Early comments on The Name of the Wind

In the course of one week, I had five different people recommend The Name of the Wind to me.  Five!  In one week!  It was as if the fantasy literature gods were harassing me.

Well, after a long struggle to get the book, I now have it in my hands.

And…I’m only on page 18 and I already have to talk about this book.  Don’t believe me?

See?  Page 18.  I am ridiculous.

I have to talk about it because this book excites me.  And its weird because its not normally something I’d think I’d get excited about.  I like high fantasy, but I can get tired of it quickly.  The writing can be bombastic, the characters clichéd, the language intricate.

This is like none of the above.

This is a book that explores the humanity of a legend. At its very depths it explores a person, what it is like to live, and more importantly what it is like to live with the life you have lived.  Which is something everyone can connect to and is something we are fascinated with at a very deep level.  This idea of exploring a life and it’s journey is very clear by the last line of the first chapter: It was the patient cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.

So, being a sucker for that kind of depth, I’m totally entranced.

And then it gets worse because the writing style is wonderful!  While its not lyrical, it has lovely descriptions that just fit perfectly with the tone.  It’s not stilted nor over the top.  The best way I can describe it is comforting.  It’s absolutely comforting and easy to read.  It feels, instead of reading I feel as if I’m being read to.  It’s just this strangely gentle, comforting string of words that just makes me happy.  Honestly, I think it’s the writing style for me that makes the story.

Another fascinating thing is that this is a book full of tropes, plot points and characters I’ve seen before, but the author clearly embraces those, and teases out the strengths of them while leaving the weaknesses behind.  He recognizes what makes certain things fascinating. And he makes things fascinating.

That jerk.

I’m such a sucker for the fascinating, the strange, and the interesting.  And he sprinkles them in the book like sugar.   Like that chest sealed with a lock that could not be seen.

*swoons*

Kote, or Reshi, or Kvothe, of the many names, with his calm, haunted presence, both embracing and avoiding who he is.  He is just interesting and mysterious enough to avoid being irritating.

And then he has these things I love anyways, like stories, legends, chroniclers. 

It’s a biography of a high fantasy hero.  It’s refreshing and lovely in its difference. 

And as of page 18 I am a fan.

Also...I have to note that this is Mr. Rothfuss's first book.  And it is really awesome.

You, sir, are a jerkface.