The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

[Jonathan , Reader of the fantastic]

This is our other October contemporary novel. Enjoy!

[Bev]

Name of the Wind is a modern classic. It is very well written and the characters absorbing. My only complaint is having to wait so long for the sequels.

[Michael]

Name of the Wind is one of the great modern day fantasy stories. Like most of the fantasy reading world I'm anxiously awaiting the third and last installment. I've bought the second book, but waiting to read it and the third one back to back...so who knows how long it will be.

[Bev]

Michael wrote: "Name of the Wind is one of the great modern day fantasy stories. Like most of the fantasy reading world I'm anxiously awaiting the third and last installment. I've bought the second book, but wait..."

Bk 2 is also very good. Read it now, go on, you know you want to !!! :)

[Elizabeth]

I really enjoyed The Name of the Wind. It's one of those books that pulls you in. The main character's narrative is really engaging. I haven't got the second book yet but it's on my list.

[Adam]

Is this book written in the first person? It's been on my list to read for sometime but I'm a little afraid to invest so much time due to its length. Is it worth it?

[Xdyj]

How would you compare it with LeGuin's Earthsea?

[Jonathan , Reader of the fantastic]

Adam wrote: "Is this book written in the first person? It's been on my list to read for sometime but I'm a little afraid to invest so much time due to its length. Is it worth it?"

Adam it is definitely worth reading. I didn't like the second as much but it was still decent. It switches between third and first person. The third person is present day and the first person is a recollection, but the protagonist is quite likeable. My review states my opinion more clearly though: http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Xdyj wrote: "How would you compare it with LeGuin's Earthsea?"

I prefer it to Earthsea. But then I'm no huge fan of the Earthseas novels. They're too brief or dry for me, something like that. I may re-read them again though and have a second opinion.

[Adam]

Thanks Jonathan. I'll pick it up either on ibooks or kindle tomorrow.

[Adam]

So being that this is October's contemporary novel, what happens at the end of the month? Do we discuss the book etc?

[Bev]

Xdyj wrote: "How would you compare it with LeGuin's Earthsea?"

Le Guins Earthsea is more simplistic and childlike than Name of the Wind which is very fast paced and modern and more adult.

Both are great I personally love the Earthsea books but I read them a kid in the first instance. Name of the Wind is not for kids.

Completely different types of fantasy.

[Jonathan , Reader of the fantastic]

Adam wrote: "So being that this is October's contemporary novel, what happens at the end of the month? Do we discuss the book etc?"

We discuss the book during October or as we read it. Anyone who has already read it can post thoughts so long as there's no visible spoilers...

[Adam]

Started the book on ibooks. On chapter 2 so far.

[M.J.]

Enjoyed this book immensely and Patrick Rothfus is a very nice dude.

[Xdyj]

Just finished it. IMO it's the best epic fantasy I've read in a while. Will write a review later today.

[Bev]

Xdyj wrote: "Just finished it. IMO it's the best epic fantasy I've read in a while. Will write a review later today."

Glad you like it as i think its a cracker

[Pickle]

i really didnt like this book and i wont be going any further in the series. I read this after reading the excellent The Lies of Locke Lamora and found the story pointless while actually hating main character. He was fabulous at everything it seemed but never used any of his wonderful talents when he should have.

[Jamie]

I've only read a little bit, but I'm having a hard time getting into it. Is it going to be worth going on?

[Adam]

About 100 pages into this. Not bad so far, but I wouldn't say I'm wrapped up in it yet. Too early to judge. Will get back to everyone...

[Bev]

Jamie wrote: "I've only read a little bit, but I'm having a hard time getting into it. Is it going to be worth going on?"

Yes.

[Jonathan , Reader of the fantastic]

Adam wrote: "About 100 pages into this. Not bad so far, but I wouldn't say I'm wrapped up in it yet. Too early to judge. Will get back to everyone..."

Early on the story tends to be less interesting, it's better near the end. I didn't like the sequel as much (view spoiler)[ due to the Felurian bits... (hide spoiler)].

[Laurel]

I've read both of these books and agree with the waiting for sequels, especially when Patrick Rothfuss has already said before the book was even released that he had already written the entire trilogy.

Also, I enjoyed the book while I was reading it, but in retrospect, there was quite a bit that seemed to jump the shark a bit, (over the top), and there are some seeming contradictions, or Patrick Rothfuss has A LOT to be happening in the third and final book. We shall see I suppose.

[Paul]

This is a very well written book, has a fun and interesting story as well as very human characters, I'd recommend reading Patrick Rothfuss to anyone and actually have done so to a number of friends who have also loved his books so far. I am eagerly awaiting the final book in the series like a lot of fans.

[Adam]

“This was levels beyond the simple memorization I had practiced for the stage. My mind was learning to work in different ways, becoming stronger. It felt the same way your body feels after a day of splitting wood, or swimming, or sex. You feel exhausted, languorous, and almost Godlike. This feeling was similar, except it was my intellect that was weary and expanded, languid and latently powerful. I could feel my mind starting to awaken.”

Excerpt From: Rothfuss, Patrick. “The Name of the Wind.” Penguin, 2010-03-01. iBooks.
This material may be protected by copyright.

Check out this book on the iBookstore: https://itunes.apple.com/us/book/the-...

This excerpt is exactly how I felt while studying for the bar exam years ago. I even grew a beard during those months of study. Liking this book more each day.

[Bev]

Adam wrote: "“This was levels beyond the simple memorization I had practiced for the stage. My mind was learning to work in different ways, becoming stronger. It felt the same way your body feels after a day of..."

Adam I agree it is very much about a rite of passage and about growing up into your adult self.

[Adam]

Sufficed to say, it's going to take me more than a month to finish this. I'll keep you all posted and I guess I'll write a review when I'm done.

[Lee]

I really enjoyed The Name of the Wind and the 2nd book (Wise Man's Fear, I believe). It definitely picks up, enough so that I don't really remember a slow start, just the great story. Like a few other fans, I am awaiting (not patiently) the next one. (For anyone who wants more of his humor and viewpoint, check out his blog at patrickrothfuss.com. Some of the archived stuff is great. At times hilarious, at times thought-provoking, at times goofy.)

[Xdyj]

What's your position on this discussion topic: Is the protagonist a Mary Sue?

[Jonathan , Reader of the fantastic]

My position on 'Mary Sues' is altogether that of characters in general. I don't think about characters like that if they have depth and are written skilfully. I find the whole 'Mary Sue' debate to be very personalised. There will be people who see any character as a 'Mary Sue' and I'm sure when you break it down that any character could be perceived as being from a specific stock. However I think most characters tend to have unique qualities and I agree with the comment that: Are characters Mary Sues is about as insightful as the 'is it original' debate?'

[[deleted user]]

I think I agree with Jonathan. "Mary Sue" is a useful shorthand to describe a overly-perfect character. I'm not sure it's worth the time of people already familiar with the character to argue as to whether the adjective applies or by how much.

(Aside: I used to call this a "Mary Poppins" before the "Mary Sue" term gained currency in fandom. PL Traver's magical nanny Mary Poppins had an enchanted tape measure she used to measure her young charges. It would tell her, "prone to giggling," or "stubborn," or such. But when applied to herself, it always reported, "practically perfect in every way.")

I'm not sure being a "Mary Sue" is necessarily a bad thing, either. As long as the story is exciting, or the character amusing, or the setting or situation is intriguing, I don't care. James Bond can probably be labeled a Mary Sue, but his adventures are still fun to watch on the big screen. Mary Sue-ism only becomes annoying if the plot fails to provide sufficient challenges to test even a perfect protagonist. It's sort of the nature of heroic adventure, sci-fi and fantasy, that hero will triumph through adversity, preferably through his or her own labors. Are heroes are supposed to be larger than life.

[Xdyj]

I agree. I think the term "mary sue" is just a way of claiming that one thinks a character is badly written, is largely subjective & depends a lot on a reader's personal taste.

[Jonathan , Reader of the fantastic]

Yes, most of the time people start talking about 'Mary Sues' when they dislike a book. I think when you don't like a book the characters may appear more flawed than otherwise.

[Bev]

Never heard of the term. I wonder if it is used at all in the UK?

[Pickle]

Bev wrote: "Never heard of the term. I wonder if it is used at all in the UK?"

ive only ever heard the term used on here and that wasnt until recently. Im not aware of it being used here in the UK but i know nothing :)

[[deleted user]]

Bev wrote: "Never heard of the term. I wonder if it is used at all in the UK?"

Wikipedia claims it goes back decades to trek fandom, but I only read it for the first time a couple years ago, and only on the Internet. I suspect it was a very sub-sub-subgenre thing until the Internet discovered it. Of course, being a sci-fi fan on the Internet, I'm always on the lookout any new word with which to disparage the tastes of others. :)

[Bev]

G33z3r wrote: "
Bev wrote: "Never heard of the term. I wonder if it is used at all in the UK?"
Wikipedia claims it goes back decades to trek fandom, but I only read it for the first time a couple years ago, and..."

Nice!!:)

[Phil]

I think a lot of the biggest flaws in this book- inconsistent characterization, weird pacing- could be chalked up to the format. I think that Rothfuss is a great novella/short story writer, and he should have just stuck to that. I think he should have packaged up a series of books that each contained a handful of Kvothe stories not necessarily presented in sequence with no promise of wrapping it all up in a trilogy. I think the man could run with this character for at least six books without it getting stale.

But for some reason, we have to play continuity games so it can be a trilogy. Why can't it just be Swords and Deviltry?

[Marangie]

"Mary Sue" oh!! something new to me.

Just finished it. I enjoyed this book, but some moments seemed to me really slow and long.

[[deleted user]]

I enjoyed it, but the first go round I listened to it on audiobook (at the behest of a friend), so that may have been a factor. I don't often listen to audio books (almost never), so I'm not sure how much of a difference it made for me.

I don't remember thinking that Kvothe was perfect at all...(Hence the Mary Sue reference, Yes?) I felt like he was pretty good at pointing out his own (many) flaws.