The Tower of the Swallow

Product Information

This series has plummeted to the very depths of tedium. Every book has melded in to one and it's difficult for me to remember this particular one, though I do recall my consternation at the random change of narrative style. Geralt is still not doing any Witchering, there is still monumental bitching between all the female characters and the dialogue is still pitiful.

Cool Sword: The Gnomish gwyhyr. Bonhart initially believes it's a human-forged recreation, but Esterhazy tells him it's an original gwyhyr blade — the best sword in the world, sharp as a razor and perforated to lower the weight, not produced anymore — given the traditional decoration and carving, and an anti-slippery handle of ray's skin.

Geralt first encounters Avallac’h on his journey to find the druids of Caed Dhu. He hoped the druids would be able to help him find Ciri using magic. Then later, he says, “We used to say to ourselves, what’s the difference, we’ll spend some time here, some time there, so what if the Dh’oine insist on destroying this world along with themselves? We’ll go somewhere else…” The story once again follows our beloved protagonist, Geralt of Rivia. He is tasked with rescuing Ciri, a powerful young woman who is also a witcher-in-training. Ciri has been trapped in the Tower of Swallows, a mysterious and ancient tower located in the land of Tir na Lia. The tower is said to be a gateway to other worlds, and many believe that whoever controls it, controls the fate of the world.

I really really want to love this book, but the honest truth is that --this one is really not that great. “The Tower of Swallows is a difficult book to define, or even to recap. The writing feels lost: ambling around without direction, constantly jumping scenes, and forgetting about Geralt altogether about half-way through the book. Lara Dorren wasn’t an ordinary she-elf. She was genetic potential. Especially prepared. The results of many years’ work. In combination with another charge — an elven one, naturally — she was meant to bear an even more special child. Engaging with the seed of man, she ruined that chance, wasted hundreds of years’ planning and preparation. At least so it was thought at the time.” Thanks for reading and taking the time to write such a detailed comment! My apologies for missing some things. Even though I was poring over the books while writing this, I clearly missed a few things. I love the Witcher and don’t want anything to be inaccurate, so I really appreciate this. Avallac’h’s storyline in Witcher 3 deviates slightly from the book lore. In the game, Avallac’h’s imprisonment of Ciri and attempts to get her pregnant by Auberon is mentioned only briefly. In any case, Ciri appears to have gotten over it and trusts him. Brazilian Portuguese: A Torre da Andorinha, translated by Olga Baginska-Shinzato (WMF Martins Fontes, 2016)The kingdom of Redania's spymaster, Sigismund Dijkstra, travels to the neutral nation of Kovir, seeking financing to rebuild Redania's army in anticipation of a Nilfgaardian invasion. He discovers that the magicians of the newly formed Sorceress' Lodge have begun to establish Kovir as a nation sympathetic to magic, under their control. Sorceresses under the leadership of Phillipa Eilhart gather information on the various nations, and set their own plans in motion. Triss Merigold, a member of the Lodge privately questioning its motives, searches for information on Yennefer of Vengerberg, who is believed to be dead. I complained during a review of an earlier book in this series that we rarely had other points of view during the narration, which seemed to slow down the entire thing. This book rectifies that, but in such a way that it may as well have not happened. We have around five POVs during any given chapter, which confuses things incredibly and don't actually improve the plot or pace of the action. We also, for some reason, begin to get excerpts from Dandelion's little memoirs, which add nothing to the plot except a general feel that perhaps this is something Sapkowski should maybe try out because it's cool, yo. Nilfgaard's spymaster, Vattier de Rideaux, wants Ciri captured alive, but the Imperial coroner, Stefan Skellen, secretly hired Bonhart to kill her. Instead of doing so, Bonhart has her fight for her life in a gladiatorial arena, confirming for Bonhart her identity and training as a witcher.

You are omitting that Avallac’h actually spoils the ending of the books to Geralt under Tir na Bea Arainne. Which means he must have had an inkling that Ciri escapes from Tir na Lia. He is not lying to Geralt: Geralt WILL lose Ciri forever in the end of the books. And these are interesting details, since he does absolutely nothing to impede Geralt under Mount Gorgon. Avallac’h saves her from the Wild Hunt by hiding her on The Isle of Mists. He also helps Ciri control her new powers after the Battle of Kaer Morhen.

Tropes found in the book:

Bogeyman: Bonhart is this to Ciri. Even after killing almost all of Skellen's other men, she's still terrified of facing him in a one-on-one fight. Vysogota, an old philosopher living in the Pereplut swamp, finds an injured Ciri near his retreat and takes her in, caring for her until she is ready to continue her journey. She tells her life story to the old man: how all the Rats were killed by Leo Bonhart, all except for Ciri. As she readies herself to leave, she is convinced that both Geralt and Yennefer are dead. Based on this assumption, she leaves Vysogota to find Tor Zireael.

Within the Tower Ciri rides forward on Kelpie, being reminded of Kaer Morhen. The floor in covered in bones, and she proceeded through as a multitude of doors open before her. As she goes forward Ciri sees familiar faces. Yennifer in chains and pain. Iola and Nenneke beneath a statue. Geralt, Vesemir, Eskel, Triss, Tatiana, and more faces from her past. Finally she sees Vysogota. He is pleased she made it there safe, and controlled her need for vengeance. He explains how she is the master of worlds thanks to her Elder Blood. She has a mighty Power, and must keep if safe. She has the power over time and space. He bids his swallow farewell, and she enters more doors, and finally a dazzling brightness with a scent of flowers.The character narratives are not always linear, or even told straightforwardly in the close third person favored by the genre. Yennefer's story, for example, is told over several timelines, with crucial parts related by individuals who may not be reliable narrators. More often than not, the stylistic gambit works, but there are instances in which “The Tower of Swallows” would have benefitted from more conventional plotting. For example, there is far too much space given to the spy Dijkstra's visit to a far-flung (and newly introduced) kingdom--a plot point that doesn't really develop and, frankly, isn't necessary. Sometimes the same event is narrated by different narrators from different times. Then there's this build up that always starts with the same words and goes nowhere: "if someone looked into the cottage, they would have seen an ashen haired girl…” It says it like 7 times, and it's a full paragraph of text. Every time I read it, it heightens my anticipation for bigger things to come -- but nothing ever happens! It feels like Andrzej Sapkowski got bored, and just decided to jump around and experiment with the story from different angles --then decided to throw the whole mess together and call it a book. There’s also the fact that Ciri gets visibly upset when the female elf at Avallac’h’s lab implies that he is only interested in Ciri for his work and can’t wait to be rid of her. Ciri is in fact so mad after meeting her she wants to destroy the lab. Is Avallac’h Good or Evil? Schirrú had previously went out of his way to burn Fenn alive, something he taunts Geralt over. Here, he gets burned alive. Geralt insists the message is a hoax. But he descends into the cave to find Avallac’h painting a mural of a purple bison on one of the walls. In the Aen Elle world, Ciri becomes frustrated with how long her task is taking and accuses Avallac’h of cheating her. When she mentions that Auberon said she has Lara’s eyes, he snaps: