The Name of the Wind
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Opinion of the Name of the Wind
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How many times was the word "things" used in a description in the first chapter or two?... This would have stood out to me in elementary school as not very exceptional writing...
Marinko wrote: "I really like listening to the audio book.The narrator is great and the writer really did a fine job!"
I'm reading it by audio as well, and the narrators voice had to grow on me a bit, but the further in I get, the more I realize he really is quite talented at narrating the story. Keeping all those voices strait and all.
This book is junk. ATTN: Rothfuss. I find it hard to cheer for a hero who knows everything, does everything twice, who, a magic and martial expert and while simultaneously beating Dragon addled with drugs and his Malfoy, plays most excellent guitar.In short, Rothfuss taps every fantasy cliche' ruthlessly, breaks no new ground, and places this ubermensch with no foibles until adulthood (where his only problem is that he can't use magic but still has amazing martial and cunning prowess) into a universe where he can't fail. That's not conducive to entertainment, unless you think it is, where I would suggest you start writing your rebuttal post haste.
Not impressive. See: Jordan, Martin, Goodkind.
Maybe I'm bitter cause Rothfuss cashes in while my best friends can provide more depth on their 1 page D&D character sheets.
TJ wrote: "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..."
I bought
and
at the same time and read them consecutively, starting with the excellent
.I know its unfair to compare 1 book against another but i found NOTW very dull, the characters especially qvothe annoying and once i got to the end of the book i couldnt care less about continuing the story. This was in complete opposite to Locke.. though some of his capers were a bit far fetched it was excellent and enjoyable reading.
I think the trouble with Qvothe was he was magnificent at everything, except it seems women, and its a bit of a turn off to read about Mr Wonderful.
I love fantasy books but this was the dullest, least action packed fantasy book ive read and the less said about the part with the Draccus the better.
a poor 1/5 and i wont continue with this series.
usually not into fantasty...but this book had me from the beginning....could hardly put it down.....like "Wise Man's Fear" as well....waiting for the final in the trilogy
Don't get me wrong here, I love the book and the poetic writing style is one that really captivates me while reading.So when I say that the filler near the end of the book that didn't need to be added I say it with annoyance that something more relevant and or interesting that could've made an impact on the main story couldve been added instead. I say this only because the main story is so infinitely more interesting than that escapade.
Which filler do I refer to? The crackhead dragon part without spoiling the story.
With that being said, I still love the series, the mystique in some of the chapters is just amazing and the pure rivalry between Ambrose and kvothe is something of legends.
I can't wait for book three to come out but I'm afraid of reading it for will it be the last of the epic series? Oh well :)
Agree...the whole dragon escapade added little to the story line....in fact,was distracting.....
I really enjoyed this book! I'm telling everyone I know to read it, although it's Rothfuss' first novel, I found it intriguing and witty at the same time. It's been a long time since I"ve read a book that I've enjoyed so much. I can't wait to read the second one! I wonder if it would make a good movie, but I feel that it should be split into two movies. I do have to say that I found the first 3-4 chapters a little hard to get through at first, with not really understanding the story line and characters, but once Chonicler sat down to write the story, I found I couldn't put the book down.
One of the best fantasies to come along in quite some time.
I agree with many of the comments made on this thread, from those who loved it as well as those who didn't. I happen to have enjoyed this book and its sequel very much. At times I agree that Rothfuss tended to drag the story out a bit too much, like in the bit with the Adem in the second book, but the writing was smooth and entertaining still. I also agree that Kvothe seemed to be Mr. Perfect at times, being the best at music, fighting, and magic. However I think that was balanced by his imperfection as Kote. That was interesting, and really made me wonder what had happened to him to change him so. Andrew wrote: "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 agre..."
I disagree with you there. I particularly enjoyed seeing how these things were fulfilled in different ways, most of them being accidents and blunders on his part. It made him seem a little more fallible than he did usually.
Author writes in circles and really doesn't take his character anywhere. His writing style is the very definition of insanity, his characters keep doing the same thing over and over and expect different results. Kinda boring and predictable, half of the series was given away in songs and stories in the first book.
Yeah i just though the book was merely ok. I really liked the first one but this book was 70% filler and 30% story. Hopefully the next one will be better and Denna will die or become relevant.
Clinton wrote: "Yeah i just though the book was merely ok. I really liked the first one but this book was 70% filler and 30% story. Hopefully the next one will be better and Denna will die or become relevant."Way to cut to the chase, Clinton. I dithered around writing my review, but you got it said in three sentences. The 70% filler was of moderate interest as background material and because I found Kvothe's character so interesting in the first book. There was very little about the Chandrian in this second book, despite their obviously being a pivotal factor in Kvothe's existence. I'm giving it one more chance with the third book, but that's going to be the end of my investment in this story unless it tightens up and gains direction. "The Wheel of Time," by way of contrast, was huge and sprawling but each volume directly furthered thr overall story and had value individually. Compared to any of those volumes, this second book in Rothfuss' story was weak.
I enjoyed the book but found it hard to stick with at times. I prefer stories that move along quickly and this one definitely does not. The author methodically takes his time developing his characters and world. This is so true that it really feels more like High Fantasy literature than Epic Fantasy or Sword and Sorcery. It is well written, definitely something different, and will find a large and dedicated fan base. I probably will read the next book but it feels a bit more like required homework than fun.
Robert wrote: "Clinton wrote: "Yeah i just though the book was merely ok. I really liked the first one but this book was 70% filler and 30% story. Hopefully the next one will be better and Denna will die or becom..."Haha thanks, the third book will also be my final chance, i hope the book moves at an faster pace for that one now that we got all the extra background stories that we would ever need out the way.
J. wrote: "I enjoyed the book but found it hard to stick with at times. I prefer stories that move along quickly and this one definitely does not. The author methodically takes his time developing his charact..."I'm with you here on the "required reading" remark. Not entirely sure about what you mean in differentiating high and epic fantasy. Anyway, after all these pages, I feel that I must read the third volume.
Just a minor distinction really and concerns the first book only as I haven't read the entire series. Epic Fantasy typically is such a big adventure plot driven story that it takes multiple points of view to tell it. High Fantasy is more about the contents (magic and monsters) and is often driven by concepts and characters. Since the story seems more character driven than plot driven, to me, it seems more like High Fantasy Literature. Robert wrote: "J. wrote: "I enjoyed the book but found it hard to stick with at times. I prefer stories that move along quickly and this one definitely does not. The author methodically takes his time developing ..."
I see what you mean. This is certainly character driven rather than plot driven. There is the overarching structure of the search for the magical beings who murderd Kvothe's family, but the story moves in a highly episodic manner and is consistently centered on chronicling Kvothe's exploit and experiences.
It is written very well. If it was a bit faster, I'd be a huge fan.Robert wrote: "I see what you mean. This is certainly character driven rather than plot driven. There is the overarching structure of the search for the magical beings who murderd Kvothe's family, but the story..."
I liked both of the books and look forward to reading the next one.Yes, Kvothe is a genius billionaire playboy philanthropist with a tragic back story, but it *is* fantasy after all.
Just my 2 cents, but in my opinion Rothfuss is a great writer, but this is perhaps not the greatest story. Despite The author's obvious skill at building compelling settings and characters, I though the story suffered from an over-powered hero and a lack of a driving plot. (spoilers ahead obviously)As some other readers have commented, Kvothe is good at everything and you never really fear for his ability to win through in the end. Consequently there is little tension. The only antagonists able to stand up to him appear dutifuly on cue at the end of the first act to pitch his life into the gutter but then take no further part in the book. We are left with a story of an exceptional young man growing up and ultimately that left me unsatisfied.
Unfortunately, I think this book is marmite. You either love it or hate it. I love it, specifically the detail which the author goes into. Funnily, if someone was telling their life story in reality, it would probably be the small details which meant the most to them which i think gives this book a more 'realistic' feel when it comes to the concept of Kvothe telling his story.On the down side, as many people have pointed out, it takes quite a long time for the story to get going which, I admit, almost made me give up on the book. After a while, I really enjoyed this style of writing and felt, at the end of this book, that I had just finished the beginning of the real story.
I'm not taken on the idea of Kvothe being good at everything as some people have proposed. As far as I can see he is hugely intelligent for his age and uses it to his advantage. His encounters with Ambrose shows that he struggles against someone who is not all too intelligent but has money to throw at a situation. Kvothe also struggles to stay in the University because he consistantly bites when Ambrose bates him, and at the end has to be rescued by his mentee (can't seem to recall his name.) In all fairness, we have seen little of a serious enemy in the story so far which would give a real challenge. Given that I feel this is only the beginning of a story where the scene is set it's not really a shock. I do hope, however, that we see more excitement in the next book which I haven't read yet.
Err, I guess I'll post some kind of review on my tumblr since I got that one for writing about books.First of all:
I like Denna. I really like her. But she suffers from the same disease that many other female characters in fantasy books written by males suffer from: She gets described as beautiful before there's any account on what she actually looks like and more importantly, how she is as a character. That bugs me.
Kvothe himself is a character that puzzles me. He is clearly favoured a bit too much by the author, meaning he has Gary Stu tendencies. Sure, he had bad luck once in a while but because of his witt and skill everything turns out great for him and despite his mortal enemies Hemme and Ambrose he still ends up as the hero in most of his feats. If he was a woman, people would call his character a Mary Sue right away without regarding that he also stumbles and fails at some point. Tendencies, yes, but so far in this first book he's balanced enough.
The story itself ... oh well, at first I thought this was another one of those that stresses tragic incidents too much but I guess I better get used to that in the fantasy genre. The writing itself: Okay. Not Le Guin level but okay enough. At some point I was very happy that the author switched POV all the time because in the end it would probably have been like in that one Sherlock Holmes (canon!) story in which Dr. Watson told about a story that was told by Sherlock Holmes which was told by a client who told about ... What I mean is, the massive amount of quotation marks was quite stunning. A good thing that Kovthe has such a vast memory. It's not very plausible but otherwise there would be no story. (Let's remind ourselves that the witness account is a common tool of storytelling. Though I never read it ... I guess you run across the same thing in The Wuthering Highs?)
Well, I liked the book well enough and like I said before, I really like Denna. So I want to know how the story continues but I don't have the second book yet (and I probably won't get it until summer, or when I read at least halfe the books that are still on my to-read shelf. My physically existing to-read shelf.)
A short note on world-building: I like how Pat doesn't infodump us but works the info into the story. Hooray for this.
Also, magic system, magic system ... well, that it's kind of a dual system (names and 'sympathy') seems a bit much but I guess most people in this imaginary world already have enough trouble with sympathy alone so I guess it's not too overly much to have magic-names for stuff. (Since this isn't badly done like in Eragon.)
Excellent read, also on the 30th perusal. I also recommend the audio book, the text is so much alive, it actually feels great to listen to it too. I admire Patrick Rothfuss for taking the time not to "botch this job". The book did a lot for me over the past couple of months.
It is an incredible book, i instantly fell in love with the book. The way it is such an amazing tale about the life of Kvothe. It should definitely be read, I would recommend it to all. I loved most of the characters particularly Abenthy. But i didn't like Denna and those who you are meant to hate (Ambrose, Master Hemmme and The Chandrian). Its a wonderful book though in my top three books of all time.
Liked it, but annoying that I have to wait for sequels.
A good, easy read. Am also enjoying book 2 of series.
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Try A.J. Dalton!
His new book, Empire of the Saviours, is great and just out now, it's the first of a new trilogy. He's got a previous trilogy, Necromancer's Gambit, Betrayal and Fall, also very good.