She’s a curious and energetic child whose personality contrasts with the menacing aura that surrounds her. In one scene, Sapkowski – never subtle – even describes ghostly knights following the girl during a storm.ĭespite that, Ciri is a witcher who refuses to kill other human beings even when her own life is at stake. This allusion to vultures is even more pertinent when one notices that Ciri seems to be frequently drawn to situations that end with various corpses scattered across the floor. The knight that pursues her, for example, is defined by his black helmet shaped like a bird of prey. Not only that, but the very concept of death is also constantly related to the girl. The prophecies she utters, which always indicate someone’s death, come true exactly as she described. Sapkowski works well with this atmosphere, reinforcing it at every turn with foreboding signs. Consequently, the fatalism of that work is present here as well, imbuing the atmosphere with pessimism: the reader is led to question whether Ciri has the capacity to confront something that even Geralt couldn’t conquer. The book’s main theme is the same one of Sword of Destiny. The story begins shortly after the events of Blood of Elve s, with Princess Cirilla being taken by Yennefer to a witchcraft school while Geralt tries to discover the identity and intentions of the girl’s pursuers.Ĭiri remains the protagonist, and her future is the big question in the story: will her good intentions prevail in the end or will the curse attached to her family dictate her emotions and actions, leading her to a path of war? Will she be able to choose which road to take or her destination is already sealed by fate?

The Time of Contempt, the fourth volume of The Witcher saga, shows the best and worst of its author, Andrzej Sapkowski: on the one hand, there is a story full of intriguing characters and complex social relations on the other, there is the usual repetition of ideas and severe problems in the structure of the book.

The witcher book time of contempt