Reading orders / The Witcher
The Witcher reading order
The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny, then the five-book saga: Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, The Lady of the Lake. Season of Storms goes last even though it is set early.
Short stories first, then the saga. English publication order is wrong.
- The Last Wish1993Short stories. Start here.
- Sword of Destiny1992More short stories. Came out later in English, belongs second.
- Blood of Elves1994The saga begins.
- Time of Contempt1995
- Baptism of Fire1996
- The Tower of the Swallow1997
- The Lady of the Lake1999
- Season of Storms2013Set between Last Wish stories, written last. Read it last.
Why the order is argued about
The English translations arrived out of order. Blood of Elves was published in English in 2008, Sword of Destiny not until 2015, so a generation of readers jumped from The Last Wish straight into the saga and missed the story where Geralt and Ciri actually meet.
Season of Storms is the other trap. It is chronologically early but written after everything else, and it assumes you already know who these people become.
Settling in for all 8? A page marker you do not mind losing track of helps. We like these bookmarks for book lovers, and the publisher at Orbit is worth a look for release news.
Bookmarks for The Witcher
What we use to hold our place in this series.
See stained glass bookmarks →
Questions readers ask
Do I read Sword of Destiny before Blood of Elves?
Yes. It introduces Ciri and sets up the entire saga.
Where does Season of Storms go?
Last. It was written last and reads as a late-career aside.
Do the games follow the books?
The games are a sequel to the books. Read first if you want the order the author intended.