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

Patrick Rothfuss

Start date: April 1, 2011

Why we're reading this: Incredibly poetic, without verging on the unreadable. Sweeping and epic while it focuses in tightly on on…more
[close] Incredibly poetic, without verging on the unreadable. Sweeping and epic while it focuses in tightly on one character. This is an incredible book...so far. I am halfway through and loving it. If the last half can hold up it will rank up there with the greats.

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Sep 01, 2010 Sandra Wickham rated it it was amazing

I read this book because Pat Rothfuss was coming to our local VCON as a guest of honour..and I loved it. I proceeded to follow him around to every panel at the convention (and Kelley Armstrong) and not only learned a great deal, I also got the motivation needed to being my writing career. I wrote my story, now featured in Evolve, shortly after the convention. Thank you Mr. Rothfuss. :)

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Aug 27, 2010 Amanda rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy, buy-on-kindle, bought-copy, series

The Name of the Wind tells the story of Kvothe, this covering the first of three days in which he details his life to the Chronicler. Kvothe is a hero - a rescuer of women, a speaker of names, a player of songs. We learn about his early life, as he suffers tragedy and overcomes hardships to become the youngest member of the University.

I have seen people say that they literally wept with joy as they read this debut novel from Rothfuss. I have had people tell me they found it dull. I will fall som The Name of the Wind tells the story of Kvothe, this covering the first of three days in which he details his life to the Chronicler. Kvothe is a hero - a rescuer of women, a speaker of names, a player of songs. We learn about his early life, as he suffers tragedy and overcomes hardships to become the youngest member of the University.

I have seen people say that they literally wept with joy as they read this debut novel from Rothfuss. I have had people tell me they found it dull. I will fall somewhere in between. I waited a long, long time to read this novel and maybe have been influenced by all the hype over The Name of the Wind. On the one hand, I saw the almost-universal praise and wondered if it could possibly live up to the stunning reviews. On the other hand, I felt almost bound and determined to dislike it - just to go against the stream of praise.

Despite this weight of expectation and despite my best efforts, The Name of the Wind did win me over. It took some time to do so, but I found myself awake until late into the night thinking 'just one more chapter', which I only ever do about the best books.

The Name of the Wind is a great book - for a debut novel, it is breathlessly good. It is a diamond among books. But many diamonds have flaws and this is just the same.

I can talk about the fact that the novel is over-repetitive at points, such as when Kvothe continually has to raise money to pay for his university education. I could mention the fact that the secondary cast are rather wooden in comparison to the delight of the main characters such as Kvothe and Bast. I might just dwell on the fact that The Name of the Wind feels similar at points to many other stories - Harry Potter, Trudi Canavan's Black Magician books, Jonathan Strange and Mr Norrell in terms of the fae and the stories within stories, Tamora Pierce's Tortall books.

I didn't like Denna at all. The fact she takes such a starring role in the story was frustrating - I hated that Kvothe spent so much time running after her and pandering to her odd whims.

The sequence dealing with the village of Trebon and Kvothe's desperate dash to it, followed by lots of wandering in woods, felt unbelievably tacked on to the tale we'd already been reading.

And how often have we seen the sort of enmity that Kvothe suffers with Ambrose - this is incredibly familiar as a story trope.

Despite all this - despite the feel I'd read some of this before, despite the fact it seemed slow at points - The Name of the Wind managed something that few novels do. It made me slow down my reading in order to savour every word. I am a skim reading by habit - I skim a page to gain the meaning rather than reading every single word. With The Name of the Wind I slowed down. I read every word. I savoured the delicious prose: "Her voice was like a portrait of her soul: wild as a fire, sharp as shattered glass, sweet and clean as clover." I simply luxuriated in it.

Kvothe is also a fantastic character - I've seen people complain he is simply too good to be true, but I adore his swaggering arrogance, his quicksilver personality, his gentle humour. I love his true-red hair and grass-green eyes. His hesitance with the ladies is fun. He is a brilliant protagonist.

The fae part of the story was my favourite aspect - in fact, Bast is probably my favourite character behind Kvothe. The sequence right at the end of the book when Bast faces up against the Chronicler and shows his true nature is both chilling and delightful at once. I want to see much more of Bast in future novels.

This is not the best book ever, as claimed by some. It is not even a brilliant, once-in-a-generation book. But it is excellent. Well-written, vividly-imagined and certainly a fantasy novel that will stand the test of time. As people still pick up Magician or The Princess Bride and marvel at the story, in twenty years time people will do the same about The Name of the Wind. Before picking up this book, I was indifferent about the waiting time until The Wise Man's Fear - now, I join the queue of people waiting with feverish anticipation. The sequel can't come soon enough. ...more

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Jul 29, 2010 Clifton Hill rated it it was amazing

Shelves: amazing-fantasy

Even infinite potential can be tempered by absolute apathy. This is an endearing tale of a boy that grows into a legend to be respected and feared.

I’ll start this review off simply: If you love fantasy, don’t bother reading this, just go read Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. Of the books that I have reviewed over the last year or so, this is quite possibly the best. It is hard to adequately convey just how good this book is. It may not be perfect, but it comes close.

For the rest of you that insis Even infinite potential can be tempered by absolute apathy. This is an endearing tale of a boy that grows into a legend to be respected and feared.

I’ll start this review off simply: If you love fantasy, don’t bother reading this, just go read Rothfuss’ The Name of the Wind. Of the books that I have reviewed over the last year or so, this is quite possibly the best. It is hard to adequately convey just how good this book is. It may not be perfect, but it comes close.

For the rest of you that insist on knowing more, or have long since made this novel’s acquaintance, read on...

Kvothe is a singular talent. A man of song and heart, cunning and thievery, power of mind and magic. He is many things. Success is always at his fingertips, and yet he is broken down by horror, stretched thin by a life turned hard and he very nearly forgets all that he was. This is a story of a boy seeking to unravel the mysteries of the universe, and a man waiting to die.

Being first person, it should be no surprise that Kvothe is the very foundation and substance of this novel. Kvothe carries this story on his shoulders, bearing its sometimes incredible weight, even though it breaks him in the process.

For much of the novel, I tried without success to dissect Rothfuss’ story and learn what made it so compelling, however it was so well written the prose was mostly invisible. So, instead I learned about life.

And that’s when you know you have something special in your hands.

The book does have one weakness, one flaw that some might find issue with: plot. Largely it lacks an apparent overarching plot. There is one, but it is far in the background, moving slowly, a specter that we wish to see more of, but have to wait until the fullness of time has come about and given us the opportunity. In the mean time, the plot becomes Kvothe: his life and his trials, and lays the foundation for what I feel are great things to come. It is without doubt a journey, though one incomplete. A beginning.

To someone who has not read The Name of the Wind, this may sound like a huge failing, and if Rothfuss had managed a stronger overarching plot, it would have made the book that much better; but it should be noted the author’s sheer skill with telling a story is such that it renders much criticism: moot.

This book does not read like a debut, it reads like it is from the hands of a master, experienced in his craft. Yes, it had its irregularities, but one might argue that these are not a detriment and could very well be part of what makes it great. At times I was ready to call this book 5 stars, but as a whole I give it 4.5 incredible stars. Even though the ending does suffer, you are so thoroughly ensnared by the novel by then that you really don't care. For me, I can’t wait to read the sequel. It’s out now, so what are you waiting for?

Come read more on my blog http://www.CliftonH.com where I document my own writing journey and artistic pursuits. ...more

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Jan 31, 2011 Matt rated it it was amazing

Shelves: ebooks, sword, husby-wifey-book-club

This is an absolute must-read. The world-building is so amazing. And the story with-in a story adds a great layer to it. If you like fantasy at all, you should totally read this. One of my favorite books that I've read this year. And the sequel comes out in less than 2 weeks. ...more

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Sep 03, 2011 Laura rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: adult

100% page turner. Kvothe's story is creative and keeps you interested throughout. At first I was a little put off whenever the story jumped back to the group in the inn telling the story (Kvothe, Bast and the Chronicler) but that side of the plot developed in it's own right too so it became more natural as the overall story progressed.
I did think we'd get a bit farther in his life so the ending caught me by surprise, definitely leaves you with a cliffhanger and immediately ready to pick up the n ...more

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