[ 3 / biz / cgl / ck / diy / fa / ic / jp / lit / sci / vr / vt ] [ index / top / reports ] [ become a patron ] [ status ]
2023-11: Warosu is now out of extended maintenance.

/lit/ - Literature

View post   
File: 112 KB, 512x512, the witcher.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21233282 No.21233282 [Reply] [Original]

Are the Witcher Novels any good? The slavic fantasy setting seems interesting, but I'd worry that a lot would be lost in translation.

>> No.21233287

Decent. Definitely better than GRRM.

>> No.21233300

DIdnt like it. They get more political with each book, i.e. modern morals, progress, and idiotic activism.

>> No.21233355

I have read the first two books in Polish and the writing ranges from decent to atrociously bad. I wouldn’t worry about the translation.

>> No.21233417

>>21233282
No, they are onions fantasy, read The Savage Tales of Solomon Kane

>> No.21233440

>>21233282
>”slavic fantasy”
is this even really a discrete thing? usually seems the same as “gothic fantasy” but changing the german “-burgs” to slavic “-grads”

>> No.21233481

>>21233440
Germany is a country of inventors, philosophers, writers, scientists, theologians, architects, artists, and musicians.

Poland is a country of toilet cleaners.
>Verification not required.

>> No.21233552

>>21233282
They aren't the best fantasy ever, but I read all of them in 6 weeks and it was a very pleasant journey. It's very down to earth, doesn't try to make reader feel dumb. The story is more about people than "witching" and monster hunting, as Netflix series might let you believe.

Music has really enhanced my experience. My soundtrack: Percival (game OST), Danheim (nordic folk), medieval bardcore/tavern music.

Read in Ukrainian, the translation is great. Russian is decent too, but English is mediocre and dull (compared a few chapters).

>> No.21233577

>>21233481
This is embarrasing to read and I'm not even polish.

>> No.21234079

>>21233282
Read them and find out.

>> No.21234566

>>21233440
There is such a thing as Slavic mythology but not only is most of it completely lost but most of it is really fucking depressing.

>> No.21234578

>>21233481
World war loser cope: the post

>> No.21234595

>>21233282
They are the definition of wasted potential. The first collection of short stories is good, everything else after sucks ass. He should have stuck to bringing the remnants of Slavic folklore to life. I have traveled extensively in Poland, among Kashubia, and I can tell you there, demons exist. He blew it.

>> No.21234609
File: 82 KB, 750x464, 35465644655644.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21234609

>>21233440
It lives on only in whispers in certain parts of the Slavic world. The histories itself have been mostly lost, no surviving texts. Some descriptions exists, archaeologists find ritual sites but cannot explain them. Pic related is the mysterious Świadowid which archaeologists have been debating over for a long, long time now. But be a brave man and go out into the villages, get to know the older people there. They'll tell you stories, still passed down generationally. Go out to the periphery, get to hear their tales. It's alive, only that moron Sapkowski blew it and turned it into a circus act.

>> No.21234613
File: 61 KB, 377x599, 4565645656475.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21234613

>>21233440

>> No.21234647

>>21233440
the Chronicle states
"And Vladimir began to reign alone in Kiev. And he placed idols on the hill outside the palace: a Perun in wood with a silver head and a gold moustache, and Khors, Dazhdbog and Stribog and Simargl and Mokosh. And they offered sacrifices and called them gods, and they took their sons and daughters to them and sacrificed them to the devils. And they profaned the earth with their sacrifices, and Rus’ and that hill were profaned by blood. But God the merciful, who does not wish the death of sinners, on that hill stands today the church of Saint Vasilij, as we will relate later. "
But it's likely Christian bullshit, we have no idea if human sacrifice was performed or not and Christians tended to exaggerate everything.

>> No.21234655

>>21233440
"They believe that one of the gods, the creator of lightning, is the lord over all, and bulls are sacrificed to him and other sacred rites are performed. They do not know fate and generally do not recognize that it has any power in relation to people, and when they are about to face death, whether they are seized by illness or in a dangerous situation in the war, they promise, if they are saved, to immediately sacrifice to God for their soul; having escaped death, they sacrifice what they promised, and they think that their salvation has been bought at the price of this sacrifice. They worship rivers, and nymphs, and all sorts of other deities, offer sacrifices to all of them and with the help of these sacrifices they also produce divination."
A less biased source but still one we cannot properly know for certain and which is incredibly vague. However in the old villages the belief in nymphs still lives on. Strange rituals a lot of old people will perform as well.

>> No.21234701

>>21233282
Decent. Definitely better than GRRM.

>> No.21234707

>>21234655
What the hell, did they rip this off from the Greeks or something?

>> No.21234716

>>21234707
The religious themetics involved go far beyond the Greeks. The first cities recorded in history were found in Ukraine:
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fdigh.2019.00010/full
This has destroyed many pre-supposed theories as e.g. Uruk the first city, etc.

>> No.21234775

>>21233481
Wait until you find out what the etymology of Berlin is.

>> No.21235031

>>21234578
Ah, yes. The powerful and strong Poland of WWII.

>> No.21235398
File: 868 KB, 1280x720, 1667158437101842.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21235398

>>21233282
I'm halfway through Last Wish, and it's okay. The writer uses dialogue for exposition dumps sometimes which can be a bit much, but it's payed off so far.

>> No.21235478
File: 7 KB, 181x279, 1666217127450344.jpg [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21235478

>>21233282
Just read Elric. It is far better, there is a good reason the books were unknown before Wild Hunt. Even the first two games were not sufficient to make them popular.

Fun fact, the author was working as a translator of English fiction before he suddenly, and without warning, got the idea for The Witcher.

>Highly skilled swordsman
>Uses alchemy to strengthen his body
>Is an outcast and loner
>except for a dark haired wizardess
>Albino-like
>Called the white wolf
>Fights against fate
>mercenary
>special sword thst hurts what nornal ones can not
>Occasional coarse sidekick
>Occasionally hunts monsters
>Hated by population of young/northern kingdoms
>are an anachronism
>skills are dying out and being increasingly unwantes and not needed

There is nothing slavic about it, the monsters are generic european, the fairytales it parodies are German, the kingdoms are central European. They are utterly garbage books, in both execution, plot, characters, and setting.

>> No.21235538

>>21235478
That's basically just a rip off from beowulf

>> No.21235565
File: 241 KB, 414x549, 1665529719661827.png [View same] [iqdb] [saucenao] [google]
21235565

>>21235538
You fucking idiot.

>> No.21235614

>>21235031
>w-we conquered a 3rd world backwater with help from the commies w-what now?
what happened when you went up against non-shithole countries klaus?

>> No.21235663 [DELETED] 

>>21235614
>what happened when you went up against non-shithole countries klaus?
They were conquered then the whole entire mobbed Germany.

>> No.21235666 [DELETED] 

>>21235614
>what happened when you went up against non-shithole countries klaus?
They were conquered then the whole entire world mobbed Germany.

>> No.21235670

>>21235614
>what happened when you went up against non-shithole countries klaus?
They were conquered then the whole entire world mobbed Germany.

>> No.21236200

>>21235670
Is this the new cope?

>> No.21236355

>>21233282
Pacing issues

>> No.21236429

>>21233282
AFAIK Sapkowski said that the Witcher is a general European-style fantasy and not a Slavic fantasy in particular. With that said, my sister bought one of the books and she said it reads like a game script lol - Geralt's dialogue is sparse and consists mostly in getting the details for jobs.
>>21234609
Fuck anon, I really wish we'd get some of this shit documented and preserved for posterity. I feel so guilty because my line's entire traditional culture ends with me and my generation. My grandma was super good on folk knowledge and customs, and my parents also experienced and know these things because of my grandparents. Not the same for me and my cousins. I genuinely know almost nothing, but the little I know is so beautiful and it makes me feel terrible that it's going to be forgotten forever.

>> No.21236493

>>21236355
Is it a big issue?

>> No.21236498

>>21236429
I read some of it before it was all translated and it's pretty average. It's definitely at its best in the short stories

>> No.21236533

>>21233440
>>21233282
The witcher is more germanic than slavic