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Science Fiction & Fantasy |
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The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle, Day 1)
written by Patrick Rothfuss
Studio : DAW
by DAW
Publisher : DAW
Released : 2008-04-01
Availability : Usually ships in 1-2 business days
Number of Items : 1
EAN : 9780756404741
Avg. Customer Rating: (based on 323 reviews)
List Price : $7.99
Our Price : $4.49
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Americancivilwar.com |
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Americancivilwar.com's Best of the Year...So Far Pick for 2007: Harry Potter fans craving a new mind-blowing series should look no further than The Name of the Wind--the first book in a trilogy about an orphan boy who becomes a legend. Full of music, magic, love, and loss, Patrick Rothfuss's vivid and engaging debut fantasy knocked our socks off. --Daphne Durham
10 Second Interview: A Few Words with Patrick Rothfuss
 Q: Were you always a fan of fantasy novels?
A: Always. My first non-picture books were the Narnia Chronicles. After that my mom gave me Ihe Hobbit and Dragonriders. I grew up reading about every fantasy and sci-fi book I could find. I used to go to the local bookstore and look at the paperbacks on the shelf. I read non-fantasy stuff too, of course. But fantasy is where my heart lies. Wait... Should that be "where my heart lays?" I always screw that up.
Q: Who are some of your favorite authors? Favorite books?
A: Hmmm.... How about I post that up as a list?
Q: What are you reading now?
A: Right now I'm reading Capacity, by Tony Balantyne. He was nominated for the Philip K Dick award this last year. I heard him read a piece of the first novel, Recursion, out at Norwescon. I picked it up and got pulled right in. Capacity is the second book in the series. Good writing and cool ideas. Everything I've like best.
Q: How did Kvothe's story come to you? Did you always plan on a trilogy?
A: This story started with Kvothe's character. I knew it was going to be about him from the very beginning. In some ways it's the simplest story possible: it's the story of a man's life. It's the myth of the Hero seen from backstage. It's about the exploration and revelation of a world, but it's also about Kvothe's desire to uncover the truth hidden underneath the stories in his world. The story is a lot of things, I guess. As you can tell, I'm not very good at describing it. I always tell people, "If I could sum it up in 50 words, I wouldn't have needed to write a whole novel about it." I didn't plan it as a trilogy though. I just wrote it and it got to be so long that it had to be broken up into pieces. There were three natural breaking points in the story.... Hence the Trilogy.
Q: What is next for our hero?
A: Hmm..... I don't really believe in spoilers. But I think it's safe to say that Kvothe grows up a little in the second book. He learns more about magic. He learns how to fight, gets tangled up in some court politics, and starts to figure unravel some of the mysteries of romance and relationships, which is really just magic of a different kind, in a way.
Patrick Rothfuss's Books You Should Read 
The Last Unicorn | 
Neverwhere | 
Declare | 
Beatrice's Goat | 
Blankets |
See more recommendations (with comments) from Patrick Rothfuss
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Product Description |
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The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen. From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime- ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that transports readers into the body and mind of a wizard. It is a high-action novel written with a poet's hand, a powerful coming-of-age story of a magically gifted young man, told through his eyes: to read this book is to be the hero. |
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Something to be sipped... |
If you are rushed or distracted, don't read this book. Rushing through this would be like gulping down a fine wine as though it were apple juice (a crime!). Rather, get everything done that you need to get done, put the kids to bed (if you have any), turn off the tv and pour yourself a dram of whatever you love best. Find a comfortable chair and warm lighting, and enjoy.
This first installment is mainly a narrative of the life of a man named Kvothe, and it is rich with heart-moving imagery and subtley laced with the perfect amount of wry, tongue-in-cheek humor; yet there is an underlying sense of tragedy and forboding that pervades the tale throughout that actually builds suspense so gradually that it's almost feels subconscious.
Highly recommended. |
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Excellent! |
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Really good fantasy. Explores the characters deeply, making them real persons instead of stereotypes. Good development of social/class issues, economics and petty politics. A very good start to a series, really looking forward to the second one. |
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Great book, a little slow at times |
First off, I would like to say that I really did enjoy The Name of the Wind. It was a great book, and I found the plot to be engaging. I found the subjects discussed to be fascinating, and I often felt as though I was right there learning along with Kvothe. Patrick Rothfuss has created an interesting world, which I will gladly return to with The Wise Man's Fear. I would highly recommend this book.
However, the book gets four stars because there were a few occasions where I just grew bored. You can only take so much of Kvothe talking about where he's going to get the money for next term's tuition. It also gets a bit annoying when he discusses how he doesn't know anything about women for the thousandth time. I also felt like there wasn't as much action in this book advancing us toward the present as I would have liked. However, I know that story will be told eventually, so I'll just have to wait.
Don't let these things keep you from reading it, though. They are mild annoyances in an overall excellent work. Name of the Wind is one of the best reads I've had in a long while, and I read quite a bit of fantasy (a good 5 or 6 hours a day at the least). Even with the rather large page count, it took me only a day and a half. I would've read it straight through, but I started too late in the day and needed sleep. Now I'm rambling, but in any case, a great read, and highly recommended from me. |
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A Great and Different Fantasy |
I struggled to get through the first 50 pages of this book. I thought when I started this would be like any other book I've read. Boy was I wrong...
You know a book is good when you can't even figure out where to start with the review. So instead of talking about everything, I'll just like you know why I loved it.
First, the world. It's developed, alive, and refreshing. There is no magic. Instead, there is sympathy. Sympathy allows people to bind objects and thereby manipulate them. If that sounds boring, just wait. The way the author uses sympathy is usually very clever. There is also a sympathy battle at one point where you get a good idea of just how intricate it can be.
Second, the character. Kvothe is built up from nothing. You start with a simple boy, but he develops. The best part about it is, this book focuses on Kvothe's intelligence. It uses it to create a really interesting character. I can't think of any other fantasy books that develop such an intelligent and clever character.
Finally, the story. The story is interesting. I couldn't really tell you what the plot was because honestly, I don't know if there was one. But there is a reason for the character's actions, and he does have some direction.
I enjoyed it, and hopefully you will to. |
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Lives up to the hype |
You know how sometimes a book, or a movie, or a concert gets so hyped up in the press and you have such high expectations that when you finally get around to reading/seeing it, it disappoints? That's what I was worried might happen when I decided to read The Name of the Wind. I purposely came to it late, hoping to wait until Patrick Rothfuss was nearly finished with the trilogy before I starting it. But, the book has received so much attention that it became inexcusable for me, as the editor of a fantasy review website, not to read it. So I did -- in two days. (It's a huge book.)
And I'm very happy to report that The Name of the Wind did not disappoint -- I was completely enthralled. The pace was quick and never lagged. The plot was tight and had just the right amount of mystery -- I always understood what was going on, but Rothfuss regularly added new elements, twists, and layers to keep me wondering where this was going and what would happen next. In fact, by the end of the book, there are more unanswered questions than answered ones. Throughout, the writing style was smooth and pleasant, with enough wit, humor, foreshadowing, and artistry to be intellectually stimulating, but never pretentious. Furthermore, the magic system in Rothfuss's world is thoroughly explained to us, bit by bit, and it is complicated and makes sense.
Perhaps most important, Mr Rothfuss writes excellent characters. I especially appreciated what he did with his hero. Kvothe's circumstances are familiar; he's an exceptionally bright kid whose parents are killed by something evil, nobody cares for him, he manages to get into magic school on long odds, he has trouble fitting in with both students and teachers, he makes two close friends and one rich and handsome enemy from a powerful family, he's obsessed with finding out about the evil people who killed his parents, he regularly gets punished for his exploits at school, he has no clue about girls, and he actually meets one who lives in the pipes under the school .... Hmmm... This does sound familiar.
But I'll bet that most people who read The Name of the Wind never thought of Harry Potter, because Kvothe and his world are new and refreshing. Kvothe is a product of his liberal education and a lot of time spent trying to survive on his own as a beggar. Sometimes he is selfish, sometimes he is cruel, sometimes he does the right thing. At one point in the book, while Kvothe was living on the streets, he had an opportunity to help someone in distress (a particular distress that Kvothe himself had experienced). I was nervous -- worried that Rothfuss would ruin his careful characterization by having Kvothe perform a heroic deed too soon. But, no, Kvothe pulled a Kitty Genovese, which gave me a deeper respect for Mr Rothfuss. During Kvothe's maturation, we see him make more right choices and fewer wrong ones, but he is complex and inconsistent enough to make us lack confidence that he's going to turn out okay. And that makes for a very interesting story.
I'm very much looking forward to continuing this mystery next April; so much so that I'll pre-order the hardback of The Wise Man's Fear (something I rarely do). Patrick Rothfuss is a much-needed bright young star in the fantasy field. Let's hope that he can keep it up! --FanLit.net |
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