[aliastasia]

Easy fix, thx for pointing it out />

//Fixed

/A

[Myari]

I have read Times of Contempt now thanks to you all <3
Really nicely translated!! Now i will read Baptism of Fire yay
You guys are the best for making this possible for us all *hugs*

[RaptorRex888]

I just want to say a huge, huge thank you to everyone who translated these books into english, I am finally able to read these wonderful books rather than waiting till the end of the century for the official translations. THANK YOU SO MUCH! />

[TemplarLord]

RaptorRex888 said:

I just want to say a huge, huge thank you to everyone who translated these books into english, I am finally able to read these wonderful books rather than waiting till the end of the century for the official translations. THANK YOU SO MUCH! /> ›››

^ What he said, thanks a million to the people who translated!

[Burratus]

First off, I want to say thank you for putting so much time and effort into translating these great literary works.

However, I'm having trouble getting the Baptism of Fire book to download, both links tell me that it's invalid or been deleted. Please help!

[MiSP]

Burratus said:

However, I'm having trouble getting the Baptism of Fire book to download, both links tell me that it's invalid or been deleted. Please help! ›››

Until that is fixed, you can download it as epub or mobi from the link almost at the bottom of the post. You'd need a reader, but free readers should be abundant on the interwebs...

[BarisM]

Thank you so much to everyone who made this possible for us to read all these great books. You're really the best. Thank you!

[Morgora]

Cassandra31EEE said:

Baptism of Fire

Link: http://www.mediafire...2mdroqn46j92osm
http://www.mediafire...rtcb4194a31iwqo

Please, let us know if one of these links is outdated or invalid. ›››

Just wanted to let you know that the Baptism of Fire links are "invalid or deleted" per Mediafire's website.

A big THANK YOU to everyone who translated Andrzej Sapkowski's works to English. Much appreciated!

[frontovika]

Thanks to the translators for their work!

Unfortunately, it appears that the mediafire links from Time of Contempt to Lady of the Lake has been removed.

[AXX0]

New upload. All books.



https://docs.google....jNEcjFQQjQ/edit - The Sword of Destiny
https://docs.google....EVfWTBfLUk/edit - Times of Contempt
https://docs.google....G11TW5IMU0/edit - Baptism of Fire
https://docs.google....jR2NFBlMjA/edit - The Tower of the Swallow
https://docs.google....zFQaWlZdFU/edit - The Lady of the Lake

[Corylea]

AXX0 said:

New upload. All books. ›››

Thanks AXX0. I've updated the links in the first post.

[lebbers]

Just out of curiosity, does anyone know whether there exist any substantive differences between the PDF and mobi/epub versions? Also, may I assume that the collection here represents the "canonical" fan translations, as far as this community is concerned?

Having read the first couple of stories from Sword of Destiny, I must say that I'm quite impressed with the quality of the translation; I find that it compares most favorably with the professional translations done by the inimitable Danuisa Stok. Great work, everyone, and many thanks.

[MiSP]

The difference is that PDF is not really suited to most e-readers (Kindle, Nook, etc.). The contents are exactly the same, save for the differenes mentioned in the readme file I created which can be found together with the epub/mobi files. The differences are only with regards to layout and typography; I've tried to make the epub/mobi files as similar as possible to that of the two official translations.

I found the original doc files to be somewhat inconsistent in their layout at times, and not using the best of formatting practices. I did however unfortunately not save the edited doc files after I converted them to epub/mobi.

That being said, I did not alter the translations in any way. Again, thanks a bunch to the translators for their fantastic work!

As for canonical fan translations - I don't really think there are many alternatives.

[cmdr_silverbolt]

I dislike the idea of fan translations because my understanding is that Sapowski's work is also philosophical in nature, and work of that nature doesn't translate properly without the author's direct involvement in that process. I wish there was a way to encourage the author's publishers to take on the venture of official translations. It would even suffice if Sapowski edited or approved the fan translations.

[MiSP]

cmdr_flashheart said:

I dislike the idea of fan translations because my understanding is that Sapowski's work is also philosophical in nature, and work of that nature doesn't translate properly without the author's direct involvement in that process. I wish there was a way to encourage the author's publishers to take on the venture of official translations. It would even suffice if Sapowski edited or approved the fan translations. ›››

You are of course entirely right in that the optimal solution would be official translations. I think there is nothing all of us would like more than official English translations of all the novels. However, with the immensely popular Witcher games, many fans would like to know more about the background setting, the main character, and so on. So we settle for the "next best thing" - fan translations. And I have yet to find them wanting. Excellent work!

As for involving the author with the fan translations in any official way, I think that would bring a whole truckload of legal issues.

[Corylea]

cmdr_flashheart said:

I dislike the idea of fan translations because my understanding is that Sapowski's work is also philosophical in nature, and work of that nature doesn't translate properly without the author's direct involvement in that process. I wish there was a way to encourage the author's publishers to take on the venture of official translations. It would even suffice if Sapowski edited or approved the fan translations. ›››

The official translations of The Last Wish and Blood of Elves were really not very good; the prose was kind of stodgy. The fan translations are actually much better, in my opinion.

Sapkowski is notoriously cranky and difficult to work with; I'd be surprised if he were much help to the official translators.

[cmdr_silverbolt]

There are a lot of people who find LOTR stodgy, and Peter Jackson's inspired adaption as more enjoyable. Jackson made action movies, but LOTR is not an action novel- it is a tome of mythology and philosophy, which is not accurately reflected in the movies. The same applies here- while the official work may seem "stodgy", it is what the author intended, and that is what matters.

That said, the games are non-cannonical anyways, so if someone just wants to read the fan translations to get the gist of the stories and add to the game world, then they can do that. But they cannot make a claim about having read and understood Sapowski's work.

[Corylea]

cmdr_flashheart said:

The same applies here- while the official work may seem "stodgy", it is what the author intended, and that is what matters. ›››

No, it ISN'T what the author intended. Polish friends who've read Sapkowski both in the original Polish AND in the official translations have said that the official translations are quite bad and that Sapkowski is NOT stodgy in the original.

That's why I said that the official translations -- in English -- weren't very good; I trust the words of the Poles who've read the originals and compared.

[Vojtas.]

cmdr_flashheart said:

The same applies here- while the official work may seem "stodgy", it is what the author intended, and that is what matters.

Um, have you read Polish original and compared to official English translation? I have a feeling, that you haven't. I have. Danusia Stok's translation is average. Not terrible, but nothing special too.

cmdr_flashheart said:

if someone just wants to read the fan translations to get the gist of the stories and add to the game world, then they can do that. But they cannot make a claim about having read and understood Sapowski's work.

Because you say so? Don't be ridiculous.

[cmdr_silverbolt]

Corylea said:

No, it ISN'T what the author intended. Polish friends who've read Sapkowski both in the original Polish AND in the official translations have said that the official translations are quite bad and that Sapkowski is NOT stodgy in the original.

That's why I said that the official translations -- in English -- weren't very good; I trust the words of the Poles who've read the originals and compared. ›››

I am sorry, but I know people who tell me quite the opposite about the official translations- that they do not represent the original work accurately. We run into the problem of taste, perception, and preference here, which is different for every reader.

Vojtas. said:

Um, have you read Polish original and compared to official English translation? I have a feeling, that you haven't. I have. Danusia Stok's translation is average. Not terrible, but nothing special too.


Because you say so? Don't be ridiculous. ›››

I don't know Polish, so I cannot read and compare these books. I know from experience, however, that translations never measure up to the original work because of the nature of languages and culture. Mainly, I am also going on hearsay regarding these books.

Anyone who does translations will tell you that the translator is likely to transfer their own perception and style to whatever work they are translating. That's why it's important to ensure only very capable people translate important works, and also with feedback and editing from the author, in order to prevent that sort of transference. This process ensures integrity of vision and thought.

I am not saying that the fan translations will not offer enjoyment to whoever reads them, but it's quite unlikely that they resemble the original work in every facet.

My understanding of Sapowski's work is that it is not comprised of simple stories, but also has a philosophical nature. Philosophies do not lend themselves to be easily translated, even if someone is fluent in the language of interest.

Well hey, this is all for entertainment, so whatever. My initial reaction to the amateur translation idea compelled me to go into this whole spiel, but it is unnecessary for this case.