Scan barcode
A review by thekarpuk
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
5.0
"The Name of the Wind" is a book I only purchased because The Onion's AV Club spoke so highly of it.
This actually got read because I looked at my huge stack of to-do books and picked out the one I was least excited to read. On the surface it's the sort of epic fantasy I generally dismiss as being Tolkien-derivative potboiler junk. The map included at the beginning did nothing to dissuade me.
The thing is, and here's the weird part, it's actually some damn fine writing.
The story in the broad strokes isn't even the stellar part. It's the tale of a legendary figure, Kvothe the Bloodless, as he narrates it to a scribe over the course of three days. It involves the death of his family, enrollment at a magic university, and the learning of magic while dealing with the realities of limited income.
It's all the fantasy of a dorky Shannara book but with reality knocking on its door. The storytelling in this book is fantastic, it's like getting in a warm bath, so inviting you'll put off other tasks to keep reading. This quality even extends to his blog, where his pleasant, earnest humanity comes through even when discussing things like a book tour.
If you're a skeptic about epic fantasy, you owe yourself to pick up this book and give it a read. Unless you're utterly determined to not enjoy yourself, you'll be checking Amazon and agonizing over the fact that Book 2 doesn't come out until February next year.
This actually got read because I looked at my huge stack of to-do books and picked out the one I was least excited to read. On the surface it's the sort of epic fantasy I generally dismiss as being Tolkien-derivative potboiler junk. The map included at the beginning did nothing to dissuade me.
The thing is, and here's the weird part, it's actually some damn fine writing.
The story in the broad strokes isn't even the stellar part. It's the tale of a legendary figure, Kvothe the Bloodless, as he narrates it to a scribe over the course of three days. It involves the death of his family, enrollment at a magic university, and the learning of magic while dealing with the realities of limited income.
It's all the fantasy of a dorky Shannara book but with reality knocking on its door. The storytelling in this book is fantastic, it's like getting in a warm bath, so inviting you'll put off other tasks to keep reading. This quality even extends to his blog, where his pleasant, earnest humanity comes through even when discussing things like a book tour.
If you're a skeptic about epic fantasy, you owe yourself to pick up this book and give it a read. Unless you're utterly determined to not enjoy yourself, you'll be checking Amazon and agonizing over the fact that Book 2 doesn't come out until February next year.