[Starseeker]

"Viper" by Andrzej Sapkowski in the original version ("Żmija")

When I started this book I was discouraged by a multitude of military terms. It might be interesting, true, but not if it hinders normal reading. The plot took some time to unfold, but when it did, I suddenly found myself engrossed and totally used to this military slang. The novel takes place in Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan war and tells the story of Pavel Levart, a member of the Soviet special forces. There is a touch of magic in the novel as well. To be honest when these magical elements first appeared I didn't like it, but then I realised they're the core of this book. Although I generally dislike mixing reality and fantasy (I prefer these genres separated), I think Sapkowski did some pretty good work this time.
I was genuinely surprised when I saw terrible opinions of this book in the web (they're like 2,5-3/5 or 4,5/10 mostly). What I believe is that these people expected another Witcher or so. No, this is not Witcher - it's something totally different and if someone was disappointed not to read about elves, sorceresses and monster killers - well, it wasn't Sapkowski's fault.
All in all, I'm enjoying this novel (156 pages in out of 230).