Serving as the inspiration not only for a string of massively successful video games, but also a hit Netflix series about to head into itsfourth season,The Witcherseries of books by Andrzej Sapkowski is an absolute phenomenon.
The first glimpse of Geralt of Rivia and the world ofThe Witcheractually took the form of a submission to a literary competition in a Polish fantasy magazine namedFatastyka. Challenged to keep the story within 30 pages, Sapkowski submitted the original short story “The Witcher” in 1986. He came in third place in the competition, but this original short story was the jumping-off point for an entire fantasy empire.
This first short story, as well as four others, were later collated and published as a collection of short stories, under the title of “The Witcher” in 1990, but this book is now out of print and difficult to find. However, three of these short stories (“ are still available as part of a different book as part of the now-established series of novels and short stories.
Novels and short story collections in universe ofThe Witcher
In total, there are six full novels and 15 short stories that make up the world explored by Geralt of Rivia. In order to soak up the story chronologically, you may need to have more than one book on the go at any time.
Here’s the full list of books available, in the order that they were translated into English:
As you can see, English-speaking audiences had to wait a long time to be able to readThe Witcherbooks, and they were translated out of order. So how should you read them?
The definitive reading order ofThe Witcherbooks
It should go without saying that the reading order is more or less obvious if you consider the original Polish release dates, but even that is slightly out of order. On top of that, at least one of the novels should be read at a specific point between short stories. I know it sounds confusing, but don’t worry.
Here’s the order in which you’ll need to readThe Witchernovels and short stories:
