Season of Storms

Season of Storms: an early adventure of the Witcher

Season of Storms by Andrzej Sapkowski returns to Geralt of Rivia in a standalone novel set during the early days of the Witcher saga. Geralt’s work is familiar: he confronts unnatural creatures and uses his specialized abilities to protect ordinary people from dangers they cannot easily face themselves. Signs, potions and two swords form part of the equipment that makes this difficult profession possible.

Then his weapons are lost. The absence of the steel and silver swords creates the starting point for an adventure in which the Witcher must contend with a world that remains dangerous even when he cannot meet it on his usual terms. Dandelion is present, sorcerers pursue their own schemes, and the gathering sense of trouble gives the title its force. Travel, fighting and personal entanglements all belong to the story’s changing weather.

Andrzej Sapkowski puts Geralt’s weapons and judgement at risk

Losing a familiar tool can expose the assumptions behind a profession. For a figure whose identity is closely associated with his swords, that disruption makes an effective way to reconsider what competence actually means. Geralt’s knowledge, judgement and resilience matter alongside the weapons themselves. The premise invites readers to watch how a practiced outsider responds when circumstances remove a dependable part of his routine.

Sapkowski’s setting also keeps the idea of protection morally interesting. A monster hunter moves among people whose motives can be as difficult to interpret as the threats they fear. Scheming sorcerers and Dandelion’s troubles ensure that the adventure does not belong only to combat. The tension comes from moving through overlapping interests, where an apparent solution may create another difficulty and a professional task can become part of a larger complication.

A standalone return to a dangerous fantasy world

The early setting makes this a different kind of return to the Witcher world from a direct continuation of the main saga’s ending. It offers an additional Geralt adventure with its own premise, while familiarity with the character’s wider story can enrich the reading. Readers drawn to wandering heroes, unstable bargains and fantasy that leaves room for irony will find the combination especially inviting.

Buy this English paperback book if you want to spend more time with Geralt and Dandelion in a story built around an unexpectedly vulnerable starting point. The 2019 Gollancz paperback presents Season of Storms as a distinct novel within the Witcher series. Its attraction is the chance to see an established figure confronted by a practical loss that rapidly acquires wider consequences. The storms gathering around him are a promise of changing conditions, and the pleasure of the journey lies in discovering which parts of the Witcher’s skill can still guide him when his customary resources are missing.