Patrick Rothfuss: The Name of the Wind

Hi Again

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss is the first novel in The Kingkiller Chronicle. I ordered my copy from bol.com some time ago and I’ve been itching to read this but I wanted to wait until I had a few days off. My gorgeous copy has 662 pages.

“Told in Kvothe's own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. A high-action story written with a poet's hand, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that will transport readers into the body and mind of a wizard.”

I really enjoyed this book. The world is very thoroughly built; all possible questions are answered, it all seems possible, the way their magic works is logical and that makes the novel very believable en realistic.
The characters are really well thought out, they are all unique; they don’t blend together when you’re reading. The characters make faults and have flaws but they also have merits and good intentions and that makes it such a good story. Kvothe is arrogant, selfish, impulsive and rash but I still like him. He’s not the personification of everything 'Good' in that world; he’s not a real Hero.

Rothfuss' writing is vivid, smooth and compelling with delightful descriptions and evocative language; it all makes for a wonderful, intriguing novel.
The story sucked me right in. It took me some time to really understand what was going on but I kept going because it is just so well written. It’s a real page-turner and I found myself wanting to read the whole night through.

But it is a very slow story. Reading about Kvothe's money problems or his imagined problems with Denna (unbearable storyline) yet again couldn’t interest me at all. Rothfuss definitely likes to meander. A lot.
Secondly, even though this is definitely the story of how a boy becomes a legend; Kvothe is good at everything and that's just unbelievable.

4 stars

Happy reading.
Helena

 

 

Writing a review about this absolutely great fantasy novel.