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Title: The Wise Man's Fear
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Epic fantasy (book 2 of presumably 3)
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: Kvothe the Arcane continues to tell the story of his life, as he continues to win knowledge and make enemies.
Thoughts: Rothfuss' world continues to be enthralling and complex. Kvothe is a fascinating character who makes a lot of bad decisions, even if they are frequently for good reasons. He takes a few terms away from the university, which gives us a chance to see more of this very well-built world. The language continues to be beautiful, the world-building innovative within the tradition, and the supporting cast enjoyable.
That said, there's not really much of a plot here. This is very much an interstitial book, in which nothing of real import happens. There's not even a climax--at least the first book had Kvothe and Denna facing off against a dragon, even if that felt a bit tacked on. Overall, I feel like there's far less tension in general than in the first book.
I was really surprised at how long he stays at the university. I'd kind of figured that things would have sped up, he would have gotten kicked out, and then gone on to see the wider world. The fact that he's still a student at the end of this book makes me wonder how much Rothfuss is planning to cram in to the next one--Kvothe's still in no position to rescue princesses or start wars. He needs to gain significantly more prominence, fall to ruin, and still leave enough room for current day Kvothe to have some kind of resolution of his own.
Instead, this just feels like a rambling collection of short stories. One of them is, in fact--the closest thing that the book has to a climax was published I think last year as the short story "The Road to Levinshir". To have something I'd already read turn out to be the most suspenseful section of this book was rather disappointing. But it really emphasizes the modularity of the entire novel.
It's still incredibly readable and fascinating. But I'm disappointed. And because of the utter lack of any kind of resolution, I have the nagging sense in the back of my mind that I haven't actually finished reading the book. It's already returned to the library, but I still feel like I'm only halfway through. Irritating.
I'm still really looking forward to the next one. But I hope he gets a little more traction for that one.
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Genre: Epic fantasy (book 2 of presumably 3)
Thingummies: 4
Synopsis: Kvothe the Arcane continues to tell the story of his life, as he continues to win knowledge and make enemies.
Thoughts: Rothfuss' world continues to be enthralling and complex. Kvothe is a fascinating character who makes a lot of bad decisions, even if they are frequently for good reasons. He takes a few terms away from the university, which gives us a chance to see more of this very well-built world. The language continues to be beautiful, the world-building innovative within the tradition, and the supporting cast enjoyable.
That said, there's not really much of a plot here. This is very much an interstitial book, in which nothing of real import happens. There's not even a climax--at least the first book had Kvothe and Denna facing off against a dragon, even if that felt a bit tacked on. Overall, I feel like there's far less tension in general than in the first book.
I was really surprised at how long he stays at the university. I'd kind of figured that things would have sped up, he would have gotten kicked out, and then gone on to see the wider world. The fact that he's still a student at the end of this book makes me wonder how much Rothfuss is planning to cram in to the next one--Kvothe's still in no position to rescue princesses or start wars. He needs to gain significantly more prominence, fall to ruin, and still leave enough room for current day Kvothe to have some kind of resolution of his own.
Instead, this just feels like a rambling collection of short stories. One of them is, in fact--the closest thing that the book has to a climax was published I think last year as the short story "The Road to Levinshir". To have something I'd already read turn out to be the most suspenseful section of this book was rather disappointing. But it really emphasizes the modularity of the entire novel.
It's still incredibly readable and fascinating. But I'm disappointed. And because of the utter lack of any kind of resolution, I have the nagging sense in the back of my mind that I haven't actually finished reading the book. It's already returned to the library, but I still feel like I'm only halfway through. Irritating.
I'm still really looking forward to the next one. But I hope he gets a little more traction for that one.
