This was originally posted by me at http://blackanddarknight.wordpress.com (no longer available) on June 20, 2013.
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Genre & Length: Fantasy, 662 pages
The Blurb:
My name is Kvothe.
I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with a Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.
You may have heard of me.
My Thoughts
Plot: This… is an interesting story. The plot line isn’t obvious in the first book, but by the end it’s starting to weave together and you begin to see what’s going to happen in the next two books (because yes, there are going to be at least three books in the Kingkiller Chronicle). There are really two simultaneous plots going on in this story: strange things happening in the village where Kvothe currently resides, and the story of his past as he recounts it to the Chronicler.
Pacing: This is a true epic fantasy. The pacing is THERE, but it’s certainly not what readers of commercial fiction or YA or romance are used to, especially if one has never touched an epic fantasy book before.
It’s not fast-paced. This is a massive story in a massive world, and there’s a lot of information that needs to be told. Rothfuss, to his credit, never makes it feel like an info-dump.
Writing Style: I can get lost in this book. As long as I have a dictionary nearby. Seriously, I only needed to look up a few words here or there, and it wasn’t that I didn’t know them, but rather that they’re used so little in our world now that I wanted to make sure I was remembering them correctly.
But this is fantasy through-and-through. The writing style sticks true to that, even if it isn’t quite as archaic as Lord of the Rings could be considered. It definitely carries the same tone.
Would I read this book again: Yes. It’s 600+ pages, and there’s so much I know I’ve inadvertently skimmed the first time through. There’s no way you can grasp the depth and intricacy of this book on a single read-through.
