Please refrain from any spoilers in this section.

I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one. I think the "idea" of a great hero hiding out in an inn is pretty cool.

I agree, Robin. He is able to remain annonymous for the most part, as his patrons are more interested in stories, rumors and drinking than anything. It's a great place for him to be to get news of the outside world too.

I'm properly hooked on the series now. I love Pat's style and his blend of humor with suspence and action. It's refreshingly original yet still satisfies all of what draws me to fantasy in the first place...

I loved the book. I had it recommended to me by a friend of mine and have since passed it on to 3 or more of my friends/relatives. So far I have only had one person not like it (can't appeal to everyone I guess).

I really liked the unreliable narrator aspect of the story. You can never know if the story Kovthe is telling is fact, fiction or gross exaggeration.

Sandi wrote: "I really liked the unreliable narrator aspect of the story. You can never know if the story Kovthe is telling is fact, fiction or gross exaggeration."

I suspect that it is all three....

Sandi wrote: "I really liked the unreliable narrator aspect of the story. You can never know if the story Kovthe is telling is fact, fiction or gross exaggeration."

In that respect it is similar to Shadow & Claw by Gene Wolfe -- which also has an unreliable narrator looking back at his past. Though, personally I think Patrick Rothfuss did it better, though I have nothing wrong with Gene Wolfe.

Really, Collin? I have a copy of Shadow & Claw but haven't read it yet......maybe I should

Late in the book Bast says that "...everyone tells a story about themselves in their own head...all the time....We build ourselves out of that story....People saw him as a hero and ... eventually he believed it. It became the truth."

I wonder if he's saying that in the end we all become unreliable narrators of our own stories. I never got the impression that Kvothe was unreliable in the sense that he was deliberately lying, but that maybe what he remembers has been colored by how his actions were interpreted by others, either at the time or afterward. And a large part of why he lets Chronicler tell his story at all is to correct what he believes are other people's misinterpretation of his life: "the stories are saying 'assassin' not 'hero'."

Have you guys seen this yet? I promise, it is spoiler-free.

http://andsewingishalfthebattle.com/phot...

Melissa wrote: "Have you guys seen this yet? I promise, it is spoiler-free."

/laughing/ Yay! And I dunno, that last close-up looks full of spoilers... ;-)

(In all seriousness, that chest is what I'm really curious about....)

Haha that's hilarious. I love the signed photo of Sarah Michelle Gellar in the chest...

I have a love/hate relationship with this book. On the one hand I really love the premise and the story, but on the other hand I hate how the first book just ends with absolutely nothing resolved! I like my series books to have a beginning, middle and end and this book is missing the end forcing one to read the next books in the series (which aren't even out yet). When I got to the end I felt jilted at the altar!

Loved the book. Flew through it (during rare free time at my uni). Can't wait for next (and I hope to have more rare free time for that).

This probably makes me an oddball, but the ending really didn't bother me. It was thought provoking and poignant and it made me anxious for the next book. Seems perfect to me. ;)

Laura wrote: "This probably makes me an oddball, but the ending really didn't bother me. It was thought provoking and poignant and it made me anxious for the next book. Seems perfect to me. ;)"

I'm with you, Laura. Of course, I'm used to this sort of ending after years of reading Martin and Jordan and Stephen King's Dark Tower.

It would be much the same way if we had to wait a few years between reading Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers...

I didn't mind the ending either. Kvothe was telling a story, and there are always pauses in stories, especially one as long as Kvothe's. It's not like Rothfuss really left us with a cliffhanger...it was more just like a pause in a story. Of course we want to know what happens next, but I didn't have the reaction of "WHAT?!?" when it ended. It just made me want to read the next one. =)

I really liked this book. It kept me intrigued the entire time and I can't wait for the next one. I liked the way the book shifted back and forth between first and third person. I think it was done cleanly and I had no problem making the change. The fact that nothing was really wrapped up didn't bother me - I think this book was a good foundation for what's to come.

I agree with the previous notions that the ending was good. Didn't bother me in the least that I have to wait to hear more of the story. I don't even expect the second book to have an "ending". I'm okay if it doesn't. It's the final book of the series that requires an ending for me.

Jeanne wrote: "I have a love/hate relationship with this book. On the one hand I really love the premise and the story, but on the other hand I hate how the first book just ends with absolutely nothing resolved! ..."

Jeanne - you summed up my feelings exactly!! I really didn't like the way it ended - it almost felt like...Okay well I have a lot of pages down and I'm tired now - so I'll just stop here.

Chris wrote: "It would be much the same way if we had to wait a few years between reading Fellowship of the Ring and the Two Towers... ;)"..."

LOTR - I always take a single book because that is how they were written. The fact that the publisher split them over 3 books didn't bother me because I knew that coming in. In this case I wasn't "expecting" it - and it doesn't help that the others are not written. The sub-title of this book really threw me to the "King killer" - that obviously is much further down the road so IMO it should not have been a sub-title on this particular installment.

Robin, I had seen you and Jeanne both say that the ending was abrupt before I started reading it last month. I'm sure that helped prepare me for that...

As far as the Kingkiller thing, I'm not too bothered by that. We don't know any of the details of that situation, and he could still surprise us...

Isn't The Kingkiller Chronicles just the name of the series?

Jeanne wrote: "I have a love/hate relationship with this book. On the one hand I really love the premise and the story, but on the other hand I hate how the first book just ends with absolutely nothing resolved! ..."

I too had a problem with this book's ending - I did enjoy a lot of aspects of this book - though the love interest I have no interest in. It's a shame because there is a lot to like in it but ultimately the ending turned me off and I'm not all that excited about the second -- or I assume third (isn't it a trilogy?". I know a lot of people love it but I guess I just can't get over the dissapointment at how it ended.

Jane, you might be better served if you wait until the third book is out before tackling the second. It seems that Pat's work is/was intended to be one book but had to be split up because of length. Once you have all three books in hand, those endings won't be nearly as frustrating.

That's how I read the Wheel of Time. After about book 3, Jordan started leaving all of the books with open endings and continuing right into the next. Well, I had all 11 on my shelf, so I just jumped into the next one. People that had to wait several years got frustrated...and yes, I know the final book is still forthcoming....

I just finished reading last night, and I have to come down firmly on the side of those who weren't bothered by the ending. Collin compared it to Shadow & Claw for the unreliable narrator aspect, but I'd say it compares in that there's not an over-abundance of plot in either. Which drove me to abandon Shadow & Claw when I tried to read it about 8 years ago, but didn't bother me so much this time. I guess I'd have to give Wolfe another try to truly know if it's my changing tastes as a reader (as I suspect) or if instead it's the difference in authors' styles.

Kvothe's story is truly enjoyable, but made even better by delving into the nature of heroes and legends, how they come to be, how they see themselves, how they're seen by those who don't know them personally and those that do, and why we seem to need them so badly.

Great start, looking forward to the rest...

It's been months since I read this book but if I had time I would (and do plan to) re-read it. The first time I read it, I nearly tore the pages turning them so fast. It's been years since I read something so wonderful. The only thing that came close in the last couple of years was the first book of Brandon Sanderson's Mistborn trilogy. And I liked them both for the same reason - they start out with an orphan struggling to survive on the streets in the harshest meanest environment. Survival is foremost on the protagonist's thoughts and all their actions are shadowed by it. Both stories also contained mentors who helped lift them out of despair and set them on a path less destructive and more hopeful.

Jon, I agree whole heartidly that both these books are excellent. But....The orphan and mentor is one of those things that has been done over and over again - most recently Potter/Dumbledore. Again don't flame me as a hater of either of these titles because I did love them both - but for me it was "inspite" of the fact that these authors used this cliche. The rest of the writing was just so good that I was able to look past that aspect.

My stepdaughter and I always refer to the mentor as the "Gandalf" of most fantasy books. It seems like most of them have one, at least. More appropriately perhaps would be to call it the "Merlin", but I like the sound of Gandalf.

I agree that it's great when a writer finds a way to make the Gandalf mentor role fresh...and i still need to read Mistborn....

The first time i got my hands on this book it was only an extract. One of the fantasy magazines that we have in Poland printed this in cooperation with the Polish publisher in a quite short book, about 30 pages or so. I mention this because it's a rather new thing polish fantasy literature to advertise this way, but - as it seems - a rather successful one. I have to admit that I had a really good read and decided to buy the full book. I've had this sense of ... 'new great fantasy author comes to town' feeling. I've started reading and passed first 100 pages, then another, and another. And all this excitement get lost somehow in the middle of it. Even if the storyline is pretty good, the book as a whole was ruined by this infantile and needles love story. I mean - come on - the guy helps a lot of people and saves a bunch of them, he's ultra bright, smart, and all, and yet he can't even kiss a girl. How naive is that? The romance part of the book turned me off very much to this point that I'll risk a statement that if it weren't for this love-affair, it woul've been a much better book.

Robin wrote: "I really enjoyed this book and I'm looking forward to the next one. I think the "idea" of a great hero hiding out in an inn is pretty cool."

And yet - don't you think that hiding from the world and then telling the whole story to the first stranger that happens to be come there is a little ... strange? I mean the guy was hiding there for God knows how many years and then as soon as someone pops-up he barely can restrain himself from telling all about himself. Kind of strange to me ;)

Jane wrote: "I too had a problem with this book's ending - I did enjoy a lot of aspects of this book - though the love interest I have no interest in. It's a shame because there is a lot to like in it but ultimately the ending turned me off and I'm not all that excited about the second -- or I assume third (isn't it a trilogy?". I know a lot of people love it but I guess I just can't get over the disappointment at how it ended."

That's kind of how I feel about the book. It was good at some parts, worse then average at others. In overall I'm not going to wait impatiently for the second part. Yes, I'll buy it but it's not like my most anticipated title this/next year.

Geediez wrote: "don't you think that hiding from the world and then telling the whole story to the first stranger that happens to be come there is a little ... strange? I mean the guy was hiding there for God knows how many years and then as soon as someone pops-up he barely can restrain himself from telling all about himself. Kind of strange to me ;) "

First, the first chapter states that he's a newcomer to the town and only had the inn for two years. Also there's a part that basically says he's "... not even near thirty". My guess from that is he's early to mid twenties at the absolute oldest.

Second, he's not telling his story to the first stranger that happens by but to The Chronicler. While there's no direct explanation of exactly what this means, someone named by his title is usually pretty specific and important. Also he came looking for Kvothe specifically ("I was extraordinarily careful. No one but Skarpi knew I was coming. I didn't mention you to anyone.".

Personally I loved the ending. See, the book is titled "The King Killer Chronicle Day One" which implies.....oh heck I think that might actually be getting into spoilers. Which is frustrating since that's the part I want to talk about most. :D

I guess I can say, while I'm enjoying the story being told....I suspect that story is not actually finished and I'm extremely interested in how the story meets up with the present.

As far as resolution, I never really expect to see anything resolved in the first book of a series. We're still figuring out what the true conflict is actually going to be. And we do get some answers. We've actually seen the origin of a number of the feats supposed to have been done by him so we're seeing a lot of the origins of the legends.

I read this book the month it came out in hardbound.

And I thought the opening chapters were extraordinarily brilliant. The mood, the sense of brooding danger, the mystery and the startling events, all well handled - plus, the take of viewing the fantasy hero from the opposite end of the spectrum pulled me right in and held my fascination.

The shift to first hand narrative just as the book really began to take off changed the angle so sharply, I took awhile to get over the shift.

What has me on the edge of my seat - is whether the series, completed, can live up to, or top, the breathless sense of anticipation evoked by those masterful early chapters.

I'm quite willing to plunge for the sequel or two, to find out where this story is going. Certainly it's a worthy debut.

I have faith in Rothfuss and his editors. I believe that, in the end, he will deliver the goods.

What I liked most about this first installment was how complete the world feels. Like Jordan's and Martin's worlds, the world inside The Name of the Wind felt very much like a real place to me.

What I didn't like was how sentimental it was sometimes.

Overall, a very impressive debut. It didn't feel like an author's first novel at all.

Personally, I loved the ending, and I don't really get the fuss about it. It's obvious from the beginning of the story that Kvothe is telling his story over the course of three days, therefore, it makes perfect literary sense to stop the first book at the end of the first day of story-telling, the second book at the end of the second day, and the third at the end. The rhythm of the book is Kvothe's story-telling, not the rhythm of his life story so far. Of course, we also get hints through the course of the first book that Kvothe's past is catching up with him while he waits in his inn, and I'm sure that will play an increasing role as the series progresses, and I think it will be great to see the two storylines (Kvothe's history and the present crisis) merge into a single ending. I'm very excited for the second book to come out!

Simone wrote: "Personally, I loved the ending, and I don't really get the fuss about it."

I have to agree with you there. The ending was very appropriate to me.
I too an anxious to see how the two story lines will eventually meet and what will happen after.

The reason I didn't like the ending....It was obvious that it was one long book that was too long and so it just "stopped". It wasn't "crafted" to end where it did. There was no usual building to a climax...climax...cool down just a ... okay well it's late and I've talked for a long time we should end it here.

When the publisher decided it was going to be broken into multiple books I would have had them broken down into "logical" pieces - like Part one - his early years - leading to the climax of his family's death. The second book could be his life on the street leading to his "going to university". The third book could be his years at university until he leaves there. So on and so on.

-- Robin The Crown Conspiracy | Avempartha | Nyphron Rising (Oct 2009)

It was obvious that it was one long book that was too long and so it just "stopped". It wasn't "crafted" to end where it did. There was no usual building to a climax...climax...cool down just a ... okay well it's late and I've talked for a long time we should end it here.

See, I disagree completely. I think that it was a very clever and deliberate use of craft to create that particular ending. As I said before, I think you're looking for "climax" in the wrong place, because the pace of the series is set to the pace of the storytelling itself, not the history that is being related DURING the storytelling. In other words, the pacing of the series is, ultimately, tied to the current, real-time events unfolding during the time Kvothe is telling his story, not so much Kvothe's history (although I think that history will, obviously, prove to be important to understanding "current" events within the series). Frankly, I think that's part of the genius of the book, that it plays with conventional expectations about how events are going to be presented, and thus, keeps the reader guessing, more so than the typical "we're building to a conflict with a big (but not The Biggest) evil thing (unless this is the for-sure last book in the series)! And now we're in the conflict! And now (big surprise) the good guy won (insert incidental weeping for other beloved-but-ultimately-just-supporting characters who died for the Greater Good here)!" plot.

I see your point, and it's not like I don't like the story...don't get me wrong. I just felt "less than satisfied" when I had completed it. I didn't feel like I was "dieing" for the next one. For my taste I think Sanderson's Mistborn series is much more to what I was saying. There is a trillogy that nicely "concludes" before going onto the next segment.

The other thing that probably contributes is I edit books (mainly my husband's though I've been helping a lot of other authors with theirs recently) and I like a book that leaves "open threads" for next books but also fully wraps up. It is certainly just a matter of taste and in no way reflects poorly on the book or the author who didn't "go that route".

Robin, I agree with you. The book did just stop, in my view, as there was no real resolution to any single plot line. Also, the second part of the story, Wise Man's Fear, was written prior to the publication of Name of the Wind (the two were one big manuscript, I believe, too big to be published as one book), and then Rothfuss, after Name of the Wind came out, decided that a total re-write of Wise Man's Fear was in order. Otherwise, we would have had it last year some time.

There is a discussion on this very point in the Curse of the Mistwraith thread, about cliffhanger endings. I myself prefer a resolution of some of the plot lines (not the bigger ones, obviously, or it wouldn't be a series), in order to have the feel of having completed a good read.