The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

This will be a spoiler free review!

Title : The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle BK 1) Author : Patrick Rothfuss Genre : Fantasy, Fiction Rating : Four Stars

Boy did this book take me forever to read!

You know, I first saw this book back in 2007 or 2008 when I first got into reading and I almost picked it up but put it back down by recommendation of the sales lady at the store and you know what? I am so glad I did that. Apparently the second book didn’t come out until 2011 and if i’d been one of the few that had to sit on my hands and wait for years to read the next I’m just not sure I wouldn’t have gotten cranky. I tend to get impatient you see so waiting four or so years for a book to come out is just not an option for me. And now that I have finished book one at least I can rest easy knowing book two is out and book three is only a little while off right? We’re about six years in to waiting for book three so judging by past history I think it’s safe to assume that book three will be out this year? Yea right I don’t count on it but here’s to hoping!

Okay now onto the actual book review.

This book is so jam packed with information, idea’s, characters, history, magic, love, learning and action. Honestly I don’t know if I could blame Rothfuss for taking so long to write his novels because it’s clear so much thought and time goes into the planning of the story. The peaks are precisely placed to keep you reading, its quiet where it needs to be so that your not getting information overload and somehow you can’t help but read because really, you want to know what those spider things are or how he becomes the legend people talk about.

What I did find interesting is that at the very beginning we find out the whole of this characters story, what he achieves, his struggles, who he becomes but somehow the story still remains a mystery. Rothfuss gave the majority of the plot up in the first quarter of the book but we didn’t actually know what happened or how. That, I think is real talent. I’m not sure if I like the fact that I knew certain things were coming or that there is more to come that I don’t want to happen but I think that technique, the way the story is being told gives the book its own flare, character and style.

If you didn’t know, this story is told by the author, Rothfuss, whose main character, Kvothe, is telling his life story to a storyteller/documenter – for lack of better term – which I find really interesting. This idea, put the way I described, might not sound so appealing but trust me, it works! Its really quite interesting to read a book that utilises a different way of storytelling. I really like it when authors have their own flare, I think that authors should have some sort of signature style, it makes their work unique, new and interesting and Rothfuss has managed that. What’s more fascinating is that the storyteller (Kvothe – who is Rothfuss) tells his story and within that, characters are telling him stories. SO MUCH STORY TELLING.

There is so many pieces moving beneath the surface in this book, so much that is happening or you know is to come and it’s kind of annoying that you have to wait so long to find out.

Kvothe is one of the smartest characters I’ve come across, who has more bad luck than anyone I’ve ever read about but still somehow manages to come out on top. He manages to escape death by a hairs breath, three years of his life are crap due to shitty avoidable circumstances and then he manages to talk his way into the life he wanted. (I’m trying to say so much without giving away the story! Do you know how hard that is?)

Be warned this might take you longer to read than your normal book, I really don’t know why. Perhaps because there is so many scenes that are all paced differently and so many events that happen. But again, it doesn’t hinder or affect the telling of the story or the reading of it. I think it’s all more the reader. Normally I would get through a book like this in a few days, this one took me a week and a half. I just couldn’t rush it. So if your looking for a quick read, don’t go for this, but if your looking for a busy book that’ll keep you guessing and wondering, this is your book.

Last minute side note – I forgot to include this in my original post but I loved how Kvothe created himself to be perceived a certain way, he made himself into this untouchable genius and it was all purely by luck or unintentionally! He created lies about himself and then the true things that happened just added to that. I think it’s kind of cool that he made himself into what people told about him.

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Thank you for reading!

Till next time,

xoxo Book Dragon Ash