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The Name of the Wind
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Name of the Wind
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re-borrowing from library to refresh my memory on it. :) should have it soon!
Prologues are tricky things, some of them you wish the author had just skipped because they don't add much, others serve as a mega-dose of fact-filled flashback before the main story, there's even been a few that on re-reading the book, I skip every time (can't remember which right now)This one is pretty good though, it's not an informational one, but I think it does a really good job in setting up a particular mood and feeling, easing you into listening mode, ready for a long and curious tale.
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The prologue was very well done and really sets the mood for a epic, long, but very well written story.
Oh, happy birthday! :D
Thoughts up to end of chapter 13 :)I like the pacing in this book, maybe even more the second time through. Things are getting revealed just fast enough to not frustrate too much, and yet slow enough to make me want more. For those who've gotten this far:
(view spoiler)
I forgot all about the songs, and on re-reading, they seem much more significant. I just read over the song about Lady Lackless in Chapter 11:Binding Iron. This could actually mean a number of things...
Okay, I'm on chapter 24 and so far I love love love the author's writing style, love love love Kvothe, and am really wishing I don't already know most of the scenes and quotes from hearing the rest of my family talk about it. Every time I reach something that should be epic or funny I just think 'ah, I remember this!' *sigh*Anyway, sorry about the rant, but so far that's my thoughts on this book... and it is an amazing book so far, I just wish most of it wasn't spoiled for me.
I loved the stories in chapters 26 and 28. It makes me wonder if the Amyr are a secret society or if instead they are a select group of immortals, kind of like the Chandrian, only dedicated to the destruction of the Chandrian.
I love the magic system in this world.It seems there's generally two ways to go about magic in fantasy. There's the "systemitized magic" approach and the "magic is mysterious" route. The way magic is portrayed in this series is an excellent example of the former. I've seen both done well, and I've seen both done very poorly. It strikes me that doing either well would be quite difficult.
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It seems there's generally two ways to go about magic in fantasy. There's the "systemitized magic" approach and the "magic is mysterious" route. The way ma..."
I would have to agree, both would be difficult. If you don't get follow the rules right in the "systematic magic" then the whole magic system goes out the window. But at least you know the rules. However, I think that the "mysterious magic" route would be even harder due to the lack of lines that can't and can be crossed. If this author isn't careful the reader could at some point think "what the heck, that went to far" or "huh?"
Right, the whole deus ex machina thing. This was one of my major gripes with the Malazan series. When it started it seemed like Erikson had a good framework for a magic system all worked out, but as the books went on, it became clear he couldn't get it together enough to really flesh it out, so all magic did was blow people up. It was like he started out systemitizing it, then gave up and tried to switch to the mysterious route part-way through the series. Pretty soon any time any of the magic users get into trouble, you're thinking "Why doesn't he/she just blow this guy up?"Rothfuss is different. Sygaldry, alchemy, sympathy, naming magic...it's great stuff. Really well conceived, and I've read a lot of fantasy in my time.
Auri is a fun little mystery. I hope we find out more about her eventually, she's a character that should have some very fun and complex story behind her somewhere. Not sure if we'll ever get to know much more though.
What do you guys think about Rothfuss' depictions of his female charcters?
Starting with book 1, book 2 there are some... differences. There are often little things that don't ring true about them, but most of the time, especially within the university setting, those moments I can write off as that we are seeing them through Kvothe's view only. No 14 to 16 year old boy has a good grasp yet on what to make of women's behavior (and most girls that age are also likely to misread guys). The things that don't fit realistically for me as something a female would be thinking/doing do make sense as something a teenage boy might *think* they are doing/thinking. Denna especially, Kvothe is clearly still totally irrational about even when the older him is narrating to Bast and Chronicler.Also, I've seen much much worse portrayals :) I think he is trying, and if he can't show the opposite sex perfectly, well, I can't do better, so I'm not complaining.
For those who've gone on to book 2 already before: (view spoiler)
I'd be interested to know, Sanasai, exactly what you mean by little things which don't ring true. A few examples, maybe. I didn't find the female characters in this book exceptionally written, but they also weren't poorly written; though I've heard people giving Rothfuss a lot of criticism lately for his portrayal of women, and so far no one has given many difinitive examples.I will definitely agree with you on the Fairyland scene from book 2, though. One has to keep in mind, I think, that Wise Man's Fear was only his second novel, but still, that scene was rather poorly written.
I didn't find the ones I was looking for back when I started looking for them, I think I may have been confusing book 2 stuff in there again? If I re-read book 2 I'll try and find the spots to point them out. They weren't anything too troubling, they just were little quirks, nothing that couldn't happen with a character of any gender or type, just sort of a moment I remember thinking " that doesn't *quite* make sense for them"
(Spoilers)