Tag: fantasy

Book: Alexey Pehov “The Chronicles of Siala”

It might seem odd to write about a series that was written almost twenty years ago. I hesitated for a long time myself, fearing it might come out poorly. But since I’ve just reread it—why not?

Alexey Pehov’s Chronicles of Siala is not just a trilogy; it’s essentially a single novel (an epic novel), divided into three large parts/books. This was Alexey’s very first work, and in the twenty years since, he has become a highly successful and sought-after author, with his books even being published abroad.

The main character of the story is a thief named Garrett. For years, readers have been puzzled by the question: is he the same Garrett from the world of the Thief video game, or not?

Formally—no. And here I’ll briefly repeat some information that Pehov’s fans are likely familiar with.

Yes, both are named Garrett, both are professional thieves living in the shadows, preferring to remain unnoticed but capable of defending themselves when necessary. Both favor a small crossbow as one of their preferred weapons. However, the worlds of the game and the book are different, and so are their plots (though meticulous fans do find “similarities”). That said, the first edition of the final book in the series, Shadow Blizzard, ended with the following phrase:

The name of the main character, as well as the thief’s attributes, come from the virtual reality of the THIEF universe. – The Author.

Later, the author adhered to a different version:

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Andrzej Sapkowski “The Witcher”

I had wanted to read the book for many years but, for some reason, always hesitated to start. Finally, riding the wave of the well-known game about Geralt the Witcher, I decided to give it a go.

Honestly, I expected much more. The saga starts as a collection of short stories about various contracts of the witcher, a monster hunter. Then, the author decides to turn it into a full-fledged epic saga. And this is where the tension started to weaken. The witcher gradually stops being a witcher, essentially losing all the traits that defined him (at the very least, he doesn’t use them at all). The intrigue keeps building and building, often interspersed with frankly tedious and unnecessary lyrical digressions that don’t add much to the main plot. Book after book, but the saga feels very uneven. Sometimes you fly through the pages, unable to put it down, and other times you want to skip entire chapters. And finally… it ends with a whimper. With nothing. There’s no clear understanding of what it was all for, and the “deus ex machina” feels contrived and unconvincing in terms of the characters’ logic. Even after that, there are a few more chapters that don’t give a sense of closure.

However, overall, I think the character of Geralt the Witcher far outshines the quality of the book itself.

My rating: 3/5