[Northwain]

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for sci fi, fantasy books, preferably one with a protagonist as cool as Geralt (although it is hard to top someone who has cat like eyes and can control his pupil dilation) that are as great as The Last Wish? Any recommendations any of you can give would be fantastic!

Thanks in advance.

[Mataresa]

Well if you were German or able to read German, I would suggest Kaltfeuer (Coldfire) to you, but sadly they haven't been translated and aren't as easy to find even in German (amazon.de still has some).

[.Volsung.]

This probably belongs in the Community section.

You should be more specific. There are many ways to describe a short story collection like The Last Wish, making it difficult to identify similar works. For example, what did you like about it and what are you expecting to find in other collections or novels?

Some areas or conflicts of interest might be:

- Discussions on ethics and morality vs practicality and rise to power.
- A world with oppressive social structures and the struggle for freedom and survival.
- A bleak and crude world where injustice and pain are commonly found.
- Characters with elaborate personalities that aren't simply "good" or "evil".
- Realistic approach to supernatural phenomena. Scarcity of magic, crude mutations, etc.
- A witty, sarcastic protagonist that more than often overcomes challenges with intelligence over swordfighing.
- A reluctant protagonist that questions his place, tasks and the extent of his influence in the world.

and so on and so forth.

[Mataresa]

Oh, I actually misread your post. I thought, you were just asking for some good fantasy or sci-fi. I didn't see, that you wanted it to be like in a short story format. ^^

[arkblazer]

If you want a low fantasy novel like the witcher try Farseer.

The main character is an assassin with psychic, magicalpowers

[AserPik]

Perhaps some David Eddings? A number of his series are amazing.

[Vojtas.]

Northwain said:

I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for sci fi, fantasy books, preferably one with a protagonist as cool as Geralt

Have you read The Sword of Destiny? It's a second anthology of Witcher-y short stories.

[sfinxCZ]

AserPik said:

Perhaps some David Eddings? A number of his series are amazing. ›››

I just wanted to write Elenium - quite good trilogy, also Tamuli, but both not comparable to Witcher

[Benzenzimmern]

You could try to read Conan. He's the "archetype" of low fantasy heroes like Geralt and he only appears in short stories (except for one novel "The hour of the dragon").
I am very sure that we would not have Geralt as he is if it wasn't for Conan.

[VioletDreams]

I second the Farseer trilogy by Robin Hobb. It's one of the best book series I've ever read. Characterization is empasized, those characters feel alive! Medieval setting, kings, assassins, some (little) magic. Not so trivial plot. It's not a childish book series, either, so if you're looking for something similar to the Witcher there's a big chance you'll enjoy it.

This series and the Witcher series are my two favorites.

[Flixster]

Elric Saga by Michael Moorcock. Elric of Melnibone was also known as the White Wolf. They've got some similarities and a lot of differences too but it's a good read.

You might also try the Night Angel Trilogy by Brent Weeks. Durzo Blint is pretty damn cool.