| Title: | The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 1 | |
|---|---|---|
| Author: | Patrick Rothfuss | |
| Publisher | Brilliance Audio | |
| Publication Date: | May 2009 | |
| Publisher's Description | "My name is Kvothe. I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I have burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during the day. I have talked to God's, loved women and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me." So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature - the story of a hero told in his own voice. It is a tale of sorrow, a tale of survival, a tale of one man's search for meaning in his universe, and how that search, and the indomitable will that drove it, gave birth to a legend. |
|
| My rating: | **** | |
I was skeptical when a friend recommended this book to me. In general, I don’t end up being particularly drawn to fantasy books written by men. I have zero interest in wizardry and protracted fight scenes, and I usually hate the way that women in these books speak and act. That being said, I’d ignored enough of this friend’s book suggestions that I was starting to feel impolite. I picked up the print edition at the library, but 700+ pages of something I already wasn’t into didn’t help me become more motivated.
On a whim, I checked to see if there was an Audible edition of this book, and purchased it when I saw that there was. I am now patting myself on the back for this. With the obstacles that I mentioned earlier, I might not have read this book otherwise, and I would have missed out on a real treat.
Kvothe is such a great protagonist! Mr. Rothfuss does an excellent job at capturing a smart, funny character who is nevertheless very young. Kvothe is the very definition of somebody who is at times too smart for his own good. I laughed at his wit, then winced when it got the better of him. A lot of what happened to Kvothe was due to other people’s misdeeds or simple bad luck, but some of it was simply Kvothe having to learn time and again that pride sometimes hurts more than it helps. This book is a marvel; there are so many beautiful passages, and Mr. Podehl did a great job with the various accents and inflections in this book.
This book is so many things. As soon as I finished it, I started the second book, which was, if anything, even better. I highly recommend this series, even to those who wouldn’t normally read this type of book.
Leave a Reply