The Witcher Books in Order By Andrzej Sapkowski
“People,” Geralt turned his head, “like to invent monsters and monstrosities. Then they seem less monstrous themselves. When they get blind-drunk, cheat, steal, beat their wives, starve an old woman, when they kill a trapped fox with an axe or riddle the last existing unicorn with arrows, they like to think that the Bane entering cottages at daybreak is more monstrous than they are. They feel better then. They find it easier to live.”
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish
Books
0.5. The Last Wish (1993)
0.7. Sword of Destiny (1992)
1. Blood of Elves (1994)
2. The Time of Contempt (1995)
3. Baptism of Fire (1996)
4. The Tower of the Swallow (1997)
5. The Lady of the Lake (1999)
6. Season of Storms (2013)
Games
- The Witcher (2007)
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)
- The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (2015)
- Witcher 4 (In Development)
What is The Witcher about?
Geralt of Rivia is the protagonist of our series, the titular Witcher that is being referenced. He is not the only Witcher is the world, but he is the one we follow. A Witcher is a mutated monster-hunter for hire. We follow as he journeys through the continent, ending up meddled in affairs he actively tries to avoid and always a monster to slay. In a turbulent world where the people often prove more wicked than the beasts.
The series has inspired and been popularised worldwide through video games, television, stage, comic books. A film made in Poland The Hexer (Original title Wiedźmin)(2001), directed by Marek Brodzki and starring Michał Żebrowski as The Witcher, Zbigniew Zamachowski and Maciej Kozłowski. More recently, Netflix began the undertaking of adapting Sapkowski’s work into a series, starring Henry Cavil (the superfan) as The Witcher, with Liam Hemsworth set to takeover for season four.
The books also being the inspiration for what is arguably one of the best games ever made, The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt, the third in the series of games that are set after the books.
Who is Andrzej Sapkowski?
Born on 21st June 1948, Andrzej Sapkowski is a Polish author, essayist, translator and a trained economist. He is most well known for his series The Witcher, a series of six books and a collection of short stories all set in this fantasy world. He also has another hit series, Hussite Trilogy.
He takes a lot of influence from Slavix Mythology, and you can see it often in his work. He is a five-time recipient of Zajdel Award, which is Poland’s most popular prize for Sci/Fi and Fantasy.
Sapkowski’s books have been translated into 37 languages, which makes him the second most-translated Polish Sci/Fi and Fantasy writer, after Stanisław Lem. His books have sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
What is truth? The negation of lies? Or the statement of a fact? And if the fact is a lie, what then is the truth?
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Sword of Destiny
The Order
While Sword of Destiny was published a year before The Last Wish, The Last Wish is officially considered first book of The Witcher series. It is the best introduction for Geralt and the wider Continent.
0.5. The Last Wish (1993)
0.7. Sword of Destiny (1992)
1. Blood of Elves (1994)
2. The Time of Contempt (1995)
3. Baptism of Fire (1996)
4. The Tower of the Swallow (1997)
5. The Lady of the Lake (1999)
6. Season of Storms (2013)
WARNING: There will be spoilers for some of the books mentioned. These are taken from the official descriptions but can sometimes spoil huge parts of previous books. So please be careful!
The Last Wish (1993) 
The Witcher #0.5
Translated to English by Danusia Stok
95,940 words, 7 short stories, 280 pages, 6hrs 25mins to read
13,705 average words per short story, 40 average pages per short story
Published by SuperNowa
4.14 out of 5 on Goodreads
Geralt the Witcher—revered and hated—is a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good… and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
Sword of Destiny (1992) 
The Witcher #0.7
Translated to English by David French
120,900 words, 6 short stories, 374 pages, 8hrs to read
20,150 average words per short story, 62.3 average pages per short story
Published by SuperNowa
4.28 out of 5 on Goodreads
Geralt is a witcher, a man whose magic powers, enhanced by long training and a mysterious elixir, have made him a brilliant fighter and a merciless assassin. Yet he is no ordinary murderer: his targets are the multifarious monsters and vile fiends that ravage the land and attack the innocent.
This is a collection of short stories, following the adventures of the hit collection THE LAST WISH. Join Geralt as he battles monsters, demons and prejudices alike…
Blood of Elves (1994) 
The Witcher #1
Translated to English by David French
102,960 words, 7 chapters, 315 pages, 6hrs 55mins to read
17,280 average words per chapter, 45 average pages per chapter
Published by SuperNowa
4.10 out of 5 on Goodreads
For over a century, humans, dwarves, gnomes, and elves have lived together in relative peace. But times have changed, the uneasy peace is over, and now the races are fighting once again. The only good elf, it seems, is a dead elf.
Geralt of Rivia, the cunning assassin known as The Witcher, has been waiting for the birth of a prophesied child. This child has the power to change the world – for good, or for evil.
As the threat of war hangs over the land and the child is hunted for her extraordinary powers, it will become Geralt’s responsibility to protect them all – and the Witcher never accepts defeat.
The Witcher returns in this sequel to The Last Wish, as the inhabitants of his world become embroiled in a state of total war.
The Time of Contempt (1995) 
The Witcher #2
Translated to English by David French
110,980 words, 7 chapters, 331 pages, 7hrs 25mins to read
15,854 average words per chapter, 47.2 average pages per chapter
Published by SuperNowa
4.16 out of 5 on Goodreads
Geralt is a witcher: guardian of the innocent; protector of those in need; a defender, in dark times, against some of the most frightening creatures of myth and legend. His task, now, is to protect Ciri. A child of prophecy, she will have the power to change the world for good or for ill — but only if she lives to use it.
A coup threatens the Wizard’s Guild.
War breaks out across the lands.
A serious injury leaves Geralt fighting for his life…
… and Ciri, in whose hands the world’s fate rests, has vanished…
Baptism of Fire (1996) 
The Witcher #3
Translated to English by David French
111,445 words, 7 chapters, 343 pages, 7hrs 25mins to read
15,920 average words per chapter, 49 average pages per chapter
Published by SuperNowa
4.26 out of 5 on Goodreads
The Wizards Guild has been shattered by a coup and, in the uproar, Geralt was 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 from his injuries.
While war rages across all of 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, has vanished – 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.
The Tower of the Swallow (1997) 
The Witcher #4
Translated to English by David French
148,735 words, 11 chapters, 436 pages, 9hrs 55mins to read
13,521 average words per chapter, 39.6 average pages per chapter
Published by SuperNowa
4.23 out of 5 on Goodreads
The world has fallen into war. Ciri, the child of prophecy, has vanished. Hunted by friends and foes alike, she has taken on the guise of a petty bandit and lives free for the first time in her life. But the net around her is closing. Geralt, the Witcher, has assembled a group of allies determined to rescue her. Both sides of the war have sent brutal mercenaries to hunt her down. Her crimes have made her famous. There is only one place left to run. The tower of the swallow is waiting…
The Lady of the Lake (1999) 
The Witcher #5
Translated to English by David French
160,380 words, 12 chapters, 531 pages, 10hrs 45mins to read
13,365 average words per chapter, 44.2 average pages per chapter
Published by SuperNowa
4.11 out of 5 on Goodreads
After walking through the portal in the Tower of Swallows while narrowly escaping death, Ciri finds herself in a completely different world… an Elven world. She is trapped with no way out. Time does not seem to exist and there are no obvious borders or portals to cross back into her home world.
But this is Ciri, the child of prophecy, and she will not be defeated. She knows she must escape to finally rejoin the Witcher, Geralt, and his companions – and also to try to conquer her worst nightmare. Leo Bonhart, the man who chased, wounded and tortured Ciri, is still on her trail. And the world is still at war.
Season of Storms (2013) 
The Witcher #0
Translated to English by David French
109,275 words, 22 chapters, 419 pages, 7hrs 20mins to read
4,967 average words per chapter, 19 average pages per chapter
Published by SuperNowa
3.96 out of 5 on Goodreads
Geralt of Rivia. A witcher whose mission is to protect ordinary people from the monsters created with magic. A mutant who has the task of killing unnatural beings. He uses a magical sign, potions and the pride of every witcher — two swords, steel and silver. But what would happen if Geralt lost his weapons?
In this standalone novel, Geralt fights, travels and loves again, Dandelion sings and flies from trouble to trouble, sorcerers are scheming … and across the whole world clouds are gathering – the season of storms is coming…
Lesser, greater, middling, it’s all the same. Proportions are negotiated, boundaries blurred. I’m not a pious hermit, I haven’t done only good in my life. But if I’m to choose between one evil and another, then I prefer not to choose at all.
― Andrzej Sapkowski, The Last Wish
The Order of the Games
Not had enough of Geralt yet? Well good news is that the story continues in the games. Now some of you may not know this, while these are based off of the books, they are actually follow ons. They take the well known and loved character, Geralt and bring him back for more action. Facing all the monsters you have come to fear from the books, and getting to meet the companions he made. This is the way to carry on a well loved character and story.
Games
- The Witcher (2007)
- The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011)
- The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (2015)
- Witcher 4 (In Development)
The Witcher (2007) 
The Witcher Games #1
Director: Jacek Brzeziński
Writers: Artur Ganszyniec, Sebastian Stępień, Marcin Blacha
35hrs 30mins game time, 64hrs 30mins completionist game time
Developed by CD Projekt Red
Published by Atari
Platforms: PC
86 out of 100 on Metacritic
Set in the Continent of the Witcher franchise, the player assumes the role of Geralt of Rivia, a wandering genetically enhanced monster hunter for hire. The game takes place around five years after the events of The Lady of the Lake. Geralt is accompanied by his longtime allies and fellow Witchers, Eskel, Lambert, and instructor Vesemir, as well as sorceress Triss Merigold of Maribor and the field medic Shani. In addition, characters in the game originally from the books include Geralt’s companions Dandelion the poet, Zoltan Chivay, the regent King Foltest of Temeria, his daughter Princess Adda (who was previously cursed into the form of a striga but was cured by Geralt), King Radovid of Redania, and the spectral King of the Wild Hunt, a conqueror from another world. Characters original to the game include the boy Alvin, the sorcerer Azar Javed, the mercenary Professor, and Jacques de Alderberg, the Grand Master of the religious faction Order of the Flaming Rose.
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) 
The Witcher Games #2
Director: Adam Badowski
Writers:Sebastian Stępień, Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Marcin Blacha
24hrs game time, 55hrs 30mins completionist game time
Developed by CD Projekt Red
Published by CD Projekt
Platforms: Xbox 360, PC
88 out of 100 on Metacritic
The player controls Geralt of Rivia, who is one of the few remaining witchers – enhanced and trained humans with special powers who hunt monsters for a living. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings contains many different paths and storylines, along with multiple endings.
The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (2015) 
The Witcher Games #3
Director: Konrad Tomaszkiewicz, Mateusz Kanik, Sebastian Stępień
Writers:Marcin Blacha
53hrs game time, 180hrs-400hrs completionist game time
Developed by CD Projekt Red
Published by CD Projekt
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
93 out of 100 on Metacritic
Geralt and his mentor Vesemir arrive at the town of White Orchard after receiving a letter from Geralt’s long-lost lover Yennefer. After defeating a griffin for the local Nilfgaardian garrison, Geralt accompanies Yennefer to the city of Vizima, where they meet with Emperor Emhyr. Emhyr orders Geralt to find Ciri, who is Emhyr’s biological, and Geralt’s adopted daughter. Ciri is a Child of the Elder Blood, the last heir to an ancient Elven bloodline that grants her the power to manipulate time and space, and is being relentlessly stalked by the enigmatic Wild Hunt. Geralt learns of three places Ciri was recently seen: the war-ravaged swamp province of Velen, the free city-state of Novigrad, and the Skellige Isles.
The Witcher 4 (In Development)
The Witcher Games #4
The fourth game in the series, expected to be released in 2025.
Bonus
We could not finish this post without the game below, an in game feature of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, so popular they made it it’s own feature game.
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game (2018) 
Director: Benjamin Lee and Katarzyna Redesiuk
Developed by CD Projekt Red
Published by CD Projekt
Platforms: PlayStation 4, Xbox One, PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
80 out of 100 on Metacritic
Gwent: The Witcher Card Game is a free-to-play digital collectible card game developed and published by CD Projekt for Windows, PlayStation 4 and Xbox One in 2018, for iOS in 2019, for Android in 2020, and for macOS in 2021. The game is derived from the card game of the same name featured in Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher novels and playable in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt video game. An expansion, titled Gwent: Rogue Mage, was released in 2022.
Chronological Order
0. Season of Storms (2013) (book)
0.5. The Last Wish (1993) (book)
0.7. Sword of Destiny (1992) (book)
1. Blood of Elves (1994) (book)
2. The Time of Contempt (1995)(book)
3. Baptism of Fire (1996)(book)
4. The Tower of the Swallow (1997)(book)
5. The Lady of the Lake (1999)(book)
6. The Witcher (2007) (game)
7. The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings (2011) (game)
8. The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt (2015) (game)
9. Witcher 4 (In Development) (game)
There is never a second opportunity to make a first impression.
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Sword of Destiny
Overall
Sapkowski is described as the “Polish Tolkien”, his world building and characters in The Witcher series alone is enough evidence to support this fact. His writing of the characters make you feel deeply for them from the get go, they make you laugh, cry and raise your heartrate.
Which one is your favourite or most looking forward to picking up next?
Let us know!
Happy reading!
To be neutral does not mean to be indifferent or insensitive. You don’t have to kill your feelings. It’s enough to kill hatred within yourself.
― Andrzej Sapkowski, Blood of Elves
The Witcher Total Word Count and More!
- Total words: 960,615 words
- Total chapters: 66 chapters (+13 short stories)
- Total pages: 3,029 pages
- Total reading time: 64hrs
Witcher Games Game Time
- Total Game Time: 112hrs 30mins
- Completionist Total Game Time: 300hrs – 520hrs
More of the same, but different:
Things to Note:
- Word count is an approximation.
- Amount of pages may differ due to different publications, font style and/or size etc.
- Time spent reading is generally an approximation based on the word count and the average reading time. The average reader will read 250 WPM (Words Per Minute).
- This is the original publisher of the books.
- The current Goodreads score at the time of writing.
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