You know, here’s the funny thing. I started The Witcher Saga because I thought it would be your good ole fashioned PG-13 high fantasy, fun fairytale adventure.

But The Time of Contempt threw me in for a loop.

At this point in the series, I will say this: this is the hardest book for me to stomach. The darker, heavier themes and tones presented in this book were not what I experienced in the other books so far. Should have taken the title more seriously. It includes the word “contempt” not “mild annoyance”.

There’s little to no levity in it – despite having our entertaining bard and comic relief, Dandelion. Shit got real if even Dandelion is being serious the whole book. As all hell breaks loose (okay, maybe not all hell yet though really close to it!), the story gradually becomes grimmer. Bright side, The Time of Contempt lives up to its title! It truly captures the growing hatred, distrust, discrimination, persecution and other aspects of war.

Lots of action, drama, political plots, conspiracy, betrayal and violence. The tensions between the groups continuing rising and already people are turning against their own kind.

The drama and conflicts were primarily focused on the sorcerers and enchantresses. Which I don’t mind because this group is a shady, deceitful, manipulative and intriguing bunch! I wasn’t expecting there to be so much focus on them. I kind of missed the adventures where we get to see a mix of the other races. Anyway, the sorcerers and enchantresses play a critical role the main plot so I’m curious to see where this goes.

I was disappointed that Ciri and Geralt didn’t have many scenes together in this book as I loved seeing their relationship grow. I also feel so sorry for Ciri for all the shit she goes through. And I know this is only the beginning of darker times to come. Stay strong Ciri!

By the end of the book, Ciri and Geralt are separated again (BOOOOOO!!!) and Ciri is taken in by another group. Hopefully, *fingers-crossed*, the next book will contain more scenes between them. It was wonderful to finally see Ciri utilizing all her training from Geralt, the witchers and Yennefer to survive as she was mainly on her own most of time in this book. Her skills and powers are becoming second nature! I truly love Ciri! She’s kick-ass and I’m rooting for this girl to keep fighting to survive!

On the plus side, we finally get a deeper look into the main antagonist of the series, Emperor Emhyr var Emreis, the intimidating leader who has led Nilfgaard’s invasions throughout the kingdoms, conquering and destroying several lands already. We’ve only really “met” him through others’ gossip about him. But in this book, we get a brief scene with him. Super excited for more of his character reveal! And boy, does this character do some real damage in The Time of Contempt! The other kingdoms have not and are not faring very well as Nilfgaardian continues their merciless conquest.

The first books didn’t exactly convince me that The Witcher Saga belongs under grimdark. But The Time of Contempt convinced me. It has your classic grimdark genre elements: gore, violence, cruelty, trauma, loads of tension, war, political conflicts, and morally ambiguous characters.

Now, I’m lover of the grimdark genre. WARNING: this genre is not for the faint of heart. I love the darker tales because I think it’s raw, authentic and realistic. I love when authors don’t shy away from darker themes! I don’t consider myself someone who is faint of heart, but daaaaaamn, several times I needed a moment to pause from reading and close the book for a minute because it was difficult to stomach.

Here’s why. I, as a female, don’t enjoy reading scenes where women and children are abused, manipulated or harmed. The violence and cruelty towards women and children or other oppressed groups sickens me. BUT this is war. I’m not justifying anything. I’m just saying, this is a very real depiction of war. Think the beginning scene of Saving Private Ryan. Yeah, it ain’t rainbows and butterflies and happy soldiers. It’s gruesome. It’s revolting. It’s inhumane the way people turn into monsters during war. Life becomes real dark and scary during such tumultuous times. It breaks my heart to read such things but I really appreciate that Sapkowksi includes the gritty details of the chaos resulted from this growing war.

So don’t let this seemingly negative sounding review turn you away from reading this book. Should you read The Time of Contempt? HELL YES. I loved reading The Time of Contempt! And I am loving the series! Despite my discomfort reading some scenes, overall, it’s still amazing story-telling that will have you nose deep in the book. I’m super excited how the rest of the series will go. We’ll see what happens next week!

All Book Reviews for The Witcher Saga (in series order):

1. The Last Wish
2. Sword of Destiny
3. Blood of Elves
4. The Time of Contempt
5. Baptism of Fire
6. The Tower of Swallows
7. The Lady of the Lake
8. Season of Storms