I might get in trouble with the series police here, but I thought I'd throw out a Polish fantasy nomination.
My nomination is
The Last Wish by Andrzej Sapkowski. Now, this is the first book chronologically and (I believe) the first released in English translation. However, it was not the first published in Polish. It's really a collection of short stories as I understand it - introducing the legend of Geralt, the Witcher.
This series seems to have been a big sensation in Poland and it spawned a pretty well-known computer game and a Polish TV series. I know far less about it than I'm making out, but I wouldn't mind rectifying that.
Anyway - here's the blurb:
Quote:
Geralt of Rivia is a witcher. A cunning sorcerer. A merciless assassin.
And a cold-blooded killer.
His sole purpose: to destroy the monsters that plague the world.
But not everything monstrous-looking is evil and not everything fair is good. . . and in every fairy tale there is a grain of truth.
The international hit that inspired the video game: The Witcher.
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Not much to it - but here's an excerpt from Wikipedia that gives an idea of the format:
Quote:
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The collection employs the frame story framework and contains 7 main short stories; Geralt of Rivia, after having been injured in battle, rests in a temple. During that time he has flashbacks to recent events in his life, each of which forms a story of its own.
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Anyway - here's some links:
Amazon (US):
LINK
Amazon (UK):
LINK
Amazon (CA):
LINK
B&N (US):
LINK
Kobo (AUS):
LINK
Google Play (AUS):
LINK
Also has some Overdrive availability in German, Canada and US. Here's a link:
LINK