Reviews

Once again Patrick Rothfuss has delivered an absolute masterpiece! His storytelling ability is unparalleled, his ability to focus and develop one primary character (as opposed to my other favourite fantasy series GoT, which follows an entire cast of characters) is incredible, and never manages to get boring.

I find it super difficult when trying to explain the concept of this series to friends because I can never quite do it justice and I always make it sound pretty boring. An innkeeper telling the story of his youth, there's magic, intrigue and a healthy dose of tragedy that makes your heart ache for Kvothe. No matter how much I read about Kvothe it never fails to amaze me how intrinsically good he is, sure he misbehaves and has done his fair share of 'bad' things, but he is always so willing to help those who need it i.e. killing the troupe of bandits and rescuing the girls and going home with Temi to help minimise the trouble he gets into, and even going back to Trapis the man who feed and nursed him when he was a street kid in Tarben and the cobbler who gave him free shoes in book one to repay them for their kindness

I must say it will never cease to infuriate me how irresponsible he can be with money, despite being borderline poor the entire series whenever he does come into some money instead of saving it, or only spending some he just spends it all on whatever takes his fancy i.e. buying an expensive lute before paying his debt to Devi....ugh but I still adore him.

I cannot wait for the final installment to be released and see how Kvothe's story ends (I do pray he gets a happy ending, perhaps traveling with a troupe of Edema Ruh with Bast), I'm also interested to see where Denna's character goes - despite the fact that I have never really liked her - I would like to know what her deal is (though I have a feeling she might end up dead). I had also hoped for a relationship between Kvothe and Fela to develop through that now seems very unlikely, and now I honestly kind of see Kvothe and Bast ending up in some kind of relationship (I'd love me some gay rep).

On top of all this, I'm also interested to see what happens with Auri (I am yet to read The Slow Regard for Silent Things) but I do hope she gets a happy ending too - can you tell I like happy endings? Furthermore, I have SO many questions! What happened to Kvothe to make him the way he is now - an innkeeper, without magic or music - the two most important things to young Kvothe, How did he meet Bast?, When did he leave the university and why?, What happened to all his friends, Will he ever track down the Chandrian?

I'll finish off with, Rothfuss is a genius and all high fantasy fans should bow him in gratitude - now let's just pray we get the final book soon.

mkhare's review against another edition

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3.0

2.75 stars

maresia's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

cultneophyte7's review against another edition

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4.0

Took a whole long week but it’s finally finished! Normally, I read books in a single go but with this series it has been different, reminding me of the time when I started the Templar trilogy some five years ago. Well, I really liked this book. I had expected this book would feature the definite last of Kvothe at the university by the mid – he would be expelled or leave forever. That not happening is good in a way as I kind of loved the University part, yet again. I was a bit disappointed towards the middle during Kvothe’s travels, though. The parts featuring The Maer, the bandits and the Adem were a little bit lackluster as compared to the rest of the book. I also had expected more of the Chandrian but I guess will have to wait for the next book for them. And Kvothe finally does discover sexuality and women, a vital thing lacking in the first book. While lovely ladies are always a welcome sight, I just didn't like the way things work in this world. Also, I would have loved if it had been more about Denna. Overall, I enjoyed reading the book almost as much as I did The Name of the Wind. Now to procrastinate and wait more than a year for the concluding volume to come out.

novatrigger's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective 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

kistlkd's review against another edition

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5.0

So long, but the story is fantastic. Such an adventure in this book. Can't wait for the 3rd book

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