Blood of Elves
| Blood of Elves | |
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 Cover of the UK edition of Blood of Elves |
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| Author(s) | Andrzej Sapkowski |
| Original title | Krew elfów |
| Country | Poland |
| Language | Polish |
| Genre(s) | Fantasy |
| Publisher | superNOWA |
| Publication date | 1994 |
| Published in English |
2009 |
| Media type | Print (Hardback & Paperback) |
| Preceded by | Miecz przeznaczenia (Sword of Destiny) |
| Followed by | Czas pogardy (Time of Contempt) |
Blood of Elves (Polish original title: Krew elfów) is the first novel in the Witcher Saga written by Polish fantasy writer Andrzej Sapkowski, first published in Poland in 1994 (English translation has been published in late 2008). It's a sequel to the Witcher short stories collected in the books The Last Wish and Miecz przeznaczenia (A Sword of Destiny) and is followed by Czas pogardy (Times of Contempt). It was published in Czech Republic (Leonardo, 1995), Russia (AST, 1996), Spain (Bibliopolis, 2003), Lithuania (Eridanas, 2006), Germany (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 2008) the United Kingdom (Gollancz, 2008) and most recently in the United States (Orbit, 2009).
Krew elfów was the winner of the Polish Janusz A. Zajdel Award for Best Science Fiction or Fantasy Novel in 1994. In 2009 the book won the David Gemmell Legend Award in the United Kingdom.[1]
In 2011, Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk gave US President Barack Obama diplomatic presents, as is custom, on his visit to Poland. One of these was a signed copy of Blood of Elves.
Contents |
[edit] Plot summary
The Empire of Nilfgaard attacks and overwhelms the Kingdom of Cintra. Queen Calanthe of Cintra commits suicide and her granddaughter, Cirilla, called Ciri, or "Lion Cub of Cintra" somehow flees from the burning capital city. Emhyr var Emreis, Emperor of Nilfgaard, sends his spies to find her. He knows that this young girl has great importance, not only because of her royal blood, but also because of her magical potential and elven blood in her veins.
The girl is protected by Geralt of Rivia, a witcher - a magically and genetically mutated monster slayer for hire, and also a man whose destiny is bound with that of Ciri. Aided by several others including the famous bard Dandilion and a powerful sorceress named Yennefer, Geralt quickly learns of a man named Rience who is hunting Ciri relentlessly, aided by some powerful and influential allies.
As she learns the ways of both a witcher and a magic user, Ciri and those around her begin to realise that almost everybody wishes to either use her for her mysterious power or kill her so that such a power cannot become wielded by others.
[edit] Translations
- Czech (Leonardo, 1995)
- Bulgarian (InfoDAR/ИнфоДАР 2008) ISBN 9789547613324
- English
- UK (Gollancz, 16 October 2008) ISBN 0575083182
- US (Orbit, April 28, 2009)
- German (Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, 1 November 2008) ISBN 3423247002
- Lithuanian (Eridanas, 2006)
- Russian (AST, 1996)
- Spanish (Bibliópolis, 2003)
- Swedish (2011) - false, in june 2011 was published "Sword of destiny" (as "Ödets svärd"), second book of Saga (ISBN 978-91-86437-19-0, Coltso, www.coltso.se)
[edit] Notes
- ^ Alison Flood, Gemmell prize for fantasy goes to Polish novel, Blood of Elves, Guardian, Friday 19 June 2009
[edit] External links
- Krew elfów on Witcher Wiki
- Nic Clarke, The 2009 David Gemmell Legend Award Shortlist, Part Two
- Blood of Elves review in Fantasy Fan
- Review in Total Sci-Fi
- Review in Dark Wolf's Fantasy Reviews
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