The Malady and Other Stories

By Andrzej Sapkowski & Wiesiek Powaga &

Publisher Description

The New York Times bestselling series that inspired the international hit video game: The Witcher

A sample of offerings from international fantasy superstar Andrzej Sapkowski, and the perfect introduction to his work.

Best known for his series of stories and novels about Geralt, the Witcher, Sapkowski is one of the most successful fantasy authors in the world.

Contains:

2 complete Witcher short stories taken from THE LAST WISH, the first chapter of Blood of Elves, the first Witcher novel, the first chapter of Baptism of Fire, the third full-length book in the series, and a non-Witcher short story "The Malady."

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10 Reviews

4.0

Connor Bruno

Created 6 months ago

Carrey

Created 9 months ago

“This review is for ‘the Malady’ only! The Malady is a short story by ‘the Witcher’ author Andrzej Sapkowski. It is a retelling/reimagining of the story of Tristan & Iseult from Arthurian legend. Instead of focusing on either Tristan or Iseult, this short story is centered around Sir Morholt, Branwen and their romance. Despite its brevity, it does very well in conveying not only atmosphere but emotion as well. I couldn’t help but love Morholt and Branwen. And felt the ups and downs within their implied histories. I am not at all familiar with the original works featuring these set of characters, so I can’t say I am an expert on this segment of Arthurian lore; at most my only exposure to this particular stories inspiration was the 2006 film Tristan and Isolde with James Franco & Sophia Myles. But what I can say is that this short by Sapkowski feels a right fit within the confines of the original legends. It is a nice little work of fiction that will leave readers wanting to seek out other Arthurian stories to learn more about this world. So in my opinion this is a win, win, win. If you are on the fence on purchasing this Sampler book, I would encourage you to do so. This singular short story makes it all worth it! The Witcher stuff is cool, but for that I simply recommend getting the Witcher novels instead. Here they really are just samples (teasers) of the full novels, and make little sense without the context of the full novels.”

Hanka

Created 10 months ago

Terwase Ngur

Created over 1 year ago

C. J. Daley

Created almost 2 years ago

“Full disclosure, I only read this for The Malady, as I could not find it elsewhere, but the cover is cool anyway and it’s a cheap collection. With that being said it’s also a weird and completely nonsensical collection…so I’ll just tell you what I rated them and move on. The Malady is a Tristan and Iseult/Arthurian reimagining, retelling, or alternative version. I won’t lie and say I’ve read the original, but I know for sure this is not it. Morholt arrives on the shores of Brittany with gaps in his memory and a scar on his head…meanwhile Tristan lies abed with a groin wound that’s festering. It more or less boils down to changing and saving the legend by having Branwen and Morholt fall madly in love instead. It’s definitely weird overall, but personally a 3.5/5* for me. The rest of the featured stories: The Witcher and The Edge of the World short stories which appear in The Last Wish. I gave The Last Wish 5/5* The first chapter of Blood of Elves which I gave 4/5* The first chapter of Baptism of Fire which I gave 4/5*”

About Andrzej Sapkowski

Andrzej Sapkowski was born in 1948 in Poland. He studied economy and business, but the success of his fantasy cycle about the sorcerer Geralt of Rivia turned him into a bestselling writer. He is now one of Poland's most famous and successful authors.