From the Bookshelf of Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy…

The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #1)

Patrick Rothfuss

Start date: October 1, 2012

Finish date: October 31, 2012

Discussion: Book Discussions

Why we're reading this: October 2012 Contemporary (tied)
#18 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.o …more
[close] October 2012 Contemporary (tied)
#18 on NPR's Top 100 SF/F novels of all time (2011 poll) http://www.npr.org/2011/08/11/1390858...
#3 on Locus Magazines Best Fantasy novels of the 21th century http://www.locusmag.com/2012/AllCentu...

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What Members Thought

Jul 25, 2014 Jim rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, 2fiction, 1ebook, 3series

A lot of my friends have recommended & raved about this book for ages. Most gave it 5 stars & prattled on about how great Kvothe is as a hero. I thought it was a pretty good story, but I certainly wasn't overwhelmed by it. In a nut shell, the structure tends to ruin the story for me.

The book starts out in a small town in the 'now' of a fantasy world. We quickly find out that Kvothe is in hiding & he starts telling his entire life story. Variations of this have worked well for some of my favorite A lot of my friends have recommended & raved about this book for ages. Most gave it 5 stars & prattled on about how great Kvothe is as a hero. I thought it was a pretty good story, but I certainly wasn't overwhelmed by it. In a nut shell, the structure tends to ruin the story for me.

The book starts out in a small town in the 'now' of a fantasy world. We quickly find out that Kvothe is in hiding & he starts telling his entire life story. Variations of this have worked well for some of my favorite books, so that wasn't a problem - except it was. Spoilers are the biggest issue an author needs to avoid, but Rothfuss seems to revel in them. I HATE spoilers, but he tells us what will happen, just not exactly how. Worse, there are irregular intermissions back into the present that disrupt the flow & add more spoilers.

There isn't a lot opportunity for good characterization & most of those are passed up. There are a few interesting ones in the 'now', but we don't spend enough time getting to know them. The rest are described by Kvothe which makes them rather two dimensional since he's pretty self centered. That would be OK, but Kvothe is the only one who ever gets whipped, beat up, or has a run in with a teacher. If others had faced similar problems it could have rounded out many of the secondary characters & the world much better. It also made some of his claims those of a petulant child. ("I wanted it SO much, but the mean teacher banned me & it wasn't fair! Not my fault!")

On the plus side, Rothfuss managed a far higher page count than I would have expected without losing me. Part of that is a very interesting system of magic & a huge world with a lot of interesting creatures, customs, & history. On the downside, I quickly knew that I was going to have to read at least 2 more books to get the whole story & the third hasn't been published yet - one reason I've held off reading it for so long.

I'm going to read the second book & buy the first in paper so my wife can read it. I have an ebook, but Marg doesn't like them since they're a PITA to flip back in. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Dec 22, 2012 Andrea rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: read-sorted, fiction-fantasy

A well-written wet dream of a thirteen year old boy. I would have been annoyed by this book more, if it wasn't written so damn entertaining. But c'mon, Kvothe is such an incredible overachiever, I thought my face would get stuck in a perpetual cringe. Nobody is that amazing! Also, all women he meets are universally beautiful and have a thing for him. Um, no. And if Denna was so tired of men following her, she'd be staying clear of them, instead of jumping from one boyfriend to another... And let ...more

4 likes · Like · see review

Oct 06, 2015 mina rated it really liked it · review of another edition

I give this book a 4 star rating because of the fun story of the University: the admission tests, the classes, the skills to be learned, the hanging out with good friends, the colourful teachers, the hard times Kvothe had as a student while having no money at all, and the LIBRARY (or let's say the lack of long description of it! I assume in Book 2 Kvothe will be kicked out soon since the very beginning of the book, so maybe the small glimpse in Book 1 is the only glimpse we have of the legendary ...more

1 like · Like · see review