The Name of the Wind
This is a great story. One of the best I've read in a while. It is sorry of Kvothe dictating his life story to a man that is referred to primarily by title - Chronicler. Kvothe (Quothe) was a gifted child that could almost instantly learn anything very quickly. His wonderful life as the son of the leader of a band of traveling entertainers take a bit of a turn for the worse when his entire troop is murdered by a demon that is supposed to only exist in a storybook. This first book in the series him telling the story of his childhood to about age 15 or 16. Life alone in the woods, on the streets of Tarbean and eventually at the University. The recounting of the tale is punctuated by breaks in the conversation that flash forward to present time sitting at his inn - The Waystone - where he is in hiding under an assumed name. The very little bit of the story that takes place in the present is full of action at the very beginning; calm and colorful narration thru the body of the book; and shocking and intriguing at the very end.
AS SOON AS I FINISHED IT, I ran out - while hungover - to buy the second book : A Wise Man's Fear.
I literally can't wait to start it.
p114
Ben took a deep breath and tried again. "Suppose you have a thoughtless six-year-old. What harm could he do?"
I paused, unsure of what sort of answer he wanted. Straight-forward would probably be be best. "Not Much."
"Suppose he is twenty and still thoughtless, how dangerous is he?"
I decided to stick with the obvious answers. :"Still not much, but more than before."
"What if you give him a sword?"
p203
"All storied are true." Skorpi said. "But this one really happened, if that is what you mean."
He took another slow drink, then smiled again, his bright eyes dancing. "More or less. You have to be a bit of a liar to tell a story the right way. Too much truth confuses the facts. Too much honesty makes you sound insincere."
p281
Plainly said, he was giving me enough rope to hang myself with. Apparently he didn't realize that once a noose is tied, it will fit one neck as easily as another.
p422
Go out in the early days of winter, after the first cold snap of the season. Find a pool of water with a sheet of ice across the top, still fresh and new and clear as glass. Near the shore the ice will hold you. Slide out farther. Farther. Eventually you'll find a place where the surface just barely bears your weight. There you will feel what I felt. The ice splinters under your feet. Look down and you can see the white cracks darting thru the ice like mad, elaborate spiderwebs. It is perfectly silent, but you can feel the sudden sharp vibrations thru the bottom of your feet. This is what happened when Denna smiled at me.
p484
I smiled, "Deoch, my heart is made of stronger stuff than glass. When she strikes it she'll find it as strong as iron bound brass, or gold and adamant together mixed.. It's she who should take care, for when she strikes, my heart will make a sound so beautiful and bright that it can't help but bring her back to me in winged flight."
p716
"It's like everyone tells a story about themselves inside their own head. Always. All the time. That story makes you what you are. We build ourselves out of that story"
The Wise Man's Fear
You tried to warn me.. Where's the next one, dammit?? Please, Pat, WRITE!!
This is one of the best new things I have read since I started on this list. Totally wow.
The Dungeons and Dragons nerd in me is in full on natural 20 RPG dork overload here..
Kvothe the MULTICLASS! He starts the first book as Bard level 1 at least, then picks up 1st level in
Wizard from Abenthy. Hiding in the woods doing nothing but playing the lute immediately after his troop is killed must be worth a level in Bard or two. Then three years on the streets of Tarbean gets you a couple levels in Thief. At least two more levels in Wizard at the University. Two more Bard levels at the Eolian and Anker's. Level 1 Ranger from tracking bandits in the Eld and finally level 2 Fighter from the Adem. So.. Bard 6, Wizard 3, Thief 2, Ranger 1, Fighter 2.
There may be some levels in other things too with the training he got in the Fae.. ifyaknowwhatImean.
Speaking of the ladies, I'm not so sure I like Dena. He needs to get over her. They didn't pay off the mention they made in the first book that Bast saw her once. Of course she is tied to this big event they are leading up to that shakes up the whole world. I assume at some point that Kvothe kills the king. Its probably Kvothe's mistake directly involving Dena. Has to be..
That's one of the things that resonates so well with this story. Kvothe - for being a level 14 Genius - is sure a fuckup. For all of his patience he is still hasty. For all of his care he is still reckless. For all of his appreciation of what he has gained he still tempts fate. As a character he is very well flawed.
I also must write down my thoughts on the Adem culture. It is brilliant, really. A warrior culture, where every child learns how to fight is going to have some major differences. Females fight as-well-as or better than men. This means the culture knows no rape. They have no nudity taboo. All sex is casual. Their society has not even worked out medically that babies come from sex. They think that a woman naturally ripens. There is no sense of "paternity" at all. ..just wait till Kvothe's girlfriend Penthe has a red haired baby. There must be some element of their society that understands mating.. no livestock are ever described but they do eat meat. A farmer would know for sure. I suppose it could all be imported or hunted. Nit picky rambling over. Sorry Patrick.
From a Q & A session with Mr Rothfuss in Feb 2017: Describe book 3 in one word: SOON.
p247
"Eld Vintic poerty is thunderous. It pounds at you."
"Sought we the Scrivani word-work of Surthur
Long-lost in ledger all hope forgotten.
Yet fast-found for friendship fair the book-bringer
Hot comes the huntress Fela, flushed with finding
Breathless her breast her high blood rising
To ripen the red-cheek rouge-bloom of beauty.
"That sort of thing," Simmon said absently, his eyes still scanning the pages in front of him.
I saw Fela turn her head to look at Simmon, almost as if she were surprised to see him sitting there.
No, it was almost as if up to that point, he'd just been occupying space around her, like a piece of furniture. But this time when she looked at him, she took all of him in. His sandy hair, the line of his jaw, the span of his shoulders beneath his shirt. This time when she looked, she actually saw him.
p541
Most secrets are secrets of the mouth. Gossip shared and small small scandals whispered. The secrets long to be let loose upon the world. A secret of the mouth is like a stone in your boot. At first you're barely aware of it. Then it grows irritating, then intolerable. Secrets of the mouth grow larger the longer you keep them, swelling until they press against your lips. They fight to be let free.
Secrets of the heart are different. They are private and painful, and we want nothing more than to hide them from the world. They do not swell and press against the mouth. They live in the heart, and the longer they are kept, the heavier they become.
p549
It's like Tecam said, nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth.
p853
"Vashet," I said. " It occurs to me it would be nice to fight someone whose ability is somewhat closer to my own."
Vashet laughed, shaking her head. " That is like throwing two virgins into a bed. Enthusiasm, passion, and ignorance are not a good combination. Someone is likely to get hurt."
The Wise Man's Fear
You tried to warn me.. Where's the next one, dammit?? Please, Pat, WRITE!!
This is one of the best new things I have read since I started on this list. Totally wow.
The Dungeons and Dragons nerd in me is in full on natural 20 RPG dork overload here..
Kvothe the MULTICLASS! He starts the first book as Bard level 1 at least, then picks up 1st level in
Wizard from Abenthy. Hiding in the woods doing nothing but playing the lute immediately after his troop is killed must be worth a level in Bard or two. Then three years on the streets of Tarbean gets you a couple levels in Thief. At least two more levels in Wizard at the University. Two more Bard levels at the Eolian and Anker's. Level 1 Ranger from tracking bandits in the Eld and finally level 2 Fighter from the Adem. So.. Bard 6, Wizard 3, Thief 2, Ranger 1, Fighter 2.
There may be some levels in other things too with the training he got in the Fae.. ifyaknowwhatImean.
Speaking of the ladies, I'm not so sure I like Dena. He needs to get over her. They didn't pay off the mention they made in the first book that Bast saw her once. Of course she is tied to this big event they are leading up to that shakes up the whole world. I assume at some point that Kvothe kills the king. Its probably Kvothe's mistake directly involving Dena. Has to be..
That's one of the things that resonates so well with this story. Kvothe - for being a level 14 Genius - is sure a fuckup. For all of his patience he is still hasty. For all of his care he is still reckless. For all of his appreciation of what he has gained he still tempts fate. As a character he is very well flawed.
I also must write down my thoughts on the Adem culture. It is brilliant, really. A warrior culture, where every child learns how to fight is going to have some major differences. Females fight as-well-as or better than men. This means the culture knows no rape. They have no nudity taboo. All sex is casual. Their society has not even worked out medically that babies come from sex. They think that a woman naturally ripens. There is no sense of "paternity" at all. ..just wait till Kvothe's girlfriend Penthe has a red haired baby. There must be some element of their society that understands mating.. no livestock are ever described but they do eat meat. A farmer would know for sure. I suppose it could all be imported or hunted. Nit picky rambling over. Sorry Patrick.
From a Q & A session with Mr Rothfuss in Feb 2017: Describe book 3 in one word: SOON.
Please Hurry. I'll slide the non-Kingkiller Rothfuss book in next even though it is not on the list. Slow regard of silent things: here I come.And then I’ll follow that up with the Aslan quote: “I call all times soon.”
p247
"Eld Vintic poerty is thunderous. It pounds at you."
"Sought we the Scrivani word-work of Surthur
Long-lost in ledger all hope forgotten.
Yet fast-found for friendship fair the book-bringer
Hot comes the huntress Fela, flushed with finding
Breathless her breast her high blood rising
To ripen the red-cheek rouge-bloom of beauty.
"That sort of thing," Simmon said absently, his eyes still scanning the pages in front of him.
I saw Fela turn her head to look at Simmon, almost as if she were surprised to see him sitting there.
No, it was almost as if up to that point, he'd just been occupying space around her, like a piece of furniture. But this time when she looked at him, she took all of him in. His sandy hair, the line of his jaw, the span of his shoulders beneath his shirt. This time when she looked, she actually saw him.
p541
Most secrets are secrets of the mouth. Gossip shared and small small scandals whispered. The secrets long to be let loose upon the world. A secret of the mouth is like a stone in your boot. At first you're barely aware of it. Then it grows irritating, then intolerable. Secrets of the mouth grow larger the longer you keep them, swelling until they press against your lips. They fight to be let free.
Secrets of the heart are different. They are private and painful, and we want nothing more than to hide them from the world. They do not swell and press against the mouth. They live in the heart, and the longer they are kept, the heavier they become.
p549
It's like Tecam said, nothing in the world is harder than convincing someone of an unfamiliar truth.
p853
"Vashet," I said. " It occurs to me it would be nice to fight someone whose ability is somewhat closer to my own."
Vashet laughed, shaking her head. " That is like throwing two virgins into a bed. Enthusiasm, passion, and ignorance are not a good combination. Someone is likely to get hurt."
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