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The Kingkiller Chronicle #2
A Wise Man’s Fear
Goodreads Choice Award
Nominee for Favorite Book of 2011 (2011), Nominee for Best Fantasy (2011), Nominee for Best Goodreads Author (2011)In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of his family, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived...until Kvothe.
Now, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
source: patrickrothfuss.com
Now, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
source: patrickrothfuss.com
First published March 1, 2011
About the author
Patrick Rothfuss
71 books236k followersIt all began when Pat Rothfuss was born to a marvelous set of parents. Throughout his formative years they encouraged him to do his best, gave him good advice, and were no doubt appropriately dismayed when he failed to live up to his full potential.
In high-school Pat was something of a class clown. His hobbies included reading a novel or two a day and giving relationship advice to all his friends despite the fact that he had never so much as kissed a girl. He also role-played and wrote terrible stories about elves. He was pretty much a geek.
Most of Pat's adult life has been spent in the University Wisconsin Stevens Point. In 1991 he started college in order to pursue a career in chemical engineering, then he considered clinical psychology. In 1993 he quit pretending he knew what he wanted to do with his life, changed his major to "undecided," and proceeded to study whatever amused him. He also began writing a book....
For the next seven years Pat studied anthropology, philosophy, eastern religions, history, alchemy, parapsychology, literature, and writing. He studied six different martial arts, practiced improv comedy, learned how to pick locks, and became a skilled lover of women. He also began writing a satirical advice column which he continues to this day: The College Survivial Guide. Through all of this he continued to work on his novel.
In 2000 Pat went to grad school for English literature. Grad school sucked and Pat hated it. However, Pat learned that he loved to teach. He left in 2002 with his masters degree, shaking the dust from his feet and vowing never to return. During this period of time his novel was rejected by roughly every agent in the known universe.
Now Pat teaches half-time at his old school as an assistant-sub-lecturer. He is underpaid but generally left alone to do as he sees fit with his classes. He is advisor for the college feminists, the fencing club, and, oddly enough, a sorority. He still roll-plays occasionally, but now he does it in an extremely sophisticated, debonair way.
Through a series of lucky breaks, he has wound up with the best agent and editor imaginable, and the first book of his trilogy has been published under the title "The Name of the Wind."
Though it has only been out since April 2007, it has already been sold in 26 foreign countries and won several awards.
Pat has been described as "a rough, earthy iconoclast with a pipeline to the divine in everyone's subconscious." But honestly, that person was pretty drunk at the time, so you might want to take it with a grain of salt.
In high-school Pat was something of a class clown. His hobbies included reading a novel or two a day and giving relationship advice to all his friends despite the fact that he had never so much as kissed a girl. He also role-played and wrote terrible stories about elves. He was pretty much a geek.
Most of Pat's adult life has been spent in the University Wisconsin Stevens Point. In 1991 he started college in order to pursue a career in chemical engineering, then he considered clinical psychology. In 1993 he quit pretending he knew what he wanted to do with his life, changed his major to "undecided," and proceeded to study whatever amused him. He also began writing a book....
For the next seven years Pat studied anthropology, philosophy, eastern religions, history, alchemy, parapsychology, literature, and writing. He studied six different martial arts, practiced improv comedy, learned how to pick locks, and became a skilled lover of women. He also began writing a satirical advice column which he continues to this day: The College Survivial Guide. Through all of this he continued to work on his novel.
In 2000 Pat went to grad school for English literature. Grad school sucked and Pat hated it. However, Pat learned that he loved to teach. He left in 2002 with his masters degree, shaking the dust from his feet and vowing never to return. During this period of time his novel was rejected by roughly every agent in the known universe.
Now Pat teaches half-time at his old school as an assistant-sub-lecturer. He is underpaid but generally left alone to do as he sees fit with his classes. He is advisor for the college feminists, the fencing club, and, oddly enough, a sorority. He still roll-plays occasionally, but now he does it in an extremely sophisticated, debonair way.
Through a series of lucky breaks, he has wound up with the best agent and editor imaginable, and the first book of his trilogy has been published under the title "The Name of the Wind."
Though it has only been out since April 2007, it has already been sold in 26 foreign countries and won several awards.
Pat has been described as "a rough, earthy iconoclast with a pipeline to the divine in everyone's subconscious." But honestly, that person was pretty drunk at the time, so you might want to take it with a grain of salt.
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November 12, 2018
An Opinionated look at:
Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear
By Eric Allen
One thing I can say for Patrick Rothfuss is that he has great ideas. Unfortunately, great ideas do not, by themselves, a great story make. I have heard rumors that the first book, The Name of the Wind, took eleven years of revisions and rewrites to finally get published. Whether that is true or not, his hard work paid off. Since its release, the internet hype over the future of the trilogy has been building to monumental proportions. Rothfuss has developed an almost rabid, cultlike following of fans yearning to know what happens next. The Name of the Wind gave us many mysteries and few answers.
The first book was a fun read that, while flawed in terms of story and character, was quite entertaining and extraordinarily well written. It was like the ramblings of an old man, talking simply to be listened to. Like cake, it tastes good but has little nutritional value in it. Make no mistake, I really enjoyed the first book, but as a followup to a great book, The Wise Man's Fear was insultingly bad.
We were left with many burning questions at the end of The Name of the Wind. Would Kvothe learn to control the Wind? How would he be thrown out of the University? Would he ever become an Arcanist? Would he find some way to make money? Would he ever avenge his parents? How did he come from the promising youth seeking clues to the supernatural beings that murdered his family to the broken down innkeeper telling the story? Would he ever make any sort of progress with Denna, or would my book simply explode while I read it because of the pent up sexual tension?
Were any of these questions answered or even addressed in this book? Not a one. So let’s take a look at The Wise Man’s Fear. Or, as I like to call it: The Name of the Wind 2: Kvothe Gets Laid.
We begin where The Name of the Wind left off, with a much older Kvothe, now an innkeeper, telling the story of his life to the king's Chronicler. It is a story in three parts, told in three days, much like the silence that haunts his inn. At first I didn’t get the whole silence in three parts thing, but then I realized the writer was trying to be clever and failing miserably at it.
As Kvothe begins his story, the book switches from third person to first person. He begins his next term of schooling at the University. Some of his teachers love him, others hate him. He’s made friends and enemies. Unfortunately, we’ve already read this before. It seems like the last half of The Name of the Wind has basically been retold here in the first half of The Wise Man's Fear.
Luckily, the "plot" finally intervenes, and Kvothe takes a year off from his schooling for adventure, and hopefully to fill his pockets with a little money to fight off his abject poverty. An acquaintance conveniently knows of a rich and powerful nobleman in a distant land that is looking for a clever young musician to help him win the heart of the lady he has his eye on. Fortunately, Kvothe happens to be a clever young musician. Convenient...
To make an extremely long story short, he foils an assassination plot, gains the nobleman’s trust, and helps him woo his Lady. In a completely pointless tangent he’s sent on a mission to bring bandits to justice, loses himself on a tangent from the tangent when he meets a seductress who teaches him how to please women. Then the tangent from the tangent takes another tangent to another distant land where he learns to tangent from a group of tangentary tangents, but is tangented by yet another tangent after leaving when he tangents upon some young tangents in need of being tangentially tangented away from--wait, what as I talking about again? Oh right, I'm reviewing a book. One could say that the entire last half of the book is just one gigantic tangent that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and ultimately leads nowhere.
Falling out with his lordly employer, Kvothe returns to school with an arrangement that for his services his education and expenses at school would be taken care of. At which point he resumes his school life as if nothing has happened and the book ends rather abruptly, again with no climax, no conflict, and no resolution.
The good? Rothfuss has an excellent sense of humor. Kvothe can be entertaining at times, when he's not acting like an insufferable smartass... which is most of the time. The world and the magic system are very well thought out, and the different cultures and races seem very distinct and real. The writing itself is excellent. So good in fact, that most people don't even realize what a god-awful mess every other aspect of the book is. Despite all the bitching I do about this book, it was worth reading at least once for the humor, or to see the train wreck for yourself.
The bad? Firstly, it is very evident that Rothfuss has ABSOLUTELY no respect for women whatsoever. Almost every woman in this book is a figurative, if not literal, whore that exists for the sole purpose of pleasuring, comforting, or otherwise confounding Kvothe. News flash Pat, women are people too. The same as you and me, with thoughts, feelings, and desires all of their own, that do NOT typically revolve around some incomprehensible and fantastical yearning to please men. Just thought you'd like to know.
Half of this book is copy and paste from the first book. The other half has little to no point and goes absolutely nowhere. There’s no conflict, there’s no suspense, there’s nothing like a normal story arch. There is no climax because the book doesn’t build up to anything. Like I said, Patrick Rothfuss has great ideas, but no storytelling skills to apply them to. The whole narrative is incoherent and nonsensical. You have to reward your readers with a climactic event or two for sticking with you through the whole book, Pat.
Far too much time is spent on characters telling allegorical stories that really have little point or purpose except to take up space in a book that is already FAR too long for what actually happens in it. They take up huge swaths of the book and leave the characters with very little in the way of worth afterward. The lessons they learn could have been simply taught through other means or much, much shorter stories. The huge amount of tangents that the story takes makes it feel as though the writer made it up as he went along. It's really so incoherent, and so rambling that I believe this book should have been marketed more as a collection of short stories than a novel. The frequent interruptions back to the present day where Kvothe discusses aspects of his story are annoying and hugely distracting, breaking up whatever little suspense that the writer managed to cultivate. Not a single question raised in the first book was answered, or even addressed in this book, in fact this book picks up as though there were no questions left by the first book and does nothing to either build up the mystery of them, or move closer to answering them. It is as though the writer completely forgot all of them and moved on to something else.
If you’ve read The Name of the Wind you have no need to read The Wise Man’s fear, because you’ve already read it. It’s basically the same book, and there isn’t a single thing necessary to the overall story that happens in it. When book 3 eventually comes out, you could probably pick it up after reading book 1 and not have missed a single thing. This book was completely unnecessary, and utterly pointless.
I have never liked the first person perspective very much. It gives a very narrow view of the world as you can only see, experience and feel the world through the eyes of a single character. You have no other views to give perspective. I always find the contrasting views of different characters to give the world and story a lot more flavor than simply following the words of a single character. However, some of my favorite books are written in first person. It can be done well, and for the most part Rothfuss does good things with it, but when he moves to the parts of the book that happen in the present day he switches to third person and the contrast is jarring and almost as distracting as the actual interruptions themselves. Especially because he does not seem to be as talented in writing third person as he is at writing first person.
Rothfuss goes out of his way to shoehorn the title of the book into the story in several places and it's really distracting. It was like he came up with a great sounding title, and then completely drew a blank on why the book should be called that, then dropped a couple references in after the fact. He also seems to think his readers are idiots and frequently talks down to them.
The ugly? Lots and lots of sex. There are so many sex scenes in this book that I started to wonder if it shouldn’t have had a shirtless, ripped, long-haired dude on the cover and a title more like Warrior of Passion, or some such nonsense from the porn—er, I mean Romance—section of the bookstore. Everywhere Kvothe goes, women are throwing themselves at him. I wonder what his secret is… Must be the Axe body spray. In real life, no man has women constantly trying to jump his bones simply because he's the main character in the story of his own life. Especially not sixteen year olds who are often thought to be younger than that by appearance. That's called pedophilia, and most people tend to see that as very WRONG. News flash, women don't typically think or act like that. If I were a girl reading this book I think I'd find myself highly offended by this. It's almost as though he's the bearer of the One Wang. Yes, the fabled One Wang of Power. The One Wang to rule them all. The One Wang to find them. The One Wang to bring them all, and in the darkness... well, you know.
Denna.
I.
HAAAAATE!!!!!
FREAKING.
DENNA!!!
Oh my holy hell, I hate this character. Talk about doing EVERYTHING you possibly could in character creation wrong. I get that the writer obviously wanted to make a mysterious female character for the male lead to fall for, someone who equals his own mysteriousness. And that sort of thing CAN be done well, but here, it's definitely NOT. You can only drag it out so far before it becomes annoying, distracting, and downright torturous. Rothfuss has completely and utterly failed in making a compelling love interest. Why do I hate her so much? Because, frankly, she's just a badly crafted and written character. She is bland. So much so that Rothfuss should be both highly embarrassed and ashamed of her. She is boring. She is annoying. She tries to be clever, but isn't... AT ALL. She is not a realistic portrayal of a woman in the slightest bit. She serves no purpose to the plot whatsoever and is blatantly shoehorned in where she does not belong because someone decided that every work of fiction just HAS to have a love story in it. Her faux mysteriousness is badly written, contrived BS that does little but annoy the reader and make her even more painful to sit through. And, most importantly, she adds NOTHING of value to the story even in the barest possible meaning of the term! In short, she is completely unlikable in any way, shape or form. Besides being completely unlikeable, neither she nor Kvothe act like they give two damns about each other, and their relationship fails completely because it's been dragged out FAR too long. Even the most rabid Twi-tard would likely agree on that point.
Sometime in the story SOMETHING has to happen between them. You can't just keep building up between two people that honestly have no reason to fall in love with each other and call it a love story. DO SOMETHING!!! And for the record I do not count an argument that has absolutely nothing to do with their relationship in any way to be "something" happening in said relationship. Rothfuss keeps playing up her mysteriousness to such a degree that I finally just started flipping through and skimming the last few chapters with her in them because she pisses me off too much. I get it, she’s terribly mysterious, GET TO THE DAMN POINT ALREADY!!! She turns an otherwise entertaining character into a whining, crying, spineless, emo, stalker. Her character is so distracting and utterly painful to be subjected to that she completely ruins the book all on her own. If every other gripe I had about the book mysteriously disappeared, the presence of Denna alone would have ruined it. Worst of all, this painful mess of a love story, has yet to serve any purpose to the overall plot. Oh, it may come into play in the third and final book, but suffering through this horrible, boring, emotionless, and frankly unbelievable abomination for two books leading up to it is asking too much. There haven't even been any hints whatsoever that it may, in fact, be important later on to what passes for a plot in Patrick Rothfuss' universe. It’s a contrived, annoying, distracting, and frankly painful waste of time.
Remove Denna from the series entirely and it is a much better series. I do not know who came up with the rule that in every work of fiction there must needs be a love story, but guess what. Sometimes, you really don't need one. It becomes superfluous and takes away from the story instead of adding to it. This series certainly would benefit a GREAT DEAL without one. Why? Because Rothfuss doesn't know the first thing about love, which is painfully obvious if you've read even one scene between Kvothe and Denna. He doesn't seem to understand what love is, or how it works. He seems to subscribe to the George Lucas version of love. Two talented and good looking people are together... TADAAAAAAH, IT'S LOVE!!! now shut up and enjoy your ridiculously over the top computer animated explosion fest of a climax. If you can't craft a believable and compelling love story. STOP. Take two steps back. And completely remove it from your book, because the story is better off without it than it is when it completely fails.
A love story has to develop and always be moving. Whether it be forward or backward, it must always be going SOMEWHERE. The characters have to get to know each other and fall in love through mutual experiences and differences, not randomly meet here and there and have a boring conversation with a convenience that stretches credulity and coincidence alike. The supposed relationship between Kvothe and Denna goes exactly NOWHERE, and it leaves you wondering why the author keeps trying to tell us that there is even a so-called love story between these two characters at all in the first place. There has to be some sort of progress made. You can’t throw two good looking people together that have no reason to fall in love with each other and call it a love story. There is nothing about this love story that is a.) even a love story and b.) the slightest bit interesting.
And yet Kvothe continuously pines after this girl as though he has any sort of meaningful relationship with her when there is no reason whatsoever for him to even care that she exists, other than that she's a girl and he's a boy. There may be some small, one-sided physical attraction on his part, but physical attraction does not equal love. The attraction is NOT mutual, however, and that is plainly obvious in the way that Denna acts and speaks to Kvothe. The lengths to which the author goes to assure us that there is a love story here are almost as creepy as the lengths to which Kvothe goes to stalk her. Especially because she has expressed no romantic interest in him at all and frequently attaches herself to other men IN HIS PRESENCE, INCLUDING his arch-nemesis Ambrose. AND THEN, Kvothe himself basically bones every girl he meets in the entire book OTHER THAN HER!!! What is this? This isn't a love story. It's like watching a rock try to get it on with a piece of wood. They constantly boink other people throughout the book, and seem to have no romantic feelings toward one another at all. Do you even understand what love is Pat? From this book I can definitely say that you do not. I haven't seen such a failure to write a compelling love story since Attack of the Clones. And I'm not just biased against love stories because I'm a guy. I will admit that I do enjoy the occasional, well done love story, so long as it actually serves a purpose to the plot, or makes me feel that these characters truly do love each other and deserve to be together--two things that are lacking here, so much so, in fact that it completely and utterly ruins the entire series from the first page Denna walked in on. The moment she showed up was the moment this series was irrevocably ruined. I can’t wait for her foreshadowed death because I will cheer with joy the day I read her last words. Until then, I award Patrick Rothfuss the George Lucas Totally Understands Love Stories Award.
So, after all is said and done, is The Wise Man’s Fear really as bad as I make it out to be? YES!!! IT IS!!! But at the same time, no. It really isn’t that horrible. If you can ignore that this entire book is completely pointless and full of a non-love story that is really starting to grate, it can be quite entertaining. The sense of humor, and Kvothe as a character, are enough to keep you interested through the good and the bad alike. Denna is annoying and pointless, but you can skip any chapter about her and miss little to nothing because she's not important to the plot and serves no purpose at all except to make Kvothe so lovesick that he screws 25+ other girls during the course of the book. *shrug* Yeah, I don't get it either. If sex scenes offend you, you’ll be doing quite a bit of skipping. As I said before, this book was completely unnecessary, and did nothing at all to ultimately advance the plot, or the characters. If you come at it as a work of comedy rather than part of a grand epic fantasy, then you'll likely be entertained by the humor. On the other hand, you could pick up book 3 when it comes out and not be lost at all, because this book was about nothing. The characters did not learn, grow or progress at all, and it ends as it begins, with Kvothe in school, dealing with the same problems he was dealing with in the beginning. He hasn't taken anything away from his misadventures. He hasn't learned any lessons. He's the same character he was at the beginning. There’s a great story in here somewhere, the author keeps hinting at great events to come, but he never takes any steps closer to them. It’s the best book about absolutely nothing that you’ll ever read.
At the risk of inviting nerd rage the likes of which GOD has never seen, I give The Wise Man’s Fear 1 star. It loses points in complete lack of plot, endless tangents, repeated use of pointless allegory, and inflicting Denna's completely horrible side story on us. The only thing that kept me reading this book was the sense of humor. Patrick Rothfuss seemed so promising after his debut novel, but I doubt his will be a lasting name unless his next book makes some major improvements upon the pile of steaming crap he served us with The Wise Man's Fear. He has obvious talent, but lacks any skill to apply it to. I have been accused of giving this book a poor rating simply because everyone else loved it. This is untrue. You can take my words at face value. I mean what I say. I say this book is terrible because I truly feel that it IS terrible. Not every book is for everyone, and this one is not for me. Just because a lot of people enjoyed it does not mean that I did. I've read a rare few books I disliked more than this one. Agree or not, that is my HONEST opinion. You don't have to agree with me, but I don't have to like this book. I have never read a book so vacuous, vapid, pretentious, and up its own ass as The Wise Man's Fear.
Check out my other reviews.
Patrick Rothfuss' The Wise Man's Fear
By Eric Allen
One thing I can say for Patrick Rothfuss is that he has great ideas. Unfortunately, great ideas do not, by themselves, a great story make. I have heard rumors that the first book, The Name of the Wind, took eleven years of revisions and rewrites to finally get published. Whether that is true or not, his hard work paid off. Since its release, the internet hype over the future of the trilogy has been building to monumental proportions. Rothfuss has developed an almost rabid, cultlike following of fans yearning to know what happens next. The Name of the Wind gave us many mysteries and few answers.
The first book was a fun read that, while flawed in terms of story and character, was quite entertaining and extraordinarily well written. It was like the ramblings of an old man, talking simply to be listened to. Like cake, it tastes good but has little nutritional value in it. Make no mistake, I really enjoyed the first book, but as a followup to a great book, The Wise Man's Fear was insultingly bad.
We were left with many burning questions at the end of The Name of the Wind. Would Kvothe learn to control the Wind? How would he be thrown out of the University? Would he ever become an Arcanist? Would he find some way to make money? Would he ever avenge his parents? How did he come from the promising youth seeking clues to the supernatural beings that murdered his family to the broken down innkeeper telling the story? Would he ever make any sort of progress with Denna, or would my book simply explode while I read it because of the pent up sexual tension?
Were any of these questions answered or even addressed in this book? Not a one. So let’s take a look at The Wise Man’s Fear. Or, as I like to call it: The Name of the Wind 2: Kvothe Gets Laid.
We begin where The Name of the Wind left off, with a much older Kvothe, now an innkeeper, telling the story of his life to the king's Chronicler. It is a story in three parts, told in three days, much like the silence that haunts his inn. At first I didn’t get the whole silence in three parts thing, but then I realized the writer was trying to be clever and failing miserably at it.
As Kvothe begins his story, the book switches from third person to first person. He begins his next term of schooling at the University. Some of his teachers love him, others hate him. He’s made friends and enemies. Unfortunately, we’ve already read this before. It seems like the last half of The Name of the Wind has basically been retold here in the first half of The Wise Man's Fear.
Luckily, the "plot" finally intervenes, and Kvothe takes a year off from his schooling for adventure, and hopefully to fill his pockets with a little money to fight off his abject poverty. An acquaintance conveniently knows of a rich and powerful nobleman in a distant land that is looking for a clever young musician to help him win the heart of the lady he has his eye on. Fortunately, Kvothe happens to be a clever young musician. Convenient...
To make an extremely long story short, he foils an assassination plot, gains the nobleman’s trust, and helps him woo his Lady. In a completely pointless tangent he’s sent on a mission to bring bandits to justice, loses himself on a tangent from the tangent when he meets a seductress who teaches him how to please women. Then the tangent from the tangent takes another tangent to another distant land where he learns to tangent from a group of tangentary tangents, but is tangented by yet another tangent after leaving when he tangents upon some young tangents in need of being tangentially tangented away from--wait, what as I talking about again? Oh right, I'm reviewing a book. One could say that the entire last half of the book is just one gigantic tangent that has absolutely nothing to do with anything, and ultimately leads nowhere.
Falling out with his lordly employer, Kvothe returns to school with an arrangement that for his services his education and expenses at school would be taken care of. At which point he resumes his school life as if nothing has happened and the book ends rather abruptly, again with no climax, no conflict, and no resolution.
The good? Rothfuss has an excellent sense of humor. Kvothe can be entertaining at times, when he's not acting like an insufferable smartass... which is most of the time. The world and the magic system are very well thought out, and the different cultures and races seem very distinct and real. The writing itself is excellent. So good in fact, that most people don't even realize what a god-awful mess every other aspect of the book is. Despite all the bitching I do about this book, it was worth reading at least once for the humor, or to see the train wreck for yourself.
The bad? Firstly, it is very evident that Rothfuss has ABSOLUTELY no respect for women whatsoever. Almost every woman in this book is a figurative, if not literal, whore that exists for the sole purpose of pleasuring, comforting, or otherwise confounding Kvothe. News flash Pat, women are people too. The same as you and me, with thoughts, feelings, and desires all of their own, that do NOT typically revolve around some incomprehensible and fantastical yearning to please men. Just thought you'd like to know.
Half of this book is copy and paste from the first book. The other half has little to no point and goes absolutely nowhere. There’s no conflict, there’s no suspense, there’s nothing like a normal story arch. There is no climax because the book doesn’t build up to anything. Like I said, Patrick Rothfuss has great ideas, but no storytelling skills to apply them to. The whole narrative is incoherent and nonsensical. You have to reward your readers with a climactic event or two for sticking with you through the whole book, Pat.
Far too much time is spent on characters telling allegorical stories that really have little point or purpose except to take up space in a book that is already FAR too long for what actually happens in it. They take up huge swaths of the book and leave the characters with very little in the way of worth afterward. The lessons they learn could have been simply taught through other means or much, much shorter stories. The huge amount of tangents that the story takes makes it feel as though the writer made it up as he went along. It's really so incoherent, and so rambling that I believe this book should have been marketed more as a collection of short stories than a novel. The frequent interruptions back to the present day where Kvothe discusses aspects of his story are annoying and hugely distracting, breaking up whatever little suspense that the writer managed to cultivate. Not a single question raised in the first book was answered, or even addressed in this book, in fact this book picks up as though there were no questions left by the first book and does nothing to either build up the mystery of them, or move closer to answering them. It is as though the writer completely forgot all of them and moved on to something else.
If you’ve read The Name of the Wind you have no need to read The Wise Man’s fear, because you’ve already read it. It’s basically the same book, and there isn’t a single thing necessary to the overall story that happens in it. When book 3 eventually comes out, you could probably pick it up after reading book 1 and not have missed a single thing. This book was completely unnecessary, and utterly pointless.
I have never liked the first person perspective very much. It gives a very narrow view of the world as you can only see, experience and feel the world through the eyes of a single character. You have no other views to give perspective. I always find the contrasting views of different characters to give the world and story a lot more flavor than simply following the words of a single character. However, some of my favorite books are written in first person. It can be done well, and for the most part Rothfuss does good things with it, but when he moves to the parts of the book that happen in the present day he switches to third person and the contrast is jarring and almost as distracting as the actual interruptions themselves. Especially because he does not seem to be as talented in writing third person as he is at writing first person.
Rothfuss goes out of his way to shoehorn the title of the book into the story in several places and it's really distracting. It was like he came up with a great sounding title, and then completely drew a blank on why the book should be called that, then dropped a couple references in after the fact. He also seems to think his readers are idiots and frequently talks down to them.
The ugly? Lots and lots of sex. There are so many sex scenes in this book that I started to wonder if it shouldn’t have had a shirtless, ripped, long-haired dude on the cover and a title more like Warrior of Passion, or some such nonsense from the porn—er, I mean Romance—section of the bookstore. Everywhere Kvothe goes, women are throwing themselves at him. I wonder what his secret is… Must be the Axe body spray. In real life, no man has women constantly trying to jump his bones simply because he's the main character in the story of his own life. Especially not sixteen year olds who are often thought to be younger than that by appearance. That's called pedophilia, and most people tend to see that as very WRONG. News flash, women don't typically think or act like that. If I were a girl reading this book I think I'd find myself highly offended by this. It's almost as though he's the bearer of the One Wang. Yes, the fabled One Wang of Power. The One Wang to rule them all. The One Wang to find them. The One Wang to bring them all, and in the darkness... well, you know.
Denna.
I.
HAAAAATE!!!!!
FREAKING.
DENNA!!!
Oh my holy hell, I hate this character. Talk about doing EVERYTHING you possibly could in character creation wrong. I get that the writer obviously wanted to make a mysterious female character for the male lead to fall for, someone who equals his own mysteriousness. And that sort of thing CAN be done well, but here, it's definitely NOT. You can only drag it out so far before it becomes annoying, distracting, and downright torturous. Rothfuss has completely and utterly failed in making a compelling love interest. Why do I hate her so much? Because, frankly, she's just a badly crafted and written character. She is bland. So much so that Rothfuss should be both highly embarrassed and ashamed of her. She is boring. She is annoying. She tries to be clever, but isn't... AT ALL. She is not a realistic portrayal of a woman in the slightest bit. She serves no purpose to the plot whatsoever and is blatantly shoehorned in where she does not belong because someone decided that every work of fiction just HAS to have a love story in it. Her faux mysteriousness is badly written, contrived BS that does little but annoy the reader and make her even more painful to sit through. And, most importantly, she adds NOTHING of value to the story even in the barest possible meaning of the term! In short, she is completely unlikable in any way, shape or form. Besides being completely unlikeable, neither she nor Kvothe act like they give two damns about each other, and their relationship fails completely because it's been dragged out FAR too long. Even the most rabid Twi-tard would likely agree on that point.
Sometime in the story SOMETHING has to happen between them. You can't just keep building up between two people that honestly have no reason to fall in love with each other and call it a love story. DO SOMETHING!!! And for the record I do not count an argument that has absolutely nothing to do with their relationship in any way to be "something" happening in said relationship. Rothfuss keeps playing up her mysteriousness to such a degree that I finally just started flipping through and skimming the last few chapters with her in them because she pisses me off too much. I get it, she’s terribly mysterious, GET TO THE DAMN POINT ALREADY!!! She turns an otherwise entertaining character into a whining, crying, spineless, emo, stalker. Her character is so distracting and utterly painful to be subjected to that she completely ruins the book all on her own. If every other gripe I had about the book mysteriously disappeared, the presence of Denna alone would have ruined it. Worst of all, this painful mess of a love story, has yet to serve any purpose to the overall plot. Oh, it may come into play in the third and final book, but suffering through this horrible, boring, emotionless, and frankly unbelievable abomination for two books leading up to it is asking too much. There haven't even been any hints whatsoever that it may, in fact, be important later on to what passes for a plot in Patrick Rothfuss' universe. It’s a contrived, annoying, distracting, and frankly painful waste of time.
Remove Denna from the series entirely and it is a much better series. I do not know who came up with the rule that in every work of fiction there must needs be a love story, but guess what. Sometimes, you really don't need one. It becomes superfluous and takes away from the story instead of adding to it. This series certainly would benefit a GREAT DEAL without one. Why? Because Rothfuss doesn't know the first thing about love, which is painfully obvious if you've read even one scene between Kvothe and Denna. He doesn't seem to understand what love is, or how it works. He seems to subscribe to the George Lucas version of love. Two talented and good looking people are together... TADAAAAAAH, IT'S LOVE!!! now shut up and enjoy your ridiculously over the top computer animated explosion fest of a climax. If you can't craft a believable and compelling love story. STOP. Take two steps back. And completely remove it from your book, because the story is better off without it than it is when it completely fails.
A love story has to develop and always be moving. Whether it be forward or backward, it must always be going SOMEWHERE. The characters have to get to know each other and fall in love through mutual experiences and differences, not randomly meet here and there and have a boring conversation with a convenience that stretches credulity and coincidence alike. The supposed relationship between Kvothe and Denna goes exactly NOWHERE, and it leaves you wondering why the author keeps trying to tell us that there is even a so-called love story between these two characters at all in the first place. There has to be some sort of progress made. You can’t throw two good looking people together that have no reason to fall in love with each other and call it a love story. There is nothing about this love story that is a.) even a love story and b.) the slightest bit interesting.
And yet Kvothe continuously pines after this girl as though he has any sort of meaningful relationship with her when there is no reason whatsoever for him to even care that she exists, other than that she's a girl and he's a boy. There may be some small, one-sided physical attraction on his part, but physical attraction does not equal love. The attraction is NOT mutual, however, and that is plainly obvious in the way that Denna acts and speaks to Kvothe. The lengths to which the author goes to assure us that there is a love story here are almost as creepy as the lengths to which Kvothe goes to stalk her. Especially because she has expressed no romantic interest in him at all and frequently attaches herself to other men IN HIS PRESENCE, INCLUDING his arch-nemesis Ambrose. AND THEN, Kvothe himself basically bones every girl he meets in the entire book OTHER THAN HER!!! What is this? This isn't a love story. It's like watching a rock try to get it on with a piece of wood. They constantly boink other people throughout the book, and seem to have no romantic feelings toward one another at all. Do you even understand what love is Pat? From this book I can definitely say that you do not. I haven't seen such a failure to write a compelling love story since Attack of the Clones. And I'm not just biased against love stories because I'm a guy. I will admit that I do enjoy the occasional, well done love story, so long as it actually serves a purpose to the plot, or makes me feel that these characters truly do love each other and deserve to be together--two things that are lacking here, so much so, in fact that it completely and utterly ruins the entire series from the first page Denna walked in on. The moment she showed up was the moment this series was irrevocably ruined. I can’t wait for her foreshadowed death because I will cheer with joy the day I read her last words. Until then, I award Patrick Rothfuss the George Lucas Totally Understands Love Stories Award.
So, after all is said and done, is The Wise Man’s Fear really as bad as I make it out to be? YES!!! IT IS!!! But at the same time, no. It really isn’t that horrible. If you can ignore that this entire book is completely pointless and full of a non-love story that is really starting to grate, it can be quite entertaining. The sense of humor, and Kvothe as a character, are enough to keep you interested through the good and the bad alike. Denna is annoying and pointless, but you can skip any chapter about her and miss little to nothing because she's not important to the plot and serves no purpose at all except to make Kvothe so lovesick that he screws 25+ other girls during the course of the book. *shrug* Yeah, I don't get it either. If sex scenes offend you, you’ll be doing quite a bit of skipping. As I said before, this book was completely unnecessary, and did nothing at all to ultimately advance the plot, or the characters. If you come at it as a work of comedy rather than part of a grand epic fantasy, then you'll likely be entertained by the humor. On the other hand, you could pick up book 3 when it comes out and not be lost at all, because this book was about nothing. The characters did not learn, grow or progress at all, and it ends as it begins, with Kvothe in school, dealing with the same problems he was dealing with in the beginning. He hasn't taken anything away from his misadventures. He hasn't learned any lessons. He's the same character he was at the beginning. There’s a great story in here somewhere, the author keeps hinting at great events to come, but he never takes any steps closer to them. It’s the best book about absolutely nothing that you’ll ever read.
At the risk of inviting nerd rage the likes of which GOD has never seen, I give The Wise Man’s Fear 1 star. It loses points in complete lack of plot, endless tangents, repeated use of pointless allegory, and inflicting Denna's completely horrible side story on us. The only thing that kept me reading this book was the sense of humor. Patrick Rothfuss seemed so promising after his debut novel, but I doubt his will be a lasting name unless his next book makes some major improvements upon the pile of steaming crap he served us with The Wise Man's Fear. He has obvious talent, but lacks any skill to apply it to. I have been accused of giving this book a poor rating simply because everyone else loved it. This is untrue. You can take my words at face value. I mean what I say. I say this book is terrible because I truly feel that it IS terrible. Not every book is for everyone, and this one is not for me. Just because a lot of people enjoyed it does not mean that I did. I've read a rare few books I disliked more than this one. Agree or not, that is my HONEST opinion. You don't have to agree with me, but I don't have to like this book. I have never read a book so vacuous, vapid, pretentious, and up its own ass as The Wise Man's Fear.
Check out my other reviews.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
Read
June 24, 2014(This review is from 2011.)
In case you haven’t heard, today is the release day of the long-awaited sequel to The Name of the Wind , a delightful debut fantasy novel by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve had the privilege of reading the book, so I thought I’d post a heads-up here for those of you who read my blog, along with a review. (Of sorts.) Also, a reminder, I did an interview with Pat (and he kind of interviewed me back) for Amazon. You can read it at this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html...
PART ONE: A REVIEW OF THE WISE MAN’S FEAR
All right, so the review of Wise Man’s Fear will focus on one question: Is it as good as the first?
The answer is . . . yes, and I feel that it’s quite a bit better. (That is saying a lot.)
There’s the review. I figure that those of you reading this blog will either:
1. Have read Name of the Wind and liked it, so that review should be more than enough for you.
2. Have read Name of the Wind and didn’t like it. If so, I respect your opinion, even though you’re obviously a crazy person.
3. Haven’t yet read Name of the Wind, so giving you an extensive review of the second book would really just be a big confusing spoiler.
PART TWO: GO BUY IT
This is a very, very good book. If you liked the first, might I suggest that you go out and purchase yourself a copy this week? Pat may not mention it himself, but first-week sales are very helpful in giving a book good momentum. It will determine how long the book stays on shelves, how good its placement is in weeks to come, and how aggressively the sequel will be ordered by bookstores.
As I always state for my own books, if you’re not a hardcover buyer, don’t feel guilty not going out to get it—as authors, we like you to consume books as you prefer to consume them. Library, hardcover, ebook, paperback . . . your call. However, if you are intending to read Wise Man’s Fear in hardcover, buying it early rather than late is always a nice sign for the author. Also, I’ve got a selfish reason for wanting Pat to sell well. I’d very much like to have a nice, friendly rivalry going with the chap. The Way of Kings hit #7 on the New York Times list. If Pat can hit in the top five with this book, it will give me something to shoot for.
(Honestly, I’m hoping he hits #1. It’s well within the realm of possibility for this book, and he deserves it. It will help the entire genre if this book sells well, as it will prove that big epic fantasy books by newer authors are still viable, and will also prove that excellence will be rewarded by the readership.)
PART THREE: A LONGER REVIEW (KIND OF)
Okay, so, I’m off on a tangent again. Let’s bring this back into focus. I’m going to assume that some of you haven’t read Name of the Wind yet. I often suggest it to people; it’s become—alongside Tigana, The Eye of the World, and Dragonsbane—one of my top recommendations for fantasy readers. Often, however, people ask why they should read the book. Why do I recommend it?
Because it’s awesome.
Why is it awesome?
This often stops me. Why is Pat’s writing awesome?
Well, the books have an absolutely wonderful magic system. One part science, one part historical pseudoscience, one part magical wonder. It’s the type of magic system that I’m always delighted to read, and ranks among my favorites in fantasy literature. But that alone doesn’t describe why the books are awesome.
In many ways, Name of the Wind is like an old, familiar coat. A young man orphaned at a young age. Time spent on the streets living as a thief and a street rat. A wizards’ school. Those who have not liked the book have often complained about the familiar tropes. What I love about how Pat uses these tropes, however, is the realism he strives to impart.
I view this story like a Batman Begins-type realism reboot of many classic fantasy tropes. We get to hear the legends of Kvothe, then read the truth, and make the connections of how things spiraled from realistic to fantastic. The way Pat does this is genius. In some places, you can barely pick out the tropes he is using—after one sequence in Wise Man’s Fear, I found myself laughing uproariously as I realized the mythological foundation for the sequence. There are familiar tropes, but they’re taken and made so new and fresh that you have to peer through several layers of silk to see them for what they are. In other cases, there is delightful originality.
Those things, however, also fail to describe why the books are awesome.
Kvothe is a very compelling hero, very classical in that he’s widely accomplished yet marred by a single dominating flaw. (In this case, his temper.) He is witty, charming, and so wonderfully capable that he’s a delight to read about. (Particularly following much of the current fiction I’ve read, which seems to take the utmost pains to make certain I don’t like anyone I’m reading about.) He’s noble, yet brash, and is clever, but inexperienced. (Which makes him dense on occasion.) He lives.
But even that is not what truly makes these books awesome.
In the end, I think that if I distill why I’ve loved these books so much more than others, it’s because of this: They’re beautiful. Wise Man’s Fear is a beautiful book to read. Masterful prose, a sense of cohesion to the storytelling, a wonderful sense of pacing . . . None of that is the reason for the awesomeness any more than a single dab of paint is the reason why a Monet is a thing of wonder. But if you step back to look and digest the piece as a whole—not thinking too much about the parts—you are left with a sense of awe.
There is a beauty to Pat’s writing that defies description. Perhaps if Kvothe were here, he could write an appropriate song that would capture it.
Brandon
p.s. As this is of note to many of those in my audience, I feel that I should mention that this book contains a fair bit more sex than the previous volume did. Pat avoids graphic details, but there are events in the latter half of the book that some readers may find discomforting.
In case you haven’t heard, today is the release day of the long-awaited sequel to The Name of the Wind , a delightful debut fantasy novel by Patrick Rothfuss. I’ve had the privilege of reading the book, so I thought I’d post a heads-up here for those of you who read my blog, along with a review. (Of sorts.) Also, a reminder, I did an interview with Pat (and he kind of interviewed me back) for Amazon. You can read it at this link: http://www.amazon.com/gp/feature.html...
PART ONE: A REVIEW OF THE WISE MAN’S FEAR
All right, so the review of Wise Man’s Fear will focus on one question: Is it as good as the first?
The answer is . . . yes, and I feel that it’s quite a bit better. (That is saying a lot.)
There’s the review. I figure that those of you reading this blog will either:
1. Have read Name of the Wind and liked it, so that review should be more than enough for you.
2. Have read Name of the Wind and didn’t like it. If so, I respect your opinion, even though you’re obviously a crazy person.
3. Haven’t yet read Name of the Wind, so giving you an extensive review of the second book would really just be a big confusing spoiler.
PART TWO: GO BUY IT
This is a very, very good book. If you liked the first, might I suggest that you go out and purchase yourself a copy this week? Pat may not mention it himself, but first-week sales are very helpful in giving a book good momentum. It will determine how long the book stays on shelves, how good its placement is in weeks to come, and how aggressively the sequel will be ordered by bookstores.
As I always state for my own books, if you’re not a hardcover buyer, don’t feel guilty not going out to get it—as authors, we like you to consume books as you prefer to consume them. Library, hardcover, ebook, paperback . . . your call. However, if you are intending to read Wise Man’s Fear in hardcover, buying it early rather than late is always a nice sign for the author. Also, I’ve got a selfish reason for wanting Pat to sell well. I’d very much like to have a nice, friendly rivalry going with the chap. The Way of Kings hit #7 on the New York Times list. If Pat can hit in the top five with this book, it will give me something to shoot for.
(Honestly, I’m hoping he hits #1. It’s well within the realm of possibility for this book, and he deserves it. It will help the entire genre if this book sells well, as it will prove that big epic fantasy books by newer authors are still viable, and will also prove that excellence will be rewarded by the readership.)
PART THREE: A LONGER REVIEW (KIND OF)
Okay, so, I’m off on a tangent again. Let’s bring this back into focus. I’m going to assume that some of you haven’t read Name of the Wind yet. I often suggest it to people; it’s become—alongside Tigana, The Eye of the World, and Dragonsbane—one of my top recommendations for fantasy readers. Often, however, people ask why they should read the book. Why do I recommend it?
Because it’s awesome.
Why is it awesome?
This often stops me. Why is Pat’s writing awesome?
Well, the books have an absolutely wonderful magic system. One part science, one part historical pseudoscience, one part magical wonder. It’s the type of magic system that I’m always delighted to read, and ranks among my favorites in fantasy literature. But that alone doesn’t describe why the books are awesome.
In many ways, Name of the Wind is like an old, familiar coat. A young man orphaned at a young age. Time spent on the streets living as a thief and a street rat. A wizards’ school. Those who have not liked the book have often complained about the familiar tropes. What I love about how Pat uses these tropes, however, is the realism he strives to impart.
I view this story like a Batman Begins-type realism reboot of many classic fantasy tropes. We get to hear the legends of Kvothe, then read the truth, and make the connections of how things spiraled from realistic to fantastic. The way Pat does this is genius. In some places, you can barely pick out the tropes he is using—after one sequence in Wise Man’s Fear, I found myself laughing uproariously as I realized the mythological foundation for the sequence. There are familiar tropes, but they’re taken and made so new and fresh that you have to peer through several layers of silk to see them for what they are. In other cases, there is delightful originality.
Those things, however, also fail to describe why the books are awesome.
Kvothe is a very compelling hero, very classical in that he’s widely accomplished yet marred by a single dominating flaw. (In this case, his temper.) He is witty, charming, and so wonderfully capable that he’s a delight to read about. (Particularly following much of the current fiction I’ve read, which seems to take the utmost pains to make certain I don’t like anyone I’m reading about.) He’s noble, yet brash, and is clever, but inexperienced. (Which makes him dense on occasion.) He lives.
But even that is not what truly makes these books awesome.
In the end, I think that if I distill why I’ve loved these books so much more than others, it’s because of this: They’re beautiful. Wise Man’s Fear is a beautiful book to read. Masterful prose, a sense of cohesion to the storytelling, a wonderful sense of pacing . . . None of that is the reason for the awesomeness any more than a single dab of paint is the reason why a Monet is a thing of wonder. But if you step back to look and digest the piece as a whole—not thinking too much about the parts—you are left with a sense of awe.
There is a beauty to Pat’s writing that defies description. Perhaps if Kvothe were here, he could write an appropriate song that would capture it.
Brandon
p.s. As this is of note to many of those in my audience, I feel that I should mention that this book contains a fair bit more sex than the previous volume did. Pat avoids graphic details, but there are events in the latter half of the book that some readers may find discomforting.
May 30, 2017
I'm going to have to be a voice of dissent.
I found Kvothe profoundly annoying.
Here's an excerpt of his typical storytelling, word for word:
Felurian is a ghost/fairy from the "Fey" where we wasted a hundred pages of Kvothe having sex with her over and over to no discernible end. He escapes finally by singing with his beautiful singsong voice that he brags about constantly.
Haha, right, so by now it's getting hilarious, because this little twirp who, at age 16, manages to find two women willing to sleep with him (one of whom is imaginary), decides that he's become The God of Sex, and must now spend the rest of the book acting like an effeminate man-whore.
Kvothe speaking again:
"in inns" - distinctive Rothfuss diction.
Kvothe's insights on women:
"Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, and finely played [fucked], to have at least her own true music made."
That's right guys, women are like instruments, and they exist for your use and pleasure.
Realizing that what he just said is sophomoric, sexist, and a little insane, Kvothe clarifies:
Well, in defense of anyone thinking that, you do degrade women. Before the book ends, your skinny little ass has sex with half the village by the university. I don't feel like transcribing any more of it.
Kvothe prances around with the approximate wisdom and subtlety of a slightly below average modern-day teenager. A musician with a delicate disposition more at home at a pedicurist than a fantasy novel, he's best described as a weakling, a coward, and a fool.
At one point he actually loses a fight to a 10 year old girl.
Someone responded to this earlier by saying: "But she was a really badass little girl." Haha. Ok.
______________________________
Criticisms:
"His primary personalty traits are wit, charm and intelligence."
Mark Twain is witty. Locke Lamora is charming. Kvothe is a self-absorbed brat with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. The narrator insists on his intelligence and success at the university, but every time Kvothe speaks, it's an eyeroll-fest.
"Kvothe is the furthest thing from a coward."
A girl he's been pining over since almost the beginning of the last book admits that she is being abused. What does Kvothe do? He says some dumb things and abandons her to go on a pointless expedition into the woods; stumbles over the Fey, where he loses his virginity; screws 5 more women that we're told about - this in the space of a couple of months; and finally returns to the university by the end of the book, only to reveal that he is not in love with the original girl anymore.
Stay classy, Kvothe, buddy.
Here's what he has to say about love:
Kvothe: "Love is a subtle concept. But it can be defined."
Vashet: "Do so then. Tell me of love."
Kvothe: "Love is the willingness to do anything for someone."
Vashet: "Then how is love different from duty or loyalty?"
Kvothe: "It is also combined with physical attraction."
[Well, you're an expert on that, you little man-whore, you.]
Vashet: "Even a mother's love?"
Kvothe: "Combined with extreme fondness then."
Vashet: "And what exactly do you mean by fondness?"
Kvothe: "It is..." [He] trailed off, racking [his] brain...
At least that shouldn't take long.
Listen, Kvothe, love is the condition wherein the happiness of another person is essential to your own. It's not rocket science. And it does not require physical attraction.
"Combined with extreme fondness"? Wtf are you, 16? Oh yeah, that's right, you are. Seriously, half the time Kvothe opens his mouth, I want to punch him in the face. 1000 pages of him speaking... come on. Don't do this to me.
And look, I completely understand that the author deliberately made his main character into a crappy teenager. I get it. But the result sucks.
I found Kvothe profoundly annoying.
Here's an excerpt of his typical storytelling, word for word:
"I managed very little sleep that night, and Losi came closer to killing me than Felurian ever had."
(Post-coital thoughts on the second girl in 20 pages. He's 16.)
"She was a delightful partner, every bit as wonderful as Felurian had been. But how could that be? I hear you ask. How could any mortal woman compare with Felurian?"
Felurian is a ghost/fairy from the "Fey" where we wasted a hundred pages of Kvothe having sex with her over and over to no discernible end. He escapes finally by singing with his beautiful singsong voice that he brags about constantly.
"It is easier to understand if you think of it in terms of music. Sometimes a man enjoys a symphony." [Talking about sex.] "Elsetimes he finds a jig more suited to his taste. The same holds true of lovemaking."
Haha, right, so by now it's getting hilarious, because this little twirp who, at age 16, manages to find two women willing to sleep with him (one of whom is imaginary), decides that he's become The God of Sex, and must now spend the rest of the book acting like an effeminate man-whore.
Kvothe speaking again:
"One type [of sex] is suited to the deep cushions of a twilight forest glade. Another comes quite naturally tangled in the sheets of narrow beds upstairs in inns."
"in inns" - distinctive Rothfuss diction.
Kvothe's insights on women:
"Each woman is like an instrument, waiting to be learned, and finely played [fucked], to have at least her own true music made."
That's right guys, women are like instruments, and they exist for your use and pleasure.
Realizing that what he just said is sophomoric, sexist, and a little insane, Kvothe clarifies:
"Some might take offense at this way of seeing things. They might think I degrade women."
Well, in defense of anyone thinking that, you do degrade women. Before the book ends, your skinny little ass has sex with half the village by the university. I don't feel like transcribing any more of it.
Kvothe prances around with the approximate wisdom and subtlety of a slightly below average modern-day teenager. A musician with a delicate disposition more at home at a pedicurist than a fantasy novel, he's best described as a weakling, a coward, and a fool.
At one point he actually loses a fight to a 10 year old girl.
Someone responded to this earlier by saying: "But she was a really badass little girl." Haha. Ok.
______________________________
Criticisms:
"His primary personalty traits are wit, charm and intelligence."
Mark Twain is witty. Locke Lamora is charming. Kvothe is a self-absorbed brat with the emotional depth of a teaspoon. The narrator insists on his intelligence and success at the university, but every time Kvothe speaks, it's an eyeroll-fest.
"Kvothe is the furthest thing from a coward."
A girl he's been pining over since almost the beginning of the last book admits that she is being abused. What does Kvothe do? He says some dumb things and abandons her to go on a pointless expedition into the woods; stumbles over the Fey, where he loses his virginity; screws 5 more women that we're told about - this in the space of a couple of months; and finally returns to the university by the end of the book, only to reveal that he is not in love with the original girl anymore.
Stay classy, Kvothe, buddy.
Here's what he has to say about love:
Kvothe: "Love is a subtle concept. But it can be defined."
Vashet: "Do so then. Tell me of love."
Kvothe: "Love is the willingness to do anything for someone."
Vashet: "Then how is love different from duty or loyalty?"
Kvothe: "It is also combined with physical attraction."
[Well, you're an expert on that, you little man-whore, you.]
Vashet: "Even a mother's love?"
Kvothe: "Combined with extreme fondness then."
Vashet: "And what exactly do you mean by fondness?"
Kvothe: "It is..." [He] trailed off, racking [his] brain...
At least that shouldn't take long.
Listen, Kvothe, love is the condition wherein the happiness of another person is essential to your own. It's not rocket science. And it does not require physical attraction.
"Combined with extreme fondness"? Wtf are you, 16? Oh yeah, that's right, you are. Seriously, half the time Kvothe opens his mouth, I want to punch him in the face. 1000 pages of him speaking... come on. Don't do this to me.
And look, I completely understand that the author deliberately made his main character into a crappy teenager. I get it. But the result sucks.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
August 27, 2016
HULK SMASH KVOTHE!
KVOTHE CAN DO ANYTHING AND THAT MAKE HULK ANGRY! NOT BECAUSE HULK IS JEALOUS! BUT BECAUSE HULK THINKS THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND MAKES HULK ROLL EYES AND SNORT AT THOUGHT OF 100% PERFECT KVOTHE! KVOTHE IS BEST LUTE PLAYER, IS BEST SONG WRITER, IS BEST WEAPON-MAKER, IS BEST FIGHTER, IS BEST ACTOR, IS BEST INVESTIGATOR, IS BEST KILLER, IS BEST GIRL RESCUER, IS BEST MAGICIAN, IS BEST IS BEST IS BEST IS BEST! EVEN FAERIE ENCHANTRESS LOVE KVOTHE BECAUSE KVOTHE IS BEST FIRST-TIME LOVER IN ENTIRE HISTORY OF MADE-UP WORLD! HULK FROTH AT MOUTH WHEN THINKING ABOUT PERFECTION OF ALWAYS CLEVER KVOTHE!
EVERYONE KNOW HULK IS INCREDIBLE, HULK IS STRONGEST MAN-THING IN ENTIRE WORLD, HULK IS HANDSOMEST GREEN MAN EVER - BUT HULK IS NOT BEST DANCER OR BEST KARATE EXPERT OR BEST EMBROIDERER TOO! UGH! ARGH! HULK WANT TO MAKE KVOTHE BEST BLOODSTAIN!
HULK ANGRY AT PATRICK ROTHFUSS TOO! HULK THINK SOMETIMES AUTHORS DREAM UP THEIR 100% PERFECT FANTASY VERSION OF HERO - OR EVEN FANTASY VERSION OF THEMSELF, HULK GUESS - WHEN THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT PROTAGONIST WHO CAN DO ANYTHING AND WHO CONSTANTLY MENTIONS ALL OF THEIR AMAZING ABILITIES IS WORTHLESS AS PROTAGONIST! WHY DOES ROTHFUSS NOT UNDERSTAND THAT PERFECT IS BORING?!? IF HULK WERE FEELING GENEROUS HULK WOULD SAY, WELL THIS IS ONLY ROTHFUSS' SECOND BOOK SO WHY NOT BE MORE PATIENT, HULK? BUT HULK IS NOT FEELING GENEROUS AND SO HE MUST CALL OUT THAT THIS IS STUPID, STUPID MISTAKE FROM VERY SMART AUTHOR! IF ROTHFUSS WERE BAD WRITER, HULK MIGHT UNDERSTAND. BUT ROTHFUSS IS VERY GOOD AUTHOR! SO HIS BIG MISTAKE WHICH HE REPEATS OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS EXTRA EXTRA IRRITATING!
HULK WANTED TO GIVE BOOK 2 STARS HE WAS SO FRUSTRATED.
BUT HULK CANNOT. HULK LOVE THIS BOOK! HULK LOVE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES. HULK LOVE HOW ROTHFUSS TAKES TIME WITH EPISODIC NOVEL AND LETS READER REALLY UNDERSTAND EACH PART OF WORLD THAT STUPID KVOTHE VISITS. HULK LOVE DETAILS OF LIFE AT UNIVERSITY. HULK LOVE DETAILS OF VINTAS AND FAERIE LAND AND SMALL BAND OF BANDIT-KILLERS AND SO MANY MORE DETAILS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT STORIES. IT IS LIKE HULK IS ABLE TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD AND HULK LOVE THAT! HULK ESPECIALLY LOVE KNOWING ABOUT ADEM CULTURE. FASCINATING CULTURE! ADEM CULTURE THINK WEARING CLOTHES OR NOT WEARING CLOTHES IS NO BIG DEAL AND THAT REALLY MAKE SENSE TO HULK. HULK ALSO LOVE INSIGHTFUL ENGAGEMENT WITH STORYTELLING IN BOOK. VERY SMART! HULK NOT LIKE SCENES SET IN PRESENT BUT HULK HAS COMPLAINED ENOUGH. HULK LOVE MYSTERIES AND BOOK IS FULL OF GOOD MYSTERIES! HULK LOVE MYSTERY OF CHANDRIAN! HULK ALSO LIKE PORTRAYAL OF MOST WOMEN IN BOOK. HULK NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT HE GOT JUST A LITTLE BIT TEARY IN EYES OVER RESCUE OF RAPE VICTIMS. BUT HULK ESPECIALLY LOVE WARRIOR WOMEN OF ADEM! STRONG WOMEN! HULK APPRECIATE STRONG WOMEN!
HULK REALLY THINK ROTHFUSS IS EXCELLENT WRITER. VERY TALENTED AT MANY THINGS AND GOOD WITH MOST CHARACTERS AND NARRATIVE AND IMAGERY AND LETTING STORY LIVE AND BREATHE IN PACE THAT IS NOT RUSHED AND LETTING READER GET TO KNOW WORLD SLOWLY AND UNDERSTAND MAGIC SLOWLY AND HULK NOT TURNED OFF BY VERY BIG SIZE OF BOOK. HULK LIKE BIG THINGS! BUT HULK NOT LIKE KVOTHE!
HULK SMASH KVOTHE!
KVOTHE CAN DO ANYTHING AND THAT MAKE HULK ANGRY! NOT BECAUSE HULK IS JEALOUS! BUT BECAUSE HULK THINKS THIS IS RIDICULOUS AND MAKES HULK ROLL EYES AND SNORT AT THOUGHT OF 100% PERFECT KVOTHE! KVOTHE IS BEST LUTE PLAYER, IS BEST SONG WRITER, IS BEST WEAPON-MAKER, IS BEST FIGHTER, IS BEST ACTOR, IS BEST INVESTIGATOR, IS BEST KILLER, IS BEST GIRL RESCUER, IS BEST MAGICIAN, IS BEST IS BEST IS BEST IS BEST! EVEN FAERIE ENCHANTRESS LOVE KVOTHE BECAUSE KVOTHE IS BEST FIRST-TIME LOVER IN ENTIRE HISTORY OF MADE-UP WORLD! HULK FROTH AT MOUTH WHEN THINKING ABOUT PERFECTION OF ALWAYS CLEVER KVOTHE!
EVERYONE KNOW HULK IS INCREDIBLE, HULK IS STRONGEST MAN-THING IN ENTIRE WORLD, HULK IS HANDSOMEST GREEN MAN EVER - BUT HULK IS NOT BEST DANCER OR BEST KARATE EXPERT OR BEST EMBROIDERER TOO! UGH! ARGH! HULK WANT TO MAKE KVOTHE BEST BLOODSTAIN!
HULK ANGRY AT PATRICK ROTHFUSS TOO! HULK THINK SOMETIMES AUTHORS DREAM UP THEIR 100% PERFECT FANTASY VERSION OF HERO - OR EVEN FANTASY VERSION OF THEMSELF, HULK GUESS - WHEN THEY SHOULD UNDERSTAND THAT PROTAGONIST WHO CAN DO ANYTHING AND WHO CONSTANTLY MENTIONS ALL OF THEIR AMAZING ABILITIES IS WORTHLESS AS PROTAGONIST! WHY DOES ROTHFUSS NOT UNDERSTAND THAT PERFECT IS BORING?!? IF HULK WERE FEELING GENEROUS HULK WOULD SAY, WELL THIS IS ONLY ROTHFUSS' SECOND BOOK SO WHY NOT BE MORE PATIENT, HULK? BUT HULK IS NOT FEELING GENEROUS AND SO HE MUST CALL OUT THAT THIS IS STUPID, STUPID MISTAKE FROM VERY SMART AUTHOR! IF ROTHFUSS WERE BAD WRITER, HULK MIGHT UNDERSTAND. BUT ROTHFUSS IS VERY GOOD AUTHOR! SO HIS BIG MISTAKE WHICH HE REPEATS OVER AND OVER AGAIN IS EXTRA EXTRA IRRITATING!
HULK WANTED TO GIVE BOOK 2 STARS HE WAS SO FRUSTRATED.
BUT HULK CANNOT. HULK LOVE THIS BOOK! HULK LOVE IMMERSIVE EXPERIENCES. HULK LOVE HOW ROTHFUSS TAKES TIME WITH EPISODIC NOVEL AND LETS READER REALLY UNDERSTAND EACH PART OF WORLD THAT STUPID KVOTHE VISITS. HULK LOVE DETAILS OF LIFE AT UNIVERSITY. HULK LOVE DETAILS OF VINTAS AND FAERIE LAND AND SMALL BAND OF BANDIT-KILLERS AND SO MANY MORE DETAILS AND ALL THE DIFFERENT STORIES. IT IS LIKE HULK IS ABLE TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD AND HULK LOVE THAT! HULK ESPECIALLY LOVE KNOWING ABOUT ADEM CULTURE. FASCINATING CULTURE! ADEM CULTURE THINK WEARING CLOTHES OR NOT WEARING CLOTHES IS NO BIG DEAL AND THAT REALLY MAKE SENSE TO HULK. HULK ALSO LOVE INSIGHTFUL ENGAGEMENT WITH STORYTELLING IN BOOK. VERY SMART! HULK NOT LIKE SCENES SET IN PRESENT BUT HULK HAS COMPLAINED ENOUGH. HULK LOVE MYSTERIES AND BOOK IS FULL OF GOOD MYSTERIES! HULK LOVE MYSTERY OF CHANDRIAN! HULK ALSO LIKE PORTRAYAL OF MOST WOMEN IN BOOK. HULK NOT ASHAMED TO ADMIT HE GOT JUST A LITTLE BIT TEARY IN EYES OVER RESCUE OF RAPE VICTIMS. BUT HULK ESPECIALLY LOVE WARRIOR WOMEN OF ADEM! STRONG WOMEN! HULK APPRECIATE STRONG WOMEN!
HULK REALLY THINK ROTHFUSS IS EXCELLENT WRITER. VERY TALENTED AT MANY THINGS AND GOOD WITH MOST CHARACTERS AND NARRATIVE AND IMAGERY AND LETTING STORY LIVE AND BREATHE IN PACE THAT IS NOT RUSHED AND LETTING READER GET TO KNOW WORLD SLOWLY AND UNDERSTAND MAGIC SLOWLY AND HULK NOT TURNED OFF BY VERY BIG SIZE OF BOOK. HULK LIKE BIG THINGS! BUT HULK NOT LIKE KVOTHE!
HULK SMASH KVOTHE!
June 20, 2023
There's a tendency when reading a series to rate the books against each other rather than against the world. I've seen it done to my own books: I loved XXXX of Thorns but it wasn't as good as YYYY of Thorns ... so 4*.
I didn't enjoy The Wise Man's Fear as much as I enjoyed The Name of the Wind. I didn't enjoy A Dance With Dragons as much as I enjoyed A Game of Thrones. But I'm giving them ALL 5* because compared to most books I read ... they're noticeably better. I won't 4* this book to make my point that it's (for me) not as good as its predecessor ... I'll make that point here. With words.
Readers often get 'confused' between the journey, the destination, and the story. When the reader thinks the story lies at the end of the journey, and the writer thinks the story IS the journey, it can cause tensions between them.
Reading TWMF part of me was always wanting to get back to 'the thing' where 'the thing' was where my knee-jerk tells me the story lies, i.e. making solid progress at the university in order to tackle the Chandrian. And that really doesn't happen in this very long book. In fact so little happens in that direction that I wonder if Rothfuss might not wholly evade that issue. Certainly if he's to conclude the story in three books it seems that a drastic up-ing of focus and pace (or a 10,000 page book) would be required to deal with Heliax and friends.
So, let's put to one side the fact that if you think the story is about revenge on the Chandrian then basically nothing happened, and note instead that all the 'side' adventuring was fun to read and very well written.
Kvothe continues to be brilliant at everything. The fact that on one page late on we discover he's not genius level at mathematics hardly balances that he picks up a difficult new language, makes startling progress at marshal arts, and impresses a sex fairy with his sexing, even though it's his first time.
If you let go of your destination desires this is an enjoyable book with great prose. The story meanders, seemingly without direction. In fact a big chunk of it is about Kvothe and friends meandering without direction, hunting bandits in a vast wood. The aim doesn't feel particularly important (protecting tax collectors in a distant land), the meat of it doesn't feel very exciting (they wander for a LONG time), and much of it feels pretty random (the sex fairy encounter comes out of nowhere) ... but even so, I plain enjoyed reading it, we get our little band group dynamics, we get story telling around the camp fire ... and each told story is a fun bit of fiction in itself... It all sounds a bit dull when I lay it out, but the deliciousness (like the devil) is in the detail, and I kept coming back for more.
In the end we're back at the university and bugger all has been accomplished. On a basic level we're pretty much where we started, and left wondering how this story is going to move forward. But on an entirely different level, I've consumed a 1000 page book in an unheard of (for me) two weeks and enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.
So five stars.
I now, at long last, join the end of a lengthy queue of people agitating for book 3.
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..
I didn't enjoy The Wise Man's Fear as much as I enjoyed The Name of the Wind. I didn't enjoy A Dance With Dragons as much as I enjoyed A Game of Thrones. But I'm giving them ALL 5* because compared to most books I read ... they're noticeably better. I won't 4* this book to make my point that it's (for me) not as good as its predecessor ... I'll make that point here. With words.
Readers often get 'confused' between the journey, the destination, and the story. When the reader thinks the story lies at the end of the journey, and the writer thinks the story IS the journey, it can cause tensions between them.
Reading TWMF part of me was always wanting to get back to 'the thing' where 'the thing' was where my knee-jerk tells me the story lies, i.e. making solid progress at the university in order to tackle the Chandrian. And that really doesn't happen in this very long book. In fact so little happens in that direction that I wonder if Rothfuss might not wholly evade that issue. Certainly if he's to conclude the story in three books it seems that a drastic up-ing of focus and pace (or a 10,000 page book) would be required to deal with Heliax and friends.
So, let's put to one side the fact that if you think the story is about revenge on the Chandrian then basically nothing happened, and note instead that all the 'side' adventuring was fun to read and very well written.
Kvothe continues to be brilliant at everything. The fact that on one page late on we discover he's not genius level at mathematics hardly balances that he picks up a difficult new language, makes startling progress at marshal arts, and impresses a sex fairy with his sexing, even though it's his first time.
If you let go of your destination desires this is an enjoyable book with great prose. The story meanders, seemingly without direction. In fact a big chunk of it is about Kvothe and friends meandering without direction, hunting bandits in a vast wood. The aim doesn't feel particularly important (protecting tax collectors in a distant land), the meat of it doesn't feel very exciting (they wander for a LONG time), and much of it feels pretty random (the sex fairy encounter comes out of nowhere) ... but even so, I plain enjoyed reading it, we get our little band group dynamics, we get story telling around the camp fire ... and each told story is a fun bit of fiction in itself... It all sounds a bit dull when I lay it out, but the deliciousness (like the devil) is in the detail, and I kept coming back for more.
In the end we're back at the university and bugger all has been accomplished. On a basic level we're pretty much where we started, and left wondering how this story is going to move forward. But on an entirely different level, I've consumed a 1000 page book in an unheard of (for me) two weeks and enjoyed pretty much every minute of it.
So five stars.
I now, at long last, join the end of a lengthy queue of people agitating for book 3.
Join my Patreon
Join my 3-emails-a-year newsletter #prizes
..
December 5, 2013
Well, it's done. And it's been a long time coming...
Back in late 2009 I finally got the book to the point where I was satisfied with it. It was an okay book. It was a book that if I had to publish it, I knew it wouldn't embarrass me.
By May 2010 I'd re-written the book to the point where I was happy with it. It was a good book. It was a book I was pleased with.
By my final deadline in November 2010, I'd revised things to the point where I was excited about it. It was a great book. It was finally a book I was proud of....
I'm glad my editor gave me enough time for this. I'm glad I have a book I'm excited to have on the shelves.
I hope when it comes out on March first, you enjoy it. It was a long time coming....
Back in late 2009 I finally got the book to the point where I was satisfied with it. It was an okay book. It was a book that if I had to publish it, I knew it wouldn't embarrass me.
By May 2010 I'd re-written the book to the point where I was happy with it. It was a good book. It was a book I was pleased with.
By my final deadline in November 2010, I'd revised things to the point where I was excited about it. It was a great book. It was finally a book I was proud of....
I'm glad my editor gave me enough time for this. I'm glad I have a book I'm excited to have on the shelves.
I hope when it comes out on March first, you enjoy it. It was a long time coming....
February 11, 2022
There, I've read it. Now I never want to hear about it again.
(Vlog: https://youtu.be/OdAlfL7eVf8)
(Vlog: https://youtu.be/OdAlfL7eVf8)
February 29, 2012
So, there's an established phenomenon that I don't think anyone has coined a snappy title for yet, in my head I call it "Fabulous but Unpredicted Success Leads to a Complete lack of Editorial Constraint or Outside Input Whatsoever which-in-turn Leads to Creative Stagnation and Catastrophe". FUSLCECOIWLCSC. Foo-Sil-Kec-Oiw-Lecuscu. Not going to be printed in a newspaper any time soon, but it's true in all kinds of media.
Generally:
1. Someone outside the established system will bring in something new that no one has a great deal of faith in
2. They fight tooth and nail to have "their vision" produced as they want it
3. They make more money than God when it's released, terrifying those inside the system that they may no longer know what the audience wants.
4. Those inside the system, shocked and numb, relinquish any sort of control
5. The outsider is left to run roughshod over their own projects and ruin whatever originally great thing it was they had made.
In film: George Lucas/The Wachowski's
In Games: Peter Molyneaux
In Books: Patrick Rothfuss
I think it's an important preamble, because very nearly every page of this 1000 page epic screams "edit me". It needs the book-world equivalent of Roger Corman to enter the room with something pointy, and stand over the shoulder of this bearded, smug, chubby goon and jab him with it until he gets on with telling the damn story he set out to tell, before he becomes Robert Jordan Jr in earnest.
On the positive side of things, if you pick this book up you will have to fight with yourself to put it down. The truly sad thing about Rothfuss is that he can quite literally write about Kvothe buttering toast and trying on clothes and make it bubble-gum-paper unputdownable. His skill with pacing, narrative and prose is such that, until you start to think really hard about what it is you're reading, your brain is lulled into a quiet, appreciative silence for the 390,000 words contained herein. I mention the word count, because allegedly the only guidance he received from his editor was "not to make it so long that it can't be bound in a paperback format". i.e. over 420,000 words.
I know this is very "meta" so far, but it's absolutely crucial to understand that it's not Pat's fault. Well, obviously it is, but it really isn't entirely his fault. His success with a book that, let's face it, is Earthsea viewed through J.K. Rowling has benumbed anyone around him that could offer criticism, constructive or otherwise.
On the negatives, for those that are interested, here's a quick laundry list of the lowlights:
- The end of chapter 107 is the most hilariously offensive thing I've ever read on the subject of women. I mean, wow.
- The Adem were the ultimate "noble savage" society. That they happened to be more or less based on Chinese/Japanese culture may have been coincidence, but I don't think so.
- While he's a good writer, he can't put an exciting action scene together for chips.
- Almost all the sub-plots of the first third are completely cyclical.
- Auri and Devi are abysmal characters that feel stapled on. Apparently in an interview he has now admitted they weren't in the original story as he wrote it. It really, really shows.
I can't go any further into the faults without completely ruining it for you, but suffice to say it's flabby where we don't care, lean where we do, Denna dominates fully 100 pages of screen-time (and is even more annoying this time around) and there are 60 full pages of egregious faery boning, wherein Kvothe is schooled in the arts of love by an ancient mythical Fuck-Goddess.
Lastly, and maybe I was spoiled by an Abercrombie special before I read this in the shape of The Heroes: There was no character development in this book. Everyone in here feels flat, one dimensional (two dimensions tops for central characters) and dull. Until you really force yourself to think about this, you won't even notice it, because his writing is that good.
I have no doubt I'll read the third one because at least half the book was an absolute blast, but please, please: Edit him.
EDIT: Score updated as I recently stumbled upon this blog post and now think that rather than being a bit of a hopeless goon, Patrick Rothfuss has probably got Real Actual brain problems he should seek therapy to help him address.
Generally:
1. Someone outside the established system will bring in something new that no one has a great deal of faith in
2. They fight tooth and nail to have "their vision" produced as they want it
3. They make more money than God when it's released, terrifying those inside the system that they may no longer know what the audience wants.
4. Those inside the system, shocked and numb, relinquish any sort of control
5. The outsider is left to run roughshod over their own projects and ruin whatever originally great thing it was they had made.
In film: George Lucas/The Wachowski's
In Games: Peter Molyneaux
In Books: Patrick Rothfuss
I think it's an important preamble, because very nearly every page of this 1000 page epic screams "edit me". It needs the book-world equivalent of Roger Corman to enter the room with something pointy, and stand over the shoulder of this bearded, smug, chubby goon and jab him with it until he gets on with telling the damn story he set out to tell, before he becomes Robert Jordan Jr in earnest.
On the positive side of things, if you pick this book up you will have to fight with yourself to put it down. The truly sad thing about Rothfuss is that he can quite literally write about Kvothe buttering toast and trying on clothes and make it bubble-gum-paper unputdownable. His skill with pacing, narrative and prose is such that, until you start to think really hard about what it is you're reading, your brain is lulled into a quiet, appreciative silence for the 390,000 words contained herein. I mention the word count, because allegedly the only guidance he received from his editor was "not to make it so long that it can't be bound in a paperback format". i.e. over 420,000 words.
I know this is very "meta" so far, but it's absolutely crucial to understand that it's not Pat's fault. Well, obviously it is, but it really isn't entirely his fault. His success with a book that, let's face it, is Earthsea viewed through J.K. Rowling has benumbed anyone around him that could offer criticism, constructive or otherwise.
On the negatives, for those that are interested, here's a quick laundry list of the lowlights:
- The end of chapter 107 is the most hilariously offensive thing I've ever read on the subject of women. I mean, wow.
- The Adem were the ultimate "noble savage" society. That they happened to be more or less based on Chinese/Japanese culture may have been coincidence, but I don't think so.
- While he's a good writer, he can't put an exciting action scene together for chips.
- Almost all the sub-plots of the first third are completely cyclical.
- Auri and Devi are abysmal characters that feel stapled on. Apparently in an interview he has now admitted they weren't in the original story as he wrote it. It really, really shows.
I can't go any further into the faults without completely ruining it for you, but suffice to say it's flabby where we don't care, lean where we do, Denna dominates fully 100 pages of screen-time (and is even more annoying this time around) and there are 60 full pages of egregious faery boning, wherein Kvothe is schooled in the arts of love by an ancient mythical Fuck-Goddess.
Lastly, and maybe I was spoiled by an Abercrombie special before I read this in the shape of The Heroes: There was no character development in this book. Everyone in here feels flat, one dimensional (two dimensions tops for central characters) and dull. Until you really force yourself to think about this, you won't even notice it, because his writing is that good.
I have no doubt I'll read the third one because at least half the book was an absolute blast, but please, please: Edit him.
EDIT: Score updated as I recently stumbled upon this blog post and now think that rather than being a bit of a hopeless goon, Patrick Rothfuss has probably got Real Actual brain problems he should seek therapy to help him address.
May 4, 2023
4.5/5 stars
The Wise Man’s Fear had all the potential to be better than The Name of the Wind, and although this is still an amazing book, putting it in comparison with its predecessor show how it fell a bit short in quality.
Picture: The Wise Man's Fear Part 1 by Marc Simonetti
The plot in The Wise Man’s Fear started on Day 2, straight after the end of The Name of the Wind. Kvothe continues telling his tale to Chronicler with Bast listening to it. If you think the pacing of The Name of the Wind was slow, believe me when I say that Rothfuss managed to slow it down even more. That being said, I still found myself mostly engrossed, and I finished this tome in six days.
Are the plot and pacing bad for the story? No, it was great. The Wise Man’s Fear had more danger for the characters than the previous book, and it still followed the root of the series. I’ve always loved reading slow-paced or fast-paced books equally, so this isn’t an issue for me. However, for a 994 pages slow-paced novel, I do believe that Rothfuss could’ve done so much more with the story. Looking at it from a bird’s eye view, the overall narrative was fantastic. Important and pulse-pounding events that give insights to why the present day is in its state were revealed, especially the meeting with a new entity called The Ctaeh. This encounter was intense and groundbreaking; it added an insane depth to Kvothe’s chronicle and the trilogy’s overarching story. After reading this encounter, I realized why The Kingkiller Chronicle fans are so eager for The Doors of Stone; the implication of Ctaeh is terrifying, and the possibility is myriad.
The Wise Man’s Fear was good to savor, the world-building intricacies and revelations were also mind-blowing, but admittedly, this novel suffers from the infamous second book syndrome. Again, this book is almost one thousand pages long, but there are still so many of Kvothe’s legendary feats we haven’t seen yet. It felt like Rothfuss focused on many sections longer than it should. They may be necessary Kvothe’s character development, but something related to Kvothe’s legendary feats also needs to be shed upon. For example, compiling from the available two novels (more or less 1,600 pages) of the series so far, out of those pages, Kvothe spent about 600 pages in the University; that’s the entire length of The Name of the Wind already. I love the time Kvothe spent in the University, but I’m starting to think Rothfuss had a horrible grudge with student tuition and student loan as those 600 pages—and most of Kvothe’s chronicle so far—had to do with settling that tuition. We need more information on the Chandrian, The Ctaeh, and more.
Picture: Ctaeh by Joe Slucher
Also, in The Name of the Wind, Kvothe’s chronicle told his story right from the time he was 8 up to the time he was 15 years old, The Wise Man’s Fear continues from it until Kvothe is 17 years old. That’s only 2 years of story progression despite the novel being 400 pages longer than The Name of the Wind. IF this isn’t a trilogy, then it would’ve been more acceptable. But there’s only one book left! It seems impossible for Rothfuss to write The Doors of Stone satisfyingly; there’s still so much of Kvothe’s story to be told.
My previous paragraph doesn’t mean that I dislike the book. I stated that only to emphasize that The Wise Man’s Fear had a lot of potentials to be superior to its current state. However, the worst part of the novel for me—I doubt this will come as a surprise to anyone who has read this novel already—was Denna and the longevity of the Felurian and sex spree scene.
It felt to me like Rothfuss wrote Denna purposely only to make readers hate her; Denna doesn’t have a POV chapter, and Kvothe’s hundreds of pages infatuation with her was tedious and infuriating to read. The romance between Kvothe and Denna decreased my enjoyment of the book; I didn’t mind them in The Name of the Wind, but it only got worse here that I literally facepalmed myself at one point. For me, every time Denna was not in the picture, the story became more compelling. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Denna has become one of the worst heroines of all time for me. Then we also have the controversial Felurian and sex spree scene. Considering the number of angry reactions I’ve heard to these scenes, I did expect that they would be worse. Kvothe, after all, has mentioned at the beginning of the first book that he slept with Felurian and got away with his sanity and life intact. So that was expected. What didn’t sit well with me, and what made these worse, was the length of these scenes in total. I just don’t get why the scene with Felurian and the sex spree have to be so long. Relatively, so many pages—definitely more than it should—were spent on them.
It’s a shame. Without these issues I mentioned, The Wise Man’s Fear would’ve struck another complete goldmine for me. Kvothe is a complex main character. He’s kind-hearted, talented, and a charming genius, but he’s not without flaws; he’s hopelessly in love, and his temperament led him into making a lot of rash decisions. His character development—whether you love him or not—felt organic. Plus, the characters, the minimal actions, the music, the world-building, and the prose still works together seamlessly in bringing the strength of the series.
The other side characters—Bast, Simmon, Wilem, Elodin, Auri, and a new addition, Tempi—continue to captivate me. Although Kvothe remains at the center of the narrative, I doubt The Kingkiller Chronicle would receive the worldwide praise it has right now without the lovable supporting characters. I loved reading their interactions, developments, and I can’t wait to see how the story will conclude for Kvothe and all of them in the last book.
The magic system, Sympathy, which in my opinion can be described as a combination of Voodoo Dolls curse mixed with science, gained a lot of exploration here. I was totally enthralled by this; I’ve longed to see how Rothfuss utilized Sympathy in combat, and I got what I wanted here, and it was amazing. Don’t get me wrong; as I mentioned before, The Kingkiller Chronicle isn’t a series filled with battle scenes. Out of the two books available so far, I’m pretty sure that—in total—there are about 50 pages of battle scenes. However, when they’re there, they’re incredibly well-written.
Picture: Galvanic Binding by Fallonart
Just like The Name of the Wind, the writing on music in The Wise Man’s Fear was my favorite part of the novel. Amount-wise, the focus on music is fewer in comparison to The Name of the Wind, but it’s still a rhapsody I can’t ever get enough of. I loved reading how Rothfuss implemented music into the world-building, which I must say again, was fantastic. The Wise Man’s Fear has a magnificent design on the lore; the different cultures from each part of the world were shed upon, and the intricate metafictional stories within stories were mind-blowing and mysterious. Combined with Rothfuss’s highest-ranked prose, The Wise Man’s Fear never fails to capture my attention; it once again displayed Rothfuss’s talent as a storyteller.
At the end of Day 2, this particular quote summed up exactly how I feel about The Wise Man’s Fear. Yes, the book has its flaws, and it’s certainly not as good as The Name of the Wind. But despite everything, I can’t deny that I love The Wise Man’s Fear and The Kingkiller Chronicle. Rothfuss can write about anything, and I’m sure I’ll still be entertained by his prose. I will definitely recommend The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy to anyone who’s looking for a brilliant adult high fantasy series. Even in its unfinished state, the series is now included in one of my favorite trilogy of all-time list. Doors of Stone has the potential of pushing this trilogy into becoming the number one best trilogy I’ve read. That said, I do think Rothfuss has pushed himself into a corner.
There are still too many things to resolve in Kvothe’s legend and stories from the past, and in addition, he also has to conclude the present time frame storyline as well. Unless the final book is around 2000 pages long, and Rothfuss confirmed it won’t be that long already, I’m not sure how Rothfuss can craft a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy from it. But if he succeeds, Kvothe’s tale would become even more legendary than its current state.
How about six years for a book? ;)
Joking aside, I don’t think The Doors of Stone will be opened for many more years to come. II predict it will be out in 2021, or maybe never, but I’m glad to have read this series. Overall, the unfinished Kingkiller Chronicle is a fantastic high fantasy series. Once again, The Wise Man’s Fear has its flaws, but the utterly engrossing characters and distinct storytelling style were more than enough to overshadow them. Even if it’s never finished, I still would recommend this trilogy to every fantasy reader.
Picture: The Wise Man's Fear Part 2 by Marc Simonetti
You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, Oliver, ReignBro, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
The Wise Man’s Fear had all the potential to be better than The Name of the Wind, and although this is still an amazing book, putting it in comparison with its predecessor show how it fell a bit short in quality.
Picture: The Wise Man's Fear Part 1 by Marc Simonetti
The plot in The Wise Man’s Fear started on Day 2, straight after the end of The Name of the Wind. Kvothe continues telling his tale to Chronicler with Bast listening to it. If you think the pacing of The Name of the Wind was slow, believe me when I say that Rothfuss managed to slow it down even more. That being said, I still found myself mostly engrossed, and I finished this tome in six days.
Are the plot and pacing bad for the story? No, it was great. The Wise Man’s Fear had more danger for the characters than the previous book, and it still followed the root of the series. I’ve always loved reading slow-paced or fast-paced books equally, so this isn’t an issue for me. However, for a 994 pages slow-paced novel, I do believe that Rothfuss could’ve done so much more with the story. Looking at it from a bird’s eye view, the overall narrative was fantastic. Important and pulse-pounding events that give insights to why the present day is in its state were revealed, especially the meeting with a new entity called The Ctaeh. This encounter was intense and groundbreaking; it added an insane depth to Kvothe’s chronicle and the trilogy’s overarching story. After reading this encounter, I realized why The Kingkiller Chronicle fans are so eager for The Doors of Stone; the implication of Ctaeh is terrifying, and the possibility is myriad.
The Wise Man’s Fear was good to savor, the world-building intricacies and revelations were also mind-blowing, but admittedly, this novel suffers from the infamous second book syndrome. Again, this book is almost one thousand pages long, but there are still so many of Kvothe’s legendary feats we haven’t seen yet. It felt like Rothfuss focused on many sections longer than it should. They may be necessary Kvothe’s character development, but something related to Kvothe’s legendary feats also needs to be shed upon. For example, compiling from the available two novels (more or less 1,600 pages) of the series so far, out of those pages, Kvothe spent about 600 pages in the University; that’s the entire length of The Name of the Wind already. I love the time Kvothe spent in the University, but I’m starting to think Rothfuss had a horrible grudge with student tuition and student loan as those 600 pages—and most of Kvothe’s chronicle so far—had to do with settling that tuition. We need more information on the Chandrian, The Ctaeh, and more.
Picture: Ctaeh by Joe Slucher
Also, in The Name of the Wind, Kvothe’s chronicle told his story right from the time he was 8 up to the time he was 15 years old, The Wise Man’s Fear continues from it until Kvothe is 17 years old. That’s only 2 years of story progression despite the novel being 400 pages longer than The Name of the Wind. IF this isn’t a trilogy, then it would’ve been more acceptable. But there’s only one book left! It seems impossible for Rothfuss to write The Doors of Stone satisfyingly; there’s still so much of Kvothe’s story to be told.
My previous paragraph doesn’t mean that I dislike the book. I stated that only to emphasize that The Wise Man’s Fear had a lot of potentials to be superior to its current state. However, the worst part of the novel for me—I doubt this will come as a surprise to anyone who has read this novel already—was Denna and the longevity of the Felurian and sex spree scene.
It felt to me like Rothfuss wrote Denna purposely only to make readers hate her; Denna doesn’t have a POV chapter, and Kvothe’s hundreds of pages infatuation with her was tedious and infuriating to read. The romance between Kvothe and Denna decreased my enjoyment of the book; I didn’t mind them in The Name of the Wind, but it only got worse here that I literally facepalmed myself at one point. For me, every time Denna was not in the picture, the story became more compelling. It’s not an exaggeration to say that Denna has become one of the worst heroines of all time for me. Then we also have the controversial Felurian and sex spree scene. Considering the number of angry reactions I’ve heard to these scenes, I did expect that they would be worse. Kvothe, after all, has mentioned at the beginning of the first book that he slept with Felurian and got away with his sanity and life intact. So that was expected. What didn’t sit well with me, and what made these worse, was the length of these scenes in total. I just don’t get why the scene with Felurian and the sex spree have to be so long. Relatively, so many pages—definitely more than it should—were spent on them.
It’s a shame. Without these issues I mentioned, The Wise Man’s Fear would’ve struck another complete goldmine for me. Kvothe is a complex main character. He’s kind-hearted, talented, and a charming genius, but he’s not without flaws; he’s hopelessly in love, and his temperament led him into making a lot of rash decisions. His character development—whether you love him or not—felt organic. Plus, the characters, the minimal actions, the music, the world-building, and the prose still works together seamlessly in bringing the strength of the series.
“It's the questions we can't answer that teach us the most. They teach us how to think. If you give a man an answer, all he gains is a little fact. But give him a question and he'll look for his own answers.”
The other side characters—Bast, Simmon, Wilem, Elodin, Auri, and a new addition, Tempi—continue to captivate me. Although Kvothe remains at the center of the narrative, I doubt The Kingkiller Chronicle would receive the worldwide praise it has right now without the lovable supporting characters. I loved reading their interactions, developments, and I can’t wait to see how the story will conclude for Kvothe and all of them in the last book.
The magic system, Sympathy, which in my opinion can be described as a combination of Voodoo Dolls curse mixed with science, gained a lot of exploration here. I was totally enthralled by this; I’ve longed to see how Rothfuss utilized Sympathy in combat, and I got what I wanted here, and it was amazing. Don’t get me wrong; as I mentioned before, The Kingkiller Chronicle isn’t a series filled with battle scenes. Out of the two books available so far, I’m pretty sure that—in total—there are about 50 pages of battle scenes. However, when they’re there, they’re incredibly well-written.
Picture: Galvanic Binding by Fallonart
Just like The Name of the Wind, the writing on music in The Wise Man’s Fear was my favorite part of the novel. Amount-wise, the focus on music is fewer in comparison to The Name of the Wind, but it’s still a rhapsody I can’t ever get enough of. I loved reading how Rothfuss implemented music into the world-building, which I must say again, was fantastic. The Wise Man’s Fear has a magnificent design on the lore; the different cultures from each part of the world were shed upon, and the intricate metafictional stories within stories were mind-blowing and mysterious. Combined with Rothfuss’s highest-ranked prose, The Wise Man’s Fear never fails to capture my attention; it once again displayed Rothfuss’s talent as a storyteller.
“Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”
At the end of Day 2, this particular quote summed up exactly how I feel about The Wise Man’s Fear. Yes, the book has its flaws, and it’s certainly not as good as The Name of the Wind. But despite everything, I can’t deny that I love The Wise Man’s Fear and The Kingkiller Chronicle. Rothfuss can write about anything, and I’m sure I’ll still be entertained by his prose. I will definitely recommend The Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy to anyone who’s looking for a brilliant adult high fantasy series. Even in its unfinished state, the series is now included in one of my favorite trilogy of all-time list. Doors of Stone has the potential of pushing this trilogy into becoming the number one best trilogy I’ve read. That said, I do think Rothfuss has pushed himself into a corner.
There are still too many things to resolve in Kvothe’s legend and stories from the past, and in addition, he also has to conclude the present time frame storyline as well. Unless the final book is around 2000 pages long, and Rothfuss confirmed it won’t be that long already, I’m not sure how Rothfuss can craft a satisfying conclusion to the trilogy from it. But if he succeeds, Kvothe’s tale would become even more legendary than its current state.
"When you wait a few span or month to hear a finished song, the anticipation adds savor. But after a year excitement begins to sour." -Kvothe, The Name of the Wind
How about six years for a book? ;)
Joking aside, I don’t think The Doors of Stone will be opened for many more years to come. II predict it will be out in 2021, or maybe never, but I’m glad to have read this series. Overall, the unfinished Kingkiller Chronicle is a fantastic high fantasy series. Once again, The Wise Man’s Fear has its flaws, but the utterly engrossing characters and distinct storytelling style were more than enough to overshadow them. Even if it’s never finished, I still would recommend this trilogy to every fantasy reader.
Picture: The Wise Man's Fear Part 2 by Marc Simonetti
You can order the book from: Blackwells (Free International shipping)
You can find the rest of my reviews at Novel Notions | I also have a Booktube channel
Special thanks to my Patrons on Patreon for giving me extra support towards my passion for reading and reviewing!
My Patrons: Alfred, Andrew, Annabeth, Ben, Blaise, Diana, Dylan, Edward, Element, Ellen, Gary, Hamad, Helen, Jimmy Nutts, Jennifer, Joie, Luis, Lufi, Melinda, Meryl, Mike, Miracle, Neeraja, Nicholas, Oliver, ReignBro, Samuel, Sarah, Sarah, Scott, Shaad, Xero, Wendy, Wick, Zoe.
February 4, 2024
The Wise Man’s Fear is the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicle series with the first book being The Name of the Wind. In this book, Kvothe is sitting around his inn telling the story of his adventures as a young man. He speaks of his time at the university, a journey in Vintas, leading a group of mercenaries, and a stint with Felurian.
This book was not as good as The Name of the Wind—the storytelling was off. The first book was amazing. It was like sitting around a campfire and hearing an amazing epic tale. However, large portions of this book were boring.
One scene that was profound was when Kvothe was at the university, and his teacher Elodin wrote a list of books on the board. The students asked Elodin what books that they should read, and he responds, “How should I know? I haven’t read these.” Most of the books turn out to be pointless. This encouraged some noodling on my behalf because when I was at university the professors set a course list for the term. However, it would have been so much more meaningful if the professors taught us to look for truth and discuss lots of different books with each other than spoon feed us books that we may or may not like and have no ability to switch to a different book. Further, many of my professors wrote their own course material and charged us for it. I sincerely doubt that this was the best material to learn from.
Kvothe finally leaves the university and journeys to Vintas. While going to Vintas, the book essentially states that some exciting things happened, but Kvothe won’t go into it now. This section of the book was so clumsily written--It is embarrassing. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, my favorite author (leave in the comments below if you know the name of my favorite author) will write short stories to supplement his main works. But the transition is smooth, subtle. The Wise Man’s Fear was not smooth. It was very annoying. I would have had more respect for this section of the book if it was just a fade to black, and Kvothe arrived in Vintas.
When Kvothe was leading the mercenaries, this section of the book was boring. Additionally, Kvothe essentially just traded one version of school for another. When Kvothe is selecting his new sword, JK Rowling should get some royalties because it was just like when Harry was selecting his wand.
Kvothe went from being an “innocent” boy, and then he meets Felurian and all that goes out the window. Felurian was so lame by the way. I struggle to understand the appeal. She might be beautiful, but she doesn’t sound very interesting. She is a poor storyteller, and she doesn’t appear to be very smart especially given her age. Kvothe was then after anything with a skirt. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Just so you know Kvothe, you don’t have to say yes to every single person who shows an interest in you. If 5 out of 100 are diseased according to Kvothe, he definitely has something he can’t wash off.
Overall, this book was a disappointment when compared to the first book.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
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This book was not as good as The Name of the Wind—the storytelling was off. The first book was amazing. It was like sitting around a campfire and hearing an amazing epic tale. However, large portions of this book were boring.
One scene that was profound was when Kvothe was at the university, and his teacher Elodin wrote a list of books on the board. The students asked Elodin what books that they should read, and he responds, “How should I know? I haven’t read these.” Most of the books turn out to be pointless. This encouraged some noodling on my behalf because when I was at university the professors set a course list for the term. However, it would have been so much more meaningful if the professors taught us to look for truth and discuss lots of different books with each other than spoon feed us books that we may or may not like and have no ability to switch to a different book. Further, many of my professors wrote their own course material and charged us for it. I sincerely doubt that this was the best material to learn from.
Kvothe finally leaves the university and journeys to Vintas. While going to Vintas, the book essentially states that some exciting things happened, but Kvothe won’t go into it now. This section of the book was so clumsily written--It is embarrassing. Now, in the interest of full disclosure, my favorite author (leave in the comments below if you know the name of my favorite author) will write short stories to supplement his main works. But the transition is smooth, subtle. The Wise Man’s Fear was not smooth. It was very annoying. I would have had more respect for this section of the book if it was just a fade to black, and Kvothe arrived in Vintas.
When Kvothe was leading the mercenaries, this section of the book was boring. Additionally, Kvothe essentially just traded one version of school for another. When Kvothe is selecting his new sword, JK Rowling should get some royalties because it was just like when Harry was selecting his wand.
Kvothe went from being an “innocent” boy, and then he meets Felurian and all that goes out the window. Felurian was so lame by the way. I struggle to understand the appeal. She might be beautiful, but she doesn’t sound very interesting. She is a poor storyteller, and she doesn’t appear to be very smart especially given her age. Kvothe was then after anything with a skirt. Ew. Ew. Ew. Ew. Just so you know Kvothe, you don’t have to say yes to every single person who shows an interest in you. If 5 out of 100 are diseased according to Kvothe, he definitely has something he can’t wash off.
Overall, this book was a disappointment when compared to the first book.
2024 Reading Schedule
Jan Middlemarch
Feb The Grapes of Wrath
Mar Oliver Twist
Apr Madame Bovary
May A Clockwork Orange
Jun Possession
Jul The Folk of the Faraway Tree Collection
Aug Crime and Punishment
Sep Heart of Darkness
Oct Moby-Dick
Nov Far From the Madding Crowd
Dec A Tale of Two Cities
Connect With Me!
Blog Twitter BookTube Facebook Insta
September 8, 2018
A farewell letter to my Kvothe.
WOW. Oh, wow.
It just dawned on me that Kvothe and I won’t be meeting again for another, what, 10 to 15 years? Sounds about right. The inevitable long await is so disheartening and the fury's already starting to creep in.
Thus, Kvothe, this's my farewell letter to you.
Dearest favourite douche in fantasy,
Let's get real, here, you rub people the wrong way (not me. Never me). But people do talk and the consensus is that you’re arrogant, kind of an ass, a little bit of hubristic (okay, a lot), you know it’s true and also a bit of a douchebag and extremely reckless (more often than not, unnecessarily and only to prove a point) and for someone so brilliant, sometimes it's like you can’t even tell the difference between being fearless to just being plain stupid but… LISTEN! I speak only of what I see so don't be disheartened because, you’re also generous, charming and a gentleman at heart. In my eyes, you could do no wrong.
The good:
Your kind heart, inner-child curiosity and relentless work ethics & hard-core survival instincts (my personal favourite) are unparalleled, and if I were to be stranded on a deserted island, it’d, without a doubt, be with you (because, apparently, we get to choose who we get stranded with) therefore I’ve chosen to forgive all of your other shortcomings as your strengths far outweigh your flaws.
And that absolute badass move you pulled toward the end of the book?… well, let's just say that that move put you right back up onto my top five male characters in fantasy. You took me by surprise and that's why I love you.
These two books have given me a lot of first experiences. You were the first character that I ever truly loved, The Name of the Wind was the first fantasy book that utterly engrossed and enthralled me the whole way through, made me forget the world around me, and a personal favourite of mine, gave me the first ever chapter (‘Jackass, Jackass.’) that became my favourite until very recently. It was knocked off the top spot by "Mo' divinity, mo' problems" from, Fool’s Gold… I mean, come on, need I say more? And last but certainly not least, what's in a name? PLENTY because The Wise Man's Fear still remains my favourite book title to date. Your creator really knows how to pick 'em.
The bad:
I would've absolutely given you the full 5 stars but I have some issues that have yet to be resolved. For starters, what're you still doing at the university!? it's been two tomes with over a thousand pages long and somehow, you're still lurking around that damned place! I loved the whole university aspect in the first book but I expected you to move on to different adventures.
And second, most of what you did here was travel from place to place, doing one thing after another, then repeating the cycle again. The first book set up so much tension and mystery that I thought I'd finally get some answers here but, alas, I did not. And I was willing to forgive that, after all, there's still the finale to consider but still, give a girl somethin'!
And though I enjoyed the ride, it was lacking in the one thing I appreciate more than anything in books, suspense and dramatic tension. I NEED TENSION, Kvothe! I need it like I need air (maybe not to that extent but, trying to make a point, here). I need to be at the edge of my seat reading one chapter after another that gets my pulse racing. Don't judge me but I live for narratives filled with destruction, chaos and turmoil, which I did not get here.
The (very) ugly:
In regards to she who shall not be named… fuck it, DENNA! Listen to me and listen carefully - THAT BITCH WILL DRAG YOU DOWN! You’re better than that, Kvothe! I hope the next time I see you, you’re all cured of the Denna disease that you just can't seem to shake off because that thorn on my (soon to be your) side only lives to torture me (you) and I don’t care for it one bit.
Farewell
Thanks to your maker who refuses to budge in, and who excels at torturing his (your) fans, we won’t be seeing each other for a good while, not even sure if it will happen in my lifetime but don’t blame me. So, this is where we part ways but I’ll remain loyal until… well, let's just wait and see.
I’ll eagerly await your return, dearest Kvothe. If I'm alive by then, that is.
Your ever loving loyalist,
Nani
****************************************
Had to wait months for this baby 'cause I needed my year to start with a bang.
And what better way to start it off than with Kvothe!😍
It's time it's time it's time!💃
P.S.
Exercising patience is a painful thing and... never again.
January 31, 2020
a review of three parts (revisited)
dawn was coming. the keys of a laptop lay in stillness to continue a review, and it was a review of three parts.
the most obvious part was a vast, echoing question made by answers that were lacking. if there had been more pages, words would have wrapped and scattered across the sheets of paper beneath anxious hands. ideas would have formed and floated and chased the question across the mind like a wisp of summer breeze. if there had been more to kvothes story, he would have played and traversed across the four corners of civilisation, brushing the question away like an unraveling, half-forgotten dream. if there had been a third book… but no, of course there was no third book. in fact, there were none of these things, and so the review remained.
across the internet, the noise of distant conclusions and theories were posted across forums. but these ideas were slender as a thread, with one counterpoint breaking them, leaving only mumbling posters and unsatisfied thinkers. but those thoughts faded too, leaving nothing but a second part of the review, waiting like an endless indrawn breath.
the third part was not an easy thing to notice. if you read long enough you might begin to feel it in the warmth that floods your heart as you fall in love with a story. it was in the heavy words that lay across pages reluctantly turned because the end was coming all too quickly. and it was in the hands of the girl who sat on her bed, enchanted, typing the first thoughts and feelings that came to her during the night.
the girl had true brown hair, brown as a mouse. her eyes were bright and attentive, and she typed with the sure direction of one who has read and reviewed many books over time.
the laptop was hers, just as the third part was hers. this was appropriate, as it was the greatest part of the three, holding the others inside itself. it was deep and wide as autumns ending. it was heavy as a great river-smooth stone. it was the patient, cut-flower sound of a girl forever awaiting the continuation of a story.
thanks for introducing me to kvothe, john, even though you dont like him. :P
↠ 5 stars
February 4, 2021
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss(Kingkiller Chronicle,#2)
As a middle book of the series, this book is incredible. Adored the story, the magic system, and the world Patrick has created. The thing I felt is if you love fast-paced books, you may not like this book.
And such an actorish narrator Rupert Degas is!! I can only appreciate Rupert Degas for excellent and in-depth storytelling. No doubt, the narrator had a special care for the characters.
Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket.
But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.
Beautiful experience.
As a middle book of the series, this book is incredible. Adored the story, the magic system, and the world Patrick has created. The thing I felt is if you love fast-paced books, you may not like this book.
And such an actorish narrator Rupert Degas is!! I can only appreciate Rupert Degas for excellent and in-depth storytelling. No doubt, the narrator had a special care for the characters.
Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket.
But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.
Beautiful experience.
August 24, 2017
I am SO excited to read this. Omg. AHH.
Edit
Second time reading this, and I decided to listen to the audiobook - I really enjoyed the narration. It was a long audiobook, but it was enjoyable every second of the way.
Edit
Second time reading this, and I decided to listen to the audiobook - I really enjoyed the narration. It was a long audiobook, but it was enjoyable every second of the way.
April 13, 2011
I enjoyed the first book, but did not feel the same way about this one. Fantasy books are meant to be the unbelievable, this much is certain, and the heroes that take the starring role are meant to be people of great intrigue and who can accomplish completely incredible feats, but it feels that it's pushed a bit too far in this book.
Kvothe not only is an amazing arcanist, a prodigy with a memory so perfect that he can call up how people smelled on a single day years ago, but he's a musician, and you're meant to believe he's the greatest musician in all the land based on some of the reviews that he receives, as well as how he can compose a song about himself in mere minutes which goes on to spread through the land, being forever etched in everyone's memory. So you have a character that is both an extraordinary magician (probably the most powerful one 'the University' has seen in years) and an extraordinary musician, surpassing people in their mid 20s when he's only 16, how do you make him even better than everyone else?
(contains spoilers below)
How do you make someone who is already perfect aside from his shitty personality better than everyone else? Well, you could send him off on a throwaway adventure with a band of highly experienced mercenaries and woodsmen and have him be the leader and the one who saves them from certain destruction, but only after having multiple chapters where he and the band do nothing in the forest aside from Tai-Chi and tell stories that don't matter with the exception of one which gets thrown into the Fae mythos for incredibly lame reasons why wars begin.
This book doesn't feel natural whatsoever. Everything feels like a plot device just designed to string together a few random ideas that are incredibly cliched. Most of what occurs within the book just seems like an event meant to shout to you "Look how awesome Kvothe is!" Rothfuss attempts to offset the chapters where he points out how amazing Kvothe is at everything by flashing forward to the future where he's a lonely innkeeper who is perpetually sad and can't use sympathy to light a man on fire, and gets beaten up by a couple lowly soldiers... contradictory to when he killed a bunch of scrael singlehandedly.
Following his throwaway adventure in the woods attacking bandits (where one of the Chandrian is randomly thrown into the action to just show that it had slight relevance), Kvothe goes off with Tempi, a member of the Adem, a super secretive sect of mercenaries who are not accepting of outsiders at all. The reason he's going off with Tempi? Because he was instructed in some of the ways of the Adem Tai-Chi, even though the way the story unfolds you'd be led to believe no outsider has ever learned them. How was Kvothe so fortunate (unfortunate?) to be taught to fight by one of the Adem? He simply asked. And as though Rothfuss realizes that after he reveals how far-fetched it would be even in his own world, which exists solely to make Kvothe look good, for Kvothe to be taught this, he follows up the question of "Will you teach me the ways of the sword?" with an obligatory "Had I known more of the Adem, I never would have asked this..." It's lazy.
I'm not asking to be reading a book that could easily transpire in reality, it is a fantasy novel, and I do realize this, but the way the plot unfolds leaves a lot to be desired, after each important (or throwaway in the case of this book) plot point occurs, instantly Kvothe is on his next adventure, and this isn't something I have a problem with because oftentimes it will make the book more enjoyable to read, but he could at least use some brainpower to try and make it all fit together. Immediately following the fight with the mercenaries, he goes into the Fae, immediately following that, he goes to the Adem, immediately following that he rescues two young girls from rapists disguised as troupers... lame plot point after lame plot point in quick sequence, without any breathing room, which makes little sense considering how much of the start of the book is filled with the mundane sequence of "Look for Denna. Study. Drink with friends. Sing. Repeat process." Chapters repeat themselves so often that the few ones of import stick out like a sore thumb, and those either take too long (the Fae) or end too quickly (the Mercenary fight after the incredibly long buildup).
The worst part of the book, by far, is the Felurian arc, which consists entirely of him having sex with the most beautiful woman in the world, who is known to make men go mad simply because they're no longer in her presence when she gets tired of them and allows them to leave. What's the difference between Kvothe and the average guy? Well he convinces Felurian to let him leave, by playing her a half finished song, oh and then he leaves but after he spends "as much as a year" in the Fae, where only 3 days have passed in reality (conveniently enough, before Kvothe ran after the faerie creature, he yelled to the people he was with "meet me at the inn in 3 days!", what LUCK!). The entire time spent in the Fae is simply ridiculous, and it felt like I was reading a 40 year old male fanfiction diehard's own take at Twilight for virginal fantasy readers in their late teens. "Oh Kvothe, you're telling lies, there's no way you're a 16 year old virgin! The sex I had with you was amazing, even though I'm a faerie creature who has lived for thousands of years in an alternate world where time passes exponentially slower than the mortal world, and where the only thing I've been doing all these years, while not singing and stealing men from the mortal world, is having sex with those men until I grow bored of them, or they insane." Painful to read.
After the Fae arc to me it becomes clear that Kvothe is Rothfuss' superimposed teenage self finally living the fantasy nerd's dream and living out a life of perfection in a prototypical fantasy world that he doesn't bother to develop. The world is generic, like the plot of this book, and has no real substance outside of the different words used for week (span) and random curses that get thrown in towards the middle-end of the book (Kist).
This book is long for the sake of being long. On top of this, the plotline is just too pretty of a package, the story is too perfect, and although Rothfuss seemingly knows this and tries to make the future look bleak and grim with future-Kvothe implying that he's the subject of a tragedy, it doesn't do much help. Overall it feels as though Rothfuss had several ideas and rather than develop them coherently and try and make it flow like a novel should, he lazily combined them together, and it feels sloppy. It's a shame too, since I really wanted to like this book, but it leaves you wondering what the 'kist' Rothfuss was thinking when he wrote this, unless his goal was to be the male high fantasy equivalent of Twilight which would be a success on all counts.
Kvothe not only is an amazing arcanist, a prodigy with a memory so perfect that he can call up how people smelled on a single day years ago, but he's a musician, and you're meant to believe he's the greatest musician in all the land based on some of the reviews that he receives, as well as how he can compose a song about himself in mere minutes which goes on to spread through the land, being forever etched in everyone's memory. So you have a character that is both an extraordinary magician (probably the most powerful one 'the University' has seen in years) and an extraordinary musician, surpassing people in their mid 20s when he's only 16, how do you make him even better than everyone else?
(contains spoilers below)
How do you make someone who is already perfect aside from his shitty personality better than everyone else? Well, you could send him off on a throwaway adventure with a band of highly experienced mercenaries and woodsmen and have him be the leader and the one who saves them from certain destruction, but only after having multiple chapters where he and the band do nothing in the forest aside from Tai-Chi and tell stories that don't matter with the exception of one which gets thrown into the Fae mythos for incredibly lame reasons why wars begin.
This book doesn't feel natural whatsoever. Everything feels like a plot device just designed to string together a few random ideas that are incredibly cliched. Most of what occurs within the book just seems like an event meant to shout to you "Look how awesome Kvothe is!" Rothfuss attempts to offset the chapters where he points out how amazing Kvothe is at everything by flashing forward to the future where he's a lonely innkeeper who is perpetually sad and can't use sympathy to light a man on fire, and gets beaten up by a couple lowly soldiers... contradictory to when he killed a bunch of scrael singlehandedly.
Following his throwaway adventure in the woods attacking bandits (where one of the Chandrian is randomly thrown into the action to just show that it had slight relevance), Kvothe goes off with Tempi, a member of the Adem, a super secretive sect of mercenaries who are not accepting of outsiders at all. The reason he's going off with Tempi? Because he was instructed in some of the ways of the Adem Tai-Chi, even though the way the story unfolds you'd be led to believe no outsider has ever learned them. How was Kvothe so fortunate (unfortunate?) to be taught to fight by one of the Adem? He simply asked. And as though Rothfuss realizes that after he reveals how far-fetched it would be even in his own world, which exists solely to make Kvothe look good, for Kvothe to be taught this, he follows up the question of "Will you teach me the ways of the sword?" with an obligatory "Had I known more of the Adem, I never would have asked this..." It's lazy.
I'm not asking to be reading a book that could easily transpire in reality, it is a fantasy novel, and I do realize this, but the way the plot unfolds leaves a lot to be desired, after each important (or throwaway in the case of this book) plot point occurs, instantly Kvothe is on his next adventure, and this isn't something I have a problem with because oftentimes it will make the book more enjoyable to read, but he could at least use some brainpower to try and make it all fit together. Immediately following the fight with the mercenaries, he goes into the Fae, immediately following that, he goes to the Adem, immediately following that he rescues two young girls from rapists disguised as troupers... lame plot point after lame plot point in quick sequence, without any breathing room, which makes little sense considering how much of the start of the book is filled with the mundane sequence of "Look for Denna. Study. Drink with friends. Sing. Repeat process." Chapters repeat themselves so often that the few ones of import stick out like a sore thumb, and those either take too long (the Fae) or end too quickly (the Mercenary fight after the incredibly long buildup).
The worst part of the book, by far, is the Felurian arc, which consists entirely of him having sex with the most beautiful woman in the world, who is known to make men go mad simply because they're no longer in her presence when she gets tired of them and allows them to leave. What's the difference between Kvothe and the average guy? Well he convinces Felurian to let him leave, by playing her a half finished song, oh and then he leaves but after he spends "as much as a year" in the Fae, where only 3 days have passed in reality (conveniently enough, before Kvothe ran after the faerie creature, he yelled to the people he was with "meet me at the inn in 3 days!", what LUCK!). The entire time spent in the Fae is simply ridiculous, and it felt like I was reading a 40 year old male fanfiction diehard's own take at Twilight for virginal fantasy readers in their late teens. "Oh Kvothe, you're telling lies, there's no way you're a 16 year old virgin! The sex I had with you was amazing, even though I'm a faerie creature who has lived for thousands of years in an alternate world where time passes exponentially slower than the mortal world, and where the only thing I've been doing all these years, while not singing and stealing men from the mortal world, is having sex with those men until I grow bored of them, or they insane." Painful to read.
After the Fae arc to me it becomes clear that Kvothe is Rothfuss' superimposed teenage self finally living the fantasy nerd's dream and living out a life of perfection in a prototypical fantasy world that he doesn't bother to develop. The world is generic, like the plot of this book, and has no real substance outside of the different words used for week (span) and random curses that get thrown in towards the middle-end of the book (Kist).
This book is long for the sake of being long. On top of this, the plotline is just too pretty of a package, the story is too perfect, and although Rothfuss seemingly knows this and tries to make the future look bleak and grim with future-Kvothe implying that he's the subject of a tragedy, it doesn't do much help. Overall it feels as though Rothfuss had several ideas and rather than develop them coherently and try and make it flow like a novel should, he lazily combined them together, and it feels sloppy. It's a shame too, since I really wanted to like this book, but it leaves you wondering what the 'kist' Rothfuss was thinking when he wrote this, unless his goal was to be the male high fantasy equivalent of Twilight which would be a success on all counts.
July 5, 2011
FINALLY!!
How much can I rave about these books? The storytelling is so engrossing, the worldbuilding super immersive, and the characters pull all the stellar elements together in a series that truly defines epic fantasy. You want to KNOW these characters, you want to see them interact, and you definitely want to go on a journey with them.
After reading a lot of paperback UF novels, I felt so pleased that this book provided what felt like 4 books-worth of story and development and wonderfulness for the price. If you are a fantasy fan and haven't read this series, please try it, because you will LOVE IT.
How much can I rave about these books? The storytelling is so engrossing, the worldbuilding super immersive, and the characters pull all the stellar elements together in a series that truly defines epic fantasy. You want to KNOW these characters, you want to see them interact, and you definitely want to go on a journey with them.
After reading a lot of paperback UF novels, I felt so pleased that this book provided what felt like 4 books-worth of story and development and wonderfulness for the price. If you are a fantasy fan and haven't read this series, please try it, because you will LOVE IT.
March 30, 2011
It's hard to write a review after reading a book like this. It's like reviewing a sunset after a spring storm. Yes, that's a poetic image, and that's what Rothfuss does to your brain. I plan on selling all my worldly possessions soon and devoting my life to chasing the wind...
But meanwhile, I'll try to do this book justice. It starts much as Name of the Wind ended, with Kvothe still a 15 year old at the University. It spends about 300 pages in this mode. Kvothe has a handful of new adventures at the university and tells us much about his classes and his never ending pining over Denna.
At this point it's good to make a, um, point. The Kingkiller Chronicles are not about the main storyline, i.e. Kvothe discovering who killed his parents, why, hunting the killers down, and avenging them. Many readers will no doubt be impatient at the amount of time Rothfuss spends describing seemingly unimportant side adventures of Kvothe's. The book is about how a man becomes a legend. What would seem to be the main storyline is just as incidental as all the rest. It's nice to have that main plot line running through the many hundreds of pages of his adventures, and it does give Kvothe's life a bit of a forward thrust. But that is not what the book is about. So if you read this series hoping to get a page turner as he chases down the Chandrian, then you may be disappointed. (Though it is still a page turner).
This reminds me of when Kvothe tells a story to his two friends. At the end of the story they're a little confused because the story didn't follow the familiar pattern they expected. Then Kvothe explained that he had told them a story that his people would tell each other, not a story meant for a general audience.
I wonder if there is a message from Pat in this.
What we have is a man at the end of his life, or what he hopes is the end of his life, recounting how his legend was born. And that legend is built of pieces. This book gives us some of those pieces.
He eventually leaves the University for most of a year. Rothfuss deftly skips over some of the more irrelevant side adventures, a trial and a shipwreck, and stays focused on those things which begin to build Kvothe as a person - his training, battles, moral decisions, role as a leader.
Kvothe is a bit of a contradiction. On the one hand, no matter where he goes, he's always a fish out of water. He's always the different one, the outcast, the landless, lowborn Edema. On the other hand, he's able to adapt wherever he goes, no matter who he is with. He can find a place anywhere. This contradiction is brilliantly balanced by Rothfuss, and we see that perhaps they're different sides of the same coin. His freedom gives him nothing to lose.
The strength of the book, though, is probably the sheer poetry of its prose. I don't think I've ever believed magic was as real since maybe watching Star Wars and the force for the first time as a 5 year old. I've often had difficult conversations with friends who were of a very strict, scientific and rational mindset. Trying to get them to accept the truth of other ways of seeing the world has been futile. I think from now own I'll simply recommend this book to them. If they can understand how Kvothe sees the wind, then they'll finally know what I've been telling them. Rothfuss does a better job of describing the worldview of the slightly mad artist/poet and making it magic than anything I've ever read.
This book, and the entire series, is destined to be a classic.
I somehow survived the four year wait between books one and two. I have no idea how I'll last until book three.
But meanwhile, I'll try to do this book justice. It starts much as Name of the Wind ended, with Kvothe still a 15 year old at the University. It spends about 300 pages in this mode. Kvothe has a handful of new adventures at the university and tells us much about his classes and his never ending pining over Denna.
At this point it's good to make a, um, point. The Kingkiller Chronicles are not about the main storyline, i.e. Kvothe discovering who killed his parents, why, hunting the killers down, and avenging them. Many readers will no doubt be impatient at the amount of time Rothfuss spends describing seemingly unimportant side adventures of Kvothe's. The book is about how a man becomes a legend. What would seem to be the main storyline is just as incidental as all the rest. It's nice to have that main plot line running through the many hundreds of pages of his adventures, and it does give Kvothe's life a bit of a forward thrust. But that is not what the book is about. So if you read this series hoping to get a page turner as he chases down the Chandrian, then you may be disappointed. (Though it is still a page turner).
This reminds me of when Kvothe tells a story to his two friends. At the end of the story they're a little confused because the story didn't follow the familiar pattern they expected. Then Kvothe explained that he had told them a story that his people would tell each other, not a story meant for a general audience.
I wonder if there is a message from Pat in this.
What we have is a man at the end of his life, or what he hopes is the end of his life, recounting how his legend was born. And that legend is built of pieces. This book gives us some of those pieces.
He eventually leaves the University for most of a year. Rothfuss deftly skips over some of the more irrelevant side adventures, a trial and a shipwreck, and stays focused on those things which begin to build Kvothe as a person - his training, battles, moral decisions, role as a leader.
Kvothe is a bit of a contradiction. On the one hand, no matter where he goes, he's always a fish out of water. He's always the different one, the outcast, the landless, lowborn Edema. On the other hand, he's able to adapt wherever he goes, no matter who he is with. He can find a place anywhere. This contradiction is brilliantly balanced by Rothfuss, and we see that perhaps they're different sides of the same coin. His freedom gives him nothing to lose.
The strength of the book, though, is probably the sheer poetry of its prose. I don't think I've ever believed magic was as real since maybe watching Star Wars and the force for the first time as a 5 year old. I've often had difficult conversations with friends who were of a very strict, scientific and rational mindset. Trying to get them to accept the truth of other ways of seeing the world has been futile. I think from now own I'll simply recommend this book to them. If they can understand how Kvothe sees the wind, then they'll finally know what I've been telling them. Rothfuss does a better job of describing the worldview of the slightly mad artist/poet and making it magic than anything I've ever read.
This book, and the entire series, is destined to be a classic.
I somehow survived the four year wait between books one and two. I have no idea how I'll last until book three.
May 17, 2022
Este libro ha llegado a mi vida para no irse jamás. Siempre lo llevaré en lo más profundo de mi corazón. Libro excelente.
Este libro es súper largo, pero al leerlo sientes como si hubieras tardado solo un suspiro en acabarlo. Todo me ha encantado, de inicio a fin ha sido un deleite total esta historia. Dejarme llevar por la prosa de Rothfuss ha sido una experiencia única que no cambiaría por nada del mundo. Esta es una de esas obras que me gustaría fueran infinitas porque es tan genial que no quería que acabara jamás. Quiero repetir este libro una y otra vez, y quiero leer la continuación, no me importa si tengo que esperar cuarenta años, no me importa mientras tenga la posibilidad de leer por lo menos un párrafo más de este gran autor. La vida de un lector es rarísima pero preciosa. A veces sufrimos por nuestras lecturas, caemos en mil bloqueos, nuestros ojos se desgastan, pero todo ese camino vale la pena cuando encuentras una obra maestra, o un autor que te logra hipnotizar con cada una de sus palabras escritas. Me siento poseído por una energía de exaltación que arde en mi pecho en este instante, me siento excitado, me siento transportado a un lugar donde todo es bello y perfecto, donde todo parece utópico y duradero. Gracias Patrick Rothfuss por escribir, gracias por hacerme feliz.
El temor de un hombre sabio, continuación de El nombre del viento, nos sigue narrando la extraña, pero interesantísima vida de Kvothe. En este volumen seremos testigos de esa evolución y madurez que va sufriendo el personaje a lo largo de las más de mil páginas. Es muy interesante leer las primeras páginas después de finalizar nuestra lectura porque al hacerlo logramos percibir ese cambio tan fuerte que ha sufrido Kvothe; al inicio parecía un niño, pero después de tantas aventuras, peligros y experiencias que tiene que vivir, se ve transformado en un adulto en todo el sentido de la palabra, realmente es un cambio tremendo. Recuerdo que en el libro pasado mencioné que la estructura del argumento se asemeja a las hojas de un árbol: cada rama era una faceta de la vida de Kvothe, en cualquier momento podía caer alguna y conocer X o Y información. Sin embargo, la estructura de este volumen se me ha asemejado más a los arcos de un manga, como si las experiencias se encerraran en grandes paréntesis que se van abriendo y cerrando según corresponda. A veces, cuando iniciaba un «arco» sentía un poco de «molestia» porque quería seguir conociendo información sobre los sucesos que estaba viviendo Kvothe actualmente, pero, después de avanzar unas cuantas páginas, resultaba completamente fascinado por la nueva aventura del personaje, y entonces al acercarme al final de aquella aventura empezaba nuevamente a sentirme ansioso porque anhelaba seguir leyendo sobre el tema que ya acaparaba mi atención, luego comenzaba otra historia, y así, sucesivamente, ocurrió en todo el libro. Sentí como si el autor hubiera jugado todo el tiempo conmigo, me sentí igual de hipnotizado que un niño pequeño al que le relatan su cuento favorito: No olvidaré jamás la cantidad de risas y emociones que he sentido con este volumen.
Recordar cada escena, personaje y conversación es imposible porque el libro es larguísimo, pero puedo afirmar con toda la honestidad del mundo que no existió una sola página que me aburriera o demás. Me siento tan, pero tan atraído por esta historia, que me emociono muchísimo incluso solo pensando en este libro. Eso me perjudica porque no puedo ser completamente objetivo, pero créanme que he intentado buscarle defectos a esta obra para ser neutral, pero por más que he intentado no le he encontrado ni uno solo. Todo me parece bonito, todo me parece perfecto, todo me parece genial. Dicen que la perfección no existe, y sí, es verdad, pero hay libros que nos marcan tan profundamente tocándonos el alma y manipulándola de mil maneras, que es cuasi imposible encontrarle algo malo. Prosa maravillosa, de las mejores prosas que he leído en mi vida, ligera, sencilla, preciosa, podría leerse esta obra sin detenernos ni un solo segundo y seguiríamos disfrutándolo de igual forma. Una prosa que te atrapa, te divierte, te genera curiosidad, y además te enseña lecciones sobre diversos temas a medida que Kvothe va aprendiendo cierto tipo de conocimientos: En verdad, esta prosa, es una completa belleza. Es maravilloso de que exista un ser que pueda escribir así de espectacular. Me siento completamente complacido.
Y es que pasan los días y las semanas, y aunque ya finalicé esta obra hace varios meses, no cambia absolutamente nada de mi opinión, ni de mis sentimientos. Soy nostálgico de corazón por lo que me gusta realizar todo tipo de memorias para mí «yo futuro»: Memorias como coleccionar fotos, grabar audios, escribir textos extraños, guardar pequeños objetos que parecen no tener valor, etc. Esa nostalgia, me incita a revivir mi pasado constantemente, pero no para arrepentirme por mis «malas decisiones» sino para sentir gratitud por mi presente y mi futuro. Tener este libro cerca de mí, después de finalizarlo, se ha convertido en una tentación, porque mi faceta nostálgica ahora me impulsa a tomarlo de vez en cuando, abrirlo, releer una página al azar, y en solo unos párrafos recuerdo un montón de detalles, me sumerjo en el libro, y me recuerda que este es uno de los mejores libros que he tenido la oportunidad de conocer en mi vida. Un libro que tiene amistad, romance, aventura, sexo, magia, traiciones, aventura, risas, personajes excelentes, riesgos, etcétera, etcétera. Muchos libros manejan temas similares, pero solo aquellos que los desarrollan perfectamente son aquellos que sobresalen, este libro es uno de ellos. Cada temática está muy bien desarrollada, cada temática nos permite conocer un pedacito de esa humanidad que tiene este gran personaje, cada temática te absorbe por completo, cada temática te enamora.
Esta duología —esperemos pronto se transforme en trilogía— es una recomendación maravillosa para cualquier lector. Hay que erradicar el miedo a las obras largas, y los libros de Patrick Rothfuss son los indicados para ello. Leyendo sus dos obras comprenderemos que no todos los libros extensos son aburridos, y que en muchos casos vale la pena darles la oportunidad, sin importar si tardamos un mes, dos meses e incluso tres en acabarlos. Ese frenetismo de cumplir retos, de leer una obra cada cierto tiempo, de consumir X cantidad de páginas diariamente... ¡No, ese no es el objetivo de leer! Obsesionarnos con tantas reglas solo nos enferma, pero especialmente nos aleja del objetivo principal de la lectura: Disfrutar. Dicen que no debemos dejar para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy, así que si tú, tienes un libro que siempre has querido leer, pero no lo has hecho porque es extenso, te invito a que te olvides de todas tus lecturas actuales, tomes aquel libro y no postergues más aquella aventura: Si ese libro te está persiguiendo por tanto tiempo es porque algo importante debes aprender de él. Además, no hay que esperar eternamente, nuestro tiempo es bastante limitado. Yo estuve postergando a Patrick Rothfuss desde hace muchísimos años pero sentía mucha pereza de iniciar sus voluminosos libros, ahora me doy cuenta que la pereza es tan destructiva como la droga, por su culpa por poco y me pierdo la posibilidad de conocer un libro tan fantástico como este.
Tengo un archivo de un bloc de notas con más de doscientas ideas que pude usar para realizar esta reseña, ¿pero saben algo? Al final he decidido escribir esta reseña con el corazón, y no con el cerebro, porque si escribo con el cerebro siento que ninguna palabra tendrá la belleza que merece poseer la reseña de esta obra. Pero escribiendo con el corazón siento que mis palabras se acercan más a lo que viví con esta lectura: Un océano de emociones y placer. Libro completamente recomendado, uno de los mejores que he leído, uno que siempre recordaré y tendré muy presente en mi vida. ¿Espero con ansias el tercer volumen? Por supuesto que sí. Ojalá llegué el día en que podamos tener la dicha de leer la anhelada continuación de esta historia. ¿Calificación? Cinco estrellas, no lo he dudado ni un solo segundo, antes de llegar a la mitad del libro ya la tenía súper clara. Libro divino, libro maravilloso, libro muy especial.
Este libro es súper largo, pero al leerlo sientes como si hubieras tardado solo un suspiro en acabarlo. Todo me ha encantado, de inicio a fin ha sido un deleite total esta historia. Dejarme llevar por la prosa de Rothfuss ha sido una experiencia única que no cambiaría por nada del mundo. Esta es una de esas obras que me gustaría fueran infinitas porque es tan genial que no quería que acabara jamás. Quiero repetir este libro una y otra vez, y quiero leer la continuación, no me importa si tengo que esperar cuarenta años, no me importa mientras tenga la posibilidad de leer por lo menos un párrafo más de este gran autor. La vida de un lector es rarísima pero preciosa. A veces sufrimos por nuestras lecturas, caemos en mil bloqueos, nuestros ojos se desgastan, pero todo ese camino vale la pena cuando encuentras una obra maestra, o un autor que te logra hipnotizar con cada una de sus palabras escritas. Me siento poseído por una energía de exaltación que arde en mi pecho en este instante, me siento excitado, me siento transportado a un lugar donde todo es bello y perfecto, donde todo parece utópico y duradero. Gracias Patrick Rothfuss por escribir, gracias por hacerme feliz.
El temor de un hombre sabio, continuación de El nombre del viento, nos sigue narrando la extraña, pero interesantísima vida de Kvothe. En este volumen seremos testigos de esa evolución y madurez que va sufriendo el personaje a lo largo de las más de mil páginas. Es muy interesante leer las primeras páginas después de finalizar nuestra lectura porque al hacerlo logramos percibir ese cambio tan fuerte que ha sufrido Kvothe; al inicio parecía un niño, pero después de tantas aventuras, peligros y experiencias que tiene que vivir, se ve transformado en un adulto en todo el sentido de la palabra, realmente es un cambio tremendo. Recuerdo que en el libro pasado mencioné que la estructura del argumento se asemeja a las hojas de un árbol: cada rama era una faceta de la vida de Kvothe, en cualquier momento podía caer alguna y conocer X o Y información. Sin embargo, la estructura de este volumen se me ha asemejado más a los arcos de un manga, como si las experiencias se encerraran en grandes paréntesis que se van abriendo y cerrando según corresponda. A veces, cuando iniciaba un «arco» sentía un poco de «molestia» porque quería seguir conociendo información sobre los sucesos que estaba viviendo Kvothe actualmente, pero, después de avanzar unas cuantas páginas, resultaba completamente fascinado por la nueva aventura del personaje, y entonces al acercarme al final de aquella aventura empezaba nuevamente a sentirme ansioso porque anhelaba seguir leyendo sobre el tema que ya acaparaba mi atención, luego comenzaba otra historia, y así, sucesivamente, ocurrió en todo el libro. Sentí como si el autor hubiera jugado todo el tiempo conmigo, me sentí igual de hipnotizado que un niño pequeño al que le relatan su cuento favorito: No olvidaré jamás la cantidad de risas y emociones que he sentido con este volumen.
Recordar cada escena, personaje y conversación es imposible porque el libro es larguísimo, pero puedo afirmar con toda la honestidad del mundo que no existió una sola página que me aburriera o demás. Me siento tan, pero tan atraído por esta historia, que me emociono muchísimo incluso solo pensando en este libro. Eso me perjudica porque no puedo ser completamente objetivo, pero créanme que he intentado buscarle defectos a esta obra para ser neutral, pero por más que he intentado no le he encontrado ni uno solo. Todo me parece bonito, todo me parece perfecto, todo me parece genial. Dicen que la perfección no existe, y sí, es verdad, pero hay libros que nos marcan tan profundamente tocándonos el alma y manipulándola de mil maneras, que es cuasi imposible encontrarle algo malo. Prosa maravillosa, de las mejores prosas que he leído en mi vida, ligera, sencilla, preciosa, podría leerse esta obra sin detenernos ni un solo segundo y seguiríamos disfrutándolo de igual forma. Una prosa que te atrapa, te divierte, te genera curiosidad, y además te enseña lecciones sobre diversos temas a medida que Kvothe va aprendiendo cierto tipo de conocimientos: En verdad, esta prosa, es una completa belleza. Es maravilloso de que exista un ser que pueda escribir así de espectacular. Me siento completamente complacido.
Y es que pasan los días y las semanas, y aunque ya finalicé esta obra hace varios meses, no cambia absolutamente nada de mi opinión, ni de mis sentimientos. Soy nostálgico de corazón por lo que me gusta realizar todo tipo de memorias para mí «yo futuro»: Memorias como coleccionar fotos, grabar audios, escribir textos extraños, guardar pequeños objetos que parecen no tener valor, etc. Esa nostalgia, me incita a revivir mi pasado constantemente, pero no para arrepentirme por mis «malas decisiones» sino para sentir gratitud por mi presente y mi futuro. Tener este libro cerca de mí, después de finalizarlo, se ha convertido en una tentación, porque mi faceta nostálgica ahora me impulsa a tomarlo de vez en cuando, abrirlo, releer una página al azar, y en solo unos párrafos recuerdo un montón de detalles, me sumerjo en el libro, y me recuerda que este es uno de los mejores libros que he tenido la oportunidad de conocer en mi vida. Un libro que tiene amistad, romance, aventura, sexo, magia, traiciones, aventura, risas, personajes excelentes, riesgos, etcétera, etcétera. Muchos libros manejan temas similares, pero solo aquellos que los desarrollan perfectamente son aquellos que sobresalen, este libro es uno de ellos. Cada temática está muy bien desarrollada, cada temática nos permite conocer un pedacito de esa humanidad que tiene este gran personaje, cada temática te absorbe por completo, cada temática te enamora.
Esta duología —esperemos pronto se transforme en trilogía— es una recomendación maravillosa para cualquier lector. Hay que erradicar el miedo a las obras largas, y los libros de Patrick Rothfuss son los indicados para ello. Leyendo sus dos obras comprenderemos que no todos los libros extensos son aburridos, y que en muchos casos vale la pena darles la oportunidad, sin importar si tardamos un mes, dos meses e incluso tres en acabarlos. Ese frenetismo de cumplir retos, de leer una obra cada cierto tiempo, de consumir X cantidad de páginas diariamente... ¡No, ese no es el objetivo de leer! Obsesionarnos con tantas reglas solo nos enferma, pero especialmente nos aleja del objetivo principal de la lectura: Disfrutar. Dicen que no debemos dejar para mañana lo que puedes hacer hoy, así que si tú, tienes un libro que siempre has querido leer, pero no lo has hecho porque es extenso, te invito a que te olvides de todas tus lecturas actuales, tomes aquel libro y no postergues más aquella aventura: Si ese libro te está persiguiendo por tanto tiempo es porque algo importante debes aprender de él. Además, no hay que esperar eternamente, nuestro tiempo es bastante limitado. Yo estuve postergando a Patrick Rothfuss desde hace muchísimos años pero sentía mucha pereza de iniciar sus voluminosos libros, ahora me doy cuenta que la pereza es tan destructiva como la droga, por su culpa por poco y me pierdo la posibilidad de conocer un libro tan fantástico como este.
Tengo un archivo de un bloc de notas con más de doscientas ideas que pude usar para realizar esta reseña, ¿pero saben algo? Al final he decidido escribir esta reseña con el corazón, y no con el cerebro, porque si escribo con el cerebro siento que ninguna palabra tendrá la belleza que merece poseer la reseña de esta obra. Pero escribiendo con el corazón siento que mis palabras se acercan más a lo que viví con esta lectura: Un océano de emociones y placer. Libro completamente recomendado, uno de los mejores que he leído, uno que siempre recordaré y tendré muy presente en mi vida. ¿Espero con ansias el tercer volumen? Por supuesto que sí. Ojalá llegué el día en que podamos tener la dicha de leer la anhelada continuación de esta historia. ¿Calificación? Cinco estrellas, no lo he dudado ni un solo segundo, antes de llegar a la mitad del libro ya la tenía súper clara. Libro divino, libro maravilloso, libro muy especial.
June 7, 2019
Patrick Rothfuss almost did it again. He almost wielded his magic like he did the first time; he almost teased me in the same way and made me feel like I was part of the story, but, ultimately, stumbled over his own words. This book had the potential to be like the first, though he didn’t quite pull it off. Its main problem was that it simply had too much story, which translated as a complete structural mess. The plot was good, but there was just too much of it in the word count; there was enough material in here for two whole novels, and it was unfortunately crammed into one. Rothfuss needed an editor to tell him no!
Back home at the university
So, it’s on with the positives before I lay down the problems in full. Rothfuss’ university is a place full of wonder and magic; he’s system of the arcane is very well devised. It’s not a simple thing. The characters don’t say a few words and produce wonders form their fingertips; they have to work at their talents and discover what they are capable of. This means that though the story Kvothe’s powers develop and begin to grow slowly stronger; he gradually begins to learn more arcane secrets, and has to earn every single one. I love the system, and its explained with a high degree of detail that boarders upon the credible. It’s a little odd, but believable in this world.
But, that’s only one side of the school. Like most places in society, it’s also full of the arrogant and the selfish; they wish to thwart Kvothe’s progress. Such is the personality of his adversary, Ambrose. The rivalry began as mere teasing and has now developed into something much more dangerous. The two wield a dark hatred for each other that will only be satisfied when the other is dead. Too much has happened now for simple forgiveness on either side. The addition of this rivalry kept the narrative fairly tense because Kvothe is under constant threat no matter how far he travels away from the university.
The potential of this story came on too fast
As much as I love the university, I was very pleased to see the story taken elsewhere. It needed to be taken far away for Kvothe to grow as a person and discover his limits; he needed to go and fully understand the name of the wind. Indeed, he takes a semester off and goes on a rather large adventure. He becomes the confidant of one of the most powerful men in the world, and leads an expedition to hunt some rather nasty bandits. In this, we see the true potential of this character; we see where he may go when he is a man grown in both body and mind.
However, in spite of this, I think some things happened way too fast. The author has crammed far too much story into his thousand pages. To my mind, this should have been published into two separate parts of the same book. Each of which could easily have been around seven hundred pages long. This, though, was a complete mess. By doing it the way Rothfuss has, he has sacrificed parts of his story. Life altering events are condensed down into short passages of the book, and are brushed over in their entirety. Don’t get me wrong, the story was excellent, but there was just far too much of it for one novel. I felt like I was just beginning to understand the effects Florian had on him when he was then thrown into an equally as important aspect of his development. There was simple too much, too fast. As a result, I knocked down my rating a whole star. The pacing was all over the place and the structure was a mess. It simply needed more work before publishing.
The ending
I’m trying to keep this review positive because I did really enjoy the book, but the problems keep seeping through my words. Everything was brought together at the end, and many things were resolved. But, it felt like Rothfuss was performing a mass juggling act to do it; he resolved almost everything in fifty pages in a weirdly awkward way. Again, there was just too much in here! However, Kvothe has grown tremendously as a person. I do look forward to seeing how this affects his later life at the university. He will, no doubt, be even more reckless and brilliant. And, I would gladly wait ten years for it, if that’s how long Rothfuss needs to get it perfect! There’s no point releasing a half finished book even if it is still really good.
"It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect."
Overall, this was enjoyable, but it needed an editor with an iron fist, and a hard heart, to grab Rothfuss by the beard and shout at him; he needs to be told that he shouldn’t walk in the shadow of Robert Jordan because it could ruin his series. I can see why it takes the author many years to write his books. I guess, at times, this story runs away from him and expands almost to the point of breaking point. I hope the third book is more tight and tamed.
The Kingkiller Chronicle
1. The Name of the Wind- A jaw dropping five stars.
2. The Wise Man's Fear - A messy four stars
2.5. A Slow Regard for Silent Things - A terrible one star
Back home at the university
So, it’s on with the positives before I lay down the problems in full. Rothfuss’ university is a place full of wonder and magic; he’s system of the arcane is very well devised. It’s not a simple thing. The characters don’t say a few words and produce wonders form their fingertips; they have to work at their talents and discover what they are capable of. This means that though the story Kvothe’s powers develop and begin to grow slowly stronger; he gradually begins to learn more arcane secrets, and has to earn every single one. I love the system, and its explained with a high degree of detail that boarders upon the credible. It’s a little odd, but believable in this world.
But, that’s only one side of the school. Like most places in society, it’s also full of the arrogant and the selfish; they wish to thwart Kvothe’s progress. Such is the personality of his adversary, Ambrose. The rivalry began as mere teasing and has now developed into something much more dangerous. The two wield a dark hatred for each other that will only be satisfied when the other is dead. Too much has happened now for simple forgiveness on either side. The addition of this rivalry kept the narrative fairly tense because Kvothe is under constant threat no matter how far he travels away from the university.
The potential of this story came on too fast
As much as I love the university, I was very pleased to see the story taken elsewhere. It needed to be taken far away for Kvothe to grow as a person and discover his limits; he needed to go and fully understand the name of the wind. Indeed, he takes a semester off and goes on a rather large adventure. He becomes the confidant of one of the most powerful men in the world, and leads an expedition to hunt some rather nasty bandits. In this, we see the true potential of this character; we see where he may go when he is a man grown in both body and mind.
However, in spite of this, I think some things happened way too fast. The author has crammed far too much story into his thousand pages. To my mind, this should have been published into two separate parts of the same book. Each of which could easily have been around seven hundred pages long. This, though, was a complete mess. By doing it the way Rothfuss has, he has sacrificed parts of his story. Life altering events are condensed down into short passages of the book, and are brushed over in their entirety. Don’t get me wrong, the story was excellent, but there was just far too much of it for one novel. I felt like I was just beginning to understand the effects Florian had on him when he was then thrown into an equally as important aspect of his development. There was simple too much, too fast. As a result, I knocked down my rating a whole star. The pacing was all over the place and the structure was a mess. It simply needed more work before publishing.
The ending
I’m trying to keep this review positive because I did really enjoy the book, but the problems keep seeping through my words. Everything was brought together at the end, and many things were resolved. But, it felt like Rothfuss was performing a mass juggling act to do it; he resolved almost everything in fifty pages in a weirdly awkward way. Again, there was just too much in here! However, Kvothe has grown tremendously as a person. I do look forward to seeing how this affects his later life at the university. He will, no doubt, be even more reckless and brilliant. And, I would gladly wait ten years for it, if that’s how long Rothfuss needs to get it perfect! There’s no point releasing a half finished book even if it is still really good.
"It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect."
Overall, this was enjoyable, but it needed an editor with an iron fist, and a hard heart, to grab Rothfuss by the beard and shout at him; he needs to be told that he shouldn’t walk in the shadow of Robert Jordan because it could ruin his series. I can see why it takes the author many years to write his books. I guess, at times, this story runs away from him and expands almost to the point of breaking point. I hope the third book is more tight and tamed.
The Kingkiller Chronicle
1. The Name of the Wind- A jaw dropping five stars.
2. The Wise Man's Fear - A messy four stars
2.5. A Slow Regard for Silent Things - A terrible one star
December 31, 2022
1.) The Name of the Wind ★★★★★
2.) The Wise Man's Fear ★★★★★
2.4) The Lightning Tree ★★★★★
2.5) The Slow Regard of Silent Things ★★★★★
3.) Doors of Stone n/a
[2022]
a very happy reread + a very special feeling last book of 2022
[2015]
This review is going to contain mild spoilers and theory crafting, so I have to caution you while reading this if you are not familiar with this amazing world.
“I do this so you cannot help but hear. A wise man views a moonless night with fear.”
Obviously I'm being a little bit presumptuous, but I believe The Kingkiller Chronicles will be the best trilogy I've ever read. And I've read a lot of trilogies, and none of them can hold a candle to this masterpiece.
“No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.”
Most the time I think the second installment of trilogies feel like complete filler books. Unnecessary information gets thrown at you left and right, while completely wasting your time and giving you a cliff hanger from hell. Everything in this book feels well thought-out and meaningful. I knew every piece of information was part of a larger puzzle, and I just tried to grasp every piece I could because I knew it was purposeful. The story telling in this book is seriously unmatchable.
This book picks right back up where The Name of the Wind left off. It is day two for Kvothe, so he's in The Waystone Inn telling his story to the Chronicler while Bast listens along. This book's stories take him all over Tenerant on quite a few adventures that are all an absolute joy to read. This book definitely dabbles in a few darker situations that Kvothe ends up in, but he handles them all beautifully, even though he tricks you into thinking he isn't. We also meet lots of new and very interesting characters that help make the story even more perfect.
I have to touch on how hard I'm fan-girling over Felurian. I don't care if she ends up good or bad, I completely loved her. She is literally a Fae siren, which if any of you know my in real life you'd know the stars aligned for me when this character was written. Kvothe traveling through the Eld Forest , and then entering into The Fae was my favorite moments of this whole series. I am dying to understand how The Cthaeh. works and what will come from the cryptic messages it told Kvothe. I don't know as much of The Cthaeh, Felurian, or The Faen realm as I'd like, but I just had to gush about how much I loved it all (especially Felurian though, I am seriously crushin'). It's also good to note that Felurian and Bast have similar titles; Felurian is the Lady of the Twilight and Bast is Prince of the Twilight and the Telwyth Mael.
My friend brought it to my attention that they think Kvothe's mother and Lady Lackless are sisters, because of what Lady Lackless says to Kvothe when he is courting her for Maer Alveron. Then there is a song that Kvothe sings in the The Name of the Wind when he is still with his troupe, then his mother scolds him for singing it and it is about Lady Lackless. I love this theory and think it's pretty sound.
Oh, and the final book's title name is Doors of Stone, and I can think of three doors; the one in the archives, the one in the Underthing where Auri lives, and a third that is mentioned in the song about Lady Lackless.*excitement intensifies*
As soon as I finished this book I immediately had to look up other's fan theories on who Master Ash really is. I completely fell in love with the theory that he is Cinder. Like, how freakin' amazing would that be? I'm 100% going to obsess over this while waiting for Doors of Stone. I also listened to a podcast and at the end (about the 1:40:00 mark) one of the guys makes a beautiful revelation about how Cinder being Denna's patron could be because she has powers that will make people believe her, and with the song he's having her write, they could rewrite the history and make the world believe a completely different set of events. Ahhhh, it gives me goose bumps it's so perfect!
Again, I fell in love with Pat by watching his stream of Fallout 4 for a charity he runs, Worldbuilders. I cannot stress enough how wonderful this cause is and how you should check it out. Mr. Rothfuss being a good human is just an added bonus to him writing the best fantasy books I've ever read.
“It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”
Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube | Steam | Twitch
2.) The Wise Man's Fear ★★★★★
2.4) The Lightning Tree ★★★★★
2.5) The Slow Regard of Silent Things ★★★★★
3.) Doors of Stone n/a
[2022]
a very happy reread + a very special feeling last book of 2022
[2015]
This review is going to contain mild spoilers and theory crafting, so I have to caution you while reading this if you are not familiar with this amazing world.
“I do this so you cannot help but hear. A wise man views a moonless night with fear.”
Obviously I'm being a little bit presumptuous, but I believe The Kingkiller Chronicles will be the best trilogy I've ever read. And I've read a lot of trilogies, and none of them can hold a candle to this masterpiece.
“No man is brave that has never walked a hundred miles. If you want to know the truth of who you are, walk until not a person knows your name. Travel is the great leveler, the great teacher, bitter as medicine, crueler than mirror-glass. A long stretch of road will teach you more about yourself than a hundred years of quiet.”
Most the time I think the second installment of trilogies feel like complete filler books. Unnecessary information gets thrown at you left and right, while completely wasting your time and giving you a cliff hanger from hell. Everything in this book feels well thought-out and meaningful. I knew every piece of information was part of a larger puzzle, and I just tried to grasp every piece I could because I knew it was purposeful. The story telling in this book is seriously unmatchable.
This book picks right back up where The Name of the Wind left off. It is day two for Kvothe, so he's in The Waystone Inn telling his story to the Chronicler while Bast listens along. This book's stories take him all over Tenerant on quite a few adventures that are all an absolute joy to read. This book definitely dabbles in a few darker situations that Kvothe ends up in, but he handles them all beautifully, even though he tricks you into thinking he isn't. We also meet lots of new and very interesting characters that help make the story even more perfect.
I have to touch on how hard I'm fan-girling over Felurian. I don't care if she ends up good or bad, I completely loved her. She is literally a Fae siren, which if any of you know my in real life you'd know the stars aligned for me when this character was written. Kvothe traveling through the Eld Forest , and then entering into The Fae was my favorite moments of this whole series. I am dying to understand how The Cthaeh. works and what will come from the cryptic messages it told Kvothe. I don't know as much of The Cthaeh, Felurian, or The Faen realm as I'd like, but I just had to gush about how much I loved it all (especially Felurian though, I am seriously crushin'). It's also good to note that Felurian and Bast have similar titles; Felurian is the Lady of the Twilight and Bast is Prince of the Twilight and the Telwyth Mael.
My friend brought it to my attention that they think Kvothe's mother and Lady Lackless are sisters, because of what Lady Lackless says to Kvothe when he is courting her for Maer Alveron. Then there is a song that Kvothe sings in the The Name of the Wind when he is still with his troupe, then his mother scolds him for singing it and it is about Lady Lackless. I love this theory and think it's pretty sound.
Oh, and the final book's title name is Doors of Stone, and I can think of three doors; the one in the archives, the one in the Underthing where Auri lives, and a third that is mentioned in the song about Lady Lackless.*excitement intensifies*
As soon as I finished this book I immediately had to look up other's fan theories on who Master Ash really is. I completely fell in love with the theory that he is Cinder. Like, how freakin' amazing would that be? I'm 100% going to obsess over this while waiting for Doors of Stone. I also listened to a podcast and at the end (about the 1:40:00 mark) one of the guys makes a beautiful revelation about how Cinder being Denna's patron could be because she has powers that will make people believe her, and with the song he's having her write, they could rewrite the history and make the world believe a completely different set of events. Ahhhh, it gives me goose bumps it's so perfect!
Again, I fell in love with Pat by watching his stream of Fallout 4 for a charity he runs, Worldbuilders. I cannot stress enough how wonderful this cause is and how you should check it out. Mr. Rothfuss being a good human is just an added bonus to him writing the best fantasy books I've ever read.
“It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”
Twitter | Tumblr | Instagram | Youtube | Steam | Twitch
February 20, 2018
I have almost 1500 SF/F books in my database, and I've probably read 500 more that I forgot to list. I have never read a book that was simultaneously so bad and so good. I suspect that as time passes I will like it less. You know when you go to the local Enormous Portions restaurant and go with the meat in the rich gravy with the fries and onion rings, and the mud pie for dessert, and a couple of drinks, and you enjoy it all. Until near the end of the meal, when you don't feel so good; then you can't sleep because your stomach hurts; then it gets worse? Like that.
It's a page turner. Interesting characters do interesting things. You want to know what happens next, so you don't stop to reflect.
I never did like Denna. I'll give Rothfuss credit for being brave in showing us a probable reason for her approach to life, but it's dangerous ground. Or perhaps the author just heard Richard Thompson's song "Beeswing," which describes Denna perfectly. With or without that reason, by the end of the book I just wanted to stuff Denna into a wood-chipper, then put the chips in a blender, then put the result into a strong acid, then go an invent a time machine and go back to a time when I had ever heard of Denna and stop the early me from reading about her.
[ spoilers after this ]
The first several hundred pages were a boring rehash. Never mind that.
I first became uneasy when Kvothe went out after the bandits. They're looking for bandits. They see a band of men. Without further discussion, they slaughter them all. Step 1 of "some people need killing," a theme we'll hear again.
Then I noticed that perhaps 0.05 percent of all the people in Kvothe's world ever notice that he's in his mid-teens.
Then the author tells us that 16-year-old Kvothe knows ten thousand songs and stories. Sure. We are told that this is possible because he and ALL his clan can always remember a song perfectly after hearing it once. We are reminded that he is the best lutenist in the world, at 16, and he even says that he is. Sure.
I give Rothfuss full credit for finally telling us that there are some things Kvothe is not good at. Then he spoils it by suggesting that it's only because they don't interest him. There's no doubt that he could become the world's best in an hour if he wanted to.
Then, after all that, he makes very slow progress in the Adem way.
I like the way Rothfuss leads us into thinking Kvothe is learning something from the Adem. Then he leaves them, and within a very short time he's slaughtering another dozen baddies. This time the "some people need killing" is actually spoken right out.
He also crosses the continent, often on foot, carrying a heavy box full of money that never seems to get in the way or slow him down. The antigravity properties of his new cloak were never mentioned but they must be there.
Ah, the cloak. Made by Felurian. Jesus on a tricycle, can this book really have had an editor? I can't imagine that a professional editor would leave this Felurian part in the book at all, let alone at the length it is. It's time he got laid? You can do that in two pages. He needs a magic cloak? Same thing. But no, he has to outwit a millennia-old fairy while demonstrating that despite zero experience he is already the best cocksman in history. Puh-leeze.
As other have mentioned, there are a lot of cardboard characters. But the Maer is very good. Kilvin, Hespe and some of the Adem are good. Elodin and Bast we can't decide about, but they are interesting. Auri's too weird, and seems tacked on, but no doubt she'll be important later. The Adem culture was a good piece of worldbuilding; the Severen culture OK but not great.
In the end, this is just another "ridiculously talented kid from the poor side of town overcomes all obstacles, reluctantly shoulders burden of being the guy who judges everyone and slaughters many of them while women swoon at his feet." For that, I'd rather read about Drizzt the Dark Elf.
And I admit that Rothfuss has left us some broad hints that Kvothe has a lot of growing up to do. That might fix some of the above.
But for something like this only better, I'd go to Lois McMaster Bujold's "Chalion" series.
Fairness: This is a genre people like, and within that genre it is an excellent book. I just don't care for the genre any more, and it's probably because I am old and have read a lot of them.
In2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 or so, Rothfuss is going to write a REALLY GREAT book for grownups.
LATER ADDITION: I admit that it is also possible that Rothfuss is going to stun us in book 3 with some plot developments that make everything fall into place as the characters mature, and we realize that the trilogy is some form of "with great power comes great responsibility" lesson.
It's a page turner. Interesting characters do interesting things. You want to know what happens next, so you don't stop to reflect.
I never did like Denna. I'll give Rothfuss credit for being brave in showing us a probable reason for her approach to life, but it's dangerous ground. Or perhaps the author just heard Richard Thompson's song "Beeswing," which describes Denna perfectly. With or without that reason, by the end of the book I just wanted to stuff Denna into a wood-chipper, then put the chips in a blender, then put the result into a strong acid, then go an invent a time machine and go back to a time when I had ever heard of Denna and stop the early me from reading about her.
[ spoilers after this ]
The first several hundred pages were a boring rehash. Never mind that.
I first became uneasy when Kvothe went out after the bandits. They're looking for bandits. They see a band of men. Without further discussion, they slaughter them all. Step 1 of "some people need killing," a theme we'll hear again.
Then I noticed that perhaps 0.05 percent of all the people in Kvothe's world ever notice that he's in his mid-teens.
Then the author tells us that 16-year-old Kvothe knows ten thousand songs and stories. Sure. We are told that this is possible because he and ALL his clan can always remember a song perfectly after hearing it once. We are reminded that he is the best lutenist in the world, at 16, and he even says that he is. Sure.
I give Rothfuss full credit for finally telling us that there are some things Kvothe is not good at. Then he spoils it by suggesting that it's only because they don't interest him. There's no doubt that he could become the world's best in an hour if he wanted to.
Then, after all that, he makes very slow progress in the Adem way.
I like the way Rothfuss leads us into thinking Kvothe is learning something from the Adem. Then he leaves them, and within a very short time he's slaughtering another dozen baddies. This time the "some people need killing" is actually spoken right out.
He also crosses the continent, often on foot, carrying a heavy box full of money that never seems to get in the way or slow him down. The antigravity properties of his new cloak were never mentioned but they must be there.
Ah, the cloak. Made by Felurian. Jesus on a tricycle, can this book really have had an editor? I can't imagine that a professional editor would leave this Felurian part in the book at all, let alone at the length it is. It's time he got laid? You can do that in two pages. He needs a magic cloak? Same thing. But no, he has to outwit a millennia-old fairy while demonstrating that despite zero experience he is already the best cocksman in history. Puh-leeze.
As other have mentioned, there are a lot of cardboard characters. But the Maer is very good. Kilvin, Hespe and some of the Adem are good. Elodin and Bast we can't decide about, but they are interesting. Auri's too weird, and seems tacked on, but no doubt she'll be important later. The Adem culture was a good piece of worldbuilding; the Severen culture OK but not great.
In the end, this is just another "ridiculously talented kid from the poor side of town overcomes all obstacles, reluctantly shoulders burden of being the guy who judges everyone and slaughters many of them while women swoon at his feet." For that, I'd rather read about Drizzt the Dark Elf.
And I admit that Rothfuss has left us some broad hints that Kvothe has a lot of growing up to do. That might fix some of the above.
But for something like this only better, I'd go to Lois McMaster Bujold's "Chalion" series.
Fairness: This is a genre people like, and within that genre it is an excellent book. I just don't care for the genre any more, and it's probably because I am old and have read a lot of them.
In
LATER ADDITION: I admit that it is also possible that Rothfuss is going to stun us in book 3 with some plot developments that make everything fall into place as the characters mature, and we realize that the trilogy is some form of "with great power comes great responsibility" lesson.
April 10, 2013
I like stories where I cannot predict what will happen next. Patrick Rothfuss writes stories like that. Good solid characters and a plot that unfolds as unpredictably as life itself.
August 17, 2013
Prologue:
There was an echo of three parts. The first echo was the most obvious one. It told of promises unfullfilled, questions unanswered and time invested. It was an echo of frustration.
The second echo was more subtle. A yawning of the mind reverberating through synapses untrained. It was an echo of boredom.
The final echo felt like a spiral, winding its way ever downward, digging deeper into the matter of things. It was an echo of reviews within reviews within reviews.
Chapter 1:
"The wise man's fear," the reviewer said, "is a book you can't simply review." He shifted toward his audience.
"Why is that?" one eager listener asked.
"Because one doesn't simply dislike it like a twilight on an autumn eve. It's neither black, nor white, nor is it colored in fifty shades of grey."
"But you loved the first book, didn't you?" the eager listener went on.
"Indeed," the reviewer said. "I loved the Name of the Wind."
Another member of the audience stood, waving a spoonful of chilli.
"With my magic beans here, I can call the name of the wind as well. And guess what, it stinks!"
Nervous laughter from the audience vanished quickly after looking at the reviewer's stern face.
"One does not mock what is disliked!" the reviewer said. "You treat it with respect, cause others may hold dear what's not to your taste."
The spoon swinger sat down, his face burning like a red hot chilli pepper.
"So, you can't use humor in a review?" the eager listener asked.
"Oh, on the contrary," smiled the reviewer. "Let me tell you of my first approach to review then."
Chapter 2:
It was the time, when 3D was watched with glasses on your nose. I sat in the cinema to see the newest Johnny Depp movie, an epic 5 hour piece about film-making.
I had my glases on, a six-pack of beer and my nachos. I always had nachos. With cheese that could stretch as long as the wheel of time.
As the movie started I was excited. There he was. Johnny Depp. He entered a white room. Nobody entered a room like Johnny Depp. It was graceful, an art of walking never to be seen again. A walking dead to our modern society, lost on an island of purgatory.
In the white room a simple chair awaited Johnny and there he sat. As simple as that. Sat there like noone else could, beautifully, but without moving again.
After two hours of watching Johnny Depp sitting in 3D, I fell asleep and found myself transported into the white room.
"Hello there," said Johnny Depp.
"Wow, I mean, hi," I said.
"So, what are you doing in my movie?" asked Johnny Depp. Nobody asked a question as eloquently as Johnny Depp.
"What are you doing here, Johnny Depp? You do nothing since 2 hours, you just sit there! Where's the movie?" I asked.
"Well, does there have to be action in it? Can't it just be beautiful without anything happening?" Johnny asked uniquely.
"But what's the point?" I inquired.
"It's not a movie. It's a movie about movie-making and therefore it needs no real movie."
"Now my head hurts," I said. "You confuse me in my own dream. Wait a minute. It is my dream, isn't it?"
"It is, I believe," said Johnny. "Let me guess. You ask yourself why you're talking to me, when you could talk to, let's say, a sexy actress?" He smiled at that.
"Yeah," I admitted, shifting my foot uncomfortably.
"Allright then, which sexy actress do you like?" Johnny asked.
"Rachelle LeFevre, she's adorable!" I said without hesitation.
"Can't do that, she's still trapped under the dome at CBS. You know how they are, you don't wanna mess with them."
"That's true," I said. "Well, may I then speak with Natalie Portman?"
"Of course," said Natalie Portman. Wow, this Johnny Depp was a fantastic actor!
"What a great white room this is," she said. "It would be the perfect set for a movie about movie-making."
"Really?" I asked.
"Definately! So, what do you want to talk about? The Black Swan?"
"Oh wow, I didn't know you were into the New Avengers, Natalie Portman. She's one of my favourite characters there."
Natalie looked puzzled and remained silent.
"Well," I said. "I want to write this review about a book I wasn't that fond of and I don't know how to start."
"Really? For somebody who doesn't know how to start, you wrote a lot already. Do you think somebody is still reading at this time?"
"Probably not," I admitted.
"Anyway," Natalie said. "Shouldn't you start with summary of what happened?"
"I'm not so sure there happened anything, like in this movie."
"So, who is the main character?" Natalie asked.
"He's called Kvothe." I said.
"Shut up! I know him. He's great, we're Facebook friends!" Natalie produced a laptop from out of nowhere. That Johnny Depp is really sleight of hand, if you ask me.
"So, let me see," she said. "Ah there he is. Look at his status update: Still at the university, took a term off to work for a foreign government. Did a lot of camping there, picked up karate and a new language, got laid a lot. Fun summer."
"Does he say anything about his relation with Denna?" I asked.
"Relationship status says: It's complicated," replied Natalie. "So, where is your problem? This seems to be great content for a nice novella of 150 pages."
"Yep, but it's a 1000+ pages book." I said.
"Is it beautifully written?" she asked.
"I suppose," I supposed.
"Then where's your problem? Get your shit together!"
"Wow, Natalie Portman. You just said "shit" on a public review."
"I said "fuck" on Conan O'Brien last year, so what?"
"True dat. So, one last question, Natalie. If you know Kvothe, why is he so irresistable to women in the book. I mean...would you...you know...?"
"Oh, of course, if I wasn't in a happy relationship and had a baby. He's just great, it doesn't have to be logical. You know, it's still called fantasy."
Chapter 3:
"That wasn't much of a review at all!" screamed the eager listener.
"Does it have to be?" the reviewer asked.
"Of course! What good is a review, where you review nothing?"
"It has the same value as a story about storytelling without telling a story." the reviewer explained.
"But aren't you afraid that nobody likes your review?"
"Not at all. If you like a story without story, then you like a review without review. And if you don't like the review, you may not like the story and therefore like the review. I can't loose," said the reviewer.
"But what if somebody likes the story, but hates your review?"
The reviewer smiled.
"Now that, my friend, is a wise man's fear!"
Epilogue:
There was a hope of three parts. The first part was a rustling of pages, of future deeds and revelations. It was a hope of satisfaction.
The second part was a quickening of pace, of new places and faces. It was a hope of excitement.
And the final part was crackling of marble, the screeching of hinges, the opening of a new path.
It was a hope of a door of stones.
There was an echo of three parts. The first echo was the most obvious one. It told of promises unfullfilled, questions unanswered and time invested. It was an echo of frustration.
The second echo was more subtle. A yawning of the mind reverberating through synapses untrained. It was an echo of boredom.
The final echo felt like a spiral, winding its way ever downward, digging deeper into the matter of things. It was an echo of reviews within reviews within reviews.
Chapter 1:
"The wise man's fear," the reviewer said, "is a book you can't simply review." He shifted toward his audience.
"Why is that?" one eager listener asked.
"Because one doesn't simply dislike it like a twilight on an autumn eve. It's neither black, nor white, nor is it colored in fifty shades of grey."
"But you loved the first book, didn't you?" the eager listener went on.
"Indeed," the reviewer said. "I loved the Name of the Wind."
Another member of the audience stood, waving a spoonful of chilli.
"With my magic beans here, I can call the name of the wind as well. And guess what, it stinks!"
Nervous laughter from the audience vanished quickly after looking at the reviewer's stern face.
"One does not mock what is disliked!" the reviewer said. "You treat it with respect, cause others may hold dear what's not to your taste."
The spoon swinger sat down, his face burning like a red hot chilli pepper.
"So, you can't use humor in a review?" the eager listener asked.
"Oh, on the contrary," smiled the reviewer. "Let me tell you of my first approach to review then."
Chapter 2:
It was the time, when 3D was watched with glasses on your nose. I sat in the cinema to see the newest Johnny Depp movie, an epic 5 hour piece about film-making.
I had my glases on, a six-pack of beer and my nachos. I always had nachos. With cheese that could stretch as long as the wheel of time.
As the movie started I was excited. There he was. Johnny Depp. He entered a white room. Nobody entered a room like Johnny Depp. It was graceful, an art of walking never to be seen again. A walking dead to our modern society, lost on an island of purgatory.
In the white room a simple chair awaited Johnny and there he sat. As simple as that. Sat there like noone else could, beautifully, but without moving again.
After two hours of watching Johnny Depp sitting in 3D, I fell asleep and found myself transported into the white room.
"Hello there," said Johnny Depp.
"Wow, I mean, hi," I said.
"So, what are you doing in my movie?" asked Johnny Depp. Nobody asked a question as eloquently as Johnny Depp.
"What are you doing here, Johnny Depp? You do nothing since 2 hours, you just sit there! Where's the movie?" I asked.
"Well, does there have to be action in it? Can't it just be beautiful without anything happening?" Johnny asked uniquely.
"But what's the point?" I inquired.
"It's not a movie. It's a movie about movie-making and therefore it needs no real movie."
"Now my head hurts," I said. "You confuse me in my own dream. Wait a minute. It is my dream, isn't it?"
"It is, I believe," said Johnny. "Let me guess. You ask yourself why you're talking to me, when you could talk to, let's say, a sexy actress?" He smiled at that.
"Yeah," I admitted, shifting my foot uncomfortably.
"Allright then, which sexy actress do you like?" Johnny asked.
"Rachelle LeFevre, she's adorable!" I said without hesitation.
"Can't do that, she's still trapped under the dome at CBS. You know how they are, you don't wanna mess with them."
"That's true," I said. "Well, may I then speak with Natalie Portman?"
"Of course," said Natalie Portman. Wow, this Johnny Depp was a fantastic actor!
"What a great white room this is," she said. "It would be the perfect set for a movie about movie-making."
"Really?" I asked.
"Definately! So, what do you want to talk about? The Black Swan?"
"Oh wow, I didn't know you were into the New Avengers, Natalie Portman. She's one of my favourite characters there."
Natalie looked puzzled and remained silent.
"Well," I said. "I want to write this review about a book I wasn't that fond of and I don't know how to start."
"Really? For somebody who doesn't know how to start, you wrote a lot already. Do you think somebody is still reading at this time?"
"Probably not," I admitted.
"Anyway," Natalie said. "Shouldn't you start with summary of what happened?"
"I'm not so sure there happened anything, like in this movie."
"So, who is the main character?" Natalie asked.
"He's called Kvothe." I said.
"Shut up! I know him. He's great, we're Facebook friends!" Natalie produced a laptop from out of nowhere. That Johnny Depp is really sleight of hand, if you ask me.
"So, let me see," she said. "Ah there he is. Look at his status update: Still at the university, took a term off to work for a foreign government. Did a lot of camping there, picked up karate and a new language, got laid a lot. Fun summer."
"Does he say anything about his relation with Denna?" I asked.
"Relationship status says: It's complicated," replied Natalie. "So, where is your problem? This seems to be great content for a nice novella of 150 pages."
"Yep, but it's a 1000+ pages book." I said.
"Is it beautifully written?" she asked.
"I suppose," I supposed.
"Then where's your problem? Get your shit together!"
"Wow, Natalie Portman. You just said "shit" on a public review."
"I said "fuck" on Conan O'Brien last year, so what?"
"True dat. So, one last question, Natalie. If you know Kvothe, why is he so irresistable to women in the book. I mean...would you...you know...?"
"Oh, of course, if I wasn't in a happy relationship and had a baby. He's just great, it doesn't have to be logical. You know, it's still called fantasy."
Chapter 3:
"That wasn't much of a review at all!" screamed the eager listener.
"Does it have to be?" the reviewer asked.
"Of course! What good is a review, where you review nothing?"
"It has the same value as a story about storytelling without telling a story." the reviewer explained.
"But aren't you afraid that nobody likes your review?"
"Not at all. If you like a story without story, then you like a review without review. And if you don't like the review, you may not like the story and therefore like the review. I can't loose," said the reviewer.
"But what if somebody likes the story, but hates your review?"
The reviewer smiled.
"Now that, my friend, is a wise man's fear!"
Epilogue:
There was a hope of three parts. The first part was a rustling of pages, of future deeds and revelations. It was a hope of satisfaction.
The second part was a quickening of pace, of new places and faces. It was a hope of excitement.
And the final part was crackling of marble, the screeching of hinges, the opening of a new path.
It was a hope of a door of stones.
January 30, 2020
I'm not angry at the hours spent reading a book that I'd rate 1 star. It was like an exercise in self-restraint and meditation. Having said that, it's sometimes useful to write negatively about 1 star books. I won't hide the fact that I was indeed exposed to substandard fare.
Kvothe lost all the creed he had with me in book 1. Here he is nothing, either as Kvothe or as Kote. His adventures are insipid and he comes across as a huge boar. That's right. Don Quixote has more lucidity in his little finger than the entire bag of wind that is Kvothe.
Take the reasons of why he isn't granted immediate honors by the Maer. The mind boggles. Then the Maer says, later, that third time pays for all. Is he a ruler or a fishmonger haggling for prices?
The author had nothing up his sleeve. Unlike a good illusionist, Rothfuss really had nothing to show. Parts of the book are disjointed from others. Denna is a nitwit. The fact that her eyes twinkle doesn't mean she's mysterious. All characters are 2 dimensional and most are unlikable.
I also couldn't care less for the world building. If you think the Adems's way of communication is original, you need to read more fantasy. The author keeps harping on the fact that the Adems, who view everyone else as barbaric are themselves set in their harsh ways. Can we move on from this banging of the empty barrel? like Asimov so nicely phrased.
The book felt like an initially flashy car with cheap plastic lined inside. Patrick Rothfuss is out of ideas. Huge parts of the plot are glossed over, while entirely new arcs occur disruptively. I am now indifferent as to what happens next.
Kvothe lost all the creed he had with me in book 1. Here he is nothing, either as Kvothe or as Kote. His adventures are insipid and he comes across as a huge boar. That's right. Don Quixote has more lucidity in his little finger than the entire bag of wind that is Kvothe.
Take the reasons of why he isn't granted immediate honors by the Maer. The mind boggles. Then the Maer says, later, that third time pays for all. Is he a ruler or a fishmonger haggling for prices?
The author had nothing up his sleeve. Unlike a good illusionist, Rothfuss really had nothing to show. Parts of the book are disjointed from others. Denna is a nitwit. The fact that her eyes twinkle doesn't mean she's mysterious. All characters are 2 dimensional and most are unlikable.
I also couldn't care less for the world building. If you think the Adems's way of communication is original, you need to read more fantasy. The author keeps harping on the fact that the Adems, who view everyone else as barbaric are themselves set in their harsh ways. Can we move on from this banging of the empty barrel? like Asimov so nicely phrased.
The book felt like an initially flashy car with cheap plastic lined inside. Patrick Rothfuss is out of ideas. Huge parts of the plot are glossed over, while entirely new arcs occur disruptively. I am now indifferent as to what happens next.
November 30, 2016
Patrick Rothfuss's The Wise Man's Fear is a great continuation (book #2) of the KingKiller Chronicle. We learn much about the precocious young wizard, Kvothe, and we get more of a feel for the conflicts and turmoil of the present from which Kvothe tells his story. I kept asking myself, "How is Rothfuss going to resolve that?" I am now one of the seeming legion who are anxiously (patiently?) awaiting the final installment of the trilogy. I'm just not sure how he can do it in one book (even a big fat fantasy book)! But while, in terms of story, the book advanced our understanding of our protagonist and made us anticipate/contemplate what is to come, I didn't come away feeling like this book had blown me away. I really enjoy Rothfuss's writing, but Kvothe's adventures seemed a bit too episodic and more drawn out than necessary. However, I am still convinced that this is a great series. I am rounding up from a 4.5 to 5.
December 22, 2020
Initial thoughts: very absorbing as usual. Loving how Rothfuss handles the switch from Kote to Kvothe. I've just reached the part where . Especially where Kote states it isn't to the point of the story: it lead me to wonder what, exactly, is the point of the story? Not a good question to be coming up in an epic fantasy.
Finished now. Could have lived without the teenage sex fantasy segment; I'm not sure what prompted Rothfuss to put it in, except part of building a legend? Very mixed feelings about it; it says something about either myself or Rothfuss when the most interesting part of a sex-fest in fae is a demonic tree. I also remain annoyed by Denna the Untouchable.
Eh. Enough. Have at it.
Update 7/15 from a discussion that contains spoilers:
Finished now. Could have lived without the teenage sex fantasy segment; I'm not sure what prompted Rothfuss to put it in, except part of building a legend? Very mixed feelings about it; it says something about either myself or Rothfuss when the most interesting part of a sex-fest in fae is a demonic tree. I also remain annoyed by Denna the Untouchable.
Eh. Enough. Have at it.
Update 7/15 from a discussion that contains spoilers:
December 3, 2014
When THE HELL is this book coming out?? The first book grabbed me by the throat and threw me down and had it's way with me and I am fast becoming impatient in having it happen a second time.
... This better not turn into another George R.R. Martin wait! Or ... or... or I shall be extremely vexed. VEXED I tell you!
Update 11/10/2014
We now haves this book and we reads it. Oh yes precious, we do and we loves it. It is the precious.
The Wise Man's Fear is absolutely fantastic. Rothfuss has propelled himself to be my most favoritist of authors. There is simply too much good stuff going on to comment intelligibly. But one must try. In no specific order...
Rothfuss Rocks because:
1) He has created a world that unquestionably and easily allows the reader to suspend disbelief. There is so much detail, work and pain (yes, you can tell Rothfuss suffered for his books) that goes into explaining sympathetic magic, alchemy and artificing that the reader finds himself nodding in agreement the whole way, thinking, "well that makes perfect sense....of course of course, I can do this, give me some soft wax, a candle and someone's hair and I'll conquer the world!" You believe because Rothfuss created a world that is utterly believable and makes perfect sense.
2) The book is goddamn funny! Knee-slapping so. This isn't a comedic series, but the dialogue between Kvothe and his troupe is simply amazing. I LOVED when he meets Puppet. I couldn't stop chuckling and texting my friend lines from the book. My most favorite scene was actually in the Name of the Wind when Kvothe wears a towel and storms into the tailor's shop, acting as a nobleman's son, what he calls, "a force of nature." The description is exactly how I envision such a pompous little ass would behave. “If you don’t bring me something to wear—” I stood up and shouted, “—I’ll tear this place apart! I’ll ask my father for your stones as a Midwinter gift. I’ll have his dogs mount your dead corpse. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?” - Simply amazing.
3) I cried at several places, again in NotW when Kvothe played for his talent pipes at the Eolian and sang The Lay of Sir Savien Traliard, singing the part of Savien while Denna sang the part of Aloine. I cried like a school girl who lost her lunch at the end, just as Kvothe did, all the while laughing at myself for being a reader, played by Rothfuss who masterfully controlled my emotions. Such a wonderful scene.
But damn if Denna isn't such a flighty minx. Just when I was beginning to like her....UGH!!
... This better not turn into another George R.R. Martin wait! Or ... or... or I shall be extremely vexed. VEXED I tell you!
Update 11/10/2014
We now haves this book and we reads it. Oh yes precious, we do and we loves it. It is the precious.
The Wise Man's Fear is absolutely fantastic. Rothfuss has propelled himself to be my most favoritist of authors. There is simply too much good stuff going on to comment intelligibly. But one must try. In no specific order...
Rothfuss Rocks because:
1) He has created a world that unquestionably and easily allows the reader to suspend disbelief. There is so much detail, work and pain (yes, you can tell Rothfuss suffered for his books) that goes into explaining sympathetic magic, alchemy and artificing that the reader finds himself nodding in agreement the whole way, thinking, "well that makes perfect sense....of course of course, I can do this, give me some soft wax, a candle and someone's hair and I'll conquer the world!" You believe because Rothfuss created a world that is utterly believable and makes perfect sense.
2) The book is goddamn funny! Knee-slapping so. This isn't a comedic series, but the dialogue between Kvothe and his troupe is simply amazing. I LOVED when he meets Puppet. I couldn't stop chuckling and texting my friend lines from the book. My most favorite scene was actually in the Name of the Wind when Kvothe wears a towel and storms into the tailor's shop, acting as a nobleman's son, what he calls, "a force of nature." The description is exactly how I envision such a pompous little ass would behave. “If you don’t bring me something to wear—” I stood up and shouted, “—I’ll tear this place apart! I’ll ask my father for your stones as a Midwinter gift. I’ll have his dogs mount your dead corpse. DO YOU HAVE ANY IDEA WHO I AM?” - Simply amazing.
3) I cried at several places, again in NotW when Kvothe played for his talent pipes at the Eolian and sang The Lay of Sir Savien Traliard, singing the part of Savien while Denna sang the part of Aloine. I cried like a school girl who lost her lunch at the end, just as Kvothe did, all the while laughing at myself for being a reader, played by Rothfuss who masterfully controlled my emotions. Such a wonderful scene.
But damn if Denna isn't such a flighty minx. Just when I was beginning to like her....UGH!!
February 7, 2017
OK Kvothe is always making the most stupid decisions. But now it's been two days since I finished this book and I MISS HIM. I need the third installment and I know I won't get it anytime soon.
August 10, 2020
After reading a couple of hundred pages and skimming much of the rest of this 1000 page tome, I'm going to send it back to the library unfinished. Here's the deal: I enjoyed the first book, The Name of the Wind, quite a bit, but there were a few things that were starting to bug me by the end, and I was dismayed to discover that everything that bugged me in the first book is still being rehashed in the second.
The book seems to be recycling the same storylines as the first book in the series: Kvothe's money problems, issues with tuition, fights with Ambrose and Master Hemme, fruitless chasing after Denna, seeking the Chandrian. Been there, done that. Those weren't my favorite parts of the first book, and the last thing I wanted to do was spend more time reading about these same things happening over and over again with no resolution and not a whole lot of forward movement. Especially when it's 1000 pages long.
Kvothe, the main character, is a total Gary Stu—brilliant, extraordinary musician, better than all his fellow students at magic, attractive, etc.—but he has one major failing: he’s hot-headed and doesn’t know when to keep his smartass mouth shut, defer to teachers, or let go of an issue and play nicely with others. This irritates me So. Much. He carries on this insanely self-destructive feud with another student that practically ruins his life and almost results in him dying several times, and he just can’t back off and let it die. It makes me want to slap him upside the head.
I might come back and try this again, if I hear that the third book is amazingly wonderful. Maybe.
ETA six years later: I find it kind of hilarious that Patrick Rothfuss has never gotten around to writing the third book. It probably wouldn’t be nearly so funny to me if I had loved the second book, though. 😄
The book seems to be recycling the same storylines as the first book in the series: Kvothe's money problems, issues with tuition, fights with Ambrose and Master Hemme, fruitless chasing after Denna, seeking the Chandrian. Been there, done that. Those weren't my favorite parts of the first book, and the last thing I wanted to do was spend more time reading about these same things happening over and over again with no resolution and not a whole lot of forward movement. Especially when it's 1000 pages long.
Kvothe, the main character, is a total Gary Stu—brilliant, extraordinary musician, better than all his fellow students at magic, attractive, etc.—but he has one major failing: he’s hot-headed and doesn’t know when to keep his smartass mouth shut, defer to teachers, or let go of an issue and play nicely with others. This irritates me So. Much. He carries on this insanely self-destructive feud with another student that practically ruins his life and almost results in him dying several times, and he just can’t back off and let it die. It makes me want to slap him upside the head.
I might come back and try this again, if I hear that the third book is amazingly wonderful. Maybe.
ETA six years later: I find it kind of hilarious that Patrick Rothfuss has never gotten around to writing the third book. It probably wouldn’t be nearly so funny to me if I had loved the second book, though. 😄
February 21, 2017
EDIT:
So, I've decided to change my rating to 5 stars. How can I not when the story is so epic and my attachment to Kvothe keeps growing?!
Original review:
Not sure whether to rate this 4 or 5 stars yet, but I think I'll end up probably changing it to 5. There's something about these stories that you know will stay with you for a while. The more you think about it, the better it becomes. And the more you begin to love and appreciate it.
I definitely preferred this instalment to the first book. Though slow-burning it was, I remember getting slightly bored with the first book at times. This sequel, however, I experienced it only for a moment, and for the behemoth of a book it is, I was surprised by that. It was slow in the best possible way. The pacing was right on! It's so intricate and so detailed and you can tell that so much effort has gone into placing and choosing every word. There's so much love behind it!
This book carried right from where it left off when the first book ended, and I love that addition to the story. It's such a unique point. Just a continuation of the story. Literally, the next day.
The world is bigger and better and there's so much Rothfuss explores and adds to this incredibly, magical story. The writing is impeccable and beautiful and delicious and it carries you to its world and fully draws you in. It's an absolute joy to read.
I fell in love with Kvothe even more and I'm dying to see how his story will conclude and how Rothfuss will make it come round full-circle. There's still so much mystery and sadness surrounding the main character and how he came to be the man he is now and quite frankly, I'm terrified that something will happen to him.
Just give us the third book already. We beg of you.
So, I've decided to change my rating to 5 stars. How can I not when the story is so epic and my attachment to Kvothe keeps growing?!
Original review:
Not sure whether to rate this 4 or 5 stars yet, but I think I'll end up probably changing it to 5. There's something about these stories that you know will stay with you for a while. The more you think about it, the better it becomes. And the more you begin to love and appreciate it.
I definitely preferred this instalment to the first book. Though slow-burning it was, I remember getting slightly bored with the first book at times. This sequel, however, I experienced it only for a moment, and for the behemoth of a book it is, I was surprised by that. It was slow in the best possible way. The pacing was right on! It's so intricate and so detailed and you can tell that so much effort has gone into placing and choosing every word. There's so much love behind it!
This book carried right from where it left off when the first book ended, and I love that addition to the story. It's such a unique point. Just a continuation of the story. Literally, the next day.
The world is bigger and better and there's so much Rothfuss explores and adds to this incredibly, magical story. The writing is impeccable and beautiful and delicious and it carries you to its world and fully draws you in. It's an absolute joy to read.
I fell in love with Kvothe even more and I'm dying to see how his story will conclude and how Rothfuss will make it come round full-circle. There's still so much mystery and sadness surrounding the main character and how he came to be the man he is now and quite frankly, I'm terrified that something will happen to him.
Just give us the third book already. We beg of you.
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