Reviews

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

eliora's review against another edition

adventurous funny tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

zoeyoey's review against another edition

2.0

I probably just don’t “get it” but I started to get really lost the last like, 100-150 pages. I understand that this is supposed to be a series but must there be so many loose ends? It’s hard to know what’s actually important to the overall story. And I usually love dual timelines or a story within a story but I started to appreciate the cut back to the present time less and less as we learned more about Kvothe’s time at the university. I guess we’ll see what I think about book two.

eseipha's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

meekoh's review against another edition

3.0

Everyone loves this book so much that I feel like I need to re-read it. I read it a long time ago so maybe I was too young? Or maybe high fantasy just isn't my genre? I'll have to give this book another try when I have the time.

camerondeja's review against another edition

adventurous challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

mrw1zard's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

valentinr's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? N/A
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

unown's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

gracenextdoor's review against another edition

5.0

I hate it when people compare books to Harry Potter because it has magic in it, or there's a wizard-type school or simply because it's part of the fantasy genre. Those books never come close to [a: J.K. Rowling|1077326|J.K. Rowling|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1510435123p2/1077326.jpg]'s masterpiece. So when I read the reviews for Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, I was skeptical. Especially because it also drew comparisons to another well-loved series: [a: J.R.R. Tolkien|656983|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1434625177p2/656983.jpg]'s [b: The Lord of the Rings|33|The Lord of the Rings (The Lord of the Rings, #1-3)|J.R.R. Tolkien|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1411114164s/33.jpg|3462456].

This is the only book I've read to earn that comparison, while still managing to be unique and truly astounding on its own.

A man recounts the story of his youth, his adventures, loves and losses from another lifetime, the ones that made him the legend. A story within a story.

If that makes the book sound simple, trust me when I say it is not. Nothing that happened in this book is what I expected. It left me at the edge of my seat, breathless and regretful that I could not read faster.

It took me a few weeks to get to the heart of the story, but once I did, I read through 500 pages or so in days. I even bought the sequel before I finished so I didn't have to interrupt the story.

I cannot tell you how wonderful this book is to read. It has easily become one of my most favorite books, one I'm sure I will revisit again.

staircasewitch's review against another edition

3.0

Man, this was hard to rate. I liked it a lot - it's full of smart characterisation and a refreshing self-awareness - but I find myself a bit torn on it. It works as a light metacommentary on genre cliches, but it's so cautious about it that it's also a victim of them. Putting it down I couldn't escape the feeling that it was just (!!) a well-considered and wonderfully credible retelling of the old fantasy story. I loved every scene individually, but as a whole I guess it left me a bit cold.