Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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27 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastic debut, 27 Jul 2007
I was luckily enough to be given this as a proof copy by a friend... I'm very glad she did so. I've read a fair amount of fantasy, most of which is not exactly well-written. However, this is a great piece of work - I can only hope the rest of the trilogy lives up to it. The previous reviewer has already encapsulated the plot so no need for me to do so :) Briefly, I had the same warm glow of having read something worthwhile that I got when I first read Robin Hobb (which this is similar to, but in a good rather than plagaristic way), George R.R. Martin, and Lois McMaster Bujold, as opposed to say Eddings (who I think tells a good story, but in a style that makes me want to gnaw my arm off!). Highly recommended.
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17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An absorbing Odyssey, 16 Sep 2007
If a story, when it is read, encapsulates it in your mind visualising every detail, if it can draw you in to feel its emotion, if it steals a tear from you at the end of a love song replicating the characters in the scene, it can only be a powerful novel.
"The Name of the Wind", set in an unnamed world where everything has a name and a meaning, draws its strength from an intelligent and humourous penned narration of a journey of yearning, fortitude, honesty of a life so young yet so mature of age. The main character, "Kvoth" to present one of his names, is the teller of this rich tale to a scribe from his inn where is the innkeeper. He tells from the days of his learning within his family environment, through his feral existence, stealing to survive, in the big town when he is left orphaned, to the determination of becoming an Arcanist at the University ensuring any obstacles are distinguished in his path. Along this path his determination to find information on those who were responsible for destroying his family almost destroys himself and his yearning.
The driving force accompanying his determination is his musicianship. An accomplished lute player, song writer and entertainer, he enthralled his audience and used this mastery to his advantage.
For me I felt the novel was the foundation of an epic tale that that presently leaves you slightly lost as to what is the full representation of the story. We are unaware of how Kvoth becomes an innkeeper, how Bast becomes in his employ or who Bast is. We certainly do not want to say how the tale will conclude. That aside I found it compelling, witty, at the right pace and an inventive novel that has left me yearning for the next instalment
He has just won his category in the Quill Awards for best Sci-fi book.
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43 of 50 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good debut!, 3 April 2007
In a nutshell, The Name of the Wind recounts the tale of Kvothe, a young man destined to become the most powerful wizard the world has ever seen. It begins with Kvothe's childhood years, first as a member of a traveling troupe of musicians and artists, and then as a street urchin forced to fend for himself in a violent environment. Later, the story shifts to his adolescence, at a time when he is admitted to the University, renowned school of magic.
Reading along, I found the structure of the story a little odd. The better part of the novel is comprised of Kvothe's back story, with only a few scenes occurring in "real time." Having never encountered something like it, I discussed it with Betsy Wollheim. She did shine some light on the matter, and it turns out that Rothfuss' first trilogy will focus on the main character's past, with occasional tantalizing hints of things to come. A second trilogy will then recount Kvothe's "present" tale.
The Name of the Wind is told in a first person narrative. Hence, other than those "real time" segments told in the third person, most of the book is told from Kvothe's perspective. Those who have a problem with single-POV narratives similar to that of Robin Hobb's The Farseer and The Tawny Man trilogies, consider yourselves warned. The main danger in using the first person narrative is that the entire story rests on the shoulder of a single character. If you like Kvothe, terrific. If you don't, that's where it gets tricky. I had no problem with that facet of the novel, but I'm acutely aware that some readers don't care much for the first person perspective.
The worldbuilding doesn't play a big role in this debut. And yet, Rothfuss hints at a much vaster depth, hopefully to be explored in future sequels. The author has an eye for details, and the story does come alive as you turn the pages. The magic system appears to be well thought of and interesting, and I'm eager to learn more about it.
The Name of the Wind is a character-driven book. As a first person narrative, it can't be anything but that. The supporting cast is composed of a relatively small number of characters, which is rather rare for a book of this size. I'm looking forward to learning more about them in the upcoming installments.
The novel suffers from only one flaw -- a flaw shared by various Daw books: it's too long. I feel that Rothfuss' attention to details slows the pace in several portions of the book. I feel that some scenes could have been truncated and others excised without the readers missing out on any major plotlines. In my opinion, this would quicken the rhythm and improve the overall quality of the book.
Unlike some debuts that are not easily accessible -- Hal Duncan's Vellum and Steven Erikson's Gardens of the Moon come to mind -- I'm persuaded that The Name of the Wind can appeal to both neophytes and long-time fans of the genre. As such, it's similar to both Brandon Sanderson's Elantris and Joe Abercrombie's The Blade Itself in that regard. It's also a throwback work, which brought fantasy novels likes Raymond E. Feist's Magician and David Eddings' Pawn of the Prophecy to mind.
Although a bit overlong, The Name of the Wind is a solid and ambitious effort. Two years ago I would have claimed that it could well be the debut of the year. But Hal Duncan and Scott Lynch have forced us to look at debuts in a different way. Still, Patrick Rothfuss wrote an auspicious debut, and I'm curious to discover the rest of Kvothe's tale.
Check out my blog: www.fantasyhotlist.blogspot.com
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