The Tower of Swallows (The Witcher Book 6 / The Witcher Saga Novels Book 4)
The world is at war and the prophesied savior is nowhere to be found. The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, races to find her—but time is short, and an army is on his heels in the fourth novel of Andrzej Sapkowski's New York Times bestselling series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games.
The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life.
But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies including Dandelion, Milva, Regis, and Cahir, to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous.
There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting. . .
Look out for The Tower of Fools, book one of Andrzej Sapkowski's Hussite Trilogy, available now!
Witcher collections
The Last Wish
Sword of Destiny
Witcher novels
Blood of Elves
The Time of Contempt
Baptism of Fire
The Tower of Swallows
Lady of the Lake
Season of Storms
Hussite Trilogy
The Tower of Fools
The Malady and Other Stories: An Andrzej Sapkowski Sampler (e-only)
Translated from original Polish by David French
Reviews (165)
Ciri's Exciting Adventure Continues... Geralt not so much.
This is the 4th book in the series of 5. There are 7 books in the Witcher Universe. Do not read this book out of order because the Saga books pick up exactly where the previous books left off. You wouldn't Start Watching Game of Thrones in Season 4, would you? The short story books are: The Last Wish and The Sword of Destiny, which set up the world and the main characters. The Saga books are: Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows, and Lady of the Lake. Read these in order! In this book Geralt and his party continue to look for Ciri, who is on the run and has been gravely wounded by bounty hunters. There have also been cataclysmic supernatural events occurring on Samhain as a ghostly cavalcade of wraiths, known as the Wild Hunt, appear. I'm a HUGE fan of the Witcher video games and books, and Geralt may be my favorite video game character of all time. I also really like Ciri from Witcher 3. If I did NOT like Ciri, I would not like this book because the entire book is centered around her. So, if you're looking for stories about Geralt killing monsters, you're much better off playing the games. With all of that said, Tower of Swallows is an exciting, fast paced adventure, where Ciri and her fellow gang of bandits is on the run from professional bounty hunters. They ride across the country, while being hunted down. It almost feels like a western. The writing style is engaging, the action is brutal, and there are many twists and turns. If you've been a fan of the series so far, this book doesn't disappoint... unless you want a book about Geralt killing monsters. Speaking of which... I am downloading the Witcher 3 Blood and Wine DLC as I write this. I’m really looking forward to the final book, The Lady of the Lake.
Sloppy Translation
This book deserves a five star rating. Sapkowski's storytelling is fantastic, and reading it flows like a smooth river - or it would, if it had been properly translated. I cannot speak for accuracy as I do not speak, let alone read, Polish. As far as I know, he may have translated it perfectly. But somewhere along the line, whether it be the editor or just French himself nodding off, he gave up on having any degree of spelling consistency or respect for grammar. This is a problem noticeable since Time of Contempt, where the translation suddenly shifts the spelling of several names, as French clearly gave no regard to the standards put in place by Danusia Stok (who, by the way, did a stellar job in Blood of Elves). Not only that, but he constantly contradicts himself by switching the spelling of names from Y to V, from J to Y, and sometimes even blatantly changing the sound of a word entirely. Within a single paragraph. Not to mention the growing number of grammatical errors that any degree of proof-reading could have caught. It has been an issue since reading Time of Contempt, but it has reached a point where I simply must comment on his shabby work. Not five pages go by without a preposition or apostrophe missing, which completely shatters the flow of the reading. I strongly recommend that Orbit Books do a better job with their pre-publishing work, and I beseech Sapkowski and all other authors to pay very close attention to these kinds of things. To make it absolutely clear, I will even state that the edition I have is of May 2016, and beg that Orbit please revise it before doing any more printings. Typos are not okay in an industry where your entire career is based around reading the same thing dozens of times to make sure it is correct.
"A tale is a tale. And has its own rules."
The sixth book of The Witcher saga is chaotic, frenetic and fun. The story centers around Ciri, though there are updates about what Geralt and Co. are up to. Sapkowski also touches base with Yennifer and Triss. A significant portion of the book happens from the POV of new(er) characters and how they interact with important events that occur around the time of the equinox. This staggered/fractured presentation of story is a style Sapkowski makes frequent (and good) use of. As other readers have pointed out, the frequency of those interspersed POVs is at all time high, but this isn't a bad thing. In fact, once the reader adjusts to this change in presentation, s/he will have a much better understanding of the impact and scope of the forces at work around Ciri. Recommended for: those already taking the ride and wanting to see it through. Where, oh where, will this fateful journey lead our intrepid hero- er, protagoni- er, characters of note? 'No one wants to suffer. But yet it is our lot. And some suffer more. Not necessarily by choice. The point is not the bearing of suffering. The point is how it is borne.' "On the way to eternity everyone will tread their own stairway, shouldering their own burden." "It's impossible to utterly destroy humans and cockroaches; at least one pair always remains." 'It isn't the evil and indecent who are flung down into the depths, no! Oh, no! The evil and decisive fling down those who are moral, honest and noble but maladroit, hesitant and full of scruples.'
Fourth in fantasy series reveals key points on main plot
The world is at war and Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Having taken the disguise of a bandit, Ciri believed herself to be free from her enemies and her destiny, but her freedom is short lived as friend and foe alike search for her. The witcher Geralt is scouring the land in search of the princess with help from a band of allies. Mercenaries have been hired from both sides of the war to find and capture her. There is only one place left for Ciri to run to: the tower of swallows. The ever-talented Andrzej Sapkowski has released yet another wonderful addition to his epic fantasy series with 'The Tower of Swallows'. While it does not hold as much action or humor as its predecessors, Sapkowski’s fourth installment still holds plenty of fantastical action while taking a more serious route. The war that has been foreshadowed has finally arrived and readers get to learn more about what is to come. The story as a whole is, once again, well-written and well-executed. As with previous books of the series, the characters really help to bring this story to life. Most of the main characters readers have come to know have equal amounts of spotlight time; however, one character receives more spotlight time than any other: Ciri. Ciri has been a vital part of the series since 'The Last Wish', but has only been given minimal attention. It is a pleasant surprise the amount of spotlight time Sapkowski gives to Ciri and readers will thoroughly enjoy learning more about her, even though her tale is not an entirely pleasant one. Even with the more serious route 'The Tower of Swallows' takes, there are still plenty of excellent action sequences and also more storytelling that will fascinate readers. The 'Witcher' series is known for incorporating well-known tales and legends within its books and more mythological tales are revealed in this one. The impending Frost that has been briefly mentioned in earlier books of the series is nearly upon the land as is the war. This is finally explained more in depth through what seem to be stories from Norse mythology. This is a wonderful addition to the tales and legends already hinted at within the series and one fans of mythology will love. The only somewhat downside of the story may be that parts can become confusing at times. Similar to the second installment of the series, 'The Time of Contempt', readers are given more politics about the war that can either be confusing or drawn out to the point of monotony. Also, many characters are mentioned whose names may sound familiar, but may be difficult for readers to place who said characters are. Regardless of how readers take this information, it is vital information to know for the main plot of the 'Witcher' series. Master storyteller Sapkowski has yet to disappoint in his epic fantasy series. With more information revealed to the readers about the war, the so-called “end times,” and the princess who is destined to bring about or stop that time, 'The Tower of Swallows' is an excellent addition to The 'Witcher' series. Readers will keep reading, longing for the time to come when Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri can be together as a family and for the time when Sapkowski’s amazing fantasy world is no longer at war. The story does end in a way that will make readers wish to read the next in the series, 'Lady of the Lake'.
From Bad to Worse
This series keeps getting worse, and I am done with it. By this point in the series, the author has become overly dependent on narrow, lucky escapes and cliffhangers, which are hallmarks of bad fiction. Two of the three main characters have been captured, but narrowly escaped twice. The third has been captured for the second time at the end of the book. It's a cheap and annoying way to build suspense that makes the story increasingly unlikely even within its own setting. The book series as a whole has an unusual obsession with the mistreatment and abuse of women in a medieval setting. This book extends that odd fascination to the two female main characters (the third main character being Geralt), who end up in the clutches of sadistic men, which sets the stage for an even longer and more uncomfortable examination of what I assume is an unhealthy obsession of the author. When I stared reading this series, I was hoping to read about Geralt slaying unusual and fascinating monsters based on legends and folklore. What I got was a book about inequality, racism, suffering protagonists, war, intrigue, and sexual violence.
This was the best one in the whole series.
I think this was my favorite of the whole series of Witcher books. This book was far more focused on Ciri and the people pursuing her (Ciri is the main character of the series after all), while there was of course some good action on Geralt’s side as well but to a lesser extent. Light spoilers are ahead. I think I liked this one so much for the same reason that Wizard and Glass is my favorite book from the Dark Tower. This one almost reads like a western and follows a similar structure of a character telling a “story within a story”. Unlike in Wizard and Glass with Roland telling his companions a story of his youth long ago, Ciri tells a much more recent story in Tower of Swallows. Gravely injured, she is rescued by a reclusive scholar and narrates the actual meat of the book to him in the same way that Roland tells his ka-tet the story of his journey to Mejis to make up the bulk of Wizard and Glass. This book used more of some of my favorite writing techniques, such as the incremental repetition at the end of each Ciri chapter. This, as well as the extremely precise timeframe and plot layout made for a fast, exciting read. I seriously finished this book in a single day. Hurray for covid-19 and the extraordinary amount of free time I currently have. There are two great new villains in this one. Vilgefortz is still conducting his machinations from behind the scenes, but his catspaw Rience stirs up some trouble in this one. Vilgefortz, being the archvillain and final boss of the series doesn’t come back until the next one. The two new villains are Leo Bonhart and Stefan Skellen. Bonhart is a sadistic and deadly headhunter (with uncanny similarities to Eldred Jonas from Wizard and Glass, down to the watery eyes) and Skellen is an overly ambitious upstart skilled in covert operations. As some others have suggested, there is a lot of intrigue, mostly precipitated by Skellen. I really enjoyed the intrigue, since in this book it focused almost entirely on the Nilfgaardian side. Geralt and Ciri have separate, and equally exciting, climactic endings, and the setup at the end for the final book really leaves you wanting more. This has been one of the most enjoyable reads I’ve undertaken in a long time, and wouldn’t be surprised if I gave this particular installment a second read.
Robuster..
I’ve read two or three of the other books of the series. They were very good. I enjoyed each of them . This one was absolutely terrible and I paid ten dollars for the experience. The story line jumped back and forth in time , back and forth from character to character. . The story had no rhythm or grace in the telling of it. I know as a reader when I fail the author of a story . I also know when the author has failed me the reader. The author failed not only me but he failed his his story also., I don’t know who the editor was on this travesty but for the Writers sake , I hope they are replaced. This was simply awful the way it was put together..
Could have been so much better
I have read the five Witcher books that end with Lady of the Lake. They all have the same strengths and weaknesses. The potential for a great story is there. Some great characters but some major storytelling flaws. Sometimes I skipped through nearly an entire chapter of banal conversations. Overly complex names. Tries too much to show some linguistics by mentioning multiple names for a single location. Names have odd and difficult to pronounce spellings, so good luck having a conversation about some characters. My hope is that the screenwriters for the television version are given liberties to clean up a story that has some great characters to build on.
Thus far I've loved the Witcher books
Thus far I've loved the Witcher books, but this one was the first book to be difficult to get through. I don't tend to have trouble following alternate viewpoints in books. I did with this novel because it felt like time periods were jumping back and forth, and I didn't have a clear timeline in my head. This is mostly a tale of what has happened to Ciri, as Geralt's part in this tale is probably only 1/4 to 1/3 of the book. I just didn't feel like it had the truly masterful plotting of the previous books. It felt like it jumped around and wasn't very focused. There wasn't a lot of payoff from some of the side plots with Triss and Yennefer, though maybe those will come in future books.
Gripping all the way
Just finished the book, I have read all the books in the witcher series and I am an avid fan. I was attracted to this series after I played Witcher 3 and man this universe is amazing. I am a fanboy of Geralt and he is my favorite videogame character. This book like others was a roller coaster of a ride and loved every minute of it. Man I hate that I don't know polish language and was appalled that I will have to wait till Sep 2017 for the next book 'Lady of the Lake' in English, how infuriating. Well nothing I can do , so I will wait anxiously. Highly recommend this book and all in the series. PS: These books make the game even more enjoyable.
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