The Name of the Wind (Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1)

This is fantasy at its perfection. The story of Kvothe is amazing, the world building is very good, and the magic system is very original. The language is so beautiful it almost reads like poetry, and the characters are very vivid and relateable. I loved all of it.

Let me start by saying there is a difference in a novel being enjoyable and a novel being good. Enjoyable is subjective, good is not. For example, I did not find the Song of Fire and Ice series enjoyable (to nihilistic for my tastes), however, I recognize that it is very good. I found the Magician series by Raymond Fiest to be highly enjoyable and entertaining although I know it is not the most well written series ever. This book/series is a rare case of being both extremely enjoyable and incredibly good. The plot is engrossing, perfectly paced, and well thought out. I love the main character. Every time I pick up the book I slip into his shoes in under 10 seconds. It is so easy to feel what he feels as you follow his story. I find it incredibly refreshing that neither the problems nor the solutions to those problems require the characters to step outside of how they would rationally act in that situation. I find this to be the failing of so many novels (song of fire and ice being one of them). As I read the 1 star reviews, I can not help but think these people have low self-esteem. The common thread through most of these reviews is that the main character is to perfect. They hate that he is smart, a great musician, and can do magic. I personally enjoy reading about a great person overcoming the great problems the world presents. I want my heroes to be heroic, to be something to aspire to myself. I get that not everyone else does, the anti-hero is very trendy right now. The people who 1-star this series almost always hold up the song of fire and ice series as the opposite of the kingkiller chronicles, but don't listen to them. Like I said above there is a difference between enjoyable and good. The critics of this series are confusing not enjoyable with not good. They did not like the book therefore they think that it is bad. They want their anti-heroes in a world where everyone is bad guy and no good dead goes unpunished or the book sucks. It annoys me that these anti-hero books get the ironic label of being "more real" (its funny because they are fantasy novels). I don't not believe the natural state of man to be wicked and have found karma to me more real than nihilism. Look, if don't care about quality and are just looking for a book where everyone is a bad guy who hate life and everyone living in it then you probably won't enjoy this series. But don't call a book with a great plot, interesting characters, and well thought out themes bad. Just say you didn't find it enjoyable. That way we will understand that you simply have different tastes, and that you are not, in fact, stupid. After you read this series check out Brandon Sanderson's novels (Mistborn stuff and the amazing new Stormlight series).

I had a really hard time rating this book... I both thoroughly enjoyed it and had reservations about it at the same time. It started off a bit differently than I thought it would, and at first, I didn't think I was going to enjoy it at all. Kvothe (or Kote, or Reshi, depending on the perspective) wasn't a very interesting character at first. The Name of the Wind starts in its present timeline with Kvothe as a bartender, running from his past and trying to make sure no one knows who he is. He's a legend, for reasons mostly unknown, even at the end of this book. The book starts with the small town in which Kvothe resides having an encounter with spider creatures that may actually be demons. The locals discuss the portents of this and Kvothe tells them how to deal with it without telling how he is knowledgable of these things. Soon Devan Lochees, or Chronicler (not The Chronicler, just Chronicler, oddly enoough) arrives, having wind of Kvothe residing there and deperately wanting to chronicle his story, as his name implies. The dialogue between the locals and even between Kvothe and Chronicler was pretty typical and not very interesting and I was close to putting this book down. However... as Kvothe actually begins his story the book becomes insantly addicting. Somehow it seemed like a completely different book. The dialogue had whit and was clever and even funny in parts. His traveling theater troupe of a family and his first teacher Abenthy made interesting characters and Kvothe himself as a child did as well. The magic system that is explained by his teacher is also clever and partially explained by science, so when it comes up later, it doesn't seem to be a Deus ex Machina. The book moves from one setting to another, following Kvothe all the while as he lives through various events and tragedies. Mostly tragedies. He lives a pretty harsh life reminiscent of Fitz if you're familiar with Robin Hobb's work, though perhaps not QUITE as tragic. He meets various friends and mentors, and enemies as well. After theiving and hiding and trying to survive, he makes his way to the University to study the Arcane arts and the book finds its focal point. I think this is where people are coming up with the Harry Potter comparisons, but other than the fact that he attends a school that teaches magic in some form, there's really not much else to compare to Rowling's series. This may sound a little boring but it isn't. Kvothe's life actually is very interesting and he develops to be a well thought out character, even if none of the secondary characters really do. And there is an underlying plotline behind all this that I can't really go into for fear of ruining it, but it involves powerful beings that resemble demons, and may even be so. That might sound familiar if you've read a bit of fantasy but it's handled well and provides a creepy underlying tone to the whole book. One of my biggest issues with the book is that Kvothe seems too perfect, as if there's nothing he can't do. Everything he tries to do, he excells at: music, theiving, arcane arts, outdoor survivalism and various other random things. He practically does everything in the story but have a child. He still made some bad judgement calls and does a few stupid things, but this pales compared to his vast knowlege and the fact that he exceeds above average in every class he takes at the university. He says he doesn't know anything about women, yet every woman he comes across seems to be infatuated with him. But... as the story ended I realized that his borderline perfection might've been what Rothfuss was going for, after all, Kvothe is a legend. If you tell a story about a fictional legendary character, I suppose it has to come out something like this. Rothfuss' style is well read, though there are a few clumsy mistakes like repeating the same idea or the same phrase more than once in a paragraph. This doesn't happen much but it seems like something an editor should have caught. And of course there is the fact that this is only the first of a trilogy. I ususally don't mind this, but Kvothe's story doesn't really come to any kind of head or give a satisfying conclusion. The present day portion gives a bit of a surprise and revalation, but his past chronicle is basically just put on pause and really leaves one wanting more. I suppose I can't complain much about this part, as orignally the author was just going to write one book, rather than three. Still, this is a good read, despite my complaints. I have to admit after reading both of Scott Lynch's Gentleman Bastard books, my fantasy reading nose was held a bit high along with my expectations, but I can't compare The Name of the Wind with fantasy along those lines. There really isn't a whole lot that is new here, but most of it is very well done. Kvothe's change of character between past and present is pretty reasonably explained, so by the end I was satisfied with some of what bothered me in the beginning. So I recommend this to anyone who likes a good story (or a good story about a good story, depending how you look at it.) It's not for those with a short attention span, as the action is few and far between, but as a good writer can prove, action can be provided with more than just blades. If you're looking to check out what's new in fantasy, Rothfuss may prove worth your while.

*SPOILER FREE* *SPOILER FREE* *SPOILER FREE* I picked up this book as a skeptic to all the hype it has received. I am pleasantly regretful to have held any doubt. The last book that made me feel like this was the Game Of Thrones, I am not a "GOT Fanatic" I don't think the series was the best thing since sliced bread, and I didn't find it out because of an HBO series. I really respected the depth and creativity the book "Game Of Thrones" held at the time. THIS is why I relate how I felt. So in the respect there are several reasons that this book was put together so successfully. The first point I want to make is how well it was linguistically put together. I'm tired of reading books that seem to be written for 15 year olds, with single sentence structures and simple vocabulary. This book is written in a very mature manner and is presented with such artistic touch in the formation of every single sentence that this alone gave the rating a star. Reading the first page I breathed a sigh of relief, because I could immediately see the freedom from a high school style writing. I absolutely need a great story in a book for it to be successful to me, but most of the time I really prefer to see it presented in a mature, creative and intelligent style of word formation. Now another excellent success was the way the story arch is presented. This is the story of a man telling his story to a chronicler. A hero who now hides behind the guise of an innkeeper seeking to earnestly avoid any contact with the outside world, and it includes a story line that is going along with the present (in the inn telling the story) and you have the storyline which is just that, his story. This can be iffy. This can easily fail. This can prove to be destructive to a successful story in it self. Oh, but it does not. It is so meticulously put together that I appreciated the writing skill it took for Patrick Rothfuss to successfully pull this off. The method is brilliant, original (I can think of very few books involving this type of style), and wonderfully entertaining. Now the context of the book does not fail to keep up with the writing style, and story arch formation. This is a fantasy setting including some typical ideas including myth like mysteries full of misunderstanding, and a magic system that is so flawless, you forget your talking about magic. - For me a ridiculous magic system can ruin a story. I just finished reading the (nightrunner) series and the magic was enough to nauseate me. This takes magic melds it into physics, chemistry and other manners of science and the end result is a believable world where magic isn't even the right term! It is so incredibly brilliant, original, and relieving to me. Ahh, another breathe of fresh air. - Love, rivalry, friends, coming-of-age and so much more is executed near flawlessly. Everything essential to a great story comes together with much, much more. The main character Kvothe is a complex guy. This character is in no way one dimensional and takes a lot of contemplation to allow yourself to really come to see him. His youth is steeped in tragedy, but through his absolute desire, and unyielding drive, and a concoction of arrogance and confidence as it so often can be, he makes his way to the University... from there the story takes off. I can't express how relieved I am, after the last 10s of fantasy books that I have read, not to mention other genres, this book has really gave me a boost. This book receives 5 stars. And I very, very rarely rate a book 5 stars. I believe 4 makes a fantastic, near life-changing, excellently executed book. 5... 5 means you'll never see another story like this in a lifetime. I can't wait to start the 2nd volume. ~Andrew Francis

It's all but impossible to be a fan of modern fantasy writing and not know the name Patrick Rothfuss. Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind is a blockbuster of the genre - the kickoff to a trilogy named The Kingkiller Chronicle - and one of those books that's basically put Rothfuss in the same realm of respect and adoration as Robert Jordan and George R.R. Martin. And though I've been wary to start another big fantasy series (especially one that's been left without the final volume for so long, with little signs of its arrival anytime soon), something made me finally pick up The Name of the Wind, only to find myself devouring it with excitement, glee, and passion. So what is it that makes The Name of the Wind so enjoyable? At least some of that has to be chalked up to the book's general conceit: the retelling of the life of the mythic figure Kvothe, as told by Kvothe himself, now posing as a humble innkeeper in the middle of nowhere. Giving us the equivalent of a bard as a hero is a fun move, and Rothfuss takes that idea and runs with it, immersing himself in folklore, myths, legends, and storytelling as a theme of the novel, be that the danger of legends or the tendency to self-aggrandize. More than that, though, it makes the story itself part of the book's appeal, making the telling of the saga every bit as important as the events themselves. And that's good, because in a weird way, after you finish The Name of the Wind, it feels like little so much as a clearing of a throat and the setting of a table, even though the book itself never feels like that at all. The Name of the Wind is all about setting up ideas for later - it introduces ominous figures like the Chandrian, but never tells you much about them; it slowly lets Kvothe find his place in the University, finally finding his niche by the end, and then ends things; it sets up conflicts with antagonists, and then hints about the outcomes to come in later books...in short, it's all definitely the first volume in a series, with all of the flaws that come with such an idea. But somehow, Rothfuss makes the book satisfying, even while only giving you this opening third of the story, and much of that is the way he revels in the telling of a good story as its own end, not just a means to convey a plot. Rothfuss's characters are compelling and engaging on the whole (although there's a "rich jerk" character who never feels like more than that archetype), existing not just as steps along Kvothe's journey but people who existed long before the book began and who will live long after Kvothe leaves them behind. Whether it's a group of teachers whose internal feuds are obvious even before they're explained, passing companions on road journeys, or a wandering boy in the woods, Rothfuss takes the time to savor all of their voices and arcs, making clear that for Kvothe - and Rothfuss himself - the journey is the destination, and not just a way of telling us how Kvothe ended up here in exile. In other words, the reason The Name of the Wind works because it does the thing that makes fantasy so appealing: it builds and populates a rich world, brings its people to life, and lets you just wander among its roads. Rothfuss doesn't give you the brutal cynicism of a Martin or an Abercrombie, but he doesn't shy away from the nature of people either, and that honesty serves the book well, making the moments of kindness and generosity all the more effective and ringing, and the moments of nastiness all the more pointed. Is it an incomplete tale? Yes, and frustratingly so, especially as I think about how little progress it sometimes we feel like we made in Kvothe's tale by the end of it all. But is it a great story? It really is - and maybe that's what's really important about it.

I had just finished reading the Earthsea trilogy prior to starting this book, a trilogy which I loved and was deeply impressed by. Little did I know how much it seems that Patrick Rothfuss was influenced by that series, as his book followed in the footsteps of Ursula K. Leguin startlingly closely (e.g., wizardry and the “naming of things”). However, I was struck by something in Rothfuss’ writing—my initial impression, through a significant portion of the book, was that this was one of the most eloquently written and beautiful stories I had ever come across. In contrast to many other fantasy writers, who rely on the strength of their ideas to carry the story, Rothfuss truly has the gift of gab and can write more gracefully than most of his peers. The style was head and shoulders above anything I’d read in years. Rich dialogue and characters, emotionally moving subplots, and a lack of fluff made me think it could be my favorite fantasy story of all time. Sadly, it was too good to last, and in my opinion the story really loses its steam in the latter third. The beginning of the book is framed in such a way that it is as if someone is reminiscing about their life, and there is a glow of nostalgia to the story even though I was unfamiliar with it. The main character experiences idyllic moments in his childhood, followed by heartbreak and tragedy, something that I think most people can relate to. In telling the story, the author reminded me of things that I had forgotten about myself, and helped uncover new interests and ideas by crafting a compelling narrative. To put it bluntly without spoiling too much, the main romantic interest of the book bursts onto the scene in an impressive display of brilliant writing, and then quickly becomes a bore that sucks the life out of the story. The main character’s obsession with this love interest is clumsy, awkward, and unrewarding. Even worse, there is a diverse cast of interesting female characters that are left to gather dust while the worst of them steals the spotlight and muddies the qualities of the main character that I had grown to love. This nearly knocked my score down to a 4/5, but the rest of the book is so thought-provoking and magical that I do still believe it is a masterpiece. Approach with caution—this tale is absolutely worth your time, but brace yourself for disappointments.

I read the reviews for this book, both good and bad, before purchasing it. I read it from cover to cover before sitting down to this review. This is a really good book in the fantasy genre, I wanted to give it 4 or 4.5 stars because I felt it was too 'modern' in style compared to Tolkien or even GRR Martin, then realized that it was my bias of the 'way things should be' and not the merit of the book I was reviewing. This book gets the full 5 stars with absolutely no reservations. The main character Kvothe is the kid with untapped powers that Harry Potter made familiar but Potter wasn't original either. He's a combination of a genius, quick learner, musical prodigy, and hopelessly incompetent with girls. I know all the people reading this are international gigolos who have to chase off Playmates with a stick, but I related to the awkward kid with a first crush who wanted with every fiber of his being to talk to the girl he liked and couldn't find the right words in the thousands of hypothetical dry-runs that worked through his mind. That was definitely a humanizing touch for a kid that might have been much more inaccessible to a reader due to his overall excellence. There were some criticisms of Kvothe being too perfect, but early and often he fails to do things he should, does things he shouldn't, and suffers consequences for them all, both internal and external. The writing style sets this book apart from the breathless action of pulp D&D style fantasy books, and for me seemed to be what I would describe as luxurious. We were taken along in the story with sufficient attention to details and world-building, but not overlong and overdrawn descriptions of every blade of grass, like a relaxing boat ride down a lazy river. Certain aspects, the history, the mode of magic in Kvothe's world, etc. got more attention but always added breadth and depth without overburdening the reader. Other times, Kvothe's life meandered down roads and pathways that didn't lead to the forging of a fantasy novel hero, just like real life. However, I was turning the pages every bit as fast as a pulse-pounding hack-and-slash story, but it was just to sink deeper into the world being woven around me. At least through the first book, it seems to have less world-building backstory than Game of Thrones, and wayyyy less than Tolkien, but I'm all the more glad for it. It's all fine and good to create your own syntax for elven, or dwarvish, or Klingon, but nobody's going to pretend that at 12 years old they knew what the hell Tolkien was talking about all the time. This was a nice, interesting, easily-consumed story that never felt burdensome or like a slog through x number of pages to get to a "good" part. If I had to nit-pick this book, just to appear fair, I'll give you 3 nits. First, it would be that the author falls victim to the fantasy-trope belief that in order to portray 'foreign lands' and people from them, there has to be a bunch of unpronounceable consonants jammed together to form a person or place name, or fragments of a language, and throw in some unaccountable apostrophes for good measure. I could care less if I never have to skip over another nonsense name like Cthystler'rn in a fantasy novel again. There are a handful of these in this book, but they never really take center stage or leave you in the lurch for not trying to decipher that gibberish. Second, sometimes the young Kvothe is frustrating in his impotence when trying to express his love for his off-and-on girlfriend, and you really think he's a putz, but his obliviousness never strays outside the realm of the believeable. Third, and possibly the most troubling (but not to me) is that by the end of the book you've done a lot and been on a lot of adventures, but nothing has really brought you noticeably closer to the overarching mystery that is the reason for the story in the first place. The lore of the Chandrian is doled out in such tiny morsels you really don't know much more at the end than you did at the start. In this aspect it definitely reads like the first book of a trilogy, but at 750 something pages it had plenty of heft and there's no way they could have trimmed it down without losing the charm and the luxury that I liked so much in the first place. Make of that what you will. I held out on ordering the second book in the trilogy due to some of the negative reviews, I'll have to grudgingly call them 'haters', that indicated that The Name of the Wind starts losing focus partway, or midway, or most-way through, but I didn't see that to be true at all. It was really a delightful read all the way through, and I wish I had more time to read more of it at each sitting. I did indeed order the second book in plenty of time for it to be here waiting for me, and I am anxious to get started on it asap. Bottom line: A definite 5 star book with a nice story in a world you won't mind soaking into for a while.

Name of the Wind was enthusiastically recommended to me by a friend who is an avid fiction reader and author. I'm usually fairly picky about the books I read. If the story doesn't successfully keep my interest, I almost never finish. However, I trusted this friend's opinion on fantasy novels, and I picked up a cheap copy of this book, just to test it out. I do have to admit, I was impressed. Rothfuss obviously has a talent for writing attention-grabbing stories. Name of the Wind is fast-paced and very "real" in a sense. The following comments contain SPOILERS, just so you know. I found Kvothe's character pretty interesting, and the story of his childhood is a tragic one, which makes me attached to the character even more. I also like the concept of a story being told within a story, which is essentially what Name of the Wind (and the whole Kingkiller Chronicle series) is. From the troupe of the Edema Ruh to the streets of Tarbean to the mysterious halls of the University, Kvothe recounts quite a story about his younger life. One gets the sense that Kvothe ends up being a part of a much grander story when his whole troupe is slaughtered by the Chandrian, a group of "demons" who tell him that his father had been singing "the wrong sorts of songs." In order to find out more about the Chandrian and to learn the "name of the wind," Kvothe eventually makes his way to the University after years of being a beggar in the large city of Tarbean. He's gifted and intelligent, and he ends up making friends and enemies. He also falls in love with a mysterious girl named Denna. The story certainly leaves one with a sense of anticipation. Overall, it was a pretty good novel. However, it wasn't perfect... For one thing, I like description. I like being able to picture something in my head, and I felt that this book was somewhat lacking in that area. I could usually make stuff out (or make stuff up) to be able to fill in the gaps, but that could be improved a bit. Also, I don't particularly care for the swearing and the crudeness, whether humorous or not, that is sort of smattered throughout the book. Furthermore, and I just have to be honest, there are things I don't like about both Kvothe and Denna; but I feel like that's not necessarily a bad thing. Although, I will say, Kvothe is a terrible name for the main character of a story. I had to look up how to pronounce it, and I wasn't really satisfied until I heard Rothfuss say it on a Youtube video. However, there are also elements I really appreciate. Kvothe's endurance and perseverence is impressive. I find this odd, but I can actually kinda relate to Kvothe and Denna's relationship a bit. I like how Rothfuss develops a very subtle idea through Kvothe's attempt to describe Denna's beauty, an idea that is almost entirely lost on our culture. I also like how Kvothe has character deficiencies and is being challenged to change those deficiencies, although I feel as though he's going to end up messing up somewhere along the line before he actually does change. Denna also has character deficiencies, and those will probably come back to bite her in some way as well. Again, overall, it's a good read, and I'm looking forward to reading the next one.