The Name of the Wind

tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5095653559141470092.post-58833478832723539822008-04-24T10:59:00.006-04:002008-04-25T00:01:56.648-04:00The Name of the Wind<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UB6IJASGSm0/SBFXLnFMkjI/AAAAAAAAAA8/QLNkVqlV4cM/s1600-h/notw.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://bp1.blogger.com/_UB6IJASGSm0/SBFXLnFMkjI/AAAAAAAAAA8/QLNkVqlV4cM/s320/notw.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5193027702315848242" border="0" /></a>Some of you may be keen-eyed enough to notice that I have put an additional link on my list of blogs. If so, I pity you, because you must have no life to be examining my blog THAT closely. But either way, there is a new link there to the blog of Patrick Rothfuss. Who is this guy? Well, he is a debut fantasy author whose book The Name of the Wind has just come out in paperback recently. (I'd post a link to the amazon page there except for the whole <a href="http://scribejourney.blogspot.com/2008/04/amazon-boycott.html">boycott on amazon</a> thing.) Apparently it has made #11 on the NYT Bestseller list. A few weeks ago, I bought this book, and I completed it yesterday. All I have to say is that he deserves it. You'll find more information by going to his site, but I'll give my own summary here. It tells the story of Kvothe, who has become a living legend in his own world. He is both famous and infamous, and because of the laws of storytellering, his adventures have been exaggerated to the point of ridiculousness. When the premier historian in the world (named 'The Chronicler') finds the hero-in-hiding, he convinces him to tell his story. And what a story it is. The book has a very 'Arabian Nights' feel to it, swapping back and forth between the present and Kvothe's past. When Kvothe tells the story, it is done in first person, in his own voice. Mr. Rothfuss has done a marvelous job of injecting a strong, witty, likable voice into a character that (outside the telling of his own story) is dark and brooding. The story mostly details his childhood, ranging from his days in a wandering performance troupe, to his begging on the streets, to his exciting stay at the University, which is reminiscent of Hogwarts except it is much more realistic and much less suitable for children. Our 'hero' gets by through cleverness alone, which is a nice change from fantasy novels where the strongest or most skilled swordsman wins the day. In fact, it kind of reminds me of my novel in that aspect, except he probably pulls it off better since he's published and all. And won a quill award. And is a best seller. Okay, so I'm an insect next to him, and I shouldn't be mentioning my book in the same sentence as his, much less compare the two. But enough self-loathing, this isn't a teenage goth poetry site. In any case, the book is long and intimidating (reaching almost 700 pages), but it's in paperback so it won't cost you an arm and a pancreas. It also starts out a wee bit slow, but that's mostly because it's filled with references that will make a lot more sense later. By the end of the book, the meaning of the beginning will hit you like a punch in the stomach. Except like an S&M enthusiast, you'll want more. Unfortunately, this is only the first in the series. The other two books (even though he's already written them) won't come out until 2009 and 2010. So you'll have to wait to hear the ending of Kvothe's story. Nevertheless, this is an excellent book, with vivid, sympathetic characters, and a wonderful narrative voice. The plot might not follow the typical pattern of most fantasy novels, but it will keep you interested all the way through nonetheless. I would highly recommend it to anyone who reads fantasy (and likely to people that don't.) Plus, it's from a debut author, and even though he's hit the bestseller list, we newbies have to look out for each other, right?Chrohttp://www.blogger.com/profile/07768990128419496674noreply@blogger.com