#it is only 4 lines so it can be redacted but [shrugs] it's still shitty

[hanzajesthanza]

why baptism of fire is my favorite book out of the saga:

the overall setting in a warzone is well-written and thoughtful, and though tragic and horrific, its very 'realistic' and haunting. the fear, the eventual indifference... how the war-torn landscape influences the characters and their actions and narratives is compelling.

the pacing is great, chapters flow into one another so well it took me actual years to decidedly separate them by chapter in my head. it’s also not too long of a book and it feels like cozy, easy reading. the journey of the characters is not boring or full of “filler”, because plot-relevant stuff keeps occuring.

the theme of a “baptism of fire” is reiterated throughout the novel, but you as the reader are not hit over the head with it extensively or annoyingly (coughs... like in... time of contempt)...

ciri is spiralling downwards (no spiral pun intended) as her trauma builds, but she hasn’t yet faced the powerless gore-strewn tragedies which are ttos and lotl, since bonhart isnt here yet she can be as evil as she wants and its interesting to see her character get caught in the frenzy. she is practically rebuilding her identity from scratch outside of the constraints of moral guidance, and “falka” is overtaking her.

yennefer finally receives solo scenes as an individual character in which we get her point of view and we learn how thoughtful and intelligent she is, she is thrown into a political frying pan fighting for her fucking life with the lodge of sorceresses and we finally get some answers to ciri’s background. 

geralt’s character is at his lowest since the beginning of the series, and he has a choice to make in terms of how he wants to react to losing everything and who he wants to become during this painful climb back up. his utter devastation at losing his child and his lover are ‘realistically’ written and he says and does unlikable, prickly things - yet he never becomes a bad person and his ethics (and motivation to act in the face of injustice) actually grow stronger during this period. we as the readers can hate him and think he’s a dumbass and laugh at him as he tries to shun company.

best dandelion characterization in the series as he helps geralt the most and is the least misogynist in this novel. his stubbornness to not leave geralt’s side is actually admirable and ethical, and we get to see his and geralt’s friendship evolve in this new situation, and dandelion repositions himself in terms of what the role of a best friend is

milva barring

emiel regis

i already put milva, but the conversation scene between her and geralt with "i cannot help you..." "you just did. now go, please. go away, witcher before you destroy my entire world"

i already put regis, but his value as a comic relief character is astounding

cahir is finally introduced as a side protagonist, and is actually just some guy. he proves himself brilliantly at the end of the book. and there is no introduction or even *thought* of cahiri

fish soup scene. everyone collectively makes fun of geralt and we as a reader are laughing it up alongside them.

zoltan, percival, and the rest of their company are introduced as silly comic relief side characters, but represent a jewel of optimism in the side of the death-strewn landscape and keep being these beacons of humanitarianism and “good” in an evil world. considering that they are side characters and disappear for most of the novel, this says something about how goodness is rare, but not impossible to find, it does exist...

it’s short but thank god for that, the scene of djikstra and his spies finding vilgefortz’s lab is horror-filled and shocking, but sets vilgefortz up well as an absolutely wretched villain

the ending battle scene is action-packed and full of drama, but it has deeper messages than what is said on the surface, it has meaning and intention behind the character decisions. huge anti-war and anti-imperialism sentiments

it’s admittedly the first book of the witcher saga that i read, so i’m incredibly biased :B