Baptism of Fire

Andrzej Sapkowski

Jun 2014 · The Witcher Saga Book 5 · Sold by Orbit

About this ebook

A deadly coup within the Wizard's Guild leaves the Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, gravely injured, and his ward Ciri missing in the third novel of Andrzej Sapkowski's groundbreaking epic fantasy series that inspired the hit Netflix show and the blockbuster video games. 
 
The Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup, an uprising that has left Geralt seriously injured. 

The Witcher is supposed to be a guardian of the innocent, a protector of those in need, a defender against powerful and dangerous monsters that prey on men in dark times. But now that dark times have fallen upon the world, Geralt is helpless until he has recovered.

While war rages across the lands, the future of magic is under threat and those sorcerers who survive are determined to protect it. It's an impossible situation in which to find one girl—Ciri, the heiress to the throne of Cintra—until a rumor places her in the Niflgaard court, preparing to marry the Emperor.

Injured or not, Geralt has a rescue mission on his hands.

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
Warriors of God

Translated from original Polish by David French

Ratings and reviews

One Word: REGIS. He is literally the only reason I decided to buy the ebook version of this series. Other than that, eh... The story is good. Personally, I love it, and I don't mind the translation by David French as it's easier to read over a literal translation taken directly from Polish, but I can't give the same kind regards to the publisher. They really did not do this book justice at all. First of all, they belittled it by giving it these ridiculous cover arts. You'd think after this long, Orbit would update it to something more flattering and not just something so obviously ripped from the Witcher 2. (The images have nothing to do with the books.) To make matter's worse, the layout is just horrible. It was like there was no thought to it at all. But I think the worst thing is the poor quality of the few scanned images. You can see how grainy the title page is in the free same yourselves. Overall: amazing story, terrible book.

With the fall of the Wizard Council, Ciri has disappeared, rumored to be captured by Nilfgaard. Near-death from his injuries, Geralt is unable to search for her. As he recovers with the dryads the world enters a time of political upheaval. War breaks out and the sorcerers are left to pick up the pieces of their order. Baptism of Fire takes a step back from the witcher’s storyline for the majority of the book. As Geralt lies injured and recovering, Sapkowski gives a detailed overview of the world’s politics. I am not one for politics and had a difficult time remembering all the people mentioned as conspirators and spies. The story also came to a standstill for the majority of the book as all the politics were divulged. Of course, when the focus turned to Geralt, the pace picked up. Being injured he is limited in his actions, but it also gave time for readers to see how he is changing. And with the world growing darker, the comparison to himself and the humans around him is clear to see. Even injured he will not stand to see the innocent torn down. Sapkowski also made sure to give Geralt entertaining traveling companions. Dandelion is always a joy to read on-page, and a few dwarves were thrown into the mix as well. I was surprised to hear the title of the book said multiple times in the story. At one point baptism of fire was used three times in one paragraph. I’m not sure what the point of this was. The meaning behind the title was explained well enough the first time it was used. So much of this book pointed to it being filler. At one point the entire history of Ciri’s bloodline is even explained. If I had not invested so much time in this series already, and knew how good it could be, I may have DNFed this book. I know this series has potential and can be an entertaining read. I still have hopes for the next book to be worthwhile. I love Geralt’s character, and I can’t wait to see what Ciri’s ultimate destiny will be.

One Word: REGIS. He is literally the only reason I decided to buy the ebook version of this series. Other than that, eh... The story is good. Personally, I love it, and I don't mind the translation by David French as it's easier to read over a literal translation taken directly from Polish, but I can't give the same kind regards to the publisher. They really did not do this book justice at all. First of all, they belittled it by giving it these ridiculous cover arts. You'd think after this long, Orbit would update it to something more flattering and not just something so obviously ripped from the Witcher 2. (The images have nothing to do with the books.) To make matter's worse, the layout is just horrible. It was like there was no thought to it at all. But I think the worst thing is the poor quality of the few scanned images. You can see how grainy the title page is in the free same yourselves. Overall: amazing story, terrible book.

About the author

Andrzej Sapkowski is the author of the Witcher series and the Hussite Trilogy. He was born in 1948 in Poland and studied economics and business, but the success of his fantasy cycle about Geralt of Rivia turned him into an international bestselling writer. Geralt’s story has inspired the hit Netflix show and multiple video games, has been translated into thirty-seven languages, and has sold millions of copies worldwide.