Paperback, Library copy.
Guys, look, I did it! I read an adult fantasy novel! This is few and far between compared to the young adult novels I read. I'm quite proud of myself. I read Theft of Swords by Michael Sullivan last year, and it was great. This book reminds me of it, mainly because of the thieving and mischief involved.
This is one a lot of people have been talking about and reviewing and all that. What made me finally pick it up is a Barnes and Noble blog list about the best 10 fantasy titles of the year. I thought, 'I really need to read some adult fantasy if I'm going to try to publish one.' So, this was the blogger's most favorite book and one of the only ones I'd actually heard of on the list.
I admit it took me a few pages to get used to the writing, which is a tiny bit denser than your typical YA book. Once I got used to Rothfuss' style, though, I was hooked. I really like the idea of a frame story like this. I read this book nearly every night for a couple weeks, and I enjoyed almost all of it. It has a very Harry Potter like feel because of the Academy and precocious orphan youngster. But it's also different, too, because you know something will happen to Kvothe to bring him down. It takes on a darker feel because of the frame story. You just know that his story probably won't have a happy ending.
I liked most of these characters. Kvothe was close to too perfect but there were some times when he was so arrogant I was like, 'What. . .did he just say/think that??' So he had his flaws, too. His friends are good, supportive friends, and I really hope nothing bad happens to them. I like Denna. At first she seemed kind of one dimensional, but I like how the author treated her and their relationship. She surprised me a lot, which is a good thing. The characters in the frame story are intriguing, too. It's less, 'I like these characters!' and more 'I'm intrigued by these characters.' Especially Bast. Not sure whether to trust him or not.
The story was great. Had me wondering what was going to happen. Rooting for Kvothe of course, hoping for the best for him. Towards the end, I felt like it started to drag. And it just kind of ended. No real climax or anything. I know that the frame story probably makes it harder for the author to write the typical "Rising Action/Climax/Falling Action" thing, but I'm 100 pages into The Wise Man's Fear, and I'm kind of wondering what the point of all this is. Like how does this stuff at the Academy move the plot along? What really happened to Kvothe? Why is he called the Kingkiller? Who are the Chandrian?
BUT I'm writing about The Name of the Wind. Overall, it was a great story. I liked the storytelling, the conflicts, the characters. Kept me on the edge of my seat, for sure! I just don't want the story to drag on. The next book is almost 1000 pages! These fantasy authors are so long-winded. . .
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