Rozdroże kruków is a new instalment in the Witcher saga. This time, it is set years before the main story and Sapkowki’s epic tales. 

Imagine a novel consisting of a couple of tiny novellas. A computer game full of sidequests, or an essay based on the author’s constant digressions. Reading Rozdroże kruków somewhat reminds us of each of those experiences. It’s like finding an easter egg, but when we open it, there is no prize, only guidance to another one. Or, it’s like a Russian Matryoshka doll: something new awaits whenever we open another chapter. To quote the classic: in Sapkowski’s latest novel, everything and nothing happens simultaneously. 

Theoretically, Rozdroże kruków isn’t anything exceptional. To some extent, it’s just a pretext to re-interpret Geralt’s psychological portrait. Here, our protagonist isn’t yet a stoic and self-assured witcher, who exactly knows what to do in every dangerous situation. He’s just a young cherub, inexperienced and hot-tempered, eager to act instead of actually thinking and analysing. This is why, when he meets another Witcher, a mysterious Preston Holt, Geralt becomes part of an intrigue that does not even concern him. Yet, he’s as curious as a young man can be. When Geralt sees a danger, he approaches it. When someone needs help, he becomes their saviour. When he sees an apparent trap, he doesn’t turn back. He goes right into the source of an ominous pitfall. And, he’s ready for what is next.

Like we are: Sapkowski explores his diegetic world and allows us to learn more about it. Why do people hate witchers? Why do they use their help even if they treat them as degenerates? Why does Geralt name each of his horses “Płotka”? Sapkowski answers all these questions, even if his explanations are secretly hidden between the descriptions, epistolary inserts and juicy dialogues.  

Surely, we don’t need this book to be truly “exceptional” and “revolutionary.” For fans, it will be enough that Sapkowski’s ingenious ideas and poetic language take us all back to the very beginning. It reminds us of the forgotten feeling of reading his Witcher novels for the first time. Suddenly, we’re back home, only us and a paperback book. And that is all we need for a cosy closure with our beloved Geralt.

4/5 stars

Author: Jan Tracz 

Cover: Wydawnictwo superNOWA