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Reviews Literature / The Name Of The Wind

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Xacebans Since: Dec, 2010
08/14/2012 11:27:54 •••

Lost potential—a boring story.

This book took me a month and a half to read despite books the same length usually taking me a week to get through. Why? It's uninteresting.

Kvothe is a blatant Mary-Sue. Apparently he's supposed to be flawed, or the author wants us to think he is and outright tells us so. But his "flaws" don't come off as such. His only one besides being pretentious and boring is his occasional stupidity, which just gives the impression of his being out-of-character rather than the impression of an actual flaw.

The plot is... virtually nonexistent. Kvothe goes to some special school after spending over a hundred pages in a city when, if he was really that intelligent, he could have found some way to leave waaaaay before then. After reaching the school, stuff happens. Characters dislike him. Whatever. We're supposed to hate them. Meets...the queen of sues, Denna. Apparently things keep on happening and they end up out in the country. And there's a dragon-thing. Doesn't seem like much of a plot to me.

There was potential, though. If a more sympathetic and less sue-ish character had existed and there had been a decent plot, the book could have been a satisfying read. But the world just isn't built upon, either. We have no idea where things are, or what the world is like. Where are things in proportion to one another? What does this place look like, anyway? This story just could have been so much better. There is the occasional bit of humor, but it's only every couple hundred pages. The entire book could have been about four hundred pages shorter without sacrificing anything. The writing, also, is just boring average fantasy-style prose. It's nothing special.

TL;DR? This book could have been better but as it is it's a waste of your time.

elvensnow Since: Nov, 2010
08/14/2012 00:00:00

Mary Sue... You Keep Using That Word. Maybe you'd like to look it up.

Kvothe isn't a Mary Sue for many reasons but I'll rehash a couple: First, the world doesn't exist just to be his foil. While the main narrative is told in first person I can see how this might trip people up. Of course it's all going to be about HIM, he is telling his story after all. Second, we aren't "supposed to hate" the characters that Kvothe hates. Really the only one readers should loathe is Ambrose, and he has plenty of character traits that make him unlikeable - it's not just a reflection of how Kvothe feels about him.

And yes, Kvothe is powerful and talented and smart. That's the whole POINT. It's a story about a prodigy, what can you expect? But he has huge failings. And it's not just "stupidity" that seems "out of character"- he makes truly bad judgment calls and allows himself to be blinded by his own hubris. It's a classic hero trait, so would you say then all heroes are Mary Sues?

Denna can't be a Mary Sue considering she's no where near a main character and barely DOES anything. She's a love interest, one that may seem unjustified and can be an annoying one for some people, but you calling her a Mary Sue really seems to show you don't really understand the term.

Anyhow, it's unfortunate you did not enjoy the series. I think too many people read a book only when there is a specific purpose. i.e, here's a hero, he fights a bad guy, the end. Rothfuss's books are an exploration of character and a world that is lovingly crafted with a rich history. I love Rothfuss's ability to exposit in the form of songs or stories, instead of just telling you "Hey did you know X happened 1000 years ago?" His writing and his world is truly unique and I think anyone looking for a good character-based fantasy should give it a chance.


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