The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

Following the excellent book, The Name of the Wind, The Wise Man’s Fear picks up in the inn the Kvothe tends in the present, telling his story to Chronicler and Bast. In his telling, he’s still at the University. This novel was a 994-page behemoth, and I can honestly say I wish it was longer, because I don’t want to have to wait for the next one, The Doors of Stone, expected in May of 2013.

Just like the first novel in the Kingkiller Chronicles, I loved this book. I had heard negative things about the second half of the novel, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. I really can’t believe I doubted Rothfuss… I remember reading the blurb about the first book and learning that Kvothe eventually leaves the University. I was anxious about that, because I wanted to learn the inner workings of the school, and I thought he was going to leave early on. By the time I hit the halfway mark in The Wise Man’s Fear, I was ready to move on from the school and learn more about the world Rothfuss created. Luckily, he was on a similar brainwave.

For the first half of the novel, we follow similar characters that were in the last book: Kvothe, Denna, Wil and Sim, Fela, Ambrose, and a few others. We also get a host of new characters in the second half. The first part of the book is pretty similar in many ways to the last book, so I’m not going to bother reviewing it past saying that it was an enjoyable revamp of The Name of the Wind, with a few wonderful additions (including a man who LIVES in the library. I would love to live in a library…). There is also, of course, more music. Kvothe has made me want to pick up the lute more than once.

The SECOND half of the book was amazing. I loved that Kvothe finally got out in the world, somewhere out of the Commonwealth. He visits many new places with fun and weird new customs.  Kvothe spends time in some strange places. I don’t think it’s a secret that he spends time with Felurian and leaves, and is literally the only person who doesn’t go mad when he leaves her. He also learns a new language (or two) and learns a way of gesturing meaning/feelings, which I found interesting but not really necessary. He also picks up a bit of fighting technique that I really enjoyed learning about. Through his travels, he doesn’t forget about his one true goal… learning about the Chandrian. By now, I’m also curious as to their back story, and am eagerly awaiting more knowledge about them from the third novel.

I’m trying not to give too much away to those who plan to read the book, so I’ll stop with the summary. I enjoyed The Wise Man’s Fear possibly even more than The Name of the Wind. Because it took so long to get to the part where he left the University, it has a similar feel to it as the first novel. I can’t promise you will like the second half, but I loved it. I’m hoping the third and final novel will include more travelling. These books definitely merit a rereading before The Doors of Stone come out.  Rothfuss has beautiful prose, and I found it hard to not write every other sentence down as something worth quoting. I will include two quotes that were irresistibly good:

“It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That’s as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect.”

“This is the nature of love. [...] To attempt to describe it will drive a woman mad. That is what keeps poets scribbling endlessly away. If one could pin it to the paper all complete, the others would lay down their pens. But it cannot be done.”

“I played the song that hides in the center of me. That wordless music that moves through the secret places in my heart. I played it carefully, strumming it slow and low into the dark stillness of the night. I would like to say it is a happy song, that it is sweet and bright, but it is not.”

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

From the very start of this book, I loved almost everything about it. Although I was enjoying the Stephanie Plum (Janet Evanovich) novels, I breathed a sigh of relief once I let myself slip into this magnificent world created by Patrick Rothfuss. I missed reading my reliable fantasy stories. The Name of the Wind is a 662 page fantasy novel.

The Name of the Wind starts out in ‘present day,’ which I’m not sure of a relative time to ours, since this takes place in the Aturan Empire, a fictional land. As soon as I saw the map for the world, I wondered… why had I not bought/read this sooner? I absolutely adore books (especially series) with maps. I love maps anyway, but when you pair them with books, it’s magnificent.

It seems a little tragic to shrink the map this much, but I thought it would look a little funny to do one per line. And although I loved the map, I wish it had more… either major cities, or cities that Kvothe visited. It’s possible to imagine where they are, but I like to know roughly where to look, as well.

*—–Update—–*

I was perusing Patrick Rothfuss’s blog and found this lovely colored, bordered map. It also made me realize that “The Aturan Empire” wasn’t a general name for the land, but an actual section of it. Therefore, I wanted to add that Kvothe traveled most of “The Four Corners of Civilization” rather than just the Aturan Empire (he spends most of the novel in the Commonwealth).

Now THIS is a great map.

Anyway, back to the summary. Kvothe is a barkeep/innkeeper who goes by many names, including Reshi and Kote. He starts telling us the story of how he came to be infamous and that’s where it all begins. Most of the book consists of Kvothe telling his story, with brief interludes of ‘present day’ sections.

Back when he was young, Kvothe was a trouper along with his parents and other members of the famous Edema Ruh. They travelled throughout almost all of the Aturan empire, with the exclusion of some of the northern parts. I can’t really tell much more background than that without giving away a good chunk of the story. I can say he ends up in Tarbean, a large city, and ends up in the University to study many things. I only feel comfortable saying all that because it’s in the blurb, and so it’s not just me ruining plot points.

I’ll try to refrain from rambling about the rest of the plot. I have to tell myself to stop, because you will surely want to read it on your own. This book was FANTASTIC. Rothfuss creates a wonderful world with delightfully dark characters. His writing style is beautiful, and the way he tells this story is magnificent. If you are worried about reading a book that is 662 pages, don’t. Rothfuss’s prose is brilliantly simple, and flows so well that once you finish, you will wish the book was twice as long as it is. The character development is excellent, and I really felt like I was starting to understand the Kvothe of the past, if not the Kote/Reshi of the present. Kvothe’s friends at the University are also diverse and interesting to learn about. Rothfuss will make you learn to care about each and every one of them.

If I had to say one critical thing about The Name of the Wind, it is that young Kvothe’s obsession with a girl started to get a bit annoying. He is a teenage boy at that point, and the girl in question is indeed interesting, so I suppose it is understandable. Perhaps it was my own empathy for the character, because he was having little luck with the girl, and it was frustrating to the both of us.

Overall, this was a superb novel, and I highly recommend it. It is an excellent example of what Rothfuss himself calls ‘heroic fantasy.’ Though I am working on a few other novels for classes, I hope to soon buy and read The Wise Man’s Fear. It’s high on my list of books I can’t wait to read.