The Witcher is one of the most internationally successful fantasy series to come out of Poland in recent years. The franchise came back into prominence in December, 2024, when The Witcher 4 video game was formally revealed in The Game Awards. Aside from CD Projekt Red’s acclaimed video game series, The Witcher has also been the basis for a Netflix live-action adaptation that premiered on 20 December 2019.
The Witcher originates from a series of Polish fantasy novels and short story collections authored by Andrzej Sapkowski. The first short story in the series, titled Wiedźmin in the original Polish, was submitted to the Polish magazine Fantastyka in 1986.
Since then, The Witcher has gradually become one of the most well-renowned fantasy franchises, first in its native Poland, and then internationally.
The Witcher began as a series of short stories
The Witcher franchise started out as a series of short stories. Following the publication of the original Wiedźmin story, Sapkowski continued expanding on his fantasy world by publishing further short stories. These stories starred Geralt of Rivia, who is a wanderer and monster-slayer.
Most of the early Witcher stories were adaptations of fairy tales in Polish and European folklore. In 1990, Spakowski would publish the first book in The Witcher series, which was named Wiedźmin, after the original short story. This collection was published exclusively in Poland and has never been released internationally.
Andrzej Sapkowski would eventually sign up with SuperNowa as a new publisher, and they remain the Polish publisher for all books in The Witcher series to this day. Under SuperNowa, The Witcher series consists of three short story collections and a five novel series. The recommended reading order for The Witcher books is as follows:
- The Last Wish. This book as an expanded rerelease of the original Wiedźmin book, that was published in Poland in 1993.
- Sword of Destiny was published in Poland in 1992, but comes second in the reading order due to The Last Wish containing the original short stories.
- Blood of Elves is the first full-length novel in The Witcher series, and stars both Geralt and a new main character named Ciri, his adoptive daughter. First published in 1994.
- Time of Contempt is the second novel in the series. First published in 1995.
- Baptism of Fire is the third novel in the series. First published in 1996.
- The Tower of Swallow is the fourth novel in the series. First published in 1997.
- The Lady of the Lake is the final novel in the series. First published in 1999.
- Season of Storms is a new short story collection that serves as a prequel to the novels. First published in 2013.
The Witcher series has been adapted into video games and a Netflix series
The Witcher series gathered a dedicated following in Poland during its initial publication, but it was CD Projekt RED’s video game adaptation of the series that made it a worldwide sensation. Beginning with the 2007 game titled “The Witcher”, the video game series would turn both Cd Projekt RED and Andrej Sapkowski into household names the world over.
The Witcher books have also had a number of live-action adaptations. The first one was a series known as The Hexer, which was produced in Poland and aired in 2002. The second series was produced by Netflix, and premiered in 2019. The Netflix adaptation starred Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia for the first three seasons, though he’s slated to be replaced by Liam Hemsworth in the fourth season.
The Game Awards in 2024 announced a new instalment in The Witcher video game series, titled The Witcher IV. The upcoming video game will see Ciri take over the leading role from Geralt, as she begins her own career as a witcher.
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