The Name of the Wind: Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1

By all the stars and shadows I cannot give true justice to describe Patrick Rothfuss' debut novel, The Name of the Wind. Even as an aspiring writer myself I cannot find the words to relay the magnificence of Mr. Rothfuss' storytelling. This first novel surprisingly captured my attention and just simply walked by my side, pointing out all the glory and beauty contained inside this work art. The Name of the Wind is the first book of the Kingkiller Chronicles, a trilogy of high fantasy; but, don't let `high fantasy' prejudice you, this is a novel unlike anything else. It begins with an innkeeper and his apprentice tending to five regulars (of a town of maybe twelve people?), listening to the oldest of the group tell a story like any old storyteller of the day. Happening alongside this part of the tale is a Chronicler - a collector of stories and researcher - who is mugged somewhere along a trade road. As he walks his way toward civilization he stumbles across the innkeeper. It was then the Chronicler recognizes the innkeeper as Kvothe, a legendary hero, minstrel, vagabond, and powerful magician. After pleading and pestering the innkeeper to tell his story, Kvothe relents and allows the collector to pen his story, as he tells it. This is the start of Patrick Rothfuss' marvelous technique of storytelling. The rest of the novel of told in the style and voice of Kvothe, telling the Chronicler and his apprentice, and of course, the readers the beginning of this near mythical hero. The tale is told in an Arabian Nights appeal, with Kvothe acting the part of Sheherezade, and follows utterly and completely throughout the story in the distinctive personality of the protagonist. There are many novels out there with good plots, excellent storylines, and great characters, and this book has all of that and more, but the uniqueness of this tale is in its telling. I not only identified with the characters - and even minor ones have dimensional reality - but I felt transported to this world, partaking in the adventures and growth of this character. I laughed, became distressed, felt anxious, and even got a little teary eyed in so many different places. This book is such a delight to read. It's so easy to follow because Kvothe knows how to tell a story while keeping it interesting, thus Patrick Rothfuss truly is a master craftsman to pull this off, especially considering this is his first book. I don't want to imagine how Mr. Rothfuss is going to outdo himself on any other books after this trilogy, but for now, he has become a mentor to me as I strive to learn the craft. This book is kept within easy reach so I can refer to it for pointers but, more importantly, I have it available for multiple reads. For anyone who enjoys a great piece of storytelling or simply loves to indulge in believable fantasy this IS the book. It would be considered wrong, nearly criminal in my opinion, to pass by this wonderful piece of fine art. I already miss reading it and am not sure how I'll be able to withstand the time for the release of book two. So, for now, I encourage all of you to go out, buy this book, support this author, and, most importantly, experience this amazing tale.

I am an avid reader and I recently learned about this book. Why? Because the author does not write many books. Consequently there is not much of his completed work out there. The book was top notch. Wonderfully constructed. Many parts I reread because of my admiration of the incredible sentence structure and the authors unreal gift of his command of the english language. He is truly a brilliant writer that knows how to capture the readers attention with in depth character development and an intricate plot with many unsuspected twists. His analogies are very clever along with his word choices and descriptions. If Rothfuss was a prolific author he would be ranked up there with the great writers of today and selling many more books that could help fund his charity. Putting out a book every two to three years takes a lot of effort. But so does anything worthwhile we pursue. We should all do what we have a knack for and what we are good at. We have an obligation to perform well in life. He has a duty to his readers to keep them as fans and earn their readership. With his lack of product people can become disinterested. Rothfuss is like a tremendous athlete that has played extraordinarily well for 2 years, but does not have the resume for the Hall of Fame. Ken Follett and Wilber Smith had the assiduity to sit at the desk and crank it out, decade after decade. Having said all that, Rothfuss is a special talent. There is no good excuse for not writing when that is your talent. He is a very talented writer, but he needs to toughen up and write.

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.

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.

The forming relationships that the protagonist has is wonderful. It is a far cry from the bar owner we are introduced to in the beginning of the book and makes for a good story when the bartender become who he really was all along. Im excited for the next book in the series. I am also hopeful that the in the next book we will see the past and the present coalesce and move the story forward in an appealing way. As we go through the main characters past I have been asking myself where are all the people he has been talking about. From the friends, love intrest, and masters. Where did they go as they have been pivotal to the main story so far. It seems that the protagonist power level has steadily approaching 9000. How as a grown up he lost that power? This and so many other unanswered questions. The next book should hopefully shed that light.

As I write this review, this title has about three times as many 5-star reviews as it has all other review ratings combined. That's amazing, and if you take nothing else from this review, please remember that: three times as many 5 star reviews as all other ratings combined! Mr. Rothfuss came out of nowhere and dropped this 800 page epic fantasy bombshell on us all in 2007. All of the other major epic fantasy works were still in full swing. Wheel of Time fans were still mourning the loss of Robert Jordan, George Martin's buzz around A Song of Ice and Fire was just starting to go mainstream, and Brandon Sanderson was cranking out brilliant work after brilliant work. And then came Patrick Rothfuss. Some authors make books great by writing their books with tight plotting, heavy emotional moments, or world-changing cataclysms. Authors like Koontz and Dan Brown have sold millions of copies with this style. Other authors are so naturally talented at the art of writing, that it almost doesn't matter what they choose to write about. They can make ANYTHING interesting just by letting their voice tell the story. Think Stephen King's good stuff, Neal Stephenson, or even Hemingway. It's the way they tell the story, not so much the story itself. Rothfuss is both. He could write about his personal experiences reading a dictionary, and it would be outrageously entertaining. And yet, he never forgets that he's writing a story, told through the eyes of one of the most intriguing characters in the genre. In turns he will move you to tears, shock you with horror, and then make you laugh so hard you end up having to explain to the people around you what you're laughing about. I've never had a writer's style knock my socks off quite this much on a first novel. I never thought about this before now, but reading Name of the Wind was a bit like seeing Pulp Fiction for the first time. When I saw Pulp Fiction, I knew about 15 minutes into that movie that it was something special, a movie for the time capsule. I knew it was fantastic before I had even finished it. Name of the Wind is the same. By the time you get to 100 pages in, you'll be hooked. Hopelessly, shamelessly hooked on the story of Kvothe, Denna, Bast, and Auri. And you'll try to convince your friends to read this masterful stroke of genius, and yet you'll be completely unable to describe what it is about. It's a funny, touching, tragic, triumphant, horrifying, heroic tale of a man who has led a very interesting life. I admit that the ending felt a little flat, but just a little, and then only because the rest of the book was so unbelievably awesome. Fortunately, it isn't the end of the story. Book 2 is called "The Wise Man's Fear" and book 3 is still to be released (as of Aug 2014). There is also a short novella about one of the characters that's available now. Rothfuss has indicated that book 3 will finish the story, but I can't see how he'll get to the end in just another thousand pages or so. Then again, he's a freaking incredibly awesome author, and I'm just a schlub writing a review on Amazon. Please do yourself a favor and give this book a try. If you're looking for a great work of epic fantasy, "Name of the Wind" will not let you down.

Published in 2007, I had never heard of it until just recently. This is a truly amazing book, and well worth it’s consistently high regard among both authors and readers. The blurb didn't really sell me, but when I was deciding whether or not to purchase this book, I noticed that the negative reviews were written by people who are not really into reading for pleasure, and some of the negative reviews seemed written by moderately illiterate non-readers. To me, this is a mark of a classic—Tolkien, Jordan—all the great literary-fantasy authors attract 1-star reviews by people whose favorite genre is whatever is written on the toilet-paper wrapper. My instinct was correct—this book is a true classic, both literary and fantasy. The Blurb: The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen. From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime- ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that transports readers into the body and mind of a wizard. It is a high-action novel written with a poet's hand, a powerful coming-of-age story of a magically gifted young man, told through his eyes: to read this book is to be the hero. My Review: First, lest talk about the structure of this tale. I love the way Rothfuss handled dividing the story into two timelines. The first takes place in the present, described in third person. The second timeline is in the main protagonist Kvothe's past, narrated by Kvothe himself to a renowned 'Chronicler,' who is only called Chronicler throughout the book. Kvothe’s first mentor, the scholar 'Abenthy', who trains Kvothe in science and "sympathy", a discipline of causing changes in one object by manipulating another , teaches him the rudiments well. He is child of a famed troupe of traveling entertainers. A song written by Kvothe's father, Arliden, inadvertently draws the attention of the mythical "Chandrian," who destroy the troupe, leaving Kvothe alive but alone. He is posing as a simple man, an innkeeper named Kote. His tavern is cleaner than most, and with a good reputation. His assistant (and secretly, his student,) Bast, is a prince of the Fae, posing as a human in order to learn what he can from Kvothe, whom he truly cares about. The story of how he became the most feared swordfighter, magician, and musician, is gripping. He is rumored to have killed a king and somehow caused the present war. Rothfuss’s magic system is quite unique. It is complicated, but makes sense. The complexity gives it a sense of the mysterious, and I like that. Kvothe’s tale is hard, and loss of his family is something he never really accepts. It is gripping from page one, and once you begin reading it, you will have trouble putting it down. This is Epic fantasy with a capital ‘E’. If you have not yet read this, and you are a lover of high fantasy, I highly recommend you get your hands on it. I am giving it five full stars.

The Name of the Wind has been a favorite for some time. I’ve always been a huge fan of epic fantasy—something about a hero armed only with his wits and sword, one man against the rest of the world, is immensely satisfying to witness. In these cases, “suspension of disbelief” often manifests more specifically into a “belief that the hero will be good at everything and will come out unbattered in the end”. However, while unrealistic, I feel that stories where the hero is able to be superhuman in some aspects provides some inspiration for me in real life, which make those novels so much more fulfilling to read. In all these things, Patrick Rothfuss delivers excellently in this first installment of the Kingkiller Chronicles. The first thing that is extremely notable throughout this and the sequel to this book is Rothfuss’ writing style. For some authors, writing style is an incumbrance to the plot or character development, while for others it takes pleasure in stretching to its full flowered, majestic extent. Rothfuss falls definitively in the latter category, yet its artistry and thoughtfulness rivals most of the writing that I’ve seen (Granted, that isn’t very much. But still.). For Rothfuss, words are not only poetry, but they themselves are motifs that act as harbingers, signals for important themes, and invokers of specific feelings. The first chapter in The Name of the Wind is a prime example. The exact same chapter bookends every book in this series, with only a few replacements that resonate all the more strongly with the reader because of their glaring difference. However, most of the content remains the same so that it can call the audience back to the “state of the present”. That is, that at the end of the story Kvothe is telling, no matter how glorious his victories or brilliant his mind, he will ultimately become a weak, old innkeeper waiting to die. It is a chilling reminder that Rothfuss uses masterfully to bring more nuance to his writing. Actually, there is a section in The Wise Man’s Fear where Bast mentions that it is a tradition for the Cthaeh tree to be placed in the background whenever the play is a terrible tragedy. To me, this first chapter that repeats so often is a version of that, informing the reader of the comparatively horrible fate that Kvothe will suffer. It provides wonderful contrast: the reader knows he or she is reading an story fantastic and traditional in equal measures, so the ending is certainly a happy one. However, the constant reminder that the “ending” (as of now) is sad, leaves the reader ever more perplexed and fascinated as to how Kvothe’s story will end. This, while only being the first taste of Rothfuss’ command over metaphor and motif, provides a great example for what his writing is able to evoke. Throughout the remainder of the text, Rothfuss uses all manner of rhetorical devices in unimaginably clever ways, some of which only appear if the reader looks closely. I recall that one of Ambrose’s one liners is a casual declaration to an audience that Kvothe should know better, being “a member of the Arcanum”. Later on, Kvothe quotes the line back at Ambrose verbatim. Whether or not the reader picks up on this repetition, the complexity of Rothfuss’ language is clear. Moving past the writing, Kvothe is a fairly decent main character. As befits his trope, he begins his childhood learning skills (in this case, acting) that will inevitably be the key to his later success, loses his parents horribly, and proceeds to spend the rest of the books losing his naivety and trying to gain revenge. He suffers from chronic “Marty Sue”-ness (the ability to be unnaturally good at everything). Rothfuss tries to explain it away with his eclectic childhood education, but the fact remains that there’s no reason for Kvothe to be the most brilliant, most adept, and most talented young man in the Commonwealth. Heck, the only area that he acknowledges ignorance in is regarding courting women, and even that is resolved relatively quickly when Kvothe pays Felurian a visit in The Wise Man’s Fear. Further, despite his complete lack of military training, he trains with the Adem in the same book and manages to graduate from their school, a magnificent feat attributed to… his musician’s hands (and a lot of luck). What’s more funny is that Kvothe is known to often complain about his terrible luck, despite the fact that he has almost a video-game affinity to never die. However, one of the joys of reading about a character that only succeeds is that the reader is always confident that he will emerge victorious, whether that’s a good thing or not. However, the one redeeming factor Kvothe has is that the reader often gets to experience the less cocky, innkeeper version of his personality. This adds a second layer to his personality. Kote’s narration acknowledges that yes, Kvothe is naive and arrogant and ignorant, but it’s merely the first stage in the longer journey his personality takes. This helps undercut the characteristics of Kvothe that are more irking. Beyond that, however, Kvothe has a hilarious sense of humor, and coupled with his predilection towards practical jokes, makes him a hero that I love to cheer on. His grudge against Ambrose provides endless comic relief throughout the novel, and is a reliable form of amusement for both the reader and Kvothe. I recall a particular quote which summarized their relationship with such accuracy and Kvothe’s snarky attitude that I couldn’t help but laugh out loud: “To deem us simply enemies is to lose the true flavor of our relationship. It was more like the two of us entered into a business partnership in order to more efficiently pursue our mutual interest of hating each other” (loc 5541). Kvothe’s genius, while just as unrealistic as protagonists tend to be, is less disagreeable than usual because of the sheer grit he brings to the page. In addition, he does have a tendency to lose as much as he gains (though a line where Kvothe claimed to have poor luck made me laugh), which generally balances out his annoying tendency of brilliance. One of the most intriguing aspects of The Name of the Wind is how fascinating the side characters are. Auri captured my heart early on with her nonsensical musings and innocence. She, like Elodin, exemplifies the dangers and dark underside of the Arcanum. Even though her character doesn’t play a distinct role in Kvothe’s story arc, I appreciate her weirdness even more for that—she’s a character that Rothfuss came up with and then liked so much he couldn’t cut her out. The other masters at the Arcanum are equally distinct and interesting for their personalities. I really enjoy Master Kilvin’s sense of moral rigidness and Master Elxa Dal’s unwavering support and vague amusement at Kvothe’s intellect. Hemme’s irrational anger and Lorren’s grudge balance them out, and make Kvothe’s time at the University far from an easy ride. Further from the Arcanum, Devi is a personality that constantly surprises me (and Kvothe!) with her sharp tongue and wit combined. She’s an unexpected threat to Kvothe that keeps his ego in check and reminds him that rules are always subject to change. Despite her hard exterior, I appreciate the brief scenes that reveal her more heartfelt motives. The scene when she tries to gain entrance to the Archives (maybe this happens in The Wise Man’s Fear) tore my heart apart; her shady business and underhanded methods make so much more sense in the context of a woman who is brilliant and yearns to keep studying despite the mistakes that earned her expulsion. The Name of the Wind‘s meandering, lengthy, and epic storyline is an unmistakable triumph. This book is long, no doubt, yet Patrick Rothfuss uses it to his advantage. The scenes that appear in the beginning of the book are just as detailed as the ones that take place in the climax of the plot. As a result, whenever Kvothe reminisces about his days as a trooper or the short period in the forest after his parents’ death, the reader is impacted in a much more significant way than if Rothfuss had not invested so much of the book related details from Kvothe’s early life. I remember tearing up as Kvothe, a miserable beggar in Tarbean, finally cast back his mind to Cinder after hearing Scarpi’s tale. Like him, I remembered the details tinged with horror, though the padding of many pages had dulled even the sharpest edges. When Kvothe is playing The Lay of Sir Savian Trailiard in the Eolian, his ability to pull the edges of the song closed at the end was wondrous, yes, but entirely plausible. I too was able to recall the months spent alone in the forest all those years ago—distant, yet not alien— and dredge up the feeling of playing with a six-string lute. Short books are admirable for their ability to conjure up intense emotion with only a few hundred pages, but I have to admit that the immense context extensive novels provide is unrivaled. Kvothe’s adventures are fascinating, whether he is trying his hand in the Eolian, attempting to gain Master Elodin’s tutelege, or killing a draccus. However, one of the biggest overarching threads that I didn’t like so much in the novel was Kvothe’s pursuit of Denna. Denna is a complicated character. As the main love interest of Kvothe’s story, she has a lot to live up to, having to be Kvothe’s equal in a story that insists every other page that he is The Best At Everything. And to a point, she does live up as his parallel. She’s a marvelous singer with unmatched raw talent, full of grit in a cutthroat world, has an adventurer’s sense, and is unimaginably gorgeous. I don’t say the last lightly; I think Kvothe literally spent five or six pages trying to describe her before writing her off as incapable of being imagined. However, I have some qualms about how Rothfuss treats her, and all the women, in his story. Denna, Fela, Mola, Devi, and even to some extent, Auri tend to exhibit the same brand of sexual allure. Even women that Kvothe has no interest in have to be beautiful and attracted to Kvothe to some extent. Herein lies the issue: all the women are sexualized to some extent. It’s a detail that sits uncomfortably with me throughout the story, and makes me feel uneasy towards Denna’s character. Despite all the flaws I’ve just meticulously picked out, Kvothe’s story is still strongly compelling. I simply adore the magic system, both for its structure and the depth of detail Rothfuss goes into when describing it. He manages to straddle the line between pseudoscientific magic (sygaldry and artificery) and “magic magic” (naming), somehow managing to come up with a system that’s the best of both worlds. I appreciate Kvothe’s character enough to revel in his triumphs as the lowest of underdogs, and love his ability to think his way out of any situation he encounters, of which most are deeply intriguing. The Name of the Wind will remain a longtime favorite, and I eagerly await Doors of Stone… with the hope that it will, in fact, be released at some point in my life.

Lately if you go to goodreads and look for this books, you will find many people are giving it 1 star rating. if you read their review one thing is clear i.e. it is not they did not like the book but it is that they are impatient for 3rd book to be released and out of that impatience and as means of exacting a revenge on patrick for not releasing 3rd book sooner they are giving 1 star. BTW these books are with the highest rating books on the goodreads. I have read LOTR, ASOIAF, HP, Mistborn and farseer,ember in the ashes, gentelmen basterds trilogy as well as a lot of non fantasy literature. but this TKC is something else altogether, it is genre defining. it is compared to ASOIAF as a next big like Game of Thrones and I think they are justified in making such claims. I can go further and even say at times it outwits ASOIAF too. This is story of legend and told by legend. Patrick succeeded in beautiful weaving of words, phrases sentences aphorisms and axioms. prose is is the biggest selling point of the book. sometimes it feels like poetry, the demarcation between prose and poetry are blurred by patrick. at a times you'd wonder yourself how can a person can come up with such a marvelous prose. These books are such big leap of human imagination, only a prodigy can come up with this masterful harmony of words. The story, the world, world building, history of the world, its culture, art, economy, its classes, and most important it's magic are captured in detail. Even though Patrick is not a musician yet he created the musician in a book in such way that you really get the feel of music being played, you get the notion that you are really listening to music, the way he plays with words is phenomenal, he captures moments,scenes and take them to different level. There are few books that I like to read again and again. Since purchase of these books in august 2015, I have already read them twice and will read again and again until 3rd book comes out. To those epic fantasy as well as non fantasy lovers, who wish to read good prose and story, this is the book, just close your eyes and hit the order button, and start devouring once you get it and then next one. I guarantee you will not be disappointed. There comes a time in each persons life which drastically change them, this is one such series which can potentially change how person take literature. It made me want to think about writing. Eschew all negative comment mongerer and go for it. These are the books worth investing your time for....

Kennt ihr das, wenn ihr Ewigkeiten für ein Buch braucht? Aber nicht, weil es schlecht oder so langweilig ist, sondern weil ihr einfach nicht möchtet, dass dieses wunderbare Buch zu Ende geht und ihr möglichst lange darin verweilen wollt? Genau so ist es mir nämlich mit „The Name of The Wind“ von Patrick Rothfuss ergangen. Der Fantasyroman ist ganz anders als alles bisher gelesene. Man muss sich von Beginn an im Klaren sein, dass es eine besondere Geschichte ist, die nicht von Heldentaten sondern vor allem durch seine dichte Atmosphäre lebt. Es gibt keine heroische Krieger und/oder Schlachten, stattdessen erzählt Kvothe seine Geschichte, also eigentlich ist es beinahe mehr eine Autobiographie. Wie schon erwähnt, lebt das Buch von seiner dichten Atmosphäre und dem wunderbaren Schreibstil. Jedes mal wenn ich das Buch zuklappen musste, brauchte ich kurze Zeit um mich zu orientieren, denn ich war vollends in die Welt von „The Name Of The Wind“ abgetaucht. Der Autor schafft es, die einfachsten Dinge und Handlungen so wunderbar zu beschreiben, dass man einfach immer mehr lesen möchte. Es gibt zwar keine großen Schlachten oder ähnliches, aber die actionreichen Szenen kommen dennoch nicht zu kurz. Die Geschichte hat dabei so viel Tiefgang und bis ins letzte Detail ausgearbeitete Charaktere, dass sie den Leser sehr schnell in seinen Bann zieht und nicht mehr los lässt. Patrick Rothfuss Schreibstil ist wirklich grandios, und das macht das Buch so extrem gut. Jedes einzele Wort und jede Formulierung passen zu hundert Prozent und wirken, als wären sie mehrmals überdacht worden. Es gab keine einzige Stelle, wo ich mir nur ansatzweise dachte, dass die Wortwahl hier etwas besser sein könnte. Und genau wegen diesem Schreibstil habe ich auch beschlossen das Buch in Englisch zu lesen. Ich wollte nicht von Übersetzern abhängig sein, sondern bei einem so hochgelobten Buch die eigenen Worte des Autors lesen. Und ich war wirklich traurig, als ich das Buch beendet hatte, da ich mich noch nicht von dieser großartigen Geschichte losreissen wollte/konnte. Fazit Einer der besten Fantasyromane die ich bisher gelesen habe. „The Name Of The Wind“ lebt durch seine dichte Atmosphäre und durch den Schreibstil von Patrick Rothfuss. Daher gibt es 5 von 5 Sternen.

The book was not in new condition. There was discoloration and damage corners. Also very dusty.

Todo aquel que lo había leído me lo había recomendado mucho y finalmente decidí meterme con él para descansar un poco del último libraco de la especie “qué libros más raros lees” que me estaba metiendo entre frontal y occipital, y la verdad es que la primera lectura, en español, me gustó mucho. Narra a la historia de un cronista que escribe la historia de un tendero que cuenta la historia de un mago, y va alternando con astucia y brevedad entre los tres niveles como recurso para mantener el ritmo narrativo. De hecho, el propio nombre del protagonista, Kvothe, es un juego de palabras respecto a esta técnica narrativa, ya que se pronuncia, en inglés (idioma original) exactamente igual que “citar” o “cita” (quote). El universo que describe me recuerda mucho al de Terramar, aunque el estilo sea más directo y moderno que el de Ursula K. Le Guin; y la historia es atractiva, quizá un poco “culebronesca”, pero no todo va a ser Umberto Eco. Bastante recomendable, la verdad; no es Canción de Hielo y Fuego ni la saga Vorkosigan pero por ahí anda. Un buen libro para regalar con el que es muy difícil equivocarse. Hay que decir que unos meses después, tras comprarme The Wise Man’s Fear (no pude esperar a la traducción en español así que debió gustarme bastante más de lo que mi primera crítica dejó entrever) me lo compré en inglés y me lo releí. Es bastante mejor en el irioma original, hay muchísimos juegos de palabras y connotaciones que se te escapan cuando lo lees en castellano, y lo recomiendo mucho a quien pueda con él. Y recomiendo a quienes se lean El Temor de un Hombre Sabio que luego relean El Nombre del Viento. Te das cuenta de muchos detalles que probablemente se te pasaran en la primera lectura, como cual es el temor de un hombre sabio (pista: lo dice cuando le pillan con una vela en la biblioteca), ciertos detalles sobre los Chandrian sobre los Lackless (pista: la canción que canta cuando es niño y no se da cuenta de de qué va hasta que le pilla su madre) y algún otro más que no voy a contar aquí. Gana con la relectura, que recomiendo, y como ya he dicho es bastante mejor en inglés aunque la traducción sea buena.

Il libro è molto bello, scritto divinamente e costruito con molta cura. Il mondo di Kvothe è abbastanza complesso da non sembrare vuoto ma comunque non sufficientemente mappato da contare come personaggio per conto proprio. Toglietevi dalla testa Martin o Tolkien, questa è la storia di un unico protagonista e narrata dal suo pov. Da un lato questo semplifica la lettura, perché ti lascia tempo di acclimatarti ai cambiamenti nella vita del protagonista, i suoi viaggi e le sue avventure, dall'altro non ci vengono risparmiati tempi morti e punti di minimo nella narrazione. In 700 (~) pagine e qualcosa gli avvenimenti degni di nota si contano sulle dita di una mano...e senza nemmeno impegnare tutte le dita. La lettura non è noiosa, a mio parere, ma un po' lenta si. Per darvi un'idea, ho letto le prime 200 pagine del libro successivo e la storia è ancora ferma alla conclusione del primo volume. E c'è un altro problema, lo scrittore. Patrick Rothfuss è un secondo Martin, nel senso che i fan aspettano da troppi anni la conclusione della storia e l'ultimo romanzo è ancora TBA. Fortunatamente Rothfuss è giovane ma io personalmente mi metterei comodo per il terzo libro, qua la cosa andrà per le lunghe. Lascio comunque la 5a stella (non fosse altro per controbilanciare la recensione tarocca ad una stella qui sotto) ma ad un giudizio più obiettivo darei 4.5 o poco meno. Sia chiaro, per me i limiti del libro sono ampiamente stracciati dalle tante qualità della saga ma potrebbe essere solo la mia opinione. Buona lettura!