The Witcher has become one of the most popular fantasy franchises in modern media. Whether you prefer the original books, the trilogy of games, the Netflix series, or if you just want to play Gwent, there's something for everyone to enjoy. But what if you're interested to know how the White Wolf got to where he is now?

If you're curious about the lore in the Witcher franchise, the best place to start is the books. Andrzej Sapkowski's novels are the source material for everything else you'll see. While the games, shows, and other media sometimes differ in adaptation, the novels present the purest form of the story. Here is every novel released thus far in the chronological order of when their story takes place.

While I don't intend to dive deep into the plot of these novels, there will be inherent spoilers in the description of each. If you want to stay spoiler-free, the reading list is🌞:

• Sword of Destiny
• Season of Storms (technically!)
• The Last Wish
• Blood of Elves
• Time of Contempt
• Baptism of Fire
• The Tower of the Swallow
• The Lady of the Lake

Go forth and read!

Our list is in order of story, not release. Reading in this ordeജr will give you the story in the closest thing to chronological order as possibleಞ, but this is not the order in which the novels first hit the shelves.

The Last Wish is our introduction to the franchise, and it does so in style. While this is the second book to be released, hitting shelves in 1993, it's the first in the Witcher timeline. Nearly everything that takes place in this story happens before the events of the rest of the series, making it an excellent setup. But why nearly everything?

Mostly, that's because The Last Wish takes an anthological approach. There are multiple short stories in this book, working less as a novel and more of an anthology. One of the most important comes from an iconic moment in the franchise wherein a wish is used to intertwine the lives and hearts of Geralt and Yennefer forevermore.

Though The Sword of Destiny is the first book to hit the shelves, released in 1992, it's the second in the storyline. Sapkowski's anthology The Last Wish was released afterward to fill in some of the gaps that the backstory had left, rendering Sword of Destiny the second in the chronological order. It may be the third, though we'll get to that later on.

Like The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny is a collection of short stories. They almost all follow Geralt in his adventures across the world hunting monsters, but also introduce an iconic character that fans across all mediums know and love: Ciri. At the novel's end, the rest of the franchise is set up fully.

Blood of Elves was released in 1994 and is the third story in the chronological order. It's also the first one that isn't written in the format of a collection of short stories, instead being a fully-fledged novel. That presents an issue for some fans if these are read in order: the books up to Blood of Elves have incredibly swift pacing as anthologies, which can make this novel feel somewhat sluggish.

Blood of Elves has a more focused storyline through that pace, which focuses on the makeshift family of Geralt, Yennefer, and their guardianship over Ciri. As Ciri's powers come to fruition, the trio are having disagreements over how best to hone, train, and defend her. It's a low-stakes novel that helps to set up a high-stakes world.

The Time of Contempt is the first story in the Witcher franchise that doesn't focus heavily on Geralt of Rivia. While he still features, he's no longer the story's primary focus, instead switching dominantly to the circumstances of the world around them and Ciri herself. Yennefer also is a large presence in this novel, helping The Witcher novels shy away from only being about the Witcher.

Time of Contempt begins right where Blood of Elves ends, working as a direct and true sequel. While Yennefer and Geralt continue to struggle to handle Ciri's powers, the world continues to fall apart, with the world's nations teetering on war. Time of Contempt is one of the deepest looks into the morally gray area of whom the characters must side with, why, and what the consequences could be.

Baptism of Fire is functionally the mid-point of the franchise, with about two more mainline novels still being set up. As such, this story has an over꧃arching climax of its own, but is still dominantly working to set up the ongoing conflict and ultimate consequences of the story thus far.

In Baptism of Fire, Geralt finds himself severely injured after an attempted coup. In ꦅthe aftermath, Ciri has vanished, whipping much of the rest of the world into a search mission. Geralt works to gather his allies and companions to help him track down the Child of Prophecy.

With the penultimate story in the novel series, we focus heavily on Ciri and her life now that she's ushered herself out of her previous responsibilities. Living as a normal thief rather than her true self, it helps to paint her in a more human light.

Meanwhile, Geralt's search for her continues in earnest. As the story continues to ramp up, the Witcher's desperation to protect someone he holds dear comes to a head.

The finale of the series (thus far) is focused massively on Ciri as a main character. Trapped in the world of Elves, Ciri finds herself without allies or friends in the climax of the story. We're being purposefully vague here: it's an incredible story and one you should read for yourself.

Released long after the others, Sea of Storms fits strangely into the canon. There's no set time that this novel takes place, so wiggling it into the series that was released beforehand isn't as easy as it could be.

Additionally, this story is fully standalone, more of an adventure that happens in the Witcher franchise than a mainline novel. Geralt is the focus again, and it's as wonderful as you'd expect it to be. That said, if you had to pick one to skip, you can miss Sea of Storms without impacting the rest of the story.

FAQ

Do I Need To Read The Witcher Novels In Order?

The Witcher novels are best when read in order, yes. For the beginning anthologies, it's less important, since they have a less focused storyline. Sea of Storms can also be read at any point, though it's best to read between the first and second books.

Can I Play The Witcher Games Without The Books?

Sure! Most fans do so. The Witcher games are not adaptations of the books. They actually take place after the books. Reading the books will give you a fuller understanding of the games, but it's not crucial.

Do The Witcher Games Follow The Books Closely?

Nope! There are many references, and you'll understand the world a little better if you've read them, but the games do not follow the mainline books directly.