The Name of the Wind
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Opinion of the Name of the Wind
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M
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rated it 3 stars
Jul 19, 2011 01:40AM
Ender's game is good, but the author paints in broad brushstrokes. Dune does not, it is very well thought out. NOTW is well thought out, but the writing can throw you. Perhaps historical fiction?
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Historical fiction? Hmmm, no thank you. I think I should just stick to horror/thriller & suspense. Although I really am tempted to check out Dune.
Michael wrote: "[Dune] is sci fi's supreme masterpiece. Very well written. If you don't like Dune your probably should try another genre. "I disagree. I love sci-fi and enjoyed Dune, but wouldn't rank it anywhere near my top sci-fi books. The genre is so huge, I'd hate for someone to assume they don't like sci-fi just because they don't like Dune.
At some other ends of the spectrum are things like Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy (funny), Flowers for Algernon (realistic), The City and the Stars (engaging storytelling), Brave New World (dystopia), Chocky (YA), Making History (historical), Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (classic), Shades of Grey (weird), I am Legend (philosophical - ignore the movie), The Gods Themselves (actually sciencey)...
I could go on and on (and have done!)
The question should be: what do you like about the books you read? Unless you hate even the slightest deviation from the world as we know it, there will be something in the sci-fi genre to suit your taste.
For some reason I never considered Hitchiker's Guide to the Galaxy as sci fi.. lol. oops. Loved the movie both the original & remake. :)
Nora: Can't believe you didn't like Ender's Game. Oh-well. But I have to agree w/ Michael about Dune. I may not think it's a supreme masterpiece as he does, I DID like it and I know several others who loved it. You could also try The Host (Stephanie Meyers). I'd call that sci-fi. And I loved it. Few books make me react out loud. That one made me cry. I smiled a hell of a lot more tho.If you don't like Dune either, I'd probably agree that sci-fi isn't your thing.
And you didn't like Name of the Wind which was fantasy. Care to give that genre another shot? Try Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin) or Enchanting (another Scott Card), or Eye of the World (Robert Jordan) and of course The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. All world class fantasy books.
Megan wrote: "Nora: Can't believe you didn't like Ender's Game. Oh-well. But I have to agree w/ Michael about Dune. I may not think it's a supreme masterpiece as he does, I DID like it and I know several others ..."It says it on the cover!!
Megan wrote: "And you didn't like Name of the Wind which was fantasy. Care to give that genre another shot? Try Game of Thrones (George R.R. Martin) or Enchanting (another Scott Card), or Eye of the World (Robert Jordan) and of course The Hobbit and Lord of the Rings. All world class fantasy books. ."I liked the Lord of Rings trilogy & Eye of the World(what I got a chance to read). but I'll never read another Scott Card novel. Typically I read horror/suspense/thriller but my book club picked NOTW & Enders Game so I read them.
Horror/suspense/thriller hmmmm? Stephen King? Koontz? Patterson? How about Tom Clancy?I've read The Stand, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower, It, Shawshank Redemption (fabulous) and The Eyes of the Dragon (not a typical King book but very good).
I've read about a dozen Koontz books and reall liked the Odd Thomas series.
I read all the Maximum Ride books and they kept me entertained but they weren't great. I've read 6 of the Alex Cross books and found myself expecting more of Alex after the first 3 or 4. I kept expecting him to get better and better but he just kind of stayed the same.
Tom Clancy isn't horror or suspense but there is plenty of thriller going on in some of them. He tends to be too technical for me but there were a few that I really liked. Namely: WITHOUT REMORSE!!! Ever watch 24? If you do and like that Jack Bauer type of character, the guy who's tough as nails and gets the job done, ignores the red tape, and generally kicks butt. I love it!! I know many Clancy fans and they all agree that Without Remorse is the best one!
Brief synopsis: Hero is an ex-navy seal. Drugdealers kill his woman. He picks them off one by one in some really fabulous ways, and tears down their operation while avoiding the dirty cop they've got working for them. He takes a brief break from hunting scum bags to go into Vietnam and rescue some POW's that have all been reported KIA. And he goes in alone because he's that awesome! Read it!
This book both me and my friend kind of ruined other books for us Rothfuss is an amazing voice and I hope you has a career thats just ridiculously too long for a normal human
D.J. wrote: "This book both me and my friend kind of ruined other books for us Rothfuss is an amazing voice and I hope you has a career thats just ridiculously too long for a normal human":D
Megan wrote: "Horror/suspense/thriller hmmmm? Stephen King? Koontz? Patterson? How about Tom Clancy?I've read The Stand, Tommyknockers, The Dark Tower, It, Shawshank Redemption (fabulous) and The Eyes of the Dr..."
Oh yeah, Love Koontz. I actually belong to a book club dedicated just to Koontz novels. :) Loved the Odd Thomas series. Anyway, we are way off topic & I'd hate for people to get riled up.
Michael wrote: "Megan wrote: "Nora: Can't believe you didn't like Ender's Game. Oh-well. But I have to agree w/ Michael about Dune. I may not think it's a supreme masterpiece as he does, I DID like it and I know s..."Ah. I thought that was your own words.
I loved Ender's game especially after I knew what was going on and how he delt with the enomancy of it all. I loved all the rest of that series as well.
Good choice. Ender's game was really cool, and I felt that the education of Ender and his family to prepare them for their future bore a lot of parallels to the education and training of the ruling families in the "Dune" series.
Robert wrote: "Good choice. Ender's game was really cool, and I felt that the education of Ender and his family to prepare them for their future bore a lot of parallels to the education and training of the rulin..."I'm gonna have to read 'Dune' again before I can see that, but from what I remember, that sounds right.
Robert wrote: "It's unfortunate that our online dialogue, which is admittedly limited in the manner Megan mentioned, " one of the biggest problems w/ strangers communicating through text. It's really hard to conv..."Yes, I remember Soupy Sales, made me laugh, things are different these days.
Dorothy wrote: "Robert wrote: "It's unfortunate that our online dialogue, which is admittedly limited in the manner Megan mentioned, " one of the biggest problems w/ strangers communicating through text. It's real..."Yes, "things are different these days," but the recent exhibition of selfishness, posturing, and pomposity in Congress during the course of the debt ceiling discussions showed us that if anything, there is an even greater need for someone to be throwing custard pies today.
Osvaldo wrote: "It pains me to say this, but I think I may be abandoning this book. The writing is very clunky and for some reason I feel very apathetic to the main character. Perhaps it is that it took so long to..."I also felt apathetic to the main character, mainly because I don't see Kvothe growing or changing. I get the feeling from the story that Kvothe is simply the best at everything. Since I don't see being changed by his experiences in any way, it made it difficult for me to be interested by his journey.
I know a lot of people love this book-but I wasn't at all engaged by the story.
I know the boundaries can be blurred but I would say this is fantasy rather than Sci Fi. I loved this and the 'Wise Man's' Fear'. Kvothe is so unfeasibly good at everything but is still a compelling character and after the WMF I'm beginning to wonder how much his life is a product of his own wish fufillment. I'm finding the ongoing unconsummated romance interest a tad tedious but really want to find out more about Chronicler and the enigmatic Bast. There seems to be an awful lot to be covered in the final book though and I'm hoping we won't have to wait too long for it.
I defintely the style and that the author remains true to himself. I really hope the 3rd book answers the questions raised in the 2nd book.refreshing
Oh no - are there only supposed to be three? :(
I'm with Melissa on this. I don't want the saga to stop at three. Three was certainly no limit for the late Robert Jordan in his series. I'm also with Moominmama as regards sci. fi and fantasy. Kvothe's story really has the feel of fantasy for me.
I loved Name of the Wind and when Wise Men's Fear came out, I thought I would just skim the first book to refresh my memory and I ended up reading the whole thing over because the language was so evocative and the story so complex. I agree the 2nd book could have been edited. Also in the first book, when Kvothe goes to the university, it seemed awfully Potteresque (he is the star who is hated by some masters, he has a rich and powerful young enemy, etc.) But I just love the way Rothfuss writes. The other author who has a similar style is Guy Gavriel Kay. I think he's not as well known as he should be so if you like this kind of book, try Tigana or A Song for Arbonne.
Sorry, 60 pages in and i'm not impressed.
It gets better, much much better. I't took me until I reached at least the second half to really get into it Michael
Michael wrote: "Sorry, 60 pages in and i'm not impressed."It doesn't get any better, save your time.
Fun fact: The official number of pages you should read before passing judgment on any book is 81 pages.
Melissa wrote: "Fun fact: The official number of pages you should read before passing judgment on any book is 81 pages."LOL...I will make a note of that Melissa! As far as the rest of the book, it is getting a little better (on page 100 now). Still don't see it as the best epic fantasy novel to be written in the last 10 plus years. At the same time I’m not adding Mr. Rothfuss to the "Epic Fantasy Overrated Hall of Fame" (Ex: Mr. Steven Erikson)... well not yet anyway.
Glad to be of service :)In terms of the book - well I don't really read fantasy, so can't comment on how it fits into the genre. My fantasy reads are limited to:
-Pratchett's Discworld (which I love, but doesn't really count)
-LOTR (which I found boring - no response necessary, thank you!)
I did love Rothfuss' writing style though. Think I would enjoy any genre if the writing was sufficiently engaging...
Maybe it's being deemed worthy of "Fantasy Hall of Fame" because it's a fantasy novel written in the style of Ernest Hemingway? Which I'm guessing must be pretty unusual.
Melissa wrote: "Glad to be of service :)In terms of the book - well I don't really read fantasy, so can't comment on how it fits into the genre. My fantasy reads are limited to:
-Pratchett's Discworld (which I ..."
I'd forgotten about Discworld, which I read and really liked many years ago. Somebody else remarked recently on the Ender books, which I'd also liked. There are somewhat blurred lines between science fiction and fantasy, which often seem to be little more than the setting. My taste has led me away from what I'd call science fiction recently into more of what I'd call fantasy, which includes "The Name of the Wind." This, in turn, has led me to more literary fiction with fantasy elements such as Carlos Ruiz Zafon's work, "The Shadow of the Wind," and "Prince of Mist." Wonderful novels, which I would not call fantasy, but definitely contained elements of fantasy.
One of the better reads I had in a while. Though I am still waiting for his character portrayal to match this so very great legendary man he is supposed to be. I almost put the book down in the beginning when I realized it was about demons, am tired about this theme and so tacky, but got sucked in in the end.
This is by far one of the best fantasy books I have ever read and I have read many. The second book, "A Wise Man's Fear", is just as good. Looking forward to seeing how he is going to wrap it all up.
Wow, so much big praise for this book and i just don't see it. It's not a bad book but calling it the best fantasy novel in years is something i'm just not getting.
Very well concieved and written. First class and excellent.
thehappyman wrote: "Very well concieved and written. First calass and excellent."Odd, I thought you were going to say there were not enough cats in it.
Haven't been on too much kids,school activities, but I have been reading everyone's posts. I loved this book. Had read it before but went back and re-read. Liked it so much better this time around.
Osvaldo wrote: "It pains me to say this, but I think I may be abandoning this book. The writing is very clunky and for some reason I feel very apathetic to the main character. Perhaps it is that it took so long to..."I don't think that his writing style can be called clunky, the prose just flows along with ease. It's a wonderful read.
I loved the Name of the Wind. I love the way the author writes and I'm not an expert but I do know that the flow of the book is smooth and lyrical. I was on a another website that suggested this book by other Fantasy Fiction fans and it was overwhelmingly agreed by all this was a great book. I'm now reading the Wise Man's Fear and it is still just as great.
Started this last night after starting a few books recently and not enjoying them, namely Enders Game, Memories of Ice, Hyperion.I'm not very far into NOTW but already I can see that this is a safe read, i'm goign to enjoy this!
Andrew wrote: "Started this last night after starting a few books recently and not enjoying them, namely Enders Game, Memories of Ice, Hyperion.I'm not very far into NOTW but already I can see that this is a sa..."
Keep reading! I just started #2 and I'm still loving it! Great story!
Michael wrote: "Wow, so much big praise for this book and i just don't see it. It's not a bad book but calling it the best fantasy novel in years is something i'm just not getting."I have to agree. It is a very well written book but it did not live up to its promise, IMHO. Here is the excerpt from the back cover taken from one of the introductory chapters:
"I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep."
I wanted to read about that guy. To me, Name of the Wind was 600 pages of waiting to get to the good stuff. Lots of backstory, but too much setup.
An AWESOME write.It was gripping all the way, from the start to the very end. The highlight was undoubtedly the brilliance of the writer - his narration. It was just what a real book yearns for every time... That thrill. Epic indeed.
Usually I don't care for first person books all that much unless I have read the author before (for eg: David Eddings with Polgara.) But I really enjoyed the way Rothfuss swicthed back between Kvothe's past and present and am keen to get Doors of Stone once it's released.
The Name of the Wind is the first book that made me forget lunch! I started reading at 9 am and didn't make a break before 5 pm. And I have to add that I'm not exactly the type to skip lunch. ;)
Interesting discussion. I was listening to the audio version, and had to give up. I was intrigued by the opening (Kvoth the innkeeper) and mostly drawn in by his childhood. But when he reached the University, I lost patience. Felt like the book had gone on forever, couldn't find the point, and was discouraged to realize I wasn't even halfway. I do not find the writing much like Hemmingway, though I wouldn't necessarily consider it a compliment if I did. It would never in a million years occur to me to compare it to Shakespeare.
Perhaps if I got a concrete copy so I could move faster through the tedious parts I could finish, but I am unlikely to bother. After half the book if I can't see the point, I think the author needs an editor.
I loved his first book, and would not hesitate to recommend it to any and all avid readers of the fantasy genre. In his second book, Rothfuss seemed to want to stretch the book a little, as if he was playing it out to make room for a third. As has been said, his ability to imprint phrases and fantastic imagery in your mind is exceptional, and his style is refreshingly unique. I willingly forgive his reluctance to divulge all details of his (in)famous character, Kvothe - just so long as he gets on with it and tells the story I really want to hear... the SEVEN
One of the best books I have read. The characterizations are three dimensional and when I finished it it left me craving for more. If you enjoyed this book, then consider trying Talion: Revenant by Michael Stackpole and either of the Scott Lynch books: The Lies of Locke Lamora or Red Seas Under Red Skys. Also, if you don't mind an older main character, The Curse of Chalion by Lois McMaster Bujold is superb. I like well developed characters and a plot that crackles. These books all have those characteristics.
Easily one of my favorite books. Anyone have a solid recommendation for my next book? I've already finished Wise Man's Fear as well.
Peter wrote: "Easily one of my favorite books. Anyone have a solid recommendation for my next book? I've already finished Wise Man's Fear as well."I've also enjoyed the Song of Ice and Fire series (Game of Thrones) by George R.R. Martin, I'm working my way through the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. There's always the Discworld novels of Terry Pratchett, something simpler in the form of the Abhorsen trilogy by Garth Nix. Mistborn by Brandon Sanderson is a very, very good series.
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