Fiction Reviews
Crossroads of Ravens
(2024 / 2025) Andrzej Sapkowski, Gollancz, £16.99, trdpbk, ISBN 978-1-399-63347-5
This is the first “Witcher” novel in 7 years, having first being published in Poland in Polish in 2024, before being published in English in 2025. If you haven’t been paying attention, the Witcher books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide, been the subject matter of several video games and, of course, been turned into a series by Netflix, albeit with a change of lead actor in the role of Geralt of Rivia. With all those world-domination shenanigans, then why not go back to the beginning and chronicle the start of Geralt’s adventures, for as the cover of this proof-copy proclaims: “Every legend has an origin. Geralt of Rivia’s begins here.”, which nicely compliments the cover announcement that “The Global Phenomenon Returns” (add as many exclamation remarks as you like), but it is a phenomenon as the original books have spawned a series of video games, an original film and TV series before the Netflix one, comic books, card games, table top games, even a rock opera and a musical version.
If you have never read a Witcher novel before then this latest novel is a good place to start as it is a standalone novel, and can be read before any of the other novels in the series. It is told over 23 chapters, by an omniscient narrator who interjects the odd bit of humour, usually at Geralt’s expense and his naivety in the wider world. Each chapter is divided by a shield or crest, and also various quotes from anonymous ballads, Psalms, The Divine Comedy, letters, Shakespeare, nursery rhymes, Lord Byron, Niccolo Machiavelli, and from various books, or luminaries in the Witcher World.
Here, we join an 18-year-old Geralt as he leaves the Witchers’ training school of Kaer Morhen and ventures into the wider world, almost with fatal consequences as he is about to be hanged. His crime? Killing a man in self-defence after coming to the aid of a peasant and his daughter who was about to be raped. Despite doing a good deed, Geralt quickly realises that his intervention is being used to further the ambitions of others. Fortunately, a stranger, an older Witcher called Preston Holt, arrives and helps him escape and educates him to the dangerous ways of the world and his place in it. Holt is an interesting, enigmatic character, and helps Geralt through some monster-hunting adventures, and navigate the politics (and even the banking processes) of the wider world. As fun as these segments are – and as mentioned before, this book is a useful introduction to the Witcher world – the reader might be wondering where the story is taking them, although the experienced reader will have fun spotting references to events that will follow in other books, and will be pleased that Sapkowski turns his narrative eye on to the origins of the Witchers and the Kaer Morhem pogrom.
It is well written, with great set-pieces, good dialogue, strong characterisation in places, and there are a lot of characters, most of whom could be forgotten, but some do stick around long enough to make an impact on Geralt’s life for the good – not everyone wants to kill a Witcher! However, the plot does coalesce and rattle along to a gripping conclusion, as Geralt makes a moral choice when faced with taking revenge or saving some innocents. In a way, this book is the perfect stepping-stone to venture into Sapkowski’s first two books in the series The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny as these are books made up of short stories before Sapkowski entered his novel phase with the Blood of Elves, the first of 'The Witcher Saga'. It is up for discussion whether or not Sapkowski is a better short story writer than a novelist, but Crossroads of Ravens is almost a short story collection given the number of monsters Geralt has to defeat.
Given the wide variety of spin-offs that the Witcher World has endured, Sapkowski also seems to be using this book to remind people that he’s the daddy, and adding to the lore in a definitive way. Witcher fans will lap this up, and readers new to Sapkowski’s world could easily jump on board here too.
Ian Hunter
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