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A review by shandyt
The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
4.0
3.75 stars, rounded up.
I've just come off my 2024 reread. Previously, I had rated this book lower than Name of the Wind, and while I do think that bears out, Wise Man's Fear does improve on its predecessor in one distinct way—Kvothe is, if only infinitesimally, less of a Gary Stu braggart for most of this book.
A large part of the problem I have with this book is that in no way do I buy that Kvothe is an unreliable narrator. I believe he is a biased and subjective narrator, for sure, but Kvothe says multiple times that he intends this to be a true accounting of his life. "Do not presume to change a word of what I say," and "My story has quite enough color without adding to it," and "This is my chance to tell the full and honest story of my life," and all that. If we can't take Kvothe at his word on this, then there's no point to the story at all. We may as well presume it's all a dream, Dallas-style. It wouldn't add to the story in any way to find out that he'd been making up the events of the book. There is no value to be gained. I think people tend to have trouble internalizing that everything that exists in this book is because Patrick Rothfuss wrote it that way. I see a lot of in-text justifications for the worldbuilding, or Kvothe's behavior toward women, or his behavior in general, but I think we have to regard the text (and Kvothe) as the story Rothfuss wanted to tell, and the protagonist he wanted us to root for. I think that in general people read too much into this series, and I can't blame them; I'd be desperate too, after so many years without an update. But meeting criticisms that it's a largely implausible male power fantasy with protestations of "You have to understand" and "You should reread more closely" smacks of the ol' Rick & Morty high IQ meme.
But I digress. I have a lot of feelings, as you can tell.
The prose is as laden with overwrought similes as it ever was, but I enjoyed all the improv poetry throughout the dialogue.
We get some good side characters in this book. Deden, Martin, Hespa, and Tempi are cunningly drawn, and the female characters in the section are standout. All these new side characters somehow manage to have more depth than Kvothe's dearest friends. I have a better read on Deden's psyche than Willem's, for example. And is a more interesting antagonist than Ambrose.
This book continues the trend of relentless Robin Hobb references, which I first noticed back in the Trebon chapters of NotW.
People/places with the same name in Kingkiller and RotE:
-Stanchion
-Lant (this one may be a counter-shoutout, as it originated here)
-Hap
-The Pirate Isles
-Not the same name, but Puppet is 100% a reference to the Fool; they share a hobby, aspects of their appearance, and even some dialogue.
Other things common to both series:
-Blue fires serve as an ill omen
-Large standing stones are rumored to be gateways
-Animals are described as "snuffing" rather than "sniffing"
-There aresecret passages to people's bedrooms whose only giveaways are the change in air quality when they're opened
-Sympathy bells
-There's a moment when a protagonist
I've just come off my 2024 reread. Previously, I had rated this book lower than Name of the Wind, and while I do think that bears out, Wise Man's Fear does improve on its predecessor in one distinct way—Kvothe is, if only infinitesimally, less of a Gary Stu braggart for most of this book.
Spoiler
Of course, everything is ruined in the Felurian chapters and thereafter, but hey, it was a good run.A large part of the problem I have with this book is that in no way do I buy that Kvothe is an unreliable narrator. I believe he is a biased and subjective narrator, for sure, but Kvothe says multiple times that he intends this to be a true accounting of his life. "Do not presume to change a word of what I say," and "My story has quite enough color without adding to it," and "This is my chance to tell the full and honest story of my life," and all that. If we can't take Kvothe at his word on this, then there's no point to the story at all. We may as well presume it's all a dream, Dallas-style. It wouldn't add to the story in any way to find out that he'd been making up the events of the book. There is no value to be gained. I think people tend to have trouble internalizing that everything that exists in this book is because Patrick Rothfuss wrote it that way. I see a lot of in-text justifications for the worldbuilding, or Kvothe's behavior toward women, or his behavior in general, but I think we have to regard the text (and Kvothe) as the story Rothfuss wanted to tell, and the protagonist he wanted us to root for. I think that in general people read too much into this series, and I can't blame them; I'd be desperate too, after so many years without an update. But meeting criticisms that it's a largely implausible male power fantasy with protestations of "You have to understand" and "You should reread more closely" smacks of the ol' Rick & Morty high IQ meme.
But I digress. I have a lot of feelings, as you can tell.
The prose is as laden with overwrought similes as it ever was, but I enjoyed all the improv poetry throughout the dialogue.
We get some good side characters in this book. Deden, Martin, Hespa, and Tempi are cunningly drawn, and the female characters in the
Spoiler
AdemreSpoiler
Meluan LacklessThis book continues the trend of relentless Robin Hobb references, which I first noticed back in the Trebon chapters of NotW.
People/places with the same name in Kingkiller and RotE:
-Stanchion
-Lant (this one may be a counter-shoutout, as it originated here)
-Hap
-The Pirate Isles
-Not the same name, but Puppet is 100% a reference to the Fool; they share a hobby, aspects of their appearance, and even some dialogue.
Other things common to both series:
-Blue fires serve as an ill omen
-Large standing stones are rumored to be gateways
-Animals are described as "snuffing" rather than "sniffing"
-There are
-Sympathy bells
-There's a moment when a protagonist