence my review or opinion.

When just getting through the prologue takes you three tries, that might be a sign that a book isn’t for you. Unfortunately, I decided to persevere and got to the opening scene. Which was the absolute worst sex scene I’ve ever read. And I should have put the book down then. But I still didn’t because I thought it would get better. Reader, it didn’t.

After torturing myself with the first quarter of the book, I started skimming. Once I saw that the absurd amounts of detail for characters that are utterly inconsequential and never appear again continued, the sexism didn’t go away, and the plot was still slow and boring, I finally decided to just put this one down.

After some research, I realized that The Tower of Fools was written almost twenty years ago. And, quite frankly, it shows. This isn’t a timeless book like some older fantasy novels are. This isn’t a book that you can enjoy while having a discussion about its flaws and how things have changed. There is so much better fantasy that you can read these days that I honestly wouldn’t recommend this book to anyone.

*Disclaimer: I received an advance digital copy of this book for free from the publisher. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Full confession: I didn't read any of the Witcher books. (Gasp.) I haven't finished The Witcher III game. (Gaaasp.) I did watch all of the Witcher series on Netflix. (Toss a coin to your witcher...) But I had heard many people comment how they liked Andrzej Sapkowski's Hussite Trilogy, and they wished it was available in English. Well, good news!! Enter "The Tower of Fools" by Andrzej Sapkowski, translated by David French.

First of all, the translation is excellent. There is some very high prose and a lot of very complicated name-dropping in this book, and it never feels forced or out of place. The jokes and banter between characters flows well, and I laughed out loud often - alternatively at highbrow historical and lowbrow gallows humor. There is an abundance of Latin phrases scattered in every single chapter. I finally gave up on looking them up and just skimmed them, but if you know some Latin or are particularly curious, there is plenty for you.

The main character is the definition of "out of the frying pan and into the fire." He tries so hard to be honorable and clever, but he just stumbles from one train wreck to the next, meeting fascinating characters who find him interesting enough to help him. He is not completely oblivious; he does somewhat learn a lesson throughout the book, but I see lots of potential for character development in the rest of the trilogy and I hope it doesn't disappoint.

This book is very much historical fiction (think Braveheart) with little sprinkles of magic. It is not my usual genre, as I tend to skim over violent battle scenes. Gore and violence wasn't overwhelming in this book, but if you are looking for loud battles, you will find plenty! From a brief glance at the Wikipedia page for the Hussite wars, I think there will be lots more battles in the coming books. When Joan of Arc herself is against the Hussites, this trilogy can't really have a happy ending. But it is an enjoyable read!

The Tower of Fools is an epic and convincing masterpiece of historical fiction.

The Tower of Fools follows Reynevan's daring journey after he is caught committing adultery with the wife of a local lord's son. When a tragic accident occurs during their chase, Reynevan must flee skillfully in order to outwit the many people bent on capturing him.

Reynevan is very different than the iconic Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, that we all fell in love with. Truly, Reynevan is more similar to Dandelion. He is naive and hopeful and quickly falls in love with any maiden he lays eyes on. While there are many similar creatures in this series, there is a lack of magic overall. While Reynevan has been accused of witchcraft, there is very little actually present. For me, this is why this is a four star book rather than a five. I was hoping for an epic historical fantasy tale, but this read as much more of a historical fiction.

At times, The Tower of Fools was also extremely dense. Sapkowski writes with extreme detail which makes the world more believable, but can also be hard to get through. It took me over a month to get through this book, and that's very irregular for me.

Overall, Sapkowski fabricated a convincing historical fiction with strong characters and a compelling storyline. While it was a little slow at times, I would recommend it if you are a fan of his other work.

Those who see the author and think they're getting more of the same should look elsewhere. While it's still written in the same style, it is NOT the Witcher. I didn't hate it, but it was very slow to start.

I had high hopes for this book after reading several of The Witcher novels, but it didn't even come close to meeting those expectations. I actually couldn't even make it through the entire book, and gave up on trying to push when I hit the 30% mark.

The main character wasn't one that was likable. He was supposed to be highly intelligent, but he seemed more like a bumbling fool that went from one disastrous situation to another, expecting someone to save him from every mess that he managed to get himself in. And he got himself into a LOT of messes. Every single person who bailed him out of a problem situation gave him good, solid advice ... which Reynevan promptly disregarded and did exactly what he was told not to do. It was hard to empathize with him, or even care about anything he did.

The storyline was aimless as far as I could tell. Maybe it got better further on in the book, but if a plot hasn't appeared by 30%, it's hard to maintain my interest. The plot just told a journey where ... things ... happened, but there didn't really seem to be anything really tying it together. In addition, the story is billed as a combination of fantasy and historical fiction, but it seemed far too bogged down in historical fiction and there really wasn't very much in the way of fantasy outside of some limited magic that popped up when it was convenient.

I think the biggest issue for me was were the blatantly anti-Semitic statements that were liberally placed throughout the book. These statements were presented as widely accepted and factual, with no explanation whatsoever, and included ideas such as Jews are responsible for:
-starting epidemics of the plague by poisoning wells
-torturing innocent Christian children to death
-using Christian blood to make Passover matzah
-stealing and desecrating sacramental bread
-cutting chunks of flesh from people who can't pay interest on their debts
and ... the fact that Jews have a stench associated with them that is only removed by drinking the blood of Christians.

These ideas were responsible for the torture and death of many Jews over the centuries, and these heinous ideas still persist. I'm appalled that a book would still be allowed to be printed in 2020 that promotes these ideas further. In addition, there were some statements that while not outright homophobic, toed the line pretty closely.

Overall, I probably could have pushed myself through the lackluster story, but I wasn't about to force myself to read hateful content that is based in ignorant ideas that don't deserve a platform.

“And do you know, noble lords, how you can tell that a time is historical? Because much happens, and happens quickly. “

If 2020 has proved anything, it’s that I could do without living in a historical time, as it happens.

Way back in the far distant land of January 2020 (practically a lifetime ago in quarantine time), I had just finished watching Netflix’s television adaptation of The Witcher. This began a fun new obsession and over the following month I devoured the entire book series.

So, here comes fall of 2020, and I found that Andrzej Sapkowski had another series with an English translation that was just about to be released (thank you to translator David French). Count me in!

Opening line: “The end of the world did not occur in the Year of Our Lord 1420, although much had indicated that it would.”

What it’s about:

So this takes a bit of a different tone than the Witcher series, leaning more heavily into the historical side of historical fiction. We get a deep look into the Hussite Wars of the early 1400s, with a mystical twist. It’s more or less a medieval history lesson with some magic sprinkled on top for taste.

A new (or newly translated into English, at least) series from the author of The Witcher series! The first book in the series follows Reinmar of Bielawa, a doctor and sometimes witchcraft practitioner after he is caught in bed with the brothers in law of his lover. Reinmar spends the entire book on the run. A little bit of fantasy mixed in with this historical fiction account of the Hussite Wars in 1425. The story is quite the historical re-telling but tends to drag on. Reinmar finds himself in a bad situation at almost every turn and at some point the reader just wants the story to resolve itself. The world building and character building is very good in this story, but I tended to find myself rooting against many of the main characters - maybe I just like a good villain?! Unfortunately, this book was not quite my cup of tea compared to Sapkowski’s The Witcher.

Thanks NetGalley for allowing me to read and review this book!