While traveling through the Black Forest, Witcher Geralt of Rivia is joined by a fisherman named Jakob. He’s been widowed, and explained how he lost his wife to the bruxae, otherwise known as vampires. She haunts the world still, watching Jakob from afar. Geralt and Jakob stumble upon (or are led to?) a mansion hidden deep in the forest. Inside, they find a succubus named Vara, who tells them they are inside the House of Glass: so named for the stained glass windows that shift and move inside the walls. Jakob is sure his Marta is in the house somewhere; he hears her calling, so he goes to find her. Geralt feels something is wrong… but what? Does he need to solve the mystery before the house will let them leave?

My first introduction to the world of the Witcher was through the Netflix show. I’ve been promised the book series as a future present, so thought to start my reading journey with the graphic novels 😉

This one is best described as a supernatural horror. The tension is built up as readers move through the house with Geralt, constantly waiting for some horrible monster to pop out around the corner. The cold, dark color palette only serves to heighten the tension and deepen the sense of mystery.

I was surprised to find that Joe Querio (unknown to me before this title) was the artist for this book. I could have sworn it was Mike Mignola. I was half-right: Mignola drew the covers. Querio’s style is similar to Mignola’s in the blocky shapes of his figures and backgrounds, though not quite to Mignola’s extremes. It’s easy to see why these two artists were chosen to provide the art for this book. Not only are they similar in style, but their styles suit the brutal, savage nature of the world perfectly.

It seems a common theme in the world of the Witcher is the ever-present grey area between good and evil. The art serves this theme here also with heavy shading in character’s faces, leaving the reader to infer character intentions for themselves. The central mystery of the story also serves this theme well, though I can’t say more without spoilers.

If you’re enchanted by The Witcher series on Netflix and are looking for more, but are daunted by the books and games, this is a great introduction to the literary universe.

-Kathleen

Tobin, Paul, and Joe Querio. The Witcher (Vol. 1): House of Glass. 2014.