The Witcher - Book vs Game @ Fantasy Fan

[magerette]

Fantasy fiction site Fantasy Fan posts an article discussing the relationship of author Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher books to CDProjekt's cRPG, The Witcher:

I can't stress enough how important it is to remember that the game was created based on the brilliant writing of Andrzej Sapkowski. The books are not mere extensions of the successful game drawing from its success. Remember, the books were first...
..The last concern I want to touch on in this article is the consistency between the game and books. I was worried that the Witcher game would disappoint me and instead of bringing fun it would negatively impact the memory of the saga. I'm happy to announce that it didn't happen. The independent story brought Witcher back to life and the strong links to the books which exist in the game made it seem like you're simply reading another chapter from Geralt's life. But more importantly, the brutal world of moral ambiguity, difficult choices and sarcastic humor was preserved. Andrzej Sapkowski was involved in creating of the game and it really shows.

More information.

 

[screeg]

My comment on The Last Wish: devastatingly mediocre, in large part I suspect because of the uninspired translation. I think they hired a translator of government statistics rather than an author. Also, the Witcher is based on the collected works of Sapkowski, and not just that first book now available in English.

 

[magerette]

The translation was indeed labored, but still, I got a bit of the same sense from the book that I got from the game. I have the feeling that a translator a bit more familiar with, say the work of Raymond Chandler, or even Robert Heinlein or other old school sci-fi, would have been a better choice. But I didn't find it a total waste of time.

 

[warweasel1]

I enjoyed it. I felt that it had much of the game's flavor, and experiencing that as a book left me satisfied. I remember there being occasional odd, flat moments but I didn't think that they were deal breakers- in a way they even helped contribute to the "traditional fairy tales retold" vibe which was one of its pleasures for me. I'd guess that to an extent I also brought the game into the book, let it fill in the blanks, but I doubt that that alone would have had me reading to the end. For whatever reason it all worked for me.

 

[xSamhainx]

I thought "the last wish" was a fun read, and it was interesting to read about the people/places/things and get a little more of the game that I had just played. Worth the 8 bucks or so that I paid for it.