"The Name of the Wind"

[howland_reed]

Finally read this after much hype over the second book.

I thought it was worth the hype. The prose is easily one of the best out there, and unlike other fantasy novels that take you a couple rereads to really understand the made-up vocabulary and idioms (ie. Malazan series), Rothfuss does a great job easing you into his world. It will only take you to page 100 to understand the difference between a talent, a jot, and a drab, for example, or the basics of sympathy.

Biggest flaw, which others have echoed, are the secondary characters and the draccus plotline at the end. The side-characters in the novel, particularly Kvothe's friends/enemies at the University, are extremely one-dimensional. As for the draccus, I liked the premise of a drug-addled dragon, but its inclusion in the book seemed to be thrown in for no other reason than to lengthen Kvothe's first "adventure" with Denna. Unbelievably forced and was difficult to suspend my disbelief.

[Nails77]

I just finished reading this yesterday and echo a lot of the comments. The writing style is excellent and Kvothe's character is really well drawn. I wish some of the secondary characters were more fleshed out. I feel like Ben was heading that way and then wasn't heard from after the first part of the book.

In terms of the continuous obstacles and general crappy things that kept happening to Kvothe, it reminded me a bit of Fitz from the Farseer trilogy (which I really enjoyed also). I kept wanting the problems (money, access to Archives, Ambrose) to just go away.

The ending was disappointing in that it didn't feel like anything more than "this book is long enough but will continue in book 2."

That said, I can't wait until I can get it from my local library.

[Screaming Turkey Reborn]

Picked up this book because it seems to have made a pretty big splash in the fantasy world.

I enjoyed it despite its flaws, but something that annoyed me were some of the conversations in the novel. I remember one between Kvothe and Deoch that was so rediculously poetic and eloquent that I wanted to throw up. No one talks like that, it's just silly.

I agree with those who say The Lies of Locke Lamora was a better debut, but The Name of the Wind was still decent in my opinion.

[Mr_Calavera]

I'm reading The Wise Mans Fear at the moment after very much enjoying The Name of the Wind.

It occured to me last night that I may be able to use The Name of the Wind to get my girlfriend to read more. The only series of books she's ever read and enjoyed enough to finish was the Harry Potter books. I, as it happens, cannot stand the Harry Potter books. She's also a very talented folk/bluegrass musician.

And then last night, the following conversation occured.

Her: Whats your book about?

Me: Its the second part in a series. Its about a man telling the story of how, as a boy he went to a University to learn, among other things, how to perform magic.

Her: Oh! Like Harry Potter!

Me: What? No its nothing like Harry Potter.

Her: It sounds quite similar. Are his parents dead?

Me: Yes but...

Her: Killed by a dark, evil villian who the boy will eventually fight?

Me: Well its not finished yet, but in all likelyhood ye...

Her: Does he develop a very close and helpful circle of friends?

Me: Stop it...

Her: Does he come up against a rival student? Possibly a snobbish rich one?

Me: Well yes, how are you...?

Her: And the teachers, does he earn the deep respect of some and the scorn of others? Possibly by being one of the most talented students at the school?

Me: Stop ruining my book.

Her: Sounds awfully similar... but fine. So what does he do in his spare time?

Me: Aha! Nothing like Harry Potter at all actually. He plays folk music in a local pub!

Her: Oh! Like me!

So yeah, obviously the storyline and writing style is nothing like Harry Potter at all, but there are a fair few similarities. Enough at least that I can convince her to read it.

[Arthmail]

I am trying this book once more, giving it a second look. The first time did not impress me, and unlike my re-read of Bakker which eventually made me a big fan of the series, it's not doing anything for me so far. Kvothe is fairly boring, a typical coming of age style character.

The prose might be pretty, but everything else falls flat. I'll finish it, or try to, before i pass final judgement. But i am sure as hell not going to cough up the $40 for the hardcover second book. $40? No fucking thanks.

And this is coming from the guy that spent $75 on the limited edition signed Abercrombie book.

[Tears of Lys]

I think that those who criticize the lack of depth would do well to continue reading. There's a lot more going on than one would think.

Does it have similarities to Harry Potter? Yes, but I would say those are merely surface similarities.

Read Wise Men's Fear and then read the spoiler thread here for it, and you'll see what I mean.

And I was able to pick up the paperback, so no need to shell out the 40 bucks, Arthmail!

[Killuncle]

Mr_Calavera- given that the harry potter series has nothing original in it you will always find ideas from other series. The orphan who fights against evil etc is merely Cinderalla.

[Grack21]

Mr_Calavera- given that the harry potter series has nothing original in it you will always find ideas from other series. The orphan who fights against evil etc is merely Cinderalla.

You need to read some Joesph Cambell I think.

[Killuncle]

You need to read some Joesph Cambell I think.

--------------------------------

Can you explain that please? I'm always looking for something new to read.

[Killuncle]

Just been on amazon. I think i get it.

I was just saying that harry potter is the conderella rags to riches story. Kvote has a similar journey. I wasn't implying that Cinderella is the original model for that story, merely the most cliched example. Or maybe most apropriate.

Can you recommend a Joseph Campbell book to start with? Sounds right up my street.

[pemulis]

I'm halfway through WMF and have a sort of love/hate relationship (although not exactly love and hate, more "like" and "slight annoyance") with this series. I like Rothfuss' writing style -- as others have noted it's easy-going without being simple, and also avoids that sort of stilted feeling I find in a lot of fantasy. You find yourself understanding and having an image of the world without spending page after page of the author telling you about it in mind-numbing detail. The plot has the obvious "Harry Potter for grownups" comparisons, but I don't find that aspect off-putting at all.

But it also has an "I've read this before" quality to it. I find myself not thinking of Harry Potter, but Umberto Eco: the vast, controlled-access library (Name of the Rose); the arts of sympathy and causation (Island of the Day Before;) and the study of the secret society of knights (Foucalt's Pendulum). I'm not saying Eco has exclusive rights to or even invented these subjects (anymore than Rowling has rights to all magical schools and universities), but I find it odd when many of the major plot points in this series seem lifted from Eco's stuff.

Overall I get frustrated about the plot repetitiveness - how many times do we really need the "Kvothe needs x amount of talents to pay tuition, get his lute out of hock, etc" to drive the plot? Ambrose doesn't seem like he should have been anything more than a temporary antagonist (maybe he turns out to be, I'm only halfway through this 2nd book). But that being said, the prose itself sucks you in and the story is still mostly compelling.

[Rhaegar's Son]

The Campbell book you want is The Hero with a Thousand Faces...the title should give you a fair idea of its contents ;)

[Grack21]

The Campbell book you want is The Hero with a Thousand Faces...the title should give you a fair idea of its contents ;)

:agree:

[Tears of Lys]

/snip

Overall I get frustrated about the plot repetitiveness - how many times do we really need the "Kvothe needs x amount of talents to pay tuition, get his lute out of hock, etc" to drive the plot? Ambrose doesn't seem like he should have been anything more than a temporary antagonist (maybe he turns out to be, I'm only halfway through this 2nd book). But that being said, the prose itself sucks you in and the story is still mostly compelling.

See, I don't understand why folks would get frustrated with that element of the story. The guy's dirt poor. It's only natural that he'd be obsessed with how he's going to pay for his schooling one term at a time. His poverty also drives a lot of his actions. Kvothe would be a different sort of guy if he grew up with money.

I kept hoping Ambrose would sorta disappear myself, but I get the sick feeling he's going to be directly involved in Kvothe's becoming "Kingkiller."

[Mark Haas]

Great Book!!! Hey fellow fans, I'm currently working on an Unofficial Soundtrack for The Name of the Wind! Take a listen if you're interested:

[I do not sew]

I keep seeing this, "if you didn't like the first, don't bother with he second," argument. I think it's bullshit. I'd say if you were even moderately amused with the first, check out second. It has everything a good sequel should; you got mythos/character/world expansion, higher stakes, darker tone, and plenty of SWAG. For those who were turned off by the HP paralelles, just stick with it. WMF get's bloody, real bloody, and a later segment I'll only describe as an 'acid dream' is worth the read alone.

Check it.

[Ser Scot A Ellison]

WDNS,

I agree TWMF deepens and expands the world. It reveals subtlies we couldn't understand in the first book. This is a very good series.

[Howdyphillip]

I am a lot late to this dance, but I just finished The Name of the Wind last night. I enjoyed the story quite a lot more than I thought that I would. I particularly enjoyed the believable way that the Kvoth was developed as a character. I also really enjoyed the inclusion of music in the book. My favorite parts were focused around that.

[Pocket]

I almost gave up on The Name of the Wind within the first one hundred pages because it reminded me too much of A Wizard of Earthsea, and I do not like A Wizard of Earthsea (please don't throw things at me). As someone else said earlier in the thread, The Name of the Wind really picks up after Kvothe gets to the university and starts developing a personality beyond "poor set-upon orphan" and "surly tavern master." The story still follows the pattern of terrible things happening to Kvothe and him somehow working really hard and overcoming them because he is just that special and brilliant, but this worked for me, since I enjoy having that wish fulfilled in my fantasy novels. The wish-fulfilling fantasies of the second book (which involve Kvothe becoming a samurai/ninja and having extended extradimensional sexy times) were a bit harder for me to swallow, though.

If you like Kvothe and find his narrative voice amusing and appreciate the storytelling he does, the books get better. If you think Kvothe is annoying, the books get much, much worse.

For what it's worth, Lev Grossman's The Magicians is still my favorite "boy goes to school to learn magic" book.

[Hound Dog]

This is an old thread. Oh well.

I absolutely hated this book. Kvothe was such a perfect person in every way imaginable, he could do no wrong, he was the best at everything and anything... just nauseating. How could I relate to someone so flawless? Impossible.

The dialogue was also terrible. I couldn't stand it how characters always said the person's name they were speaking with: "What is it, Bast?", "Oh, nothing, Kote." "Oh, come on now, Bast." (Those aren't actualy quotes from the book, but you get the idea). No one speaks like that and it drove me nuts. It was also ridiculous how secretive Kvothe was in the beginning about his history and then some Chronicler waltzes into his tavern and Kvothe suddenly sits down and spills his entire life story: "I'll need three days to tell you all about how stunningly perfect I am, no more and no less." Arrogant prick.