A Trusted Friend in a Complicated World
Updated on Aug. 18, 2024
Monsters and murder, witches and warlocks! The Witcher Season 4 is coming, but you've still got time to devour all the Witcher books in order.
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Fantasy fans, unite! Netflix reports that Season 4 of The Witcher is in production, so it’s time to catch up on Witcher-related content. And we’re not just talking about the show or the video games it’s based on. You may not know this, but the game spawned from a popular book series. Most Witcher books were written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski in the 1990s, but the English translations hit American bookstores years later. Since then, these fantasy books have sold like hotcakes—and there’s no time like the present to read (or reread!) the Witcher books in order.
There are eight Witcher books in the stack: two short story collections, a series of five novels and one stand-alone book. There’s no single correct order to read the Witcher fantasy book series, but we don’t recommend diving into the Witcherverse midway through. Based on character chronology (instead of publication date), we’re laying out the best order to read the Witcher books before Season 4 premieres.
Are you ready to read some of the best books to hit the shelves in decades? Ahead, you’ll find out how to read the Witcher books in order.
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Publication date: 1993
The Last Wish is a short story collection that serves as a prequel to the Witcher books. Though it wasn’t published first, it’s widely considered the best place to start reading the Witcher books in order. That’s because these pages introduce readers to Geralt of Rivia, the pivotal character in Netflix’s first season of The Witcher. While not the very first thing Sapkowski wrote about the Witcher world, the stories provide a solid framework for all that is to come. And of course, the stories are delights on their own! It’s the foundational tale of Geralt and how his intense training and natural powers have turned him into the calculated killer in everyone’s Netflix queue. The Last Wish is a great introduction to the Witcher world, especially if you love short books.
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Publication date: 1992
This short story collection is also a prequel to the Witcher books. But instead of maintaining a laser focus on Geralt, Sword of Destiny broadens the scope to include Ciri, princess of Cintra. In one of the stories, readers get a glimpse of what happened to Ciri just before the first official Witcher book, Blood of Elves. Another story, “The Bounds of Reason,” became the template for episode six (“Rare Species”) of The Witcher‘s first season. Though you could read this collection before The Last Wish, reading it second gives you the best experience of cumulative world-building and lends color and imagination to the rest of the series.
Publication date: 1994
Meet the first of five core novels in the Witcher Saga: Blood of Elves. Now that you’ve gotten the lay of the land with The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, it’s time to dive into Geralt and Ciri’s fateful meeting. When the Emperor of Nilfgaard sets his sights on the elven princess’s magical powers, she must rely on Geralt to protect her. Despite his powers and killer instincts, the question remains: Can he keep her safely hidden from the emperor? With themes of war and fate, this epic thriller will keep you turning pages into the wee hours of the morning.
Publication date: 1995
This installation of the Witcher novels begins where Blood of Elves ends. The Time of Contempt follows Ciri and Yennefer as they travel through a world of monsters and elves to install the princess in a magic school. The journey is upended when Ciri goes rogue and forces Yennefer to trail after her. But all’s not lost. The detour gives Yennefer and Geralt a chance to meet again before escorting the princess forward. Through dangerous portals, blistering heat and kidnapping by bounty hunters, the heroes continue onward through worlds to discover that Ciri’s elven blood might be even more potent than they’d realized. It’s a surefire hit for fans of everything from sci-fi to vampire books.
Publication date: 1996
Baptism of Fire finds Geralt injured and Ciri teamed up with a collective of young rebels. Yennefer remains mysteriously absent through most of the book, but readers will hardly notice amid the fast-paced plots of the other two protagonists. Themes of friendship, loyalty, magic and destiny pervade. It would be easy for a series author to grow complacent in the third novel, but that’s not the case here. Sapkowski digs deep into character development and questions of good versus evil—all while maintaining a page-turning pace.
Publication date: 1997
The world has been turned on its head. While Baptism of Fire details Ciri’s growth through rebellion, The Tower of Swallows asks what will happen to her when her independence ends. The action-packed fantasy novel shows both Ciri and Geralt on the run—her from enemies and allies, and him from a mysterious villain who has put a bounty on his head. The race for good to triumph over evil grows tenser and tenser in this fourth installment of the unputdownable fiction book series.
Publication date: 1999
The fifth and final of the core Witcher books, The Lady of the Lake, follows Ciri after she walks through a portal into a mysterious elven land. Unfortunately, she gets stuck there, with no clear way to return. This finale plunges readers into the princess’s most daring, dangerous mission: finding her way back home. Will Ciri get back to her land? And will Geralt survive to see her again? This monster book wouldn’t be out of place on a shelf featuring some of the top horror novels of all time.
Publication date: 2013
The Witcher novels were written as a series, but Season of Storms was a highly anticipated stand-alone book. It offers new and compelling glimpses of Geralt of Rivia, who’s on a quest to retrieve stolen and precious goods. Think of this novel as The Horse and His Boy in the Chronicles of Narnia series. While not necessary to the main plot of the Witcher books, it adds color and depth to the fantastical world. Technically, it takes place around the time of The Last Wish. Despite that, many people who read the Witcher books in order save this one for last.
Once you’ve read the Witcher books in order, you might crave more stories set in the Witcher world. Here are some graphic novels and companion books (and even an adult coloring book!) for fans to enjoy outside the standard Witcher books series order.
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