What Was That Name of the Wind Again?

[willpell]

I have not read "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss. Should that fact bother me? It seems to be referenced now and again in D&D webcomic circles (by which I mean Goblins and and the Ookodook store, hence "now" and "again"), so my curiosity was piqued. But it's not as if my "things I should probably read someday" list, single-spaced on standard printer paper in 10-pt. type, is short enough to climb without mountaneering gear. So really, tell me whether I'm missing anything.

[TheSummoner]

Eh, I didn't find it all that interesting myself. Picked it up, read the first 50 pages or so. Couldn't get into it and set it back down...

Though according to my friends, I'm crazy for doing so, so I'm not sure how good my opinion on it really is.

[Infernally Clay]

I bought it because of the blurb and I was not disappointed. The main appeal for me was the way the story is written - it's like poetry. It's written so very beautifully that you can look past the way Kvothe was apparently good at everything he did. Admittedly, though, the very fact that the majority of the story is written in a first person view might indicate that Kvothe is lying about certain things - he isn't above skipping the parts he finds boring, after all, and he exaggerates things here and there.

Which is a nice touch, I think.

Ultimately, the book is written exceptionally well and the whole focus of the series is on how Kvothe - the legendary figure he is - ended up changing his name, hiding away in a little inn in the middle of nowhere and becoming a shadow of the man he once was. That's the hook for me.

[Eldan]

The story itself does not have much to it that is new. The magic system is fairly original, but that's about it. It has a few story twists that are not that difficult to see coming.

However, the language is beautiful. If you like reading good prose that reads almost like poetry, get it.

[Wyntonian]

It's like a bunch of things. If you strip it down to two sentences, it sounds really dumb.

I won't do that, because spoilers, but yeah.

On the other hand, if someone had told you "Dude, read this book about a couple of bromantic midgets trying to destroy some jewelry!", would you?

The magic system is fairly original, but that's about it. It has a few story twists that are not that difficult to see coming.

However, the language is beautiful. If you like reading good prose that reads almost like poetry, get it.

And yes. This. The storytelling is easily and by far the best part. I can't sing its praises enough, even with a church choir and a norwegian heavy metal band and a Portland hipster humming through his beard, and the three in harmony. I simply can't. It's that good.

[Math_Mage]

The prose and poetry are often excellent, sometimes (IMO) overwrought. My main issues with the books so far are their rapid transitions from low to high fantasy, which often feel abrupt, and make the story feel incoherent. There's also a problem with pacing; Kvothe's academic progress, his character growth, and his progress in the main plotline are far less than I would expect two books into a trilogy, and there are still a zillion loose ends dangling about waiting to be resolved. Each element of the story is handled very well, but they don't fit together into one tight story. It feels like I'm playing D&D or a CRPG, alternately saving the world and looting random people for money, following often-disjointed adventure hooks as I wait for the main quest to progress. Which is fine, I still have fun, but as a narrative it isn't as gripping as it could be.

[shadow_archmagi]

Yeah they're worth the ten fifty or whatever they're going for in shops these days, pick em up

[Weezer]

It's a very good book, some of the better fantasy I've read that has been written in the last few years (Wait, it came out 5 years ago? That can't be...). As other have mentioned its main strength is the prose, which is beautifully written. It has a very fascinating magic system, interesting characters and an attention to detail by the author that is almost too much, every little thing mentioned connects to something else in the story, often in pretty subtle ways. Because of that, and the large number of mysteries still left in the story, it is one of those series that results in an absurd level of fan speculation, approaching ASoIaF levels, so if that's something you enjoy, definitely check it out. However, it does have some severe weaknesses, with the two big ones being how it often feels disjointed, skipping around a lot from one plot line to another without sufficient transition and some incredibly bad pacing. Though these two weaknesses are far more apparent in the second book, which is a major drop in quality from the first, it's quite a shame.

Overall, if you like fantasy, it is one of those books you really should at least try and read, it's an amazing book.

[Nerd-o-rama]

It's very well-written, very polished fantasy, but I read it and didn't really have any desire to pick up the sequel(s). Kvothe is a fairly amazing narrator, but as a character he's incredibly boring. Good at everything, challenged only because the universe is apparently out to get him, and doesn't really go much of anywhere along what appears to be the main plot. Which is all intentional and part of the story, I'm sure, but that only makes it slightly more interesting.

What is interesting is two things: the interweaving of different plotlines and points of view (in the form of stories within the story, and even the difference between Kvothe the narrator and Kvothe the character), and all the loose ends that result from that. Patrick Rothfuss knows stories, and this is ultimately a story about stories: how they are told, why they are told, and what they mean. If you like meta-commentary on the art of narrative more than you like interesting characters or engaging page-turner plot pacing, you'll love this book.

[pita]

If you have a Mary Sue allergy, this book can be problematic.
Its essentially about the greatest hero/villain the world has known, and how he became to be... whatever he is. We don't know what he's done, we only hear snippets of stories. He tells the true story of what happened, interwoven with things happening in "real time", where the world has, apparently, gone to hell because of things that he did.
So he's incredibly gifted at pretty much everything, but in my opinion it works because that's what the story's about. We're not reading about an average farm boy who beats the Dark Lord just because, we're reading about someone who is simply that good.
What irritates me about the book (and it becomes worse in the sequel),are two things:
1. A romantic subplot about a girl who is the most perfect girl ever even though she's absolutely deranged.
2. The entire world is out to get Kvothe. Literally everywhere he goes there is one person who is out to utterly destroy him, no matter what the risk to themselves. It becomes especially ridiculous in the second book, where after reaching a new place, someone immediately shoves themselves in his face and tries to insult him, and later tries to kill him. For an incredibly weak reason, that is ludicrously plot-contrived in itself.

[Weezer]

If you have a Mary Sue allergy, this book can be problematic.
Its essentially about the greatest hero/villain the world has known, and how he became to be... whatever he is. We don't know what he's done, we only hear snippets of stories. He tells the true story of what happened, interwoven with things happening in "real time", where the world has, apparently, gone to hell because of things that he did.
So he's incredibly gifted at pretty much everything, but in my opinion it works because that's what the story's about. We're not reading about an average farm boy who beats the Dark Lord just because, we're reading about someone who is simply that good.
What irritates me about the book (and it becomes worse in the sequel),are two things:
1. A romantic subplot about a girl who is the most perfect girl ever even though she's absolutely deranged.
2. The entire world is out to get Kvothe. Literally everywhere he goes there is one person who is out to utterly destroy him, no matter what the risk to themselves. It becomes especially ridiculous in the second book, where after reaching a new place, someone immediately shoves themselves in his face and tries to insult him, and later tries to kill him. For an incredibly weak reason, that is ludicrously plot-contrived in itself.

The thing about Denna is that yeah, she's insane and kvothe presents her as the perfect person ever, but it's not uncommon for people, especially in their teens, to fall for someone in an incredibly self-destructive way. I don't like her as a person, or as a love interest, but I like herplace in the story because it's one of the few places where Kvothe really shows weakness and failability. Also, don't forget that Kvothe is probably not the most reliable of narrator, so it makes sense that he describes his one true love as perfect, while the readers see between the lines to get how she really is.

I do agree with your second point, it gets so ridiculous.

[TheThan]

I always thought they call the wind maria.

[pita]

I realize it doesn't come across in my post, but I actually really like the book, and its sequel. The sequel particularly has one of my favorite scenes in all literature (Cthaeh, made problematic because it's in one of the weaker parts of the book). The prose is the absolute best out there, with no contest, and Kvothe really is a fascinating character. There are some brilliant bits of wit in it, like the word "Vintage" coming from a place called Vintas, that make the world feel as real as our own.

[Bulldog Psion]

I always thought they call the wind maria.

That's the first thing I thought, too.

On the other hand, if someone had told you "Dude, read this book about a couple of bromantic midgets trying to destroy some jewelry!", would you?

As a complete Tolkien fan, I love this.

[Jayngfet]

So I just finished the first book, and I have to say it seems ...disjointed. I mean there's this bit of him as a kid, then this bit of him in the city where he acts like a completley different character, then this bit of him going off to university and a good deal of the time the city and university bits clash in awkward ways.

I mean Kvothe never seems to have used any of his skills as a kid in the city. He's basically just another generic poor orphan kid. Then he goes off to school and even though he hasn't practiced any sort of skill needed a couple of days refreshment is all it needs for him to pick up the skills all over again even though they were secondary in his life to his theater troupe. Hell, city Kvothe doesn't even use his theater skills for the most part either.

I know that was at least part the point of it, but it's done so awkwardly that it doesn't matter, it was quite frankly the weakest part of the book.

[willpell]

I mean Kvothe never seems to have used any of his skills as a kid in the city. He's basically just another generic poor orphan kid. Then he goes off to school and even though he hasn't practiced any sort of skill needed a couple of days refreshment is all it needs for him to pick up the skills all over again even though they were secondary in his life to his theater troupe. Hell, city Kvothe doesn't even use his theater skills for the most part either.

So in other words, he's an Incarnate? "Oh whoops, I need to be the world's greatest escape artist, not the world's greatest ethics debater. Time to use my swift action."

[Nerd-o-rama]

The Name of the Wind is also one of those novels that intentionally hits as many fantasy tropes as it can, usually to play them with a twist (just look at our glimpses of the "in-universe Bible equivalent" and how many different perspectives there are on it for a start). Rothfuss is good at stringing a lot of stock elements together in a way that's interesting (unless you're talking about Kvothe), but it doesn't necessarily make sense from an A follows B standpoint all the time. Which is again, I think, a consequence of making Kvothe good at everything except common sense and women.