Anyone else pre-ordered this? What are you thoughts concening the continuation of the series?

2/28/2011 4:47:03 PM

I pre-ordered a signed copy of this for my wife's birthday back when Rothfuss was announcing pre-release info. I was hoping I would get it tomorrow but I just checked the note and it says these signed copies will be mailed on March 1st so we won't get it on release day but no big deal. It'll be cool to get the personalized signed one for her

Just means I'll have to wait longer since I don't get first dibs though

2/28/2011 4:52:18 PM

Just looked up the parcel tracking information on mine and had all my hopes of an early arrival dashed.

2/28/2011 5:39:32 PM

I picked up a copy at Barnes and Noble last night. Almost 1000 pages. Should be epic.

3/2/2011 7:33:07 AM

Wow this book is dense. I'm only 219 pages in and it feels like I should be much further.

3/2/2011 4:20:55 PM

How does this compare to ASOIAF?

3/2/2011 4:25:52 PM

^I've only read the first one, so take it for what it's worth. The quality of writing and storytelling are very comparable in quality, but the styles are different. Rothfuss focuses on one central character and storyline almost exclusively while Martin jumps from character to character. I think Martin is more complex where Rothfuss really emerses you in the character and events surrounding him. That probably doesn't help you, but I would strongly recommend giving these books a read.

3/2/2011 4:36:02 PM

I really don't think you can compare Martin to Rothfuss. This series feels more juvenile, and is much easier to follow.

That being said, they're both wonderful.

3/2/2011 5:34:33 PM

Rothfuss is a good writer and I loved The Name of the Wind, but the story is definitely more lighthearted and straightforward than ASOIAF so it is very hard to compare them.

3/2/2011 8:12:04 PM

Martin is going to die before he completes ASOIAF just like that fat fuck Robert Jordan did....

3/2/2011 8:50:23 PM

^^ Lighthearted? Kvothe basically gets shat upon the whole book in The Name of the Wind.

3/2/2011 9:50:18 PM

^ yeah, but fewer people DIE in name of the wind

3/3/2011 8:42:24 AM

^^ doesn't mean it's not lighthearted imo. If there wasn't conflict it wouldn't be a good story, but it's not a very adult, complex, or bloody fantasy by any means. I still absolutely loved it (enough to pre-order TWMF the first day I could), but it is more similar to The Hobbit or The Sword in the Stone that something like ASOIAF imo.

I guess lighthearted wasn't the right word. Perhaps it can just be said that it is a "lighter read." BigT716 said it best I think:

Quote :

"This series feels more juvenile, and is much easier to follow. That being said, they're both wonderful."

[Edited on March 3, 2011 at 9:09 AM. Reason : .]

3/3/2011 8:50:24 AM

Thanks, I'll probably check it out!

3/3/2011 9:04:57 AM

Just obtained a copy of The Wise Man's Fear. I have 2.5 more Dexter books to read and I think I'm goin to reread The Name of the Wind before cracking this monster of a book.

3/4/2011 1:31:30 PM

Finally got our copies yesterday. I forgot that I had our hardcover copy of The Name of The Wind signed for my wife and then The Wise Man's Fear I got signed for myself (they both came together). I thought I had done the names the other way around but either way my wife liked that I got the old one signed as well as the new one since she had no idea I was doing that

3/8/2011 8:10:02 AM

I finished the book Monday night. Now I have to wait ages for the conclusions.

Post when you guys finish so I'll know when it's safe to start discussing the book.

3/10/2011 2:26:10 AM

Yea I'd say another 3 years or so :/ Shouldn't be any longer than the last book but still too long haha. And I'll probably have to back out of this thread soon. It will be awhile until it's my turn to read this.

3/10/2011 7:52:09 AM

I'm rereading The Name of the Wind right now and will probably get through both books by the end of next week.

3/10/2011 9:14:23 AM

Spoiler Alert




Does everyone else think that Lady Lackless is Kvothe's aunt?

3/18/2011 1:28:52 AM

finished it a few days ago, but figured I'd comment seeing as this thread was bumped

Really liked this one. I thought the flow of the story-telling was much better and less disjointed than the first one. Each episode followed naturally from the previous one, and I enjoyed how he layered the different stories.

Does anyone know how many books he's planning for the series? Kvothe is becoming slightly more badass, but I'm curious to know how long I have to wait before he really becomes a legend.

I'm very pleased with the quality of the writing so far, and I just hope Rothfuss doesn't take too long between books

3/18/2011 1:48:03 AM

Quote :

"Does anyone know how many books he's planning for the series?"

when he came to the publisher he already had the entire story finished (minus lots of editing etc) and they decided to publish it in 3 parts. From reading his blog, it seems like he is still planning on the next book being the final book.

3/18/2011 11:59:49 AM

^^^ that's the first thing that came to my mind as well.


was also thinking one of the chandrian is probably dennas patron

3/18/2011 2:34:34 PM

^ It could be one of the Amyr, but given the content of her song, that seems less likely.

3/18/2011 5:20:30 PM

to anyone who has finished reading this book: on a scale of 1-10, how does it compare to The Name of the Wind?

3/18/2011 7:16:03 PM

^ Just as good.

3/18/2011 9:24:24 PM

Quote :

"on a scale of 1-10, how does it compare to The Name of the Wind?"

Haven't read the book, but that question doesn't make sense.

3/18/2011 10:00:23 PM

Quote :

"'ve only read the first one, so take it for what it's worth. The quality of writing and storytelling are very comparable in quality, but the styles are different."

Rothfuss is a great example of the harry potter syndrome. I would define this as follows: a writer who has very basic skills who creates an interesting story is suddenly highly acclaimed, while those with more concrete writing skills and expectations sneer at the effort. In an objective sense, Rothfuss is nowhere near as skilled in writing as Martin. As entertaining? Perhaps.

3/20/2011 4:32:59 PM

^ If you think Rothfuss isn't a highly skilled writer, you obviously have zero aptitude for judging writing skill.

3/24/2011 7:30:15 PM

Quote :

"^ If you think Rothfuss isn't a highly skilled writer, you obviously have zero aptitude for judging writing skill."

ah shit, you must be correct...wait, where the fuck do you have the credentials to say I am incorrect?

3/24/2011 10:50:16 PM

I somewhat agree with what flatline is saying here. It doesn't make the book any less fun at all but I think all flatline is saying here is that Rothfuss, based on the first book alone, is a very good storyteller and a good writer but not a great writer.

In other words, he doesn't display the dialogue skills that Dumas has, the complexity of Martin, the eloquence of Tolkien, etc. What he does well though is tell the story and not interfere with it. He keeps the writing bare-bones using short sentences with simple construction (being able to convey your story this way certainly takes some skill though). He has a good story and doesn't ruin it with poor writing like some authors do.

I have no problem with this at all though. For every great Dumas and Martin book I've read, I'm happy to read someone like a Rothfuss in between. I'll take a good story with pretty good writing any day.

Instead of arguing over someone like Rothfuss though, I'd rather crucify someone like Christopher Paolini who is an atrocious writer with a boring completely re-hashed story, but I guess that should be saved for another thread

[Edited on March 25, 2011 at 12:22 PM. Reason : ]

3/25/2011 12:18:52 PM

I concur. He created a captivating story and manages to make it readable. His writing style is simple, plots are basic and there is almost no character development beyond kvothe. The dialogue in the first book is best described as terrible. Rothfuss painfully beats it in that he is "clever"and refutes classical fantasy norms. I don't think that makes him a good writer.

his second book is miles better than the first, but he still has alot of growing to do.

My problem comes in when people compare this pop fantasy with genre defining authors. He doesn't come close to being a great writer by any stretch of the imagination.

3/25/2011 2:01:02 PM

I had it on pre-order...finished it in like 2 days. I think the continuation was well done. This is the first time I heard it was going to be 3 books. I thought it was going to be a much longer series it seems like the Chandrian has pretty deep roots in the world that Rothfuss created. I didn't think just one more book would cover it. Kvothe has done some pretty cool stuff but theres nothing quite legendary yet. More like being in the right place at the right time.

3/25/2011 8:23:29 PM

Just finished it. First off, it is a very good book and I enjoyed reading it, but I was a little disappointed. The writing was improved over the first book and the storyline is very tight, but this book was kinda plodding. It didn't need to be a thousand pages to tell as little of the story as it did. I almost view this book as filler and I agree that it doesn't seem like Rothfuss is going to be able to wrap up this story in a trilogy. I mean, the plot barely moved at all. The entire book seemed to be devoted to explaining how awesome the main character is, but didn't develop the character at all. Also, the other character are almost inconsequential. Maybe this is because the timeline in this book is so short (a year maybe?).

I'm glad I read it and I will definitely read Rothfuss's following books, but I was wanting more from this one. Maybe my expectations were too high. I absolutely can't wait for A Dance with Dragons on July 12th!!!

[Edited on March 26, 2011 at 2:59 PM. Reason : ]

3/26/2011 2:57:36 PM

Did Kvothe lose his magic because he changed his Name? Remember the scene where Elodin briefly freaked out when Kvothe mentioned someone changing their name?

4/1/2011 3:47:37 PM

Apparently I'm not the first person to have that theory: http://www.narutoforums.com/showpost.php?s=88cfe6f42880a98c1fc1a9d2b648fdab&p=37845516&postcount=69

4/1/2011 11:46:08 PM

Read both of these over the past few weeks. These books are entertaining but not fantastic by any means. They aren't nearly as good as ASOIAF or The Way of Kings which I read recently. Maybe 1000 page books just aren't able to have a single viewpoint without getting stale.

*Very slight spoilers*

To me it seems like multiple books instead of just 2, since it's just one setting after the next. And they seem to vary in quality. The university was the best part, but IMO the Fae and (going back to book 1) his homeless period were both boring and stretched out way too long.

Book 2 overcompensated for book 1's lack of sex by cramming it in everywhere.



*Bigger spoilers*


I couldn't really understand Kvothe's viewpoint in many situations. For example why didn't he kill Faerulian when he had the chance? He said something about a world without her would be less, but all she does is murder people. It's like him having a chance to cure a plague but not doing it because there are some good songs about plagues.

4/17/2011 3:20:46 PM

I'm on the Felurian segment now. I enjoy the books alot, but I find Kvothe and Denna's banter to be intolerable at times.

4/17/2011 7:36:11 PM

Finally finished it up. Pretty good, but if the first was a 10, I'd probably rank this one a 7 or 8. Not sure if I want to read the second Farseer book or start SOIAF now.

5/24/2011 2:17:12 PM