Upgrade your account to a Community Supporter account and remove most of the site ads.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="Dioltach" data-source="post: 5487668" data-attributes="member: 21843">I can't wait to get my hands on Wise Man's Fear. I read The Name of the Wind when it first came out, and thought it was the best fantasy I'd read in years, perhaps even the best I'd ever read. I tried to explain to friends what was so brilliant about it, but I couldn't. Then later I re-read it, and I was hooked again right from page 1, with the description of the "silence of three parts". A short descriptive passage to set the atmosphere, but it's a clear example of the evocative style that Patrick Rothfuss has mastered.About Kvothe and whether or not he's a Mary Sue: Yes, he's good at lots of things. He's a genius, that's pretty much his defining character trait. On the other hand, that's also the premise of the story, and a source of much of the conflict. OK, so he's not as socially awkward as Sheldon Cooper, but he's no master of charisma. He annoys people by thinking that he's better than them, and he admits to cheating being part of how his "legend" came about. Basically, he actually has to work to achieve things, which is something a Mary Sue never has to do.In some ways he's like Hornblower: also a genius with an air of mystery, but one that's consciously cultivated, and with clear limitations (mostly as to their physical abilities) and weaknesses (women ...). They both have to work hard to get where they are, and their situations are a source of constant worry.</blockquote>

Verification