Blood of Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski

Geralt of Rivia is a Witcher, a sort of monster-hunter for hire, but the Witchers have been all but eliminated, their home at Castle Morhen invaded and nearly destroyed, and all the witchers therein slaughtered. Only the Witchers who were not at the castle when it was attacked survived. Now, they are in danger of dying out.

So when Geralt rescues a young girl named Ciri after the battle of Sodden, he's impressed enough with her ability to survive to try and make her into a Witcher as well. He takes her back to Caer Morhen along with the few other Witchers who survive. They no longer have the potions and elixirs to mutate her in the same way that they have been mutated, but by feeding her certain plants and mushrooms, are able to give her much of the strength and speed and unnatural agility of the Witchers.

It is there at Caer Morhen that Triss Merigold, sorceress and former lover of Geralt, finds them. She is enraged on Ciri's behalf, and tells the all-male Witchers to give Ciri a break from the physical stuff when she has her period. She also confirms for them that Ciri is a special kind of Magician called a Source- she has mediumistic abilities, and can touch magic, but has no control over it, so often a source will be unknown until they cause some kind of conflagration or other disaster using magic. So, she must be trained. Also, she tells the men to let her develop physically as a woman- she might not thank them later for it if they don't

Geralt tells her he had planned to have her schooled, and after the winter is over, he takes Ciri to the Convent School run by Mother Nenneke. But on their trip there, Triss gets sick, and they take shelter with a caravan being run by Dwarves. The Dwarves are loyal subjects of the human king, but many of the elves, sick of being pushed out of their homeland, have taken to fighting a guerilla war against the humans, and quite a number of dwarves, gnomes and halfings (Half human, half something else) have joined in, making the humans look on the non-humans with suspicion. The elves have formed small bands and call themselves Scoia'tel, or squirrels, for the squirrel tails they wear on their clothing. But the humans are starting to look askance at the loyal non-humans, thinking they would naturally sympathize with the rebels. Too many humans are starting to think that the only good elf is a dead elf.

But the elves are a dying race. Only their young can reproduce, and most of them are dead, killed in the first war with the humans. The few who remain are rebelling also as part of the Scoia'tel- and if they are killed, there will be no hope for the elven race, and Ciri learns firsthand the cost to both sides when one of the Dwarves she is friends with is killed in a fight with the Scoia'tel.

But Ciri isn't just some girl orphaned in a battle. she is also a princess of a fallen nation, and highly sought after by those wanting to use her as a pawn to lay claim to that same land- either through marrying her themselves, or through marriage to their sons. Now one of those people has set a man named Rience on Ciri's trail, and he's willing to kill Geralt to find her, while Geralt wishes to keep Ciri safe from those who would use her. But can Geralt, with the assistance of another of his ex-lovers, Yennefer, a Healer named Shani, and a bard named Dandilion, track down Rience and keep Ciri safe?

This book felt like only half a book to me- the book ends with nothing quite resolved. Geralt has fought Rience, but Rience escapes- probably to return in the sequel. Ciri is still alive and free, but she and Yennefer are leaving to search for Geralt. Aside from that, I really did like the book, which introduced us a bit more to the politics and nations of Geralt's world.

There were very few battles with monsters in this book. This time, Geralt's foes were humans, if very nasty, dangerous humans- and it had a lot to do with politics- but the politics was all rulers discussing what to do with Ciri when (and if) they find her. It was chilling to see people casually discussing murder of spouses and daughters-in-law, just to control Ciri's land.

I enjoy this series. It's very different from most Western Fantasy, and evokes an elegiac quality of things changing forever and dying, mixed with action, fighting and politics. If you are looking for something different from western fantasy, something that's not like other writers, you could certainly do worse than Andrzek Sapkowski. Highly recommended.