I
read the first of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicles trilogy, The Name of the Wind,
last year for my office book club and after one of the staff in the bookshop heartily
recommended it. You can read my review here,
I had a great time reading this book. As
soon as I finished it, I went looking for the second book in the trilogy, which
is the one being reviewed here.
The
first book follows the main character, Kvothe’s, tragic childhood, his struggle
to get into wizarding university and his constant battle against poverty and
his jealous enemies. This second book tells us the story of Kvothe as he learns
magic, gets into a lot of trouble and then sets out into the world seeking his
fortune. Along the way we get to know
Kvothe’s friends, fellow students, teachers and the girl he is in love with: Denna
The
story is told by Kvothe as he looks back on his life. He freely admits that
much of the legend that has grown around his life is a mixture of good luck, circumstance
and some embellishment from him. Alongside
bringing back some of the characters from the first book and introducing some
news one, the novel also further develops the fantasy world it is set in: the
geography, the various races and their customs and the politics of the
place.
There
are two additional stories that run throughout both novels. The first is Kvothe’s hunt for the Chandrian,
the mythical beings who slaughtered his parents in the first novel, both in his
travels and in his research. The second is the tension in the books present day.
As Kvothe tells his life’s story in the inn he now runs, people come and go with news of
political unrest, war and demon attacks – something people barely even believe in. You almost get the feeling that the three novels
in the trilogy will just about bring you up to date and then the real story –
the chaos that is looming, will really begin.
I
did enjoy Kvothe’s escapades, but after about half way, I started to struggle. At this point much of the book was about how
Kvothe got his strength and fighting skills and took quite some time telling
you about them.
I
also thought that whilst Kvothe’s character was likeable, he was a bit
ridiculous at times – a clever, but weedy teenager that had girls swooning over
him at every turn. I did like how often
he got into trouble and how sometimes he just didn’t care. Some have said that the female characters in
the book: Denna, his friends, his dangerous money-lender even, are a little one
dimensional, I think perhaps there is something in this.
The
Kingkiller chronicles have a very keen fan base, they really sing the books
praises and more than once I have heard them or read them saying that these are
the best books they have ever read. Much
as I enjoy fantasy, I wouldn’t go that far for these books. I would recommend people to try the first
book and only read the second if they really loved the first one enough. The third book has been long awaited and is yet to be released, once it is, I most likely will try it.
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