How long does it take to read The Witcher books?
Andrzej Sapkowski · 8 books
At an average reading speed of 250 words a minute, all 8 books of The Witcher take about 66 hours to read. As an audiobook, expect about 107 hours at 1x.
The Witcher starts with two collections of short stories, The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, before the five-novel saga begins with Blood of Elves. The books get longer as the saga goes on: The Lady of the Lake, which ends it, is almost twice the length of The Last Wish.
Average is about 250 WPM. Measure yours in two minutes and every time on this page recalculates.
Every book, timed
| Book | Words | Read | Listen |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Last Wish | ~96,000 | 6h 24m | 10h 19m* |
| Sword of Destiny | ~121,000 | 8h 4m | 13h 1m* |
| Blood of Elves | ~104,000 | 6h 56m | 11h 11m* |
| Time of Contempt | ~111,000 | 7h 24m | 11h 56m* |
| Baptism of Fire | ~111,000 | 7h 24m | 11h 56m* |
| The Tower of the Swallow | ~156,000 | 10h 24m | 16h 46m* |
| The Lady of the Lake | ~189,000 | 12h 36m | 20h 19m* |
| Season of Storms | ~109,000 | 7h 16m | 11h 43m* |
* Listening time estimated at a narration pace of 155 words a minute.
How much to read a day
At 250 words a minute, to finish the whole series:
Have a deadline in mind? The pages-per-day calculator works it out for any date.
How we measured it
Method: audiobook estimate. Estimated from the unabridged English audiobooks at 155 words a minute, the same figures the Witcher reading-order page uses; treat them as close, not exact. Crossroads of Ravens, the prequel published in English in 2025, isn't included.
Part of our study of the 100 most popular books, last checked November 2026. Reading times assume steady reading; editions, translations and your own pace all move them.
See how long it really takes you
Log each book in Parch as you read. It tracks your pages, sessions and streak, so you'll know your real pace, and how long the next one will take.
Frequently asked questions
How long does it take to read The Witcher books?
About 66 hours at an average reading speed of 250 words a minute: 83 hours at 200 and 55 hours at 300. That covers all 8 books, from The Last Wish to Season of Storms.
How many words are in The Witcher books?
About 997,000 words across 8 books. The longest is The Lady of the Lake (189,000); the shortest is The Last Wish (96,000). That's estimated from the unabridged audiobook at a narration pace of 155 words a minute, so treat it as close, not exact.
How many pages a day to finish The Witcher books in a month?
About 121 pages a day, or 2h 13m of reading a day at an average pace. That assumes about 3,625 pages at 275 words a page; real page counts vary by edition.
Which Witcher book is the longest?
The Lady of the Lake, at about 189,000 words: twelve and a half hours of reading. The Last Wish is the shortest, at about six and a half.
Can I skip the short story collections?
It's better not to. The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny introduce Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri, and the novels assume you know what happened in them.