The Witcher Before You Watch / Read / Play
When Should You Read The Witcher’s Season of Storms?
Season of Storms revisits an earlier Geralt, but Orbit places it after the saga. Choose a first-read or reread plan without game homework.
The short answer
On a first read, save Season of Storms until after The Lady of the Lake, the end of the five-novel Witcher saga. Orbit’s reading guide presents it there as a standalone return to Geralt’s earlier adventures. Its earlier setting does not make it the best first book. If you already know the saga and are rereading by fictional chronology, moving it earlier is a different, reasonable project.[1][2]
Reading-order guidance without explaining the novel’s ending, framing material or the saga’s resolutions.
Why put an earlier-set novel after the saga?
Two labels describe different things: where a story happens and when to encounter it. Orbit calls Season of Storms a standalone adventure and presents it after the concluding saga volume. That supports a clear first-read choice without having to reveal the details behind every fan warning.[1]
Reading an earlier-set work later can let you recognize references with the context the longer story has already supplied. It also avoids stopping an ongoing narrative just because a different book sits earlier on a historical map.
Our practical recommendation is to finish the main sequence you started, then revisit this part of Geralt’s life. If your current book is Blood of Elves or The Time of Contempt, you do not need to pause it for Season of Storms.
Is Season of Storms a novel or a short-story collection?
It is a standalone novel. It is not another collection to pair with The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, and it is not a sixth volume that continues the saga after The Lady of the Lake. The publisher describes a separate adventure involving Geralt and his lost swords.[2]
| Books | Role | First-read decision |
|---|---|---|
| The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny | Introductory short-story collections. | Read before beginning the five-novel saga. |
| Blood of Elves through The Lady of the Lake | The continuing five-novel saga. | Follow the sequence through its conclusion. |
| Season of Storms | A standalone earlier adventure. | Return to it afterward. |
That distinction matters when a shop numbers the books differently. A series number printed on a cover or a retailer listing is not enough to identify the story’s role. Check the title and publisher description before rearranging your reading.
What if you are rereading chronologically?
A reread gives you a different freedom: you already know what the saga reveals, so protecting its first introductions is less of a concern. You can then use the chronology to explore how an earlier adventure connects with the world you remember.
Keep a whole novel together. The short-story collections contain individual adventures and framing material, so a timeline should not be mistaken for an instruction to splice chapters from several books into a custom edition.
If two reading lists place the book differently, check their purpose before choosing between them. One may be giving a first-read recommendation and the other a historical placement. Those are answers to different questions.
Do you need to coordinate it with the games?
You can make the literary decision independently of your game schedule. Reading Season of Storms is not a technical prerequisite for launching a Witcher game. Our books-first advice is about preserving literary discoveries, rather than making every medium a mandatory step.
Likewise, this article answers the placement of one title. It is not a claim that the entire Witcher book catalogue stops at Season of Storms. Check the wider guide for other novels and their separate roles.
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Sources & verification
Reviewed on 7 October 2026. Sources establish the factual connections and formats; viewing, reading and optional-context recommendations are Story Order editorial judgments. Source pages may reveal more than this article.
- Orbit / Hachette: Read the Witcher
Presents the introductory stories, five-novel saga and Season of Storms as a post-saga reading choice.
Primary source · Checked - Hachette: Season of Storms
Publisher identification of the standalone novel and its premise.
Primary source · Checked