Hi Guys,
Let me start this one off by saying, I busted my ass to finish this book! It was an e-book loan from my library and when I got it, I was already in the middle of another book. I figured no big deal, the loan is for 21 days–plenty of time. So 10 days out I picked up the book expecting 500 pages max and did the mental equivalent of a jaw drop when I saw that it was 1000 pages! But I did it! Is it nerdy that I felt super accomplished? Well I did. Yay me!
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss is book two of The Kingkiller Chronicle and day two of Kvothe’s tale. We pick up this self told narrative with more of Kvothe’s antics at The University. Ambrose is still a jerk, money is still an ever present issue and good intentions often go awry. On top of all this, Kvothe is still infatuated with the mysterious Denna, he must maintain his studies, and he is still desperate to find information on the Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents.
Soon Kvothe is forced to take a leave of absence from The University and he travels the land building his reputation as he goes. Saving kings, rescuing maidens, stopping bandits, training with legendary mercenaries and travelling to the fae realms… all in a days work for the great Kvothe.
In this tale we follow a legend in the making, told by the legend himself… A legend in hiding. A legend lost.
If your followers of mine, you may know that I wasn’t the biggest fan of The Name of the Wind. I enjoyed the world building and the characters but the story felt a little fractured to me. This was not the case with The Wise Man’s Fear. The story was much more cohesive, there were fewer interludes and Kvothe became ever so much more dynamic and playful. This was truly an entertaining read.
There were parts of this book I just loved. There was a sense a humor and wit injected into the story that lightened the darkness and sense of foreboding found throughout. As much as Kvothe has gone through, he is still a teen going through all the things teens deal with… you know in a “medieval” world of monsters and magic. At one point he is poisoned, loses all inhibition and sense of right and wrong and it is just hilarious.
The musical influence, the music as part of ones being also hit me more in this book. I was saying to the person who recommended the book to me that I would love to listen to the audio book to see how the musical elements were handled. The audio book could be great in this vein, if the opportunity were taken.
My only critic with this one was that it was seriously long. Each chapter in Kvothe’s life was written like it was it’s own book, each with the five stages of storytelling: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action and resolution. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing but it does make for an emotional roller coaster.
Overall, this was an entertaining read and I am glad I picked it up. It gets 4.5 stars from me. Okay Rothfuss, bring on book three… no really book three, don’t keep a new fan waiting.
That’s all for now!
-M-