The Slow Regard of Silent Things Book Review

by The Wanderer

Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Publisher: DAW
Genre: Epic Fantasy, Novella
Series: Kingkiller Chronicle Novella
Pages: 159

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It Was In Startling Disarray

(Contains minor spoilers from the Kingkiller Chronicles).

The Slow Regard of Silent Things was everything I wasn’t expecting.

Patrick Rothfuss’ new book focuses on Auri, which is one of the most enigmatic characters from The Kingkiller Chronicles. I was expecting to find some answers to some of the questions I had about this character, such as what was Auri’s name before Kvothe started calling her Auri, how did she end up living below the university, and how did she lose her mind?  None of these questions get answered, but that didn’t stop me from immensely enjoying this story.

The Wise Man's Fear Book Review

by The Wanderer

Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Publisher: DAW
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Series: Kingkiller Chronicle Book Two
Pages: 1,000

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(Spoilers for The Kingkiller Chronicles Day One: The Name of the Wind are below)

The Wise Man’s Fear is the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicles Trilogy by Patrick Rothfuss.  Taking over four years to complete after the release of the highly praised first novel; the wait appears to have been due to Rothfuss looking to perfect his story.  And perfect it he does, as the second day in the Kingkiller Chronicles lives up to the quality of Name of the Wind, the first novel in the trilogy.

With more magic and a faster pace than the previous novel, Kvothe’s story picks up a lot of momentum, especially in the second half of the novel.  Despite the increase of pace, the story never feels like its being rushed, and as this book finishes I’m left wondering how Patrick Rothfuss will be able to finish all of Kvothe’s story with just one more book?

Regardless, Rothfuss delivers a fantastic sequel that was worth the wait. Kvothe continues to grow as a character, and the world he lives in expands in an ever fascinating way.

The Name of the Wind Book Review

by The Wanderer

Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Publisher: DAW
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Series: Kingkiller Chronicle Book One
Pages: 722

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The Name of the Wind is the first book in a planned trilogy called the Kingkiller Chronicles by Patrick Rothfuss.  Using a story within a story format readers are introduced to the life story of Kvothe, an aspiring arcanist, a morally ambiguous hero?… and a legend of his time.

The Name of the Wind is one of the grittiest stories set in the fantasy genre.  This is the story of a great hero, or so we are being led to believe, but it really seems to be the story of how being a hero went wrong. The ambiguity of Kvothe’s (pronounced similarly to Quothe) character in the story is one of the many mysterious aspects that are underlying the plot of the Kingkiller Chronicles.

The detail and development of Kvothe’s character has made him one of the great characters of fantasy, and the way Rothfuss tells his story is also unique to the genre.  The Name of the Wind begins a fantasy series that when complete has the potential to be on the same level as A Song of Ice and Fire and Lord of the Rings.