What’s it all about?:
‘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.
My name is Kvothe.
You may have heard of me’
What did I think?:
If you’re a fan of fantasy and haven’t heard of this book, I really would be quite surprised. This book has been EVERYWHERE and compared to the greatest fantasy series out there, including Game Of Thrones (which I still have to read, I know…don’t judge me!). I’m not the biggest connoisseur of fantasy I have to admit, I’ve just been dipping my toe (or should that be nose?) into the genre in recent years but everyone I follow on book tube who enjoys fantasy have been simply raving about this world and its charismatic main character, Kvothe. However, the biggest problem with this series is that die-hard fans have been waiting for a long time for the next book in the series to come out. The first book, The Name Of The Wind was released in 2007 and the second, The Wise Man’s Fear was published in 2011 but as yet, there has been no whisper of when the third novel, thought to be entitled The Doors Of Stone will be released. That’s an awful long time to wait!
This is one of the reasons that I’ve been putting this series off. It irks me slightly when I get fully invested in a story and I have to wait an unspecified time to get my next fix – call me impatient but that’s just the way I feel! I think when you’re a blogger or a voracious reader like myself, because we read so much, if we have to wait too long between books in a series, there is a risk that certain aspects of the previous novel may be forgotten or indeed, the whole impact of the narrative itself will fade. It’s one of the reasons why I was so pleased that all the books in The Dark Tower series by Stephen King had been released by the time I got round to them. I don’t think I would have had any nails left if I had been forced to wait for the next instalment!
Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name Of The Wind, the first novel in The Kingkiller Chronicles.
I took it as a sign when the lovely booksellers at Mr B’s Emporium Of Reading Delights in Bath recommended The Name Of The Wind to me when I attended a reading spa with my sister and fellow blogger, Chrissi Reads. Yet still, I delayed reading it for months afterwards until recently, I finally caved and simply had to see what all the hype was about. I don’t want to tell you too much about the synopsis but as the above quote from Goodreads doesn’t give ANYTHING away I can tell you a few things. This is the story of an innkeeper called Kvothe whom when our story begins, is telling the story of his life over three nights to a traveling chronicler who is recording it. Kvothe has led a highly intriguing life and even the mention of his name provokes rumours, legends, criticism and acclaim far and wide both locally and nationally. I think it’s safe to say that he’s had quite a few adventures in his relatively short time on the planet so far and faced many adversaries, one of which is connected to a terror stalking the land in the present time and Kvothe might be able to shed some light upon as soon as his tale is told.
A beautiful illustration from the tenth anniversary edition of The Name Of The Wind by award-winning fantasy artist, Dan Dos Santos.
Image from: https://www.unboundworlds.com/2017/05/patrick-rothfuss-name-wind-gets-10th-anniversary-edition/
I’m not sure what I was expecting from this work of fantasy but it certainly wasn’t what I ended up getting, personally speaking. I want to try and explain what I mean without sounding like I’m criticising it because in truth, there’s really not much to criticise! Firstly, if you’re a fan of epic fantasy, world-building and mesmerising, intense passages where sometimes, not much happens, you’re going to love this book. However, if you’re more interested in a fast, action-packed plot this may not be the book for you. I’m a huge fan of both literary and genre fiction as you might know and recently, am becoming much more of a mood reader. Sometimes I’m in the mood for something quite pacey and plot heavy, other times I want beautiful, lyrical writing with character development that I can just get lost in. The Name Of The Wind for me, felt much more literary in its quality but perhaps that could be because I’m not used to epic fantasy? I’d be happy to be corrected on this fact if all fantasy is quite slow and methodical in this regard!
There really is nothing bad I can say about this novel. I loved that we got to see Kvothe from a very young age as his talents, intelligence and capabilities are just beginning to take root and then the reader gets to see him grow into a man as the story continues, facing such hardship, devastation and personal struggles both emotionally and financially but with each challenge, he somehow manages to claw himself out to the other side. He has been irrevocably changed by what he has seen and experienced but because you get to see his journey from such a young boy, you really feel like you know him as an individual and I found myself constantly rooting for him to triumph in any given situation. Nothing is tied up with a neat little bow (which I appreciated) and he does go through incredibly tough times but this all serves to make him the man he is in the present time, telling his story to the chronicler.
For so many readers, The Name Of The Wind is a five star read and now that I’ve finally read it, I can definitely see why. The only reason I can’t give it five stars is that I found the pace to be slightly slower than I would have liked at certain points in the narrative but this was only occasionally at times when Kvothe is a student at the University. However, I am delighted to say that I will be continuing on with the series but I may leave it a little while until the next book in the series is finally released – for if I read The Wise Man’s Fear and there’s a cliffhanger at the end, I might not be able to contain my frustration at not being able to get my hands on the next in the series immediately!
Would I recommend it?:
But of course!
Star rating (out of 5):
The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss was the forty-eighth book in my quest to conquer Mount Everest in the Mount TBR Challenge 2018!
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