I'm always the first to extol the virtues of the books over the screen adaptations, but I don't think it's fair to dismiss something outright on the justification that "Ugh, this isn't like the book! That character is supposed to be shorter and have dark hair!" I have heard a lot of criticism for this show because the characters don't look/sound right. However, as long as they capture the essence of the character in their performance, looks shouldn't matter. And as far as I can see, most of the cast nailed it! Henry Cahill is gruff and jaded as Geralt, Anya Chalotra - heard most of the complaints about appearance around this actress - did a great job as the sharp and sensual Yennefer. And Jaskier was just a absolute laugh everytime he was on screen.

The writers did really well mimicking Sapkowski's witty dialogue (even though he clearly did it better). The main criticism I would have is... sometimes the special effects weren't very good. I'm thinking specifically the prosthetics for Torque the Sylan in episode 2 or the obvious greenscreen during the banquet episode. Bad CGI/effects can really take you out of the story, but I understand if their budget wasn't as generous for the first season of a Netflix show.

All in all, a really enjoyable first season... but I still prefer the books.