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| The Name of the Wind |
It’s been a while since I read an out and out epic fantasy novel. But I’ve had The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss, on my shelf for a while and I finally decided its time had come. I’m glad that I did. The Name of the Wind lives up to its hype, in spite of a few cliches and rough patches in the plot arc. This book is the first in a planned trilogy–what fantasy debut these days isn’t?–about a unorthodox hero named Kvothe (pronounced Quothe). We meet Kvothe in an inn in the middle of nowhere, under an assumed name. After a lot of pestering, a wandering scribe and storyteller convinces Kvothe to tell his story. Our hero agrees, but tells the scribe that his story will take three days. The Name of the Wind includes the first day of Kvothe’s story.
This book is mostly story within a story, exactly like an extended flashback. Kvothe takes us all the way back to when he was twelve years old and still traveling with his parents troupe of traveling actors, musicians, and entertainers. Because we only get hints about Kvothe’s later great deeds, it’s a little hard to tell where the story is going. The story meanders all over the place, but you have to trust it because the character is telling his telling his own story. He has to get to the point some time. So, we get to see tragedy strike the troupe, Kvothe being left to fend for himself on the streets of a tough city, Kvothe using his wits and fast tongue to be admitted to the University. Unlike a lot of fantasy novel heroes, Kvothe doesn’t just charge off to avenge his family and friends. Instead, he goes to the University to learn more about the literal demons that killed his family. Things would have gone a lot more smoothly, but our hero has about the worst luck of any character in the genre. He is thwarted at almost every turn, mouths off to the wrong people, and otherwise gets caught up in impossible situations. And then, just as Kvothe gets ready to launch into the next big chunk of his story, the book ends and we have to wait for the next book in the series.
I started reading this 700+ page book last Thursday, and got completely sucked into the story. Kvothe is a terrific character: a smart ass with a frighteningly quick mind and a strong sense of honor. I highly recommend this book to fans of big fantasy novels. There are a few problems with the book, but they are fairly minor and pretty common in fantasy novels. It’s a little jarring when a character says something’s okay or when the main character and his companions sit down to a meal of a whole pig killed less than an hour before. But Kvothe and his story more than make up for these problems. I am really looking forward to the next book when it comes out this coming spring.