The Name of the Wind

I liked the book quite a bit when I finished it, but the more I think about it, the more it bothers me. Did I really pay $10 for a slow-starting 700 page book with virtually no plot, where the central mystery is just as mysterious at the end as the beginning? I'll probably buy the next book if it ever comes out, but it had better be revolutionary. Did anyone else feel like this?

edited 20th Aug '10 9:52:33 PM by Oonerspism

Yes.

Just read the trope page (though not the book itself). It actually sounds really good. Can you maybe make a more full review?

I just wrote one for the reviews page, and my browser crashed and I lost the whole thing. Basically, it's a series of disconnected adventures the main character Kvothe has at university. In theory, the overarching plot connecting everything is his quest to find out more about the Chandrian, a legendary group of...people, I think, that killed his parents (not a spoiler, it's one of the first things that happens).

By the end of the story, Kvothe has barely learned anything about them, to the point that he's not even sure how many Chandrian there are. The book is long enough that this little mystery crosses the line from "tantalizing" to "frustrating", right into the "just spill it already" zone. It feels like a couple of plot points are introduced, but nothing that's actually important to the plot of the trilogy will happen until book 2.

It's well worth reading just for his University adventures, mind you, but otherwise it feels like an extra-long shaggy dog story.

This is why unless a fantasy series looks really good and I want to support its continued existence, I wait until it's actually finished before I read any of the books. (In some cases, I'm also waiting for an abridged edition.)

The first book's already a Doorstopper and the second one's undergoing some Schedule Slip. I actually thought it was kind of underwhelming, and I didn't get his lifelong fascination with Denna. Not sure if I'm going to bother with the next one.

At least $10 for 700 pages is pretty good value.

The book is excellently well written, but it's not as great as some claim. In a scale of 1 to 10, with 1 being The Dark Horse and 10 The Lord Of the Rings, I'd give this an 8.5

I didn't like Rothfuss' narration for the Framing Device bits. It was too lofty and faux-Tolkien. It sounded like he was trying too hard. The bulk of the story is in first-person, though, and that's much better.

I've heard good things about this book, it was mentioned in one of the recent Penny Arcade news posts as being good. Does it live up to the hype or is it more of a case of "shows potential"?

^Like I said, it's excellent but not the best I've ever read.

That said, I have one minor complaint about the book. The constant defied tropes and lampshade hangings seem like it's trying too hard to differentiate itself from the fantasy literature average, to the point of being detrimental to the story. Like, "oh, most writers would do X in here, but I'm so much more original so I do Y", almost literally. This wouldn't be so bad, but in the end, it does play many fantasy tropes straight, so much that all the rampant claims of originality ring hollow. In a sentence, it's trying too hard to be original, so that it Crosses the Line Twice and comes back to playing tropes straight.
End rant.

I actually really liked it.

He definitely does play some tropes straight, but I actually had no problem with that. That way, when he *does* break them, it's more surprising and feels more legitimate. If Rothfuss had messed with *all* of them, that would seem more gimicky than the way it's written now.

And while I was also frustrated by Kvothe's (largely unexplaned) devotion to Denna, I have a feeling there's a reason we don't know. I mean, why is she so ridiculous, ethereally irresistible to men?

Personally, I think it's because she works for the Chandrian (or is a Chandrian) but that's just my pet theory.

My personal theory is that there is more than one Chandrian running around. It is more or less a group, and their reasons for annihilating all information regarding them might not be what you expect.

I thought I'd revive this thread, considering the sequel is coming out very soon! (We hope...)

Anywho, I've read through the book about 6 times. I don't really know why, though. It's not the best written book I've ever read, but it has a sort of appeal to it that keeps me coming back. It's certainly my favorite book by a lot, though.

Sequel Speculation? I'm fairly sure Rothfuss will start on the actual plotpoints in the second book. Honestly, the first was 700 pages of extremely entertaining exposition.

It was planned as one insanely-long book, so yeah, one hopes the second one will be even better.

I'm probably gonna reread the first when I buy the second, which I might even pre-order or whatever. I've been pretty eager for this book to come out since I first read the first.

According to Rothfuss and Amazon, Wise Mans Fear will be about 1000 pages.... Oh my.

Bring it on, Rothfuss.

I can't believe I'm holding it... It's real! It's actually been released! I cannot believe it....

So, the sequel inspired no discussion?

Discovered this series a couple of weeks back when PA mentioned it. Tycho seems like a man with a fine appreciation for books, and fantasy books in particular, so I decided to check it out. tNotW arrived yesterday, and I when I was done with it I was sufficiently impressed to go out this morning to Waterstones and buy tWMF, which I've just finished. So I liked it, but...

• As a general rule I like Showy Invincible Heroes, but Kvothe's immediate, infallible competance at everything is bordering on the absurd. It's toned down in the sequel and he still manages to invent the arrowcatch, intrigue his way through a court, foil an assassin, romance a noble lady, lead four mercenaries to victory over a score of bandits, get lessons in sex and a cloak of shadow out of a primal lust goddess and then trick her into letting him go, seduces a Proud Warrior Race Guy out of his secrets and convinces his people to give him a millenia old sword, and pick up at least a smattering in three seperate languages. In three seperate language groups. The book covers four months, I think. I find myself hoping that he really is the spawn of a passing god, just so there's an explanation for this other than "'cos".

• All that said, Kvothe's current state of... brokeness distresses me. I don't know why, but I've never been comfortable reading stories where people... rot like that. Become less. Regardless of how well they're written.

• It was, actually, quite well written. Rothfuss has a deft turn of phrase, but he doesn't overindulge. His characters are solid and engaging, if a trifle distant. Though the first person perspective does that to side characters*
  ^{The Farseer Trilogy didn't have this problem, I'll grant, but Hobb kept her cast small and went to town with them.}
  . The plotting is tight. Not the story, necessarily- it does seem like a series of shorts at times, but it's well structured. It transitions smoothly and moves quickly. Detail is not squandered. It plants questions with the air of a series that can make good with satisfying answers. Though I thought that about The First Law too, and Last Argument of Kings fucked up so badly on that score I wouldn't deign to wipe my arse with it.

• The real weakness is in the world-building, I think. When the Chandrian were introduced I reached for the first "ancient hidden evil" I could think of to compare them to. I came back with the Consult and the Inchoroi. Oh dear. Rothfuss doesn't come out well in that comparison at all. Bakker's world-building is like a thick, black treacle pooling at the base of the skull. It covers everything, and sticks to your hands when you try to touch anything.

'''WHAT DO YOU SEE? I MUST KNOW WHAT YOU SEE. TELL ME. WHAT AM I?'''

And "We are a race of lovers" are burnt into my imagination. Rothfuss' is more like... cobwebs and water haze. If I turned my eyes to the side I could believe this world had no history at all.

• No, I don't understand the Denna obsession either. I'd rather pair Kvothe off with Auri. Or Devi. Or Penthe. Or hell, goddamn Felurian for all that she'd kill him. I guess I have a thing for fey girls*
  ^{Do ho ho.}
  . Really, any girl he's close with. That is not a short list. I think her attraction is supposed to be mysterious, and indescribable, and Rothfuss is making a point about love being mysterious and unknowable. Which I could swallow, if she wasn't apparently irresistable to all men. This is more than some quirk of Kvothe's heart, and it's beginning to wear.

• The Adem were so tediously by the book I had to break out my stock of extra extra extra wide faces in defence. -_____________________________________________________-

• Oh good God it's been four years since the first one came out. Wriiite faaasterrr.

The second one isn't as good as the first one. I hope the third hits the heights again. I'm not sure how he'll even fit all the plot threads and tie them up in one book. heck Wise Man's Fear felt rushed and it was a damn doorstopper. That said, Rothfuss is top-tier fantasy writer for mine and the books deserve to be read. I like his take on the magic-academy setting and I'm looking forward to seeing how his Mary Sueish protagonist eventually gets broken down like he does.

I think the world-building and characterisation is very strong personally, and I'm liking the foreshadowing on a possible perspective flip between the Amyr and the Chandrian. The Felurian section was bad though. Awful in fact.

I disliked the Felurian section. Everything else was really good though. I'm kind of worried about the third book though... Mostly because it seems like he's setting up an epic Heroic BSOD, and I think it might involve the Cthaeth

Working my way through the second book. It seems like it's a decent enough Hero's Journey that plays at subverting and deconstructing the archetype when it doesn't just play it straight. The prose is ... very engaging. It's extremely readable and I have trouble putting it down.

reading the first book at the moment, have the second waiting.

I'm really enjoying it.

So, I just finished this. I can't really put my finger on why, but I liked this book. Maybe it was the framing device, or maybe I just felt it was cleverly written.

So I'm about 1/3 of the way through and I don't think I'll finish. My husband loves this book; I don't understand what everyone loves so much about it. Yes, the writing is a cut above most fantasy and the beginning is strong, but:

• "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 during the day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me."

THIS IS A MARY SUE. He's so awesome that the plot and all the other characters are forced to acknowledge it and revolve around him.

• The pacing is terrible. The part I'm in is a complete slog. He seems to have no sense of what's interesting and what isn't ("A demon just had a fight with a powerful magic user. But who cares? Back to the street child!"), and he constantly includes scenes that add nothing to the narrative.

• What's with the complete dearth of female characters? So far:
  • Page 58 (That's longer than the length of many of my novellas): First female character introduced. There are two, but the other one doesn't have a speaking role.
  • Page 113: They both die. (That is, they have fewer pages than preceded their introduction.)
  • Page 175: A female character without a speaking role is mentioned in a story.
  • Page 178: She dies.

edited 19th Jun '11 9:42:24 AM by jewelleddragon