The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

My review

rating: 5 of 5 stars
Yeeee-haw! This is epic fantasy at its best. This book is a very clever piece of writing. It is the real story of Kvothe, Kingkiller and hero of the realm, who is living now as a humble innkeeper under an assumed name. He is found out by the Chronicler, who finagles Kvothe into telling his story and this book is only day one of the tale.



What a day. It takes us into Kvothe's childhood, describes the tragic event that leaves him an orphan and introduces the Chandrian into the tale. From there we hear of Kvothe's journey to the city, life as a beggar and then year later his finding his way to university.



The Name of the Wind is amazingly broad in scope and yet the reader is drawn into the action at every turn. Sort of like Harry Potter has Voldemort as the ultimate evil, but has Draco Malfoy as a more closer at hand evil, so Kvothe has Ambrose to dog his every step at school, but the Chandrian loom over all as the ultimate evil. There are triumphs at school, setbacks, love found, lost, friendships made and broken. The story goes back and forth in time between the inn where present day Kvothe is telling his story and the tale of his childhood. And yet, there is great suspense in the present day story as well. There is something looming. Kvothe has had a horrible setback and we don't yet know what. We're going to need him at full strength if the world will survive, so while the background story is gripping, there is the very real and happy hope that once the three days of the story telling are over (and the three books have been written), that the story will continue in the present day.



Highly recommended.


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