READ: Name of the Wind—Patrick Rothfuss. PDF, EPUB online free reviews.

Back cover text: My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me.

So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature—the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man’s search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend.

tl;dr

Kvothe is a precocious child who, due to a fair amount of luck or possibly fate, meets Ben, who sets him on his path to the University, where he will learn magic. Kvothe makes a significant number of truly terrible decisions, which leads to him making another set of truly terrible decisions. This book probably could have been called Kvothe Makes Bad Decisions (Kingkiller Chronicles #1) and it would be a slightly more accurate title.

getting down to business…

Now, I’ve heard a number of great things about Patrick Rothfuss’s writing, and, much to my disappointment, they were right. Despite spending most of the book mentally screaming at Kvothe to stop being an idiot, I devoured all 722 pages, thanks in large part to Rothfuss’s skill with narration and character voices.

I’ve heard some people describe Name of the Wind as Harry Potter for adults and while I appreciate the comparison, I can’t agree with it. Yes, Kvothe spends a section of the book in magic school, but he spends most of his time trying to get to University, trying to get into University, or (once he’s in) trying to leave the University to track his parents’ killers.

On that note, I couldn’t help but think a fully trained Kvothe would have been better at avenging his parents than a first-year trained Kvothe. This doesn’t necessarily make for a better story, but a little bit of wisdom now could lead to a lot of revenge later. Actually, I’m going to get that tattooed on me somewhere. “A little bit of wisdom now could lead to a lot of revenge later.” I’m not sure when it’ll become relevant in my life, but I like to be prepared.

Anyone who knows my reading habits knows I spend a significant portion of my life reading Brandon Sanderson (despite, I think, not having a single book of his reviewed on here), so magic systems are kind of my thing. And I love sympathy. It’s a new magic with new rules that I can’t wait to learn more about—and that little reveal by Bast on one of the last pages makes it even more interesting.

I wanted more worldbuilding in Name of the Wind. Actually, that’s not true. There’s lots of great worldbuilding and Rothfuss took the time to create a believable and fascinating world, but I have questions, and I want my answers. So, next time I go to Brookline Booksmith, I’m going to have to find Wise Man’s Fear.

Name of the Wind HUD