I think this is a classic case of "it's not you, it's me." I do not think this book is bad at all, I just couldn't get into it. This was a lot more historical fiction than I was expecting and I do feel a little misled by the summary and title. The group ends up in the Tower of Fools in chapter 27. There are 29 chapters in this book. Most of the book is completely separate from that and it just didn't hook me. It had a really absurd tone that was really interesting but not enough to invest me. This reads like a series of separate vignettes to me which could have been interesting but everything felt so laden with detail and exposition that it felt hard to wade through. I think a lot of people will enjoy this book and I know some of my Goodreads friends DO like this book but this just wasn't for me and I don't see myself continuing with this series.

The Tower of Fools is the first book in The Hussite trilogy by Andrzej Sapkowski. First published in 2002 (in Polish), this reformated English translation from Hatchette on their Orbit imprint is 560 pages and available in hardcover, paperback, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links. I've really become enamored of ebooks with interactive formats lately.

This is a well written, complex, character driven story with fantasy elements set in medieval Europe. I found myself floundering early on and felt like I was dropped headfirst into the narrative (with a vast cast of supporting characters). The prologue sets the stage (complete with a bewildering array of characters and history) rapidly followed by the juxtaposition of a graphic sex scene alongside hymns from the Latin version of the Ad Sextam Officium Beatae Mariae (the offices of the Blessed Virgin). Apart from the doorstop appearance of the book and the fact that most onlookers would assume it's another book in the prolific author's Witcher series, this is -emphatically- not safe for work reading and should probably be in a plain brown wrapper.

It's supremely irreverant and occasionally raunchy. There are glimmers of humor (profane sexual comparisons abound) and quite a lot of graphic violence (both of the sexual and garden variety). Once the story found its pace (or once I found *my* pace in the story), it unfolded at a canter. I never got over the feeling that it was literature in translation; the writing has an uneven off-kilter feel in English. I wish I could have read it in Polish. If I had to compare it, I would suggest that the rhythm and pace of the words reminded me a lot of Umberto Eco in translation.

There's a lot to like here. The story is interwoven onto a skeleton of actual history and it's not always clear what is real and what is fiction. I would recommend this one to fans of Eco, Katherine Arden's Winternight Trilogy (with a lot more sex and ribald dialogue), and other sort of hardcore historical fantasy realism.

Three and a half stars. (I strongly suspect my rating would be 4+ if I could read Polish).

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

In my first book by this author , I found a historical story accented with fantasy.
The story is about a young man, Reimar of Bielewa, who begins the story being found bedding the wife of another man. The husband’s brothers discover the two lovers and a chase begins.
There are many characters, which initially made the story a bit difficult to follow. I persevered and am glad I did. I learned a lot about this time in history and met some interesting characters along the way. This is the first book in a series and I will be looking to read the next book.

I received an ARC of this from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I am really enjoying the Witcher novels, so I couldn’t resist when I saw the author had a new book out starting a different series.

This is set in medieval Europe and is a complicated mix of fantasy and history. It focuses on a holy war between christians and the heretics. There are so many characters that it’s a bit overwhelming at first and because of that, sometimes the plot is a bit hard to follow. I really also wish I spoke Polish!

I do really enjoy the cast of characters, the humour used, and all the fun supernatural elements in between. Now that I have a good foundation and understanding of who everyone is, I’m really looking forward to the next installment.

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. In the 1400s, Reinmar is caught having an affair with a duchess. The duke’s brothers pursue him as he flees across Eastern Europe. During his journey he meets several characters. This story is primarily historical fiction, but there are elements of fantasy, as well. Although there is plenty of action, I believe the book is primarily character-driven. There is a lot of dialogue (which can be quite crude but often amusing) among the many well-developed characters. I had a little trouble in the first couple of chapters with the introduction of so many characters quickly, but ultimately I enjoyed it very much.

Another great book my Andrzej Sapkowski! The antics in this book are wild! I really like Reynevan though he makes questionable decisions at time.
Thank you to netgalley and the publishers for providing me an arc for an honest review.

Thank goodness this is a trilogy because I need so much more of this author and this storyline. I read this during quarantine and cannot wait to read the rest of the Trilogy. I found myself searching historical facts about this period and found Sapokowski was accurate while adding his signature bit of fantasy to the storyline as well. I did feel like there were some parts that could be improved, especially the cases of misogyny and homophobia that were prevalent throughout the storyline. Additionally, some of the sex scenes were honestly lackluster and felt to be written by someone who has never experienced intercourse, hence the loss of stars in my overall reviews. Despite those things, I found this to be a good read and will purchase other books by this author.

ARC from NetGalley

3.5 stars

Well that was a bit of a slog to get through, especially considering how many times I needed to attempt, futilely, to translate Latin to English.

I quite liked the first half of the book, the second half was much more boring and much more churchy. Reynevan will stop at nothing to be a spectacular idiot, making terrible decision after terrible decision, and he is easy to hate for being such an astounding prat. Scharley, however, was very amusing and likeable. When the book focused on the exploits of these two and later Samson, it was enjoyable. When there was page after page of church shit, I skimmed. There is a lot of language in this book, a lot of Latin, French, German and others. I am not familiar with many people who are fluent in all of these, and so I imagine it would be a bit of a slog for any plebe, such as myself, to trod through.

It's a fantasy that is heavy on history and light on magic, though it exists. I can't really say there was much of a plot, it was very character-driven. If I had to sum up the plot, it would be "stupid man follows his cock into mishap after mishap learning nothing along the way."

For me, this was a stew and beer book. Certain fantasies that take place at a particular time tend to light a fire under me to make stew, specifically beef, with good bread, relatively heavily buttered, and a nice dark beer. I enjoy the ambience.

While I can say that this was a good book, it was also a boring book at times. That said, it made up for it via the many instances I found myself laughing out loud.

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski, really wanted to like this book but it simply failed to appeal to me, I do think others will enjoy it, simply wasn't for me. Thank you for giving me a chance with this book.

I love The Witcher. I loved playing The Wild Hunt across lockdown earlier this year, I loved watching the Netflix adaptation in a ludicrously short period when it came out at the end of 2019, and I am loving making my way through the original books; the various iterations of this story are all amazing. Moreover, the world Andrzej Sapkowski created displays a powerful imagination, fuelled by the mythology and history in which his native Poland is steeped.

It’s why I immediately accepted the offer to review the translation of Tower of Fools. First released in 2002, it is the first in the Hussite Trilogy, which recounts the time of the Hussite, or Bohemian, Wars, while weaving magic through the world and narrative. And here we encountered our first stumbling block. I should hasten to note that I was definitely the problem here because while I know roughly where Silesia is (somewhere between modern-day Germany, Poland, and the Czech Republic), and I sort of knew that the Bohemians originated around Prague, but I had little to no knowledge of the Hussites beyond a vague recognition of the name.

All of this would have definitely helped me navigate the world of Tower of Fools which follows Reinmar of Bielau, a young man whose affair with a married woman sees his life put in danger by the vengeful campaign of his erstwhile lover’s in-laws. However, Reinmar is quickly and unwittingly drawn into larger movements; he practices magic, studied during his time in university at Prague, which immediately means he must be cautious around the zealous inquisitorial movement, members of whom are also trying to spearhead another crusade against the blasphemous Hussites following a failed effort a few years previously. What’s more, one of the groups which now threaten Reinmar are likely behind the murder of his brother. Reinmar, along with friends he gathers along the way, travels all over Silesia, encountering knights of varying allegiances and morals, in pursuit of safety and answers – which more often than not, are mutually exclusive.

It sounds complicated, right? Maybe that’s because I’ve done a poor job of distilling it – certainly, the blurbs I’ve read have seemed simpler, but I also think they’ve only focused on a small part of the story. There was a lot going on, and at times, the chapters felt near-episodic, which sometimes meant that I struggled to stay consistently engaged (it doesn’t help that Reinmar isn’t the kind of character I like, so I found his behaviour reasonably frustrating, although Scharley, one of his companions, made up for that in spades). In addition, the cast of characters was huge and there were so many people who Reinmar encountered, that I found it very difficult to keep track of them.

While I don’t have significant exposure to Polish literature (or really, much Eastern European writing), I’m of Central European descent, so I feel reasonably confident in saying that some of the parts of the novel which struck me at times as a little unusual in terms of pacing or focus, were more to do with the conventions of writing informed by Polish and Eastern European literary norms than because the novel was poorly written. Indeed, it makes sense, given the novel details a major moment in Polish history.

The story in the second half was certainly more engaging, and I found myself putting the book down far less often as I neared the conclusion – it helped that the revolving castlist slowed a little, and the events were more closely linked to one another. Additionally, in the story’s second half, the discussions about piety, morality, and the debate about the role of the church more directly intersect with Reinmar’s encounters, which really enriched those final chapters.   

In sum, I’m not actually sure whether I would recommend the book. But I wouldn’t not recommend it, if that makes sense. Sapkowski certainly knows what he’s doing as an author as there are some really well-written moments across the text (hard to know exactly if it’s the original author’s work whenever one deals with a translation, but having read his other books, I feel confident in this claim), and I particularly love how the women are written, especially considering this text was written in 2002.

As I read through the text, I was ultimately left with the sense that my lack of knowledge about the history being interpreted was the problem, far more-so than the book itself. While some may say that’s a failing of the book, I think it’s important to remember that this was originally written for an audience which would be aware of it. Therefore, my advice to anyone looking to pick up Tower of Fools is to do a cheeky google of the Hussite wars, and have a quick scroll through the Wikipedia page before they dive in.

Meet Reinmar of Bielawa, also known as Reynevan, a healer who has a knack for finding trouble and escaping such trouble in the nick of time (for the most part). This book can best be described as predominantly historical/political fiction with a little bit of dark fantasy thrown in. There was a lot of history present and, not being an expert in this period, it wasn't clear to me how much of it is based on actual events or people. At times, it read more like a history book, but then the dark fantasy elements would creep in. My biggest issue with this book is that I simply had a hard time respecting Reynevan as a main character since he came across as blatantly not thinking and not caring how his decisions impact those around him. Unfortunately, this lead to this book being just okay for me. I imagine others who appreciate Andrzej Sapkowski's other works would like this series.

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The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski (translated by David French) is a historical fantasy story taking place in the early 1500s, Poland. This novel is the first one in the Hussite Trilogy, and the first one translated to English, 20 years after initial publication.

The story revolves around Reynevan of Bielawa, also known as Reinmar who fancies himself a doctor, magician (some say charlatan), and a ladies man. Due to his indiscretions, Reynevan finds himself the target of a powerful family, nobles, who force him to escape to his home.

The times are dangerous and Reynevan finds the risks and hazards are found everywhere. There are magical forces in the shadows who pursue him along with the nobility he offended, and the Inquisition. Reynevan finds himself at an insane asylum called Narrenturm, the Tower of Fools, housing not only the mentally insane, but those who dare challenge authority.

The Tower of Fools by Andrzej Sapkowski is a book out of my comfort zone, which is one of the reasons I wanted to read it. I also have read previous books by the author, mainly from The Witcher series, so I kind of knew what I was in for.

In the first chapters of the book we are introduced to the Reynevan of Bielawa, the protagonist of the book that seems to have a talent for antagonizing almost every one he meets. Many characters are introduced in the opening chapters, they are difficult to keep track of and it seems all of them have some sort of disagreement with Reynevan who spends much of the novel running from them, sometimes fighting as well but mostly trying to stay alive, unharmed, and uncastrated. Along the way Reynevan meets friends, friends of friends, people who help him because of his noble birth, and university acquaintances.

As lead character, Reynevan is very interesting. He makes decision foolishly, he’s good looking, charming, smart, knows how to fight (somewhat) and talks his way out of situations, as well as an amateur magician. He also talks too much, and many times about subjects he completely misunderstands or knows nothing about.
He would have loved the Internet.

There are many supporting characters in this book, all of them are colorful and mostly fleshed out. Each of them can have his, or hers, novel written about them. I usually don’t enjoy books with too large of a cast, but this one was certainly an exception.

This book was written with a keen eye on history, culture of Poland, the names might be difficult but its part of the experience. The author does a fine job balancing dark humor with scenes of intense fighting, a bit of torture, horrible deaths, and dark intents (mostly by the religious zealots). I’m looking forward to reading the rest of the series when it becomes available.

This book is somewhere in between Fiction and Non-fiction. I am not educated on Eastern European middle age history but I imagine most of the overarching world building is accurate. A large theme is the Catholic church struggling to keep their power and not fracture. The author always writes from a very candid viewpoint and you get a real feeling of the feudal system during this time and how knights are not always in shining armor. The author has worked in a bit of spicy loves lost and rescuing princesses(that didn’t need help). Strong women are a theme in his writing and I truly enjoy that. There are vivid battle scenes, horse chases abound and he captures what it’s like to be a fugitive during a tumultuous time in history. You almost forget that this has an essence of high fantasy involved until a monster or some magical act happens it has great balance in that respect. I would suggest reading with a Latin translation app nearby (having not been raised catholic) many of quips the characters throw around are a bit lost on me. Overall the characters are spectacular and truly imaginative. Samson is one of the most originally written and compelling characters I have read in a long time. All and all a good read.

The Don Quijote of 14th century Silesia

The Tower of Fools is written by Andrzej Sapkowski, author of the popular Witcher series. This book was originally published in 2002 in Polish and took nearly 18 years for an English translation to be made.
I spent the first third of the book trying to keep track of all the characters. This was especially difficult as most of the characters have 3 or more names the author changes out on a regular basis. The story follows the antics of Reinmar of Bielawa, AKA Reynevan, AKA Cyprian and his thrust upon traveling companion Scharley, AKA The Penitent, AKA Cornelius. I spent the second third of the book just trying to power through as I have never not finished a book. The final third of the book almost got interesting as I finally got the hang of who everyone was despite the constant use of multiple names for the same character.

The book starts out with Reynevan on the run from the Silesian aristocracy, the catholic church, the Inquisition, and on occasion the Hussites due to an ill-timed liaison with a married noblewoman of French ancestry Adele of Stercza. As Reynevan blindly stumbles from crisis to crisis he acquires two traveling companions Scharley a worldly Penitent and Sampson the idiot giant who may or may not be from another world. Ultimately, they get caught up with the Roman Catholic Church and the Inquisition in a plot to discredit and murder Hussites sympathizers which included Reynevan’s own brother. While virtual being on the run the entire book Reynevan meets another noble woman, Nickollete AKA Katarzyna of Biberstein, whom he madly falls in love with once he is brutally betrayed by his first love Adele.

Reynevan is essentially the 14th century Silesian Don Quijote. If your kind of book is following an educated idiot as he bounces from one improbable situation to the next while somehow staying alive is your cup of tea than this is the book for you. If you’re a fan of the Witcher or of Andrzej Sapkowski this will be a nice book to add to your collection. If this is your first exposure to Andrzej Sapkowski I recommend starting somewhere else. This book is overly confusing with an unlikeable protagonist

I made it to the 30% point of this book before abandoning it. At least up to there it was more of a picaresque historical fiction than it was a fantasy novel, and it was about a time and place that didn’t really interest me. I almost stopped at the first chapter, which was an extremely long, cringe-inducing sex scene. So painful. There was excellent narration of the audiobook by Peter Kenny, however. I am glad that I didn’t have to figure out how to pronounce those names. When I concluded that there is no way that I could read an entire trilogy of this I stopped reading.

I received a free copy of this book from the publisher.

Really enjoyed this title overall. A bit dense writing probably due to translation from Polish to English. But lots of action and memorable characters.

Content warnings: Gore, torture, bigotry 

I had no idea what to expect from a Sapkowski book unrelated to The Witcher. Dear readers, I was absolutely delighted. In this long first entry in The Hussite Trilogy, we follow the misadventures of Reynevan Bielawa, an idiot sorcerer who's also an adulterer trying to win back his lover, escape her spouse, and not get killed by the Inquisition.

The prose here reminded much of Umberto Eco's The Name of the Rose. There is no separating it from the time period (1400s Central/Eastern Europe) and the text is deeply sarcastic. It takes the time and the war very seriously, shifting to a lecture-esque tone when referring to historical events happening around the main characters. Sapkowski takes every opportunity to roast each charlatan we encounter. No one is necessarily evil, but the entire cast is shitheads. The sarcastic humor is incredible from the prologue.

The story's relationship with magic is also very interesting. It lulls the reader in with a sense of "maybe the Church is just being paranoid in that way it had been in the time period," but then surprises the reader with real spells, demonic possessions, and alchemy. It's a truly wild ride, that also features some key figures of medieval history, namely Johannes Guttenberg and Nicolas Copernicus.

Sapkowski also does a thing that I greatly enjoy which is having chapter epitaphs starting with "In which (...)." I really helps set the tone and the shape of the narrative. Again, deeply sarcastic, but keeps a close eye to attitudes help by those neck-deep in the shenanigans and those watching from the outside.

A series first worthy of comparison to the romances of Chrétien de Troyes with an unexpected time period.

* I was provided an arc by NetGalley in exchange for a review*

Because writing The Witcher wasn’t badass enough, Sapkowski is back with a bang. This book is about Reinmar, aka Raynevan, a hot mess of a man who we meet in bed with another mans wife, and this pretty much sets the pace for this book. He’s just a fun character. And I think that’s how I would describe this read, as fun. It’s more Historical Fantasy than his previous books but I’m here for it. It’s darker and well balanced with fantasy and history. I truly enjoyed it.

I just couldn't get into this story. I have tried and tried numerous times but couldn't get past chapter 4.

The Tower of Fools (Hussite Trilogy #1) by Andrzej Sapkowski is an historical fantasy novel that was original published back in 2002 and has just now been translated into English by David French. I've read some of the Witcher books and stories as well as the Netflix adaptation which I've enjoyed so I had high hopes for this new to me series opener. There's quite a bit to like here, but it never quite worked for me. I liked the combination of historical fiction elements and fantasy, but I just felt out of loop part of the time. Perhaps I just need to know more about Polish history? Also the misogyny and racism is a deal breaker for me as well. I don't think I'll be back for the rest of the series.