The Last Wish, one of the books on which the first season of Netflix‘sThe Witcher was directly based, has landed on The New York Times Best-Seller list 27 years after it was first released.
Landing at Number Four on the list, The Last Wish is a collection of short, Geralt-focused stories written by Andrzej Sapkowski, that were used to make up the bulk of the hit fantasy series’ first season.
Originally released in 1993 in Polish and then eventually 2007 in English, the bookincludes the plots of show episodes like the Striga, the Djinn and the initial pilot episode focused on Renfri and Stregobor.
Advertisem*nt
The Last Wish isn’t the only Witcher source book to find its way onto the NYT Best-Seller list. Landing at Number 12, Blood of Elves is the first ‘official’Witcher saga book (which spans five others) that focuses on the fall of Cintra and Ciri’s escape.
The eight books that make up The Witcher Saga consist of: The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny, Blood of Elves, Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, The Tower of Swallows, The Lady of the Lake and Season of Storms.
The Netflix show starring Henry Cavill as Geralt of Rivia has been criticised for leaving aspects of Sword of Destiny out, butShowrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich last week (December 29) posted a thread about how it was a very tough decision, but ultimately she thinks they made the right call based on the needs of the show.
I hear you. And we debated this intensely. Here's our rationale: to adapt the short stories that were important to world-building, and then to sequentially adapt Geralt and Ciri's multiple meetings in SoD meant that we wouldn't introduce Ciri until (at the earliest) season two. https://t.co/wpDi96hupV
— Lauren S. Hissrich (@LHissrich) December 29, 2019
Prior to the Netflix series, The Witcher found true international fame through a video game adaptation by Polish developers CD Projekt Red.
Since 2007, CDPR has released a trilogy of best-selling computer roleplaying games and two digital card games based on the franchise (which has also expanded to include a mobile game and a board game available).
Advertisem*nt
Although author Andrzej Sapkowski does not consider these games as part of the canon as established by the books, they do expand on the story and offer one version of what happens to Geralt and company after the end of the series.
The Witcher debuted on Netflixlast month, and the show’s creator is already talking about a second instalment.
Speaking to NME, Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich confirmed that asecond season of the show is on the way.
“I’m so thrilled that before fans have even seen our first season, we are able to confirm that we’ll be returning to The Continent again to continue telling the stories of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri,” she said, beforeteasing the “different” approach they will be taking on the new episodes.
“Season one is all about world set-up,” she said. “It’s making sure that you understand The Continent, where this world takes place. And that you also know and fall in love with these characters. Season two then allows us to have a little more focused storytelling. The story, Tomek can tell you, goer fast and wild. It’s got a lot of drive to it.”
No official release date for season two of The Witcher has been announced.
Meanwhile, Netflix have announced they are looking to hire someone to work security onThe Witcher.
