This book is written as a collection of stories about the witcher, Geralt. Witchers kill monsters for the money offered for them. Through Geralt's experiences we understand that not all monsters are evil and not all evil look like monsters. The tales are not in chronological order, the author often chooses to provide teasers to the actual story before telling it. The magic in this book does not stand in the foreground. Instead it merely serves as a backdrop for the author to ruminate on themes like Man and Nature ( The edge of the world ) , True love ( A grain of truth ) etc.

I'm definitely looking forward to the rest of the series and would recommend this book to any one interested in a good read. If you've stayed away from fantasy books because of the whizz bang magic, then you should definitely consider this.