Lately I have been reading a lot of the new authors I have been hearing hyped so much around the internet. I know I probably should not, as I am already in the middle of so many fantasy series (which are, in turn, in the middle of being written)...but I just couldn't resist anymore.
So I have loved the first books by Joe Abercrombie, Scott Lynch, Brian Ruckley, and Alan Campbell. I figured it was time to try
Name of the Wind, first book in a new trilogy by new writer Patrick Rothfuss.
Rothfuss can really put words together in a pleasing way. He has genuine talent. I really like the way magic works in his world - it makes a lot of intuitive sense. And the super villains of the piece, the demonic Chandrian, with their blue flames, have a lot of potential as uber foes.
On the other hand, I also have more issues with this book than in the others I mentioned in the second paragraph.
The majority of this 600+ page novel is told in flashback. Not a whole lot happens considering the length of the book. There is a lot of repetition - he tells us over and over and over and over and over and over again about how poor his hero is, for example.
The framing story, set in a country inn in the "present" day is actually a lot more interesting to me than the flashback stories. There are hints of demons ravaging the countryside and warfare.
The flashback stories tell the life of the inn keeper, on up to about age 15 or so. Despite years being spent on the streets of a large city, orphaned and living hand to mouth ( in sequences that seem truly endless as you are reading them), once Kvothe manages to get to the university (complete with Snape and Malfoy clones) he somehow manages to nearly immediately become a master of both magic and music. Um. Yeah. This might, in fact, be the major issue I have with the book - the main character, unless he turns out to be an unreliable narrator, has true and awesome Gary Stu potential, being gifted and better than anyone else at everything he tries at a ridiculously young age.
Denna, the love interest, is equally annoying, though in a very different way.
And besides the endless repetition, the author goes on long tangent stories (like the whole drakkus/dragon story) that add nothing to the main plot and nothing to the growth or development of the characters.
Nevertheless, Rothfuss can put words together in a very pleasing fashion, and I will read the next book in the series when it comes out.
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