oxytocin reviewed The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (The Kingkiller Chronicle, #2)
Nice
5 stars
Pretty similar to the first book (but in a good way)
mp3 cd
Published April 8, 2014 by Brilliance Audio.
Preceded by: [The Name of the Wind][1]
In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of his family, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived...until Kvothe.
Now, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
([source][2])
[1]: openlibrary.org/works/OL9772092W/The_Name_of_the_Wind [2]: www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/books.asp
Pretty similar to the first book (but in a good way)
Content warning Very mild general description of the overall tone of the book
So this is the type of book I swore I would never read again - book two of ? in a series of ? and it's been a decade since this book was released, with no word on when book three will be out, and if that will actually finish the story. I can't fault the interesting way this story is told, and do want to see exactly where this story is going though, but I can't in good concience recommend this knowing you'll be left in the lurch. It also very suddenly got very horny at about the 50% mark, and pretty much stayed there for the next 500 pages.
Just like the first book, I loved this one a lot. The stories are not action-filled or otherwise immensely exciting but then also somehow are. It is so well written that I just could not put it down at times. Kvothe is brilliant and I’d love to meet him in real life. The whole universe is brilliant!
Now the hardest part: wait for the release of book 3.
Captivating story, fantastic exercise in world building.
Great sequel. If you liked The Name of the Wind, you will like this one.
On the negative side,
- things that were announced in the first book still haven't happened, and it can feel a little drawn out
- the last part in the series has been in the works for almost ten years, and nobody knows when, or if, it will be finished.
I do wish these had been published all together. As it is, I'll have to wait un indeterminate number of years until the 3rd volume and end of the story comes out.
Second book in the Kingkiller probably-trilogy (as yet unfinished). Points to this book as it wraps up well, not on a cliffhanger like the last one, although clearly the story is still unfinished. Not quite as good as the first, but covers a TON of ground; Kvothe continues at the university, takes a break to go work for rich-as-kings Maer Alveron, hunts down bandits stealing Alveron's tax collections, continues investigating the mysterious murderers of his parents, continues failing to do anything one way or another about Denna, befriends an Adem warrior and starts to learn their martial arts and language, meets Faenriel of the fae realms, and goodness, so much more I can't even summarize. It was all interesting but did seem as if it could have been a bit more concise... but, hard to judge how much of this detail will turn out to be needed until the third …
Second book in the Kingkiller probably-trilogy (as yet unfinished). Points to this book as it wraps up well, not on a cliffhanger like the last one, although clearly the story is still unfinished. Not quite as good as the first, but covers a TON of ground; Kvothe continues at the university, takes a break to go work for rich-as-kings Maer Alveron, hunts down bandits stealing Alveron's tax collections, continues investigating the mysterious murderers of his parents, continues failing to do anything one way or another about Denna, befriends an Adem warrior and starts to learn their martial arts and language, meets Faenriel of the fae realms, and goodness, so much more I can't even summarize. It was all interesting but did seem as if it could have been a bit more concise... but, hard to judge how much of this detail will turn out to be needed until the third book is done.
Kvothe remains very much a Mary-Sue character; ridiculously powerful and can't seem to do anything wrong for long. Still, he's a fairly charming narrator so I continue to mostly forgive him, despite the fact he can apparently do almost anything he puts his mind to and some things he doesn't. Third and final book will be the proof of whether all this wandering gets wrapped up neatly or whether it really was just wandering from an author who isn't sure how this all ends any more than we are!. Jury's still out on my part, but looking forward to finding out.
Amazing follow up to The Name of the Wind. Lovely world, intriguing characters, and a fantastic take on heroes, legends, and folklore. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED
A huge “meh”, specially the Felurian bit. And in this one Kvothe is depicted as kind of invincible, so... Not realistic and I'd even say it becomes annoying.
Damn
Twice as deep as the first book it was absorbed faster than parched ground after a rainstorm. Beautifully articulated as we continue the education, remediation, trials, and tribulations of young Kvothe.
The few sticking points I had were time and age related.
In this book Kvothe goes on a journey, there are 3 or so books bound in this one and I felt they just crammed so much into such a small space. The Fae & Admere could have been a novella on its own but they shrink his input into their country/world into a handful of chapters.
Kvothe also doesn't seem to show the growth I'd think came along with such intense training and visitations. At the end of it all, he seems much like he was, just with more coin in his pocket--and something feels odd about that. The world ages you and after all his travels, experience, …
Twice as deep as the first book it was absorbed faster than parched ground after a rainstorm. Beautifully articulated as we continue the education, remediation, trials, and tribulations of young Kvothe.
The few sticking points I had were time and age related.
In this book Kvothe goes on a journey, there are 3 or so books bound in this one and I felt they just crammed so much into such a small space. The Fae & Admere could have been a novella on its own but they shrink his input into their country/world into a handful of chapters.
Kvothe also doesn't seem to show the growth I'd think came along with such intense training and visitations. At the end of it all, he seems much like he was, just with more coin in his pocket--and something feels odd about that. The world ages you and after all his travels, experience, and female tropes he still comes out the other end more or less the same gawkiness. How was that possible?
That's me picking the stitching though and as usual with me, it's something that can be overlooked with a great treasure of story to go through. And there is a wealth of treasure to be had here.
As with all things the book nears its end and I still feel we haven't got to the crux of it all. Then my search shows that the next volume has been years in the making and still no sign of it's release. Well... That produces a mixture of emotion with me. Much to be told, much to learn, one book to fulfill Kvothe's journey.. It can happen as Rothfuss can cram quite a bit into small spaces. Maybe that's the issue, it needs to breath more. Enjoy the journey and not just the destinations like a pinball wizard.
With a lot to offer, many lands to travel, much story to be had--you should definitely sit yourself down with this and enjoy it. Try not to get hung on YA moments and all will be fine.
Ed Sheeran goes to Hogwarts.
i'll write a review after the third book has been published...well after I've read it.
4 1/4* I read some of the negative reviews, just to see. Jeez people, STFU! Sometimes a story is a story. Reading too much into something takes away from it. Unfortunately, we're living in a world where most people are trying to leech all the joy out of everything with ridiculousness.
This book is fun. I understand why some people call it a tad juvenile. It does away that way. It's not particularly "hard" fantasy. And that's okay. It's a great story that can keep the reader engaged and away from the real world for quite awhile. I'm not going to probe the details or nitpick it. I loved it. I look forward to the next. For the life of me though, I don't see why he would have pigeon-holed himself into a trilogy. I could see his going at least four or five books before it gets old. Maybe …
4 1/4* I read some of the negative reviews, just to see. Jeez people, STFU! Sometimes a story is a story. Reading too much into something takes away from it. Unfortunately, we're living in a world where most people are trying to leech all the joy out of everything with ridiculousness.
This book is fun. I understand why some people call it a tad juvenile. It does away that way. It's not particularly "hard" fantasy. And that's okay. It's a great story that can keep the reader engaged and away from the real world for quite awhile. I'm not going to probe the details or nitpick it. I loved it. I look forward to the next. For the life of me though, I don't see why he would have pigeon-holed himself into a trilogy. I could see his going at least four or five books before it gets old. Maybe more. Time will tell.
One of my favorite books in a long long time