The Witcher: Books vs. Series
The Witcher is Lauren Schmidt Hissrich's 2019 series, adapted from books by Andrzej Sapkowski. It stars Henry Cavill, Liam Hemsworth, Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan. The show has run for 4 seasons so far with 32 episodes available on Netflix.
From Books Adapted
Which books each season covers
The series combines short stories before moving through the novels
| Season | Books adapted |
|---|---|
| 1 | Selected stories from The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, with expanded stories for Yennefer and Ciri. |
| 2 | Mainly Blood of Elves, the first novel in the central saga. The opening episode also adapts “A Grain of Truth” from The Last Wish. The season adds a new story involving Voleth Meir. |
| 3 | The Time of Contempt, plus material held over from Blood of Elves, including Shaerrawedd. It also introduces Milva from Baptism of Fire. |
| 4 | Baptism of Fire, with Ciri material from The Tower of the Swallow, a new storyline for Yennefer, and a frame involving Nimue that connects to Lady of the Lake. |
| 5* | The remaining story from the final novels. Netflix announced seasons 4 and 5 together as adaptations of Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and Lady of the Lake. |
| A guide, not an exact match: shows move scenes and storylines between books and seasons. | |
* Season 5 is announced as the final season and has not been released. Netflix has confirmed the three-book plan for the last two seasons, rather than a complete book-by-book breakdown for season 5.
The main saga’s ending remains ahead of the released series. The standalone books Season of Storms and Crossroads of Ravens are separate adventures, not the final books in that five-novel story. Their main stories have not been adapted by this series.
What changed from the book
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A new villain changes Yennefer’s relationship with Ciri
Voleth Meir, the Deathless Mother, does not appear in Sapkowski’s books. The writers created her for season 2, drawing on Baba Yaga folklore. Hissrich said she supplied action and a way to bring Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri’s stories together while adapting the more character-focused Blood of Elves.
The new story has Yennefer consider sacrificing Ciri to regain her magic. That betrayal carries into season 3, where Yennefer must rebuild the trust of both Ciri and Geralt while teaching Ciri to use her powers.
How it was adapted
Three timelines give Yennefer and Ciri earlier introductions
The first season tells Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri’s stories alongside one another even though they begin at different times. The early book collections largely follow Geralt. They do not give Yennefer a separate, continuous account of her early life.
Hissrich wanted both women to be central from the start. The timelines let her introduce Ciri during the same season as The Last Wish, even though Ciri has not been born during that book’s main events. Yennefer’s past becomes a story the series shows directly, rather than information learned through Geralt.
The books, in order
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1993
- Pages
- 352
- Audiobook length
- 10 hr 17 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 1
Geralt earns his living killing monsters, but his clients rarely tell him everything before agreeing on a price. While recovering from an injury at a temple, he recalls jobs that entangled him with a cursed princess, a royal marriage, and a sorceress named Yennefer. These linked stories follow a hunter whose attempts to stay out of human disputes repeatedly fail.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1992
- Pages
- 416
- Audiobook length
- 12 hr 48 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 2
A dragon hunt, a troubled romance, and an encounter with a lost princess draw Geralt beyond the ordinary business of hunting monsters. Across these stories, his relationship with Yennefer tests the distance he keeps from other people. Meeting Ciri raises a different question: whether a promise made years earlier can bind him to a child he barely knows.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1994
- Pages
- 432
- Audiobook length
- 10 hr 55 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 3
At Kaer Morhen, Ciri learns swordsmanship under Geralt and the other witchers, far from the kingdom she lost to war. Her unpredictable magical abilities require help they cannot provide. As sorceresses become involved in her education, rulers and spies search for the missing heir, making it increasingly difficult to give her anything resembling a safe childhood.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1995
- Pages
- 368
- Audiobook length
- 11 hr 55 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 4
Yennefer plans to place Ciri in a school for sorceresses, while Geralt investigates the people trying to capture her. Their paths converge as mages gather on the island of Thanedd, where alliances conceal preparations for a coup. With the northern kingdoms approaching war, the adults who hope to protect Ciri cannot agree on whom to trust.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1996
- Pages
- 384
- Audiobook length
- 11 hr 59 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 5
Still recovering from severe injuries, Geralt leaves the forest of Brokilon to search for Ciri in a country torn apart by war. Dandelion and the archer Milva accompany him, and others join despite his reluctance to accept help. Their journey takes them through displaced communities and opposing armies, where finding a route forward is difficult enough without reliable news of Ciri.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1997
- Pages
- 464
- Audiobook length
- 16 hr 23 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 6
Living under an assumed name among young outlaws, Ciri has begun making a life beyond the guardians who once sheltered her. That freedom attracts attention as her crimes spread her reputation and mercenaries close in. Geralt and his companions continue searching through the war, while Ciri must find a way to escape people who want her captured rather than rescued.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 1999
- Pages
- 560
- Audiobook length
- 20 hr 18 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 7
Ciri reaches an elven world that offers neither the refuge nor the freedom she hoped to find. Its inhabitants have plans for her ancestry and powers, and returning to Geralt means discovering how to leave on her own terms. Elsewhere, the search for her continues across a continent at war, with Yennefer’s safety also in question.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 2013
- Pages
- 448
- Audiobook length
- 11 hr 45 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 8
An arrest leaves Geralt separated from his swords, and getting out of custody does not bring his weapons back. His efforts to recover them draw him into dealings with sorcerers and people with powerful connections. Set during his earlier years as a wandering witcher, the story follows a jobbing monster hunter deprived of the tools on which his livelihood depends.
Details
- Author
- Andrzej Sapkowski
- Year
- 2024
- Pages
- 400
- Audiobook length
- 7 hr 9 min
- Narrator
- Peter Kenny
- Series
- The Witcher, book 9
Newly trained at Kaer Morhen, Geralt intervenes to protect strangers and finds himself facing execution rather than thanks. An older witcher, Preston Holt, secures his release and takes him under his guidance. Traveling with Holt forces Geralt to reconsider how readily he judges people, including the mentor whose experience may conceal motives he does not yet understand.
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