Reviews Literature / The Wise Mans Fear

Entirely too much of fairy dalliances and european tai chi.

When Kvothe said in the first book that he had spent a night with Felurian and walked away with his life and his sanity I sure as hell didn't expect that "night" to be so boring. How did Rothfuss manage to make endless sex with a fairy goddess boring anyway? Now that's a question.

When Kvothe said in the first book that he had learned to fight with the Adem I sure as hell didn't expect the Adem to be such insufferable morons. Why did Rothfuss try to present as perfect a group of idiots full of backwards-thinking? Now that's a question.

The chase of the bandits dragged on a bit too, but it gets a pass because it culminated with the best moment of the series so far.

Amusingly, of this book's side quests the one I found most compelling was the one that seemed most boring on paper: Kvothe navigating the intricacies of a court. Maybe a testament to my sensibilities.

Still, all of the subplots mostly unrelated to the main plot are a detriment to the book's pacing. For all of his skills at myth building, Rothfuss's world building is not quite smooth. While The Name of the Wind is a breeze to read, this one feels like a chore at times.

Anyways, as with TNOTW, this book's best asset continues to be the inner mythology, which thankfully gets expanded quite a bit here. Mostly Iax and the Cthaeh's deals.

Hopefully, the lack of anything happening in this one means that the third one will be a thrill ride. One can dream.

And, hey, that pest Bast got slapped twice and it was cathartic. That's something.