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mightyjor's review against another edition
3.0
3/5 stars
A great cast of characters, fun side quests, but the pacing is just awful with some unsatisfying payoffs.
To start with the things I enjoyed: some of the action scenes here are brilliant. The climax to one of the side quests the characters go on that involves a bandit camp is chilling and will stay with me a long time. Most of the in-world stories shared are actually pretty fun and clever storybook twists that sound like they would truly be from some mythology. Compared to most fantasy authors and stories, these actually sound the most like traditional mythology to me. The magic system is also expanded and becomes one of the coolest magic systems out there, though I find it impossible to believe there's not more malfeasance out there with how insanely cool these arcane warriors could be.
Now let me get this out of the way first because I can't focus on anything else until I do. This book is TOO. DARN. LONG. There's only one small section of the book where we had a significant event happen and I felt that it took a normal amount of time to get through. Most of the other events in the story felt unbearably bloated. I won't go into specific details due to spoilers, but I think an editor needed to step in and trim out at least a third of the book.
Some of the story lines within the book also have laughably terrible conclusions. What happened to that bad guy and why did he betray this other guy? He was dealt with off screen and I guess we'll never know why. Why does Bradon look familiar and what is his rank? No idea. The story arc with the malfeasance against Kvothe was just kind of wrapped up without any definitive proof that the person they think was responsible actually did anything. There's a bunch more but it's just so frustrating how poorly these small stories wrapped up.
Some characters also have wildly inconsistent behaviors. Someone will owe a life debt to Kvothe one second and will say he's owed lands and riches, etc. And the next they'll send him off on a quest doomed to fail in order to be rid of him. The actions of Dena and Davi are also extremely different depending on what needs to happen in the plot. Kvothe also makes many mentions of how he's the perfect actor, an Edema Roo that operates best when acting and on a stage, yet he can't keep his temper for 2 seconds if the plot requires him to get thrown out on his rump.
The book also gets weirdly and intensely full of sex partway through and for an extremely long time. The first book felt like reading Harry Potter and learning about magic at Hogwarts, so this was like if partway through book 6 he decided he was going to have sex with everything that vaguely resembles an attractive woman, human and non-human alike. While it's not overly explicit compared to what's out there, it's not by any means a small part of the book.
Not to mention the ideas of sex presented are extremely weird sometimes. The society of fighting monk mercenaries who also have sex with their students gets really weird if you think about it for more than 2 seconds. Boys start getting "curious" about women at a VERY early age, and the quickness of Kvothe's teacher to "help relieve him" was a little disturbing. Kvothe is 16, but the monks include children. It's just weird. Not to mention the whole "man mothers" conversation was just bizarre. Maybe I missed something, but I lived in a country without ready access to birth control and it wasn't uncommon to see families with 8-12 kids. We're also told that Kvothe is chewing some kind of leaf to prevent him from having kids, but when did he start chewing this? The second he got out of the Fae realm? He bedded the inn keeper lady literally hours after emerging, so was he carrying that with him the whole time? Has he been chewing it for the last months on the off chance that he'd get lucky? It's just so distractingly bizarre that without some kind of in-world explanation I just can't move past it. And that's not even considering that some women might not want to have sex with men or be attracted to them, so lesbians magically never grow ripe with babies? And what about old, sick or ugly women? Not that Kvothe ever runs into a woman who's not stunningly beautiful, but I didn't see him try to make out with any of the men, babies or old women at the inn when he steps out of the fae realm (I mean I'm not saying he should have to be clear, just pointing out what weird logic this was to follow while reading)
Moving on past that, I'll just say that while there was a few sections of very pretty poetry, I didn't find this one nearly on the same level as the first. If it were shorter I think it would make those small sections stand out a bit more, but as it is, they just kind of fall into the cracks of the wide chasm of emptiness that is this adventure.
Anyway, despite all that, I still actually enjoyed the book quite a bit and I'm still going to read the third book when it comes out. I genuinely don't fault the author for taking his time. I have no idea how long the first book took to write, but I imagine it took quite a bit. Despite leaving lots of the story lines and character arcs unresolved, I don't think the book ended on some cliffhanger that merits the animosity towards the author for the delays. I understand the charity thing and that people are upset, and they have every right to be upset about that where money was spent but a product was not delivered, and I'm not here to defend that either. I'm just saying that I don't think all the hate is going to make it come out any sooner. I also don't think there's a reason to buy anything based on promises from him, just wait for the book to come out and buy it then.
A great cast of characters, fun side quests, but the pacing is just awful with some unsatisfying payoffs.
To start with the things I enjoyed: some of the action scenes here are brilliant. The climax to one of the side quests the characters go on that involves a bandit camp is chilling and will stay with me a long time. Most of the in-world stories shared are actually pretty fun and clever storybook twists that sound like they would truly be from some mythology. Compared to most fantasy authors and stories, these actually sound the most like traditional mythology to me. The magic system is also expanded and becomes one of the coolest magic systems out there, though I find it impossible to believe there's not more malfeasance out there with how insanely cool these arcane warriors could be.
Now let me get this out of the way first because I can't focus on anything else until I do. This book is TOO. DARN. LONG. There's only one small section of the book where we had a significant event happen and I felt that it took a normal amount of time to get through. Most of the other events in the story felt unbearably bloated. I won't go into specific details due to spoilers, but I think an editor needed to step in and trim out at least a third of the book.
Some of the story lines within the book also have laughably terrible conclusions. What happened to that bad guy and why did he betray this other guy? He was dealt with off screen and I guess we'll never know why. Why does Bradon look familiar and what is his rank? No idea. The story arc with the malfeasance against Kvothe was just kind of wrapped up without any definitive proof that the person they think was responsible actually did anything. There's a bunch more but it's just so frustrating how poorly these small stories wrapped up.
Some characters also have wildly inconsistent behaviors. Someone will owe a life debt to Kvothe one second and will say he's owed lands and riches, etc. And the next they'll send him off on a quest doomed to fail in order to be rid of him. The actions of Dena and Davi are also extremely different depending on what needs to happen in the plot. Kvothe also makes many mentions of how he's the perfect actor, an Edema Roo that operates best when acting and on a stage, yet he can't keep his temper for 2 seconds if the plot requires him to get thrown out on his rump.
The book also gets weirdly and intensely full of sex partway through and for an extremely long time. The first book felt like reading Harry Potter and learning about magic at Hogwarts, so this was like if partway through book 6 he decided he was going to have sex with everything that vaguely resembles an attractive woman, human and non-human alike. While it's not overly explicit compared to what's out there, it's not by any means a small part of the book.
Not to mention the ideas of sex presented are extremely weird sometimes. The society of fighting monk mercenaries who also have sex with their students gets really weird if you think about it for more than 2 seconds. Boys start getting "curious" about women at a VERY early age, and the quickness of Kvothe's teacher to "help relieve him" was a little disturbing. Kvothe is 16, but the monks include children. It's just weird. Not to mention the whole "man mothers" conversation was just bizarre. Maybe I missed something, but I lived in a country without ready access to birth control and it wasn't uncommon to see families with 8-12 kids. We're also told that Kvothe is chewing some kind of leaf to prevent him from having kids, but when did he start chewing this? The second he got out of the Fae realm? He bedded the inn keeper lady literally hours after emerging, so was he carrying that with him the whole time? Has he been chewing it for the last months on the off chance that he'd get lucky? It's just so distractingly bizarre that without some kind of in-world explanation I just can't move past it. And that's not even considering that some women might not want to have sex with men or be attracted to them, so lesbians magically never grow ripe with babies? And what about old, sick or ugly women? Not that Kvothe ever runs into a woman who's not stunningly beautiful, but I didn't see him try to make out with any of the men, babies or old women at the inn when he steps out of the fae realm (I mean I'm not saying he should have to be clear, just pointing out what weird logic this was to follow while reading)
Moving on past that, I'll just say that while there was a few sections of very pretty poetry, I didn't find this one nearly on the same level as the first. If it were shorter I think it would make those small sections stand out a bit more, but as it is, they just kind of fall into the cracks of the wide chasm of emptiness that is this adventure.
Anyway, despite all that, I still actually enjoyed the book quite a bit and I'm still going to read the third book when it comes out. I genuinely don't fault the author for taking his time. I have no idea how long the first book took to write, but I imagine it took quite a bit. Despite leaving lots of the story lines and character arcs unresolved, I don't think the book ended on some cliffhanger that merits the animosity towards the author for the delays. I understand the charity thing and that people are upset, and they have every right to be upset about that where money was spent but a product was not delivered, and I'm not here to defend that either. I'm just saying that I don't think all the hate is going to make it come out any sooner. I also don't think there's a reason to buy anything based on promises from him, just wait for the book to come out and buy it then.
rbrodeur's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
yohanab's review against another edition
5.0
A page turner. Loved the magic system and laws in this. Reading a book knowing well that no matter what happens things can go wrong (and most probably will) at the end is quite a change. Should say that I still wonder what is going between Kvothe and Denna. I hate and love at the same time to read the parts about them.
The story seems a bit blank at some parts. I would love to see more elaborate description of the road that Kvothe took during his travelling. And I would love to have more places marked on the map.
The story seems a bit blank at some parts. I would love to see more elaborate description of the road that Kvothe took during his travelling. And I would love to have more places marked on the map.
un_owen's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
5.0
aiobhin's review against another edition
5.0
5 stars even though we may never get book 3. I miss the characters already, Rothfuss has created a brilliantly immersive world that I didn’t want to leave.
obanlord's review against another edition
5.0
4.5
Okay, es verdad que el plot principal no avanza mucho pero para ser básicamente "relleno" es el mejor tipo de relleno que he leído, construcción de mundo y personajes *on point* es hors de sufrir pq Patrick Rothfuss no se va a dignar a sacar el tercer libro pronto .... Lleva 10 años y no lo saca :(
Okay, es verdad que el plot principal no avanza mucho pero para ser básicamente "relleno" es el mejor tipo de relleno que he leído, construcción de mundo y personajes *on point* es hors de sufrir pq Patrick Rothfuss no se va a dignar a sacar el tercer libro pronto .... Lleva 10 años y no lo saca :(
mgorham's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
cgmcintosh's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75