The Name of the Wind
A whole bunch of people recommended The Name of the Wind to
me. Everyone was convinced it was exactly the kind of book I would love.
And so it moved up my to-read list pretty quickly. I started looking at
reviews on a few sites - GoodReads, Amazon, and The AV Club
- and everyone had great things to say about it. I didn't read most of
the reviews because I wanted to stay as unspoiled as possible, but the
sheer number of five star reviews grabbed my interest. The thing that
really pushed me over the edge was Patrick Rothfuss' list of Books You Should Read, mostly the fact that he included Buffy on his list of books.
Of course every one was right. This book was a lot of fun to read. It's been a while since I completely forgot where I was. Since it took flashing lights to alert me to the fact that the train I was on had reached the end of the line. Since I was sitting at my desk at work, desperately trying to read just one more chapter while my computer restarted to finish installing updates. My friends know me so well.
The Name of the Wind has a similar structure to Worlds' End, my favorite installment in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. There are stories within stories. You drill down into them and come back out. You get to see how the truth turns to rumor turns to legend. This novel is about stories as much as anything.
The premise is fairly simple. A scribe has tracked down the former hero Kvothe. And can I just say that I sort of love that name? It's pronounced like "quothe" but with a v. In my head I can hear what it's supposed to sound like, but I can't for the life of me actually make the correct sound. I always add a syllable or disregard the v sound a bit too much. But in my mind it is perfect.
So, Kvothe. He was a hero. Now he's an innkeeper, living under the assumed name Kote. But the scraelings are coming. As scary as they are, they seem to be mere harbingers of a greater evil. Trade is nearly nonexistent because the roads are so dangerous. And in the midst of this, a scribe arrives at Kote's inn. He wants the truth behind the legend. The whole story. Eventually Kote agrees, requesting three days to tell his entire story.
I honestly though that we would get all three of those days in the first book. That the second and third books of this planned trilogy would then return to the present. I wanted to learn why the scraelings were coming as much as I wanted to hear about Kvothe's heroic deeds. The subtitle of the book (Kingkiller Chronicles: Day One) should have been a major hint.
I was about 400 pages into this 700 page book when I realized that no one had taken a break for sleep yet. That we couldn't spend over half the book on the first day and still have time for the last two-thirds of the story. The third book doesn't even have a release date yet, but most people are predicting at least a few years. I haven't read the second book yet and I'm more eager for the third one than I am for almost any other book.
In the meantime I'll just read this one over and over.
So we meet Kvothe. And he has this to say in introduction:
This quote is helpfully written on the back of the book, making it easy to refer to throughout the story. Despite this I still managed to get completely confused about a rather silly detail.
Early on, Kvothe finds himself orphaned on the streets of a city called Tarbean. He tells the reader that he'll be spending three years there. Somehow, I conflated Tarbean and Trebon in my mind and was sure that I was pages away from Kvothe burning down this city. He doesn't, of course. The burning down of Trebon is even more exciting than I could have anticipated and involves a dragon.
Rothfuss' dragon is one of the most imaginative and wonderful takes on this creature I've ever seen (though Dany's dragons are still more thrilling).
When he's fifteen, Kvothe leaves Tarbean to head to the University, where the bulk of the story takes place. This detail is probably why The Name of the Wind is so frequently referred to as "Harry Potter for adults". I would argue that Harry Potter is Harry Potter for adults, despite technically being aimed at children and young adults. The Name of the Wind is something altogether different. Though, yes, it is about a young man going to school to study magic.
In the midst of an exciting story, Rothfuss keeps dropping little details and hints. They're almost like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that your mind gets to put together. For example, a little over 500 pages in, we get this exchange between Kvothe and one of his professors:
I really need the third book to get written. Or edited if the rumors are to be believed. There are so many loose threads that don't even have a chance of being addressed in the second installment. Most of these are in the framing story, which I'm not even convinced will be fully resolved as port of Rothfuss' planned trilogy. But I won't know anything until the last book comes out.
In the meantime, I'm going to go devour the second book. And you should check out this one if you haven't already. It's epic and rich and, like I said earlier, just plain fun.
Of course every one was right. This book was a lot of fun to read. It's been a while since I completely forgot where I was. Since it took flashing lights to alert me to the fact that the train I was on had reached the end of the line. Since I was sitting at my desk at work, desperately trying to read just one more chapter while my computer restarted to finish installing updates. My friends know me so well.
The Name of the Wind has a similar structure to Worlds' End, my favorite installment in Neil Gaiman's Sandman series. There are stories within stories. You drill down into them and come back out. You get to see how the truth turns to rumor turns to legend. This novel is about stories as much as anything.
The premise is fairly simple. A scribe has tracked down the former hero Kvothe. And can I just say that I sort of love that name? It's pronounced like "quothe" but with a v. In my head I can hear what it's supposed to sound like, but I can't for the life of me actually make the correct sound. I always add a syllable or disregard the v sound a bit too much. But in my mind it is perfect.
So, Kvothe. He was a hero. Now he's an innkeeper, living under the assumed name Kote. But the scraelings are coming. As scary as they are, they seem to be mere harbingers of a greater evil. Trade is nearly nonexistent because the roads are so dangerous. And in the midst of this, a scribe arrives at Kote's inn. He wants the truth behind the legend. The whole story. Eventually Kote agrees, requesting three days to tell his entire story.
I honestly though that we would get all three of those days in the first book. That the second and third books of this planned trilogy would then return to the present. I wanted to learn why the scraelings were coming as much as I wanted to hear about Kvothe's heroic deeds. The subtitle of the book (Kingkiller Chronicles: Day One) should have been a major hint.
I was about 400 pages into this 700 page book when I realized that no one had taken a break for sleep yet. That we couldn't spend over half the book on the first day and still have time for the last two-thirds of the story. The third book doesn't even have a release date yet, but most people are predicting at least a few years. I haven't read the second book yet and I'm more eager for the third one than I am for almost any other book.
In the meantime I'll just read this one over and over.
So we meet Kvothe. And he has this to say in introduction:
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.
You may have heard of me.Of course all of these stories are true, but none is exactly what you think. Or at least I assume that's the case. I think only one of them is actually in the first book. It's possible that another one has already occurred, but I can't really be sure yet.
This quote is helpfully written on the back of the book, making it easy to refer to throughout the story. Despite this I still managed to get completely confused about a rather silly detail.
Early on, Kvothe finds himself orphaned on the streets of a city called Tarbean. He tells the reader that he'll be spending three years there. Somehow, I conflated Tarbean and Trebon in my mind and was sure that I was pages away from Kvothe burning down this city. He doesn't, of course. The burning down of Trebon is even more exciting than I could have anticipated and involves a dragon.
Rothfuss' dragon is one of the most imaginative and wonderful takes on this creature I've ever seen (though Dany's dragons are still more thrilling).
When he's fifteen, Kvothe leaves Tarbean to head to the University, where the bulk of the story takes place. This detail is probably why The Name of the Wind is so frequently referred to as "Harry Potter for adults". I would argue that Harry Potter is Harry Potter for adults, despite technically being aimed at children and young adults. The Name of the Wind is something altogether different. Though, yes, it is about a young man going to school to study magic.
In the midst of an exciting story, Rothfuss keeps dropping little details and hints. They're almost like pieces of a jigsaw puzzle that your mind gets to put together. For example, a little over 500 pages in, we get this exchange between Kvothe and one of his professors:
"I am," he said cheerfully. "Do you know the saying 'Chan Vaen edan Kote'?"
I tried to puzzle it out. "Seven years...I don't know Kote"
"Expect disaster every seven years," he said.I immediately began to wonder what had happened to convince Kvothe to take on the name "disaster". Is his life a disaster? Is he? Does he bring disaster where he comes? Or is he running from it? Or is it possible that I misinterpreted that passage and Kote actually means "expect". Of course the answer isn't in this book. It probably isn't in the next one either.
I really need the third book to get written. Or edited if the rumors are to be believed. There are so many loose threads that don't even have a chance of being addressed in the second installment. Most of these are in the framing story, which I'm not even convinced will be fully resolved as port of Rothfuss' planned trilogy. But I won't know anything until the last book comes out.
In the meantime, I'm going to go devour the second book. And you should check out this one if you haven't already. It's epic and rich and, like I said earlier, just plain fun.
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