Started: 08/05/22
Finished: 13/05/22
Spoilers: No
Little bit of a mixed bag, but there're some real gems here and I had a good time reading this.
There seems to be a general theme stretching across each story. That of humans being the true monsters. In the first story, I found this theme very interesting and enjoyed the take. In the second story, I felt it a little coincidental that it also shared this theme. By the third story, the theme had become entirely heavy-handed and it started to feel like I was being beaten over the head with the concept of humans being worse monsters than the creatures Geralt is paid to kill.
Like, okay, I get it, people suck and I agree with the message, but does every single story need to be written this way?
And on a side note: severe lack of Dandelion/Jaskier all around.
House of Glass
4/5 stars
This was my favourite of the four stories within this omnibus, and was also my favourite art style of the four. Even though I'd say Curse of Crows had the cleanest looking art, I loved how stylised this was. The story itself was very interesting. Cutting through the woods with his travel companion, Geralt comes across a twisted, haunted house and takes refuge there, only to discover his travel companion isn't quite who he thought he was and is hiding a dark secret.
A definite slow-burn but an oddly fascinating read, secrets slowly being revealed as Geralt ventures deeper into this cursed house. The atmosphere within the piece was well executed, giving the house an unsettling feeling of foreboding. We know something isn't right but can't quite figure out what. And it almost feels like the house is playing tricks on Geralt. One moment he's fighting for his life, the next he's sitting down to an uncomfortable dinner with the house's resident ghost. A very interesting story that kept me engaged from start to finish.
Fox Children
3.5/5 stars
The second story had the same artist as the first, which I enjoyed greatly. I'd say this one was my second favourite of the collection, and at times reminded me of the first story. Geralt and his dwarf friend Adario bargain for passage on a ship in exchange for protection but end up caught in a tide of illusions created but a wronged Vulpess. Geralt has to navigate the crew through this maze of illusions back to safety. Loved Adario and his banter with Geralt. Their friendship was a lot of fun.
I enjoyed seeing Geralt take a different approach to resolve the situation. He does have a soft side, deep down, I'm certain of it. I think this story showcases that side of him very well, and I thought the ending was very gentle and heartfelt. Perhaps my favourite ending of the four stories.
Killing Monsters
2/5 stars
Definitely my least favourite of the four stories, though very fun t see Vesemir featured. They're hired by Nilfgaardians to kill a man-eating monster but find a different sort of monster entirely.
This is the one I considered heavy-handed with the themes. The first two stories were more subtle in the theme and cleverly wrapped an engaging story around it. Though short, this one just seemed to rush into the messaging.
The art style was also my least favourite, very dark and heavy on the page. There was something a little disjointed between scenes. Transitions weren't smooth and felt abrupt, seeming to drop us into the middle of a scene or conversation, to the point where I kept flipping back a page to make sure I hadn't missed one.
I also found the art a little inconsistent. Geralt's famously yellow eyes were often black, occasionally blue. And at times the design between him and Vesemir was so similar that I struggled to differentiate them until one of them addressed the other.
In the books, Yennefer is an impressive character. I didn't like how in this story, Yennefer only makes a brief appearance in Geralt's dreams to get her tits out and let Geralt fuck her up the arse. Come on. Did she really need to be included at all if she wasn't going to have any valuable input?
Curse of Crows
3/5 stars
The longest of the four stories and perhaps the most convoluted. Geralt and Ciri are hunting a striga, yet somehow the story gets a bit muddied up with the two siblings. In general, the whole thing felt a bit muddled, padding out the main story with mundane filler, cutting abruptly from one scene to another, with some truly pointless filler sections of Yennefer toying with Geralt that didn't add anything to the story. Ciri's parts were probably the most interesting and coherent. Bt not gonna lie, this one was a bit all over the place and confused me at times.
This one certainly had the cleanest art style with strong defined lines and consistent colouring. It was also the only one that was designed after the characters from the video game. From appearance to attire, they looked the closest, but I personally enjoyed seeing other interpretations of the characters.
Every so often I was reminded how wonderfully Polish The Witcher is, what with some regular vodka drinking and an infamously strong drink called Spi-rit, which is clearly Spirytus. Wouldn't recommend downing a whole bottle the way Rockstride does though, lol.
Also started to see a theme involving Yennefer. Because she is beautiful and the object of Geralt's desires, this somehow translates in comics to *nearly always naked*. Gets a little tiresome for female readers to constantly see the strongest female character with her tits out all the time. *sigh.
On the whole, I enjoyed the collection and I'd love to read more Witcher graphic novels. It's definitely something I'll be looking into.
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