The Witcher mania is in full effect. Although the IP has been popular amongst video game fans for years now, Geralt of Rivia's popularity has reached new heights thanks to the Netflix adaptation. The Henry Cavill-led series has inspired memes, cover songs, and helped bring a ton of new and old players into the world of The Witcher 3 this winter.
As new and old fans become obsessed with Geralt, Yen, Ciri, and the rest of the crew; many people are interested in visiting the original source material for the first time. The Witcher was introduced in a series of novels and short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski before the games were created and many of the stories from the games and from the first season of the show are lifted directly out of those works. The cliffhangers at the end of season one also nicely setup a few stories from the source material that have only been hinted at so far.
Unlike many other book series that follows an easy reading order, there are actually some options for where and when to jump into The Witcher's written stories. Geralt was introduced in a series of short stories which are now available in novel form, so the book titles aren't as simple as The Witcher Vol. 1, The Witcher, Vol. 2, etc... With that in mind, there are still a handful of options that would be the best place for readers who are new to the series to start.
Before we go any further, here is our recommended reading order. This puts a book that is chronologically first (in universe) in the final spot, but it's best to read Season of Storms last or it will be very hard to follow anything that is happening.
Recommended Reading Order
The Last Wish (1993/2007; a reprint of The Witcher, released in 1990, with new material)
Sword of Destiny (1992/2015)
Blood of Elves (1994/2008)
Time of Contempt (1995/2013)
Baptism of Fire (1996/2014)
The Tower of Swallows (1997/2016)
The Lady of the Lake (1999/2017)
Season of Storms (2013/2018)
The Last Wish
The Last Wish is definitely the best place to begin reading about Geralt's adventures. The collection of short stories may seem like the second entry in the franchise, since the Sword of Destiny was released a year earlier, but story wise this is the much more logical jumping on point.
The collection, originally released in 1993, introduces many of the characters who will be primary players in the seven books to follow and also is the best crash course on the rules of this universe and its magic systems. Fans of both the games and the Netflix series may be excited about The Last Wish because it kicks off with a familiar adventure, as well. Get ready to see a slightly different take on that familiar Princess Striga story...
Geralt is a Witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good...and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
Functionally, The Last Wish ends up reading like an essential prequel to Sword of Destiny. The novel is fairly short and also has a great audiobook available through Audible. Readers will likely fly through this introductory adventure and be ready to jump right into Sword of Destiny.
Sword of Destiny
Sword if Destiny is the second collection that readers will want to tackle before diving into the proper Witcher saga. This second novel (again, which was released first) is the other piece of the franchise stories that (so far) closely ties in with the direction that the show is heading.
This is a collection of short stories, following the adventures of the New York Times bestseller, The Last Wish. Join Geralt as he battles monsters, demons and prejudices alike...
The Witcher Saga
After finishing The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, readers can decide if they want to give deeper into the world of Geralt and his friends and enemies. The following novels are also a great read, but do take place roughly a decade before the in-game universe is meant to be established. The saga offers a ton of details about Geralt and Ciri's relationship, in addition to plenty of other stories about Yennefer, Triss, and the rest of the core cast of characters.
Fans ready for the next step can start the saga by picking up Blood of Elves...
"For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.
Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as the Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world -- for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt's responsibility to protect them all. And the Witcher never accepts defeat."
The Witcher novels are incredibly popular and fans who enjoy either the Netflix series or the video games will likely enjoy diving into this closer look at Geralt's original adventures.
The Witcher season two is scheduled to begin filming soon, so fans will likely learn more about what is next for Geralt and company in the near future. Be sure to check back for updates and, until then, don't forget to toss a coin to your Witcher.
The Witcher television series can be streamed now on Netflix, and The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt can be played on PC, PS4, Switch, and Xbox One.