Is the Witcher Netflix Series as good as the Book?

First off, no series is as good as the book. Is The Witcher Netflix Series as good as the book? No, of course not, but it is as good as hoped for, in a Netflix adaption of a best-selling Epic Fantasy Series.

What is The Witcher?

The Witcher Saga is an 8 book series written by Andrzej Sapkowski. The first book Sapkowski introduces The Witcher in is “The Last Wish.” The Last Wish is a collection or anthology of short stories but is masterfully written. Andrzej Sapkowski (Polish pronunciation: [ˈandʐɛj sapˈkɔfskʲi]; born 21 June 1948) is a Polish fantasy writer and former economist. He is best known for his best-selling book series, The Witcher. In 2012, Sapkowski was awarded the Medal for Merit to Culture–Gloria Artis.

I really loved “The Last Wish,” wriiten by Sapkowski, and partly because of the prose. But the book was written in Polish and translated to English by Danusia Stok. Which makes me wonder how much of the Stok’s translation is involved? I may never know. It’s a well-written epic fantasy book filled with mythological creatures, moral hazards and monster hunting. The stories seem to have a gritty tone which I like.

Netflix did good at capturing grit and angst of Geralt.

Maybe that’s why the series is so entertaining. Geralt The Witcher is the MC (Main Character). I have to hand it to actor Henry Cavill, the actor who was best known for playing Superman did a fantastic job. Geralt is not Superman but quite a different hero. Geralt is a man made mutant with super human monster hunting abilities. He’s a monster hunter for hire; which makes for a lot of adventure.

The Neflix adaption follows the book for the most part.

There are some minor differences between the Netflix series and the books. Most of the difference come in adding details to characters and their motivation or by omitting some characters back stories. Full disclosure I have only read “The Last Wish,”the first book in the 8 book Witcher Saga. The stories chosen to adapt into Netflix episodes are not in the order of the telling of the books. There is little mention of Ceri, the crown princess on Centra, in “The Last Wish”.

It’s refreshing to have a strong male MC.

In a day and age where masculine hero stereo types are being deconstructed at every opportunity it’s great to see one that has a competent male MC, who is not evil or cowardly. There are a lot of competent female characters with strong story lines including the princess of Centra in hiding, Ceri, and Yennefer of Vengerberg. But Cavill’s portrail of the dark hero Geralt who seems to only care about killing monsters for gold and drinking ale has a strong moral integrity.

Evil is Evil. Lesser, greater, middling… Makes no difference. The degree is arbitrary. The definition’s blurred. If I’m to choose between one evil and another… I’d rather not choose at all.

Geralt The Witcher, Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish.

The Main Plot of the Netflix Series.

The endangered princess Ceri of Centra is the focus of Season 1 & 2. Geralt has promised to protect her and everyone else wants to kill her or use her for her power. She is born under an evil moon and could bring about the end of the world as they know it. Ceri has Elder Blood, which is the lost ingredient to making more Witchers and the use of all kind magical powers that the malevolent forces want. Waring forces from the southern and the northern kingdoms war against each other. Season 2 has more political intrigue as Yennefer loses touch with her chaos and power, she seeks anything that will bring her power back.

Yennefer of Vengerberg

This character only shows up at the end of the book “The Last Wish” but is a very important character in season 1 and 2 of the Netflix series. I have to read more of the Whitcher 8 book saga to know for certain if all of her back story was invented by Netflix. In the book the Witcher does mention he reads her mind and sees her before as a hunchback be fore she became a powerful sorcerer, but it doesn’t go further than that. Butin the Netflix series her storyline takes up a good percentage of the shows but they are worthwhile scenes. Anya Chalotra plays Yennefer. She is Geralt’s love interest and they do have a complicated relationship, that starts in “THe Last Wish”.

Ceri the Crown Princess of Centra.

Ceri was the next inline to inherit the kingdom of Centra, but born under a bad moon she is cursed. Cursed with magical powers that could destroy the world and Striga, monsters, love her. She is The Witcher’s boon or Law of Surprise. When offered anything as a reward by The Queen of Centra, he asked for her grandchild. So that he could raise her as one of the next Witcher in the book. But other nations want her for her power or to kill her. Geralt becomes her protector in the Netflix Season 2. In Season 1, Ceri spends her time trying to survive after the massacre of Centra; while The Witcher searches for her. And he searches for her because he believes Ceri is his destiny.

Dandelion or Jaskier (Polish), the Bard.

Dandelion or Jaskier in polish is foul-mouthed Bard who follows Geralt on the road. In the book Dandelion is Geralt’s best friend. And Geralt has to rescue him a time or too. It seems that to make the TV series more interesting they are often throwing verbal jabs at each other. Jaskier is comic relief at times and definitely adds to the cast. Joey Batey , a Britsih actor, plays Jaskier on the Netflix series and does a fine job.

Geralt of Rivia, The Witcher.

Geralt is played by Henry Cavill. I am not a fanboy of The DC universe or the newer Superman movies. So I was surprised at how good Cavill does with this role. The character of The Witcher Geralt was taken from his mother at a young age and raised to be a Witcher. The process of becoming a Witcher kills most of the young boys who are thrown into the process. But Geralt took to it and was even given stronger training and experiments.

Is The Witcher Netflix Series as good as the book?

That’s a very high bar, but I would say the Netflix series is very entertaining. One of my friends said they tried to get into the series but didn’t get into until after 2-3 episodes. I loved it from the start but my friend after we watched it past the second episode after I made her got hooked. Season 2 ended really well and I am looking forward to Season 3. But more than the next Season on Netflix I am looking forward to reading the next 7 books myself! How can I describe the book the Last Wish? It was gritty and entertaining and had more dept to the characters and not just stereo typical. The writing style of Andrzej Sapkowski reminded me of one of my favorite authors, Joe Abercrombie.

Check out my review of The Blade Itself by Joe Abercrombie. Click Here to read my full review of The Blade itself.