Andrzej Sapkowski
Encyclopedia
Andrzej Sapkowski, born 21 June 1948 in Łódź, is a Polish
fantasy
writer. He is best known for his best-selling book series The Witcher
.
, The Witcher
(Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka
, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novel
s. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.
The main character of The Witcher
(alternative translations: The Hexer and Spellmaker) is Geralt
, a mutant
assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in a morally ambiguous universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler
's signature character Philip Marlowe
. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology
.
Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze zło" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elfów
" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.
In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.
In 2001, a television series
based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title
was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.
Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Finnish, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian, English, Italian and Swedish. An English translation of The Last Wish
short story collection was published by Gollancz
in 2007. From 2009 the Witcher saga is published by Gollancz
.
The Polish game publisher, CD Projekt, created a role-playing PC game based on this universe, called The Witcher
, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The sequel, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
was released in 2011.
The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell
Legends Award in 2009.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
fantasy
Fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
writer. He is best known for his best-selling book series The Witcher
The Witcher
The Witcher, or , by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski is a cult series of fantasy short stories and five novels about the witcher Geralt of Rivia...
.
Biography
Sapkowski studied economics, and before turning to writing, he had worked as a senior sales representative for a foreign trade company. His first short storyShort story
A short story is a work of fiction that is usually written in prose, often in narrative format. This format tends to be more pointed than longer works of fiction, such as novellas and novels. Short story definitions based on length differ somewhat, even among professional writers, in part because...
, The Witcher
The Witcher
The Witcher, or , by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski is a cult series of fantasy short stories and five novels about the witcher Geralt of Rivia...
(Wiedźmin), was published in Fantastyka
Fantastyka
Fantastyka , is a Polish speculative fiction monthly fantasy and science fiction magazine....
, Poland's leading fantasy literary magazine, in 1986 and was enormously successful both with readers and critics. Sapkowski has created a cycle of tales based on the world of The Witcher, comprising three collections of short stories and five novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
s. This cycle and his many other works have made him one of the best-known fantasy authors in Poland in the 1990s.
The main character of The Witcher
The Witcher
The Witcher, or , by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski is a cult series of fantasy short stories and five novels about the witcher Geralt of Rivia...
(alternative translations: The Hexer and Spellmaker) is Geralt
Geralt of Rivia
Geralt of Rivia is a fictional character and protagonist of The Witcher series by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, as well as its adaptations.-Fictional biography:...
, a mutant
Mutant
In biology and especially genetics, a mutant is an individual, organism, or new genetic character, arising or resulting from an instance of mutation, which is a base-pair sequence change within the DNA of a gene or chromosome of an organism resulting in the creation of a new character or trait not...
assassin who has been trained since childhood to hunt down and destroy monsters. Geralt exists in a morally ambiguous universe, yet manages to maintain his own coherent code of ethics. At the same time cynical and noble, Geralt has been compared to Raymond Chandler
Raymond Chandler
Raymond Thornton Chandler was an American novelist and screenwriter.In 1932, at age forty-five, Raymond Chandler decided to become a detective fiction writer after losing his job as an oil company executive during the Depression. His first short story, "Blackmailers Don't Shoot", was published in...
's signature character Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe
Philip Marlowe is a fictional character created by Raymond Chandler in a series of novels including The Big Sleep and The Long Goodbye. Marlowe first appeared under that name in The Big Sleep published in 1939...
. The world in which these adventures take place is heavily influenced by Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology
Slavic mythology is the mythological aspect of the polytheistic religion that was practised by the Slavs before Christianisation.The religion possesses many common traits with other religions descended from the Proto-Indo-European religion....
.
Sapkowski has won five Zajdel Awards, including three for short stories "Mniejsze zło" (Lesser Evil) (1990), "Miecz przeznaczenia" (Sword of Destiny) (1992) and "W leju po bombie" (In a Bomb Crater) (1993), and two for the novels "Krew elfów
Krew elfów
Blood of Elves is the first novel in the Witcher Saga written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published in Poland in 1994...
" (Blood of Elves) (1994) and "Narrenturm" (2002). He also won the Spanish Ignotus Award, best anthology, for The Last Wish in 2003, and for "Muzykanci" (The Musicians), best foreign short story, same year.
In 1997, Sapkowski won the prestigious Polityka's Passport award, which is awarded annually to artists who have strong prospects for international success.
In 2001, a television series
The Hexer (TV series)
'Wiedźmin is a 2002 Fantasy television series. 13 episodes were made. The series received relatively poor reviews, particularly in the light of the failure of the preceding movie....
based on the Witcher cycle was released in Poland and internationally, entitled Wiedźmin (The Hexer). A film by the same title
The Hexer (film)
Wiedźmin is a 2001 Fantasy film by director Marek Brodzki, starring Michał Żebrowski as main character Geralt of Rivia...
was compiled from excerpts of the television series but both have been critical and box office failures.
Sapkowski's books have been translated into Czech, Russian, Lithuanian, German, Spanish, French, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Finnish, Slovak, Bulgarian, Serbian, English, Italian and Swedish. An English translation of The Last Wish
The Last Wish (book)
The Last Wish is one of the two collections of short stories , preceding the main Witcher Saga, written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The first Polish edition was published in 1993, the first English edition in 2007...
short story collection was published by Gollancz
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
in 2007. From 2009 the Witcher saga is published by Gollancz
Victor Gollancz Ltd
Victor Gollancz Ltd was a major British book publishing house of the twentieth century. It was founded in 1927 by Victor Gollancz and specialised in the publication of high quality literature, nonfiction and popular fiction, including science fiction. Upon Gollancz's death in 1967, ownership...
.
The Witcher (computer game)
The Witcher is a computer role-playing game for the PC developed by CD Projekt RED STUDIO and published by CD Projekt in Poland and Atari for the rest of the world. The game is based on the book series of the same name by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski. The game utilizes BioWare's proprietary...
, which was released in October 2007. There is also a mobile version of the game which has been created by Breakpoint Games and is being published by Hands-On Mobile in Western Europe, Latin America and Asia Pacific. The sequel, The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings
The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings is a third-person role-playing video game developed by Polish studio CD Projekt RED for Microsoft Windows and Xbox 360. It is a sequel to the 2007 video game The Witcher, and was released internationally on May 17, 2011. Just like its predecessor, the game is based...
was released in 2011.
The English translation of Sapkowski's novel Blood of Elves won the David Gemmell
David Gemmell
David Andrew Gemmell was a bestselling British author of heroic fantasy. A former journalist and newspaper editor, Gemmell had his first work of fiction published in 1984. He went on to write over thirty novels. Best known for his debut, Legend, Gemmell's works display violence, yet also explore...
Legends Award in 2009.
Short story collections
- The Witcher (Wiedźmin, 1990), 5 stories (4 were reprinted in The Last Wish, one in Something ends, Something begins).
- Sword of Destiny (Miecz przeznaczenia, 1992), 6 stories.
- The Last WishThe Last Wish (book)The Last Wish is one of the two collections of short stories , preceding the main Witcher Saga, written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The first Polish edition was published in 1993, the first English edition in 2007...
(Ostatnie życzenie, 1993), 7 stories. English edition: 2007 (in US: 2008). - "Spellmaker" in A Polish Book of Monsters, edited and translated by Michael KandelMichael KandelMichael Kandel is an American translator and author of science fiction. He received a doctorate in Slavistics from Indiana University, and is an editor at the Modern Language Association. Kandel is also a part-time editor at Harcourt, editing Ursula K...
. 2010. - Something ends, Something begins (Coś się kończy, coś się zaczyna, 2000), 8 stories (only two are related to The Witcher saga).
The Saga
- Blood of Elves (Krew elfów, 1994). English edition: 2009.
- Times of Contempt (Czas pogardy, 1995). English edition: 2012 (planned).
- Baptism of Fire (Chrzest ognia, 1996).
- The Swallow's Tower (Wieża Jaskółki, 1997).
- Lady of the Lake (Pani Jeziora, 1999).
The Hussite Trilogy
- Narrenturm (2002).
- Warriors of GodBozy bojownicyBoży bojownicy is a historical novel with fantasy elements, written by Andrzej Sapkowski. It is the sequel to Narrenturm. Its events take place in Bohemia and Silesia, during the time of Hussite Wars.The Trilogy includes:...
(Boży bojownicy, 2004). - Lux perpetuaLux perpetuaLux perpetua is a historical novel with fantasy elements, written by Andrzej Sapkowski. It is the last part of the trilogy. Its events take place in Bohemia, Silesia and Poland, during the time of Hussite Wars. Its action takes place from 1429 until the Battle of Lipany...
(2006).
Other novels
- Viper (Żmija, 2009), a novel set during Soviet war in AfghanistanSoviet war in AfghanistanThe Soviet war in Afghanistan was a nine-year conflict involving the Soviet Union, supporting the Marxist-Leninist government of the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan against the Afghan Mujahideen and foreign "Arab–Afghan" volunteers...
.
Other works
- The Eye of Yrrhedes (Oko Yrrhedesa, 1995), roleplaying game.
- The World of King Arthur. Maladie (Świat króla Artura. Maladie, 1995), essay and an illustrated short story set in Arthurian mythology.
- Manuscript Discovered in a Dragon's Cave (Rękopis znaleziony w Smoczej Jaskini, 2001), fantasyFantasyFantasy is a genre of fiction that commonly uses magic and other supernatural phenomena as a primary element of plot, theme, or setting. Many works within the genre take place in imaginary worlds where magic is common...
encyclopedic compendium.