I thought this was a brilliant, beautiful little book, but I can see how many readers would be infuriated with it. It is nothing like Rothfuss’ other more traditionally-plotted fantasy books, and there’s an introduction where he says in so many words that it’s a vignette, nearly plotless, with only one very strange character, and little conflict. In many ways it’s almost experimental fiction. If you like that kind of thing this is the kind of thing you will like. I found it completely captivating.

To be clear it can’t really be read as a stand-alone book — it relies on plot and characterization from the Kingkiller series. But by the same token if you read and loved that series (so far) you also don’t have to read this book at all; there’s nothing here that changes Kvothe’s story in the main series.