Wise Man's Fear

innerdude · Mar 4, 2011

I'm surprised no one on this thread has mentioned that Book 2 in the Kingkiller Chronicles was released on March 1.

I'm 400 pages into Wise Man's Fear, the sequel to Patrick Rothfuss's 2007 debut novel The Name of the Wind.

And it's amazing.

Both books are amazing, but Wise Man's Fear is even better than the first book.

Anyone else out there a member of the cult of Kvothe?

IMHO, The Name of the Wind is the best fantasy novel to be written in the last 15 years, hands down, no questions asked, and is now just a very, very small rung below Lord of the Rings in the all-time fantasy novel pantheon.

Crothian · Mar 4, 2011

I read Name of the Wind a few years back and loved it. I have a copy of Wise Man's Fear and will be reading is soon.

Aldern Foxglove · Mar 5, 2011

Got it and devoured it in two days, and will undoubtedly read it again soon at a more leisurely pace. Superb. Better than the first, which was in itself excellent, I find Rothfuss's writing immersive, emotive, and subtle. A must read, cannot wait for the next...

catsclaw227 · Mar 5, 2011

Aldern Foxglove said:
I find Rothfuss's writing immersive, emotive, and subtle. A must read, cannot wait for the next...

Wow, really?

When I read the first book, I felt like someone had stolen part of my life. A perfect, over-the-top Mary Sue character, dialogue that felt like it was written by a 9th grader, and mind-numbing exposition and "storytelling".

Dude cannot grasp the idea "Show, don't tell."

Personally, it was the worst book I had read in about 15 years.

Aldern Foxglove · Mar 5, 2011

To an extent I can see what you mean, but Rothfuss himself says that he is intentionally trying to subvert many genre traditions. Something I feel he does with great success, Kvothe regularly gets his butt kicked and is often an idiot when it comes to relationships, he also frequently acts the ass.

But seriously if one of the most highly acclaimed authors of the last few years has produced the worst book you have read in fifteen years I would love to see your reading list.

I have seen a few people in discussion who have not enjoyed Wise Man's Fear, but generally the reception seems to have been hugely positive.

catsclaw227 · Mar 5, 2011

Aldern Foxglove said:
But seriously if one of the most highly acclaimed authors of the last few years has produced the worst book you have read in fifteen years I would love to see your reading list.

I have seen a few people in discussion who have not enjoyed Wise Man's Fear, but generally the reception seems to have been hugely positive.

I only read Name of the Wind, and I bought it because it was SO well reviewed. Even skimming Amazon reviews, there are some amazing things said about the book.

Last night after I posted, I went on amazon and more thoroughly read some of the positive and negative reviews. I rarely read 1 or 2 star reviews because I usually disagree with them, but when I read a few of this book's 1-star reviews, my opinions were fairly closely mirrored.

It's amazing how different people's tastes are.

As for my reading list, unfortunately most of the past 10-15 years have been technical reading. Dry stuff, but being a software developer, there's always something new to learn and study because of the rate of growth and change.

As for my "fun" reading list? In the past few years I have read:

John C. Wright's The Golden Age (just finished, now on to the next in the series)
Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series, loved them all thoroughly except for A Feast for Crows
Max Brooks - World War Z
Gene Wolfe's Book of the New Sun series
John C Wright's Chronicle's of Chaos series. Not bad, though not as thought provoking as The Golden Age was.
Yan Martel's Life of Pi
Foucault's Pendulum by Umberto Eco

Of course, there have been a lot of gaming books as well.

Aldern Foxglove · Mar 5, 2011

Oddly enough I can see how someone would dislike the books, despite loving them myself. Several reviewers lead with if you loved TNoTW you will love this, so maybe it is a Marmite book (you either love it or hate it).

I admit to finding the silence of three parts stuff intensely annoying and pretentious the first time I read it, lol. Tastes differ I suppose, and of course there is nothing wrong with that - I enjoy a lot of the books on your list especially ASoIaF.

Krug · Mar 6, 2011

On my to read list.. I enjoyed the first one, though not sure if I would say it's one of the best I've read.

Ebon Shar · Mar 7, 2011

It's been a while since I read the first book, but I remember thinking that the plot lost momentum when Kvothe became obsessed with the woman, whatever her name was. Like many other male authors (Eddings and Jordan, I'm looking at you), this author simply cannot write a believable female character and realistic relationships.

Oh, and Kvothe was good at everything? I hate characters like that.

Crothian · Mar 7, 2011

Ebon Shar said:
Oh, and Kvothe was good at everything? I hate characters like that.

A character that is good at everything is annoying, but luckily he was not good at everything. He failed more then a few times in the book, but he did usually succeed in the end.

Wise Man's Fear

innerdude

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Crothian

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catsclaw227

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Aldern Foxglove

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catsclaw227

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Aldern Foxglove

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Krug

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Ebon Shar

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Crothian

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