The Tower of the Swallow

Product Information

The Tower of the Swallow, published as The Tower of Swallows in the United States ( Polish original title: Wieża Jaskółki) is the fourth novel in the Witcher Saga written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published in Poland in 1997. It is a sequel to the third Witcher novel Baptism of Fire and is followed by the final entry in the series, The Lady of the Lake. Brazilian Portuguese: A Torre da Andorinha, translated by Olga Baginska-Shinzato (WMF Martins Fontes, 2016)

Yennefer is in the novel, and at the center point of a chase from Stefan Skellen, a spy who wants her dead. Not to mention she is at the mercy of one Leo Bonhart. How many Witcher books are there?Meanwhile, having saved Queen Meve of Rivia, Geralt and his party – the bard Dandelion, Milva the archer, higher vampire Regis, and former Nilfgaardian soldier, Cahir – travel with her army. Geralt seeks a group of druids whom he believes can locate Ciri. During their journey, they learn that a bounty has been placed on their heads by a half-elf and a group of criminals led by a man named Nightingale. Partnering up with the young woman Angoulême, a former member of this group, they decide to ambush the bandits and discover who hired them, who Geralt suspects to be the wizard Vilgefortz. Eventually, they stumble upon the half-elf, named Schirrú. A fight breaks out, in which Cahir is injured, forcing him and Geralt into hiding. During this time, the two reconcile. They reunite with the rest of the party, who have entered Toussaint, where the druids are. They attempt to locate the criminals, but are captured instead by the druids, who kill the criminals before Geralt can question them. Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, and Portuguese. An English translation of The Last Wish short story collection was published by Gollancz in 2007. Protecting Ciri from the dangerous effects of her uncontrolled power, like severe mental illness, is only a secondary benefit, not his primary motive. Ciri and Avallac’h: Forbidden Romance? Drawings of Ciri in Avallac’h’s lab. Nothing Is Scarier: After mowing down half of her pursuers and constantly circling around the rest on her skates, Ciri suddenly stops, hidden in the mist, leaving only silence. The mooks promptly start to truly panic. Some fans also speculate that Avallac’h fancies Ciri in the Witcher 3 because she shares Lara Dorran’s features. The main piece of evidence for this is the drawings you find in Avallac’h’s lab that look a lot like Ciri.

In this review of The Tower of the Swallow there may be mild spoilers for previous books in The Witcher series by Andrzej Sapkowski. Yennefer once again gets least screen time, and once again her chapter blew me away with complex narrative style and sheer visual spectacle. I was never a fan of Yennefer before this book, but now I am a fan. Also, according to the Witcher Wiki, the Aen Elle did use the Ard Gaeth to travel between worlds and conquer them: “Aen Elle controlled one or more such Gates once, which they used to leave the Continent and conquer other worlds.” Avallac’h appears in the last two books in the Witcher series: The Tower of the Swallow and The Lady of the Lake. Avallac’h in The Tower of the SwallowLeo also gets one for attempting to charge the The Wild Hunt while pursuing Ciri, surviving only because his horse panics and flees. Bonhart, a sadistic bounty hunter, really enjoys killing off the Rats, a bunch of highwaymen who think of themselves as lovable rogues. In contrast to earlier books, Sapkowski really goes out of his way to paint the Rats in a negative light here. Ciri still genuinely mourns them and Bonhart is even more of a monster, but he hammers home that they were not nice people. Triss is with Mother Nenneke at the Temple of Melitele. The girls Iola and Eurneid were preparing to leave, to work as nurses in the war effort. They had spent years training at healing all sorts of ailments and were prepared, according to Nenneke. As they watched the girls leave, Jarre exclaimed how he wanted to go to the war too. He wanted to help rescue Ciri. Nenneke scoffed, reminding him his place was that of study. Little Miss Badass: In the last chapter, Ciri finally shows what she's made of - no more killing on pure reflex, no more running, no more trembling with fear. No, now she's rationally decided that the people pursuing her have to die, and sets about killing them deliberately, and she does so with great efficiency. I received a review copy of The Tower of the Swallow in exchange for an honest review. Thank you to Andrzej Sapkowski and Gollancz. Minor spoilers may follow.

Ciri finishes her tale. When Galahad asks if that's the end, Ciri says that she doesn't want the story to end like that. She claims the tale ends with Yennefer and Geralt getting married and living happily ever after, but cries as she says it. Galahad invites her to Camelot, which she accepts. The two ride toward Camelot, holding hands. Ciri tries to escape on her horse Kelpie but the barrier stops her. She is confronted by unicorns, but the unicorn Ihuarraquax, who she previously saved, [N 1] vouches for her. The unicorns reveal she can bypass the barrier by boat. Before leaving, she finds Auberon dying after drinking an aphrodisiac Eredin gave him, stays with him until he dies, then steals a boat. Eredin confronts her but she escapes to join Ihuarraquax, the other unicorns and Kelpie. Eredin and his riders give chase and they battle with the unicorns. Ihuarraquax helps her jump worlds but the riders catch up with them so he stays behind to let Ciri escape. After jumping between several worlds and times without finding her own, she meets Nimue and Condwiramurs in the far future, who conjure the right portal for her. Not content with that, he then has men hold her head up and her eyes open, so she has to watch him cut off all the Rats heads. And there is still endless bitching between the female characters. I'm not sure there is a single woman who have anything nice to say about another woman, except Ciri but she's basically just a child anyway. And all women love all children. It's a fact.

Tropes found in the book:

Later on, Ciri discovers an enslaved human in the Tir ná Lia stables of the Aen Elle world, realizing that humans originally inhabited the Aen Elle world. She also encounters a sea of human remains in a ravine. Enter The Tower of the Swallow, Book 4 of the Witcher series, which pushed the plot so far ahead that I’m convinced this particular installment could have easily been two books. It isn’t the evil and indecent who are flung down into the depths, no! Oh, no! The evil and decisive fling down those who are moral, honest and noble but maladroit, hesitant and full of scruples. How can Ciri trust that Avallac’h, who makes no secret of his disdain for humans, really plans to save them from the White Frost, too? But I don't think there will be enough space and moreover, I don't think I can put them in words properly!