The Witcher reading order

A plan for the whole series

9 volumes, 3,480 pages, about 65 hours. At 45 min a day that is about 3 months.

• From volume 2 on, the number of ratings falls most before volume 4, “Time of Contempt” (by 36%).

Stages

4 stages, with 3 short books from outside the series between them. You finish around February 8, 2027, 17 days later than in one go.

1. 1
   Stage 114 h18 daysby November 16, 2026

   • 1. The Last Wish1993 · 352 pages · 6 h
   • 2. The Sword of Destiny1992 · 400 pages · 7 h
2. Short breakThe Fire Next Time · James Baldwin · 120 pp. · score 8.82 h, by November 20, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
3. 2
   Stage 220 habout 4 weeksby December 17, 2026

   • 3. Blood of Elves1994 · 398 pages · 7 h
   • 4. Time of Contempt1995 · 337 pages · 6 h
   • 5. Baptism of Fire1996 · 352 pages · 6 h
4. BreakMaus · Art Spiegelman · 295 pp. · score 9.05 h, by December 26, 2026. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
5. 3
   Stage 315 h20 daysby January 16, 2027

   • 6. The Tower of the Swallow1997 · 448 pages · 8 h
   • 7. The Lady of the Lake1999 · ≈ 387 pages · 7 h
6. Short breakOn Tyranny: Twenty Lessons from the Twentieth Century · Timothy Snyder · 128 pp. · score 8.42 h, by January 20, 2027. A short book from another shelf, so you come back to the series hungry.
7. 4
   Stage 415 h20 daysby February 8, 2027

   • 8. Season of Storms2013 · 419 pages · 8 h
   • 9. Crossroads of Ravens2024 · ≈ 387 pages · 7 h
8. The end of the series

   February 8, 2027

We count 1.1 min per page, the pace of an average novel reader. Faster? Move the slider.

≈ next to a page count: a volume with no page count in our data is counted at this series’s average.

Does the series hold up

Shape of the series: a drop at the end. The last scored volume (7.8) has the lowest score in the series.

Best volume: Baptism of Fire (8.2, 781 ratings). Weakest: Season of Storms (7.8). From volume 2 on, the biggest drop in the number of ratings is between volume 3 and 4: 36%. The series is complete; you can read it start to finish with no waiting.