Taking on a very different structure than the preceding novels, Time of Contempt was an engaging, sweeping tale. After first exploring the rumours of Cirilla and Geralt’s wishes to have the Nilfgaardians believe her dead, the story accelerates through Ciri’s adventures, mischief, and survival alongside Geralt’s own troubles in politics.

While the chapters were long and much of the early chapters was heavily laden with (overall interesting) dialogue, they are structured well as their own tales surrounding their POV character, and the dramatic intensity builds with each towards the end. While I may have preferred to have our headlining character play a part in the denouement, it was still an altogether interesting way to close out the pages and set things up for the next novel.

I particularly appreciated the formatting. When both Geralt and Dandelion are grilled to regale events of their recent past, I appreciated the technique employed to tell the flashbacks, telling them as their own tales with their own respective POV characters. I’ve not seen that before (though I’m sure it’s been done), and I found it a lot more interesting to read, and more engaging. 

This has been my favourite so far from this series. Overall, the action and intrigue were compelling, and the language just sweeps you into the tale. A solid 5-stars.