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Any Rothfuss Fans in the House?
Just finished The Wise Man's Fear, and I'm blown away by the massive amounts of world building interspersed by hella awkward sex scenes. Anyone else eagerly awaiting the next Kingkiller Chronicle addition?
I like Rothfuss' writing quite a bit! But I also kinda hate the Kingkiller Chronicles. It's just that it feels like an extended justification for an overpowered D&D bard.
Kvothe is just soooooooo good at everything, it's annoying. He's a textbook Mary Sue. I understand there's an element of unreliable narrator but the only difference that has made is that you can't be sure that he's really a Mary Sue or a complete liar and the story we've been reading this entire time is more inconsequential than you thought—and neither of those are good options. Also, he's often just a stupid asshole with a lot of luck.
I still have to find it in myself to not want to kick him in his stupid fictional teeth every time I read any of his insipid, stupid, ignorant positions on poetry like "Poetry is a song without music. A song without music is like a body without a soul." No, Kvothe, you're just a stupid, smug, lying piece of shit.
And then let's not get started on how the second book featured some seriously cringey God of Sex nonsense that reads like a neckbeard's ultimate fantasy, since it's in there for literally no other reason than we have to make Kvothe the very best at sexytimeverynice right? RIGHT?! CAN'T BE A PEFECT BEING UNLESS HE'S GREAT AT SEXING THE SEX TOO SO HERE IT IS FOR WAY TOO LONG.
ahem
Uh, so, I guess I don't really like Rothfuss' main books that much. I do like his other work though.
lol, this is exactly how I felt too. Honestly, I'm really hoping they finish his storytelling part (so end of third book, I guess) and then actually tell the story, where he's basically going to be obviously a lair. But even if that is the direction, I don't think we'll ever see it, given the existing pace.
Even if that is the case, though, I don't think it really makes reading through the first two books any easier.
The guy at the bar talking about the time he scored the big touchdown and nabbed the head cheerleader is also a liar, but it doesn't make him any less aggravating to listen to!
As an aside, I thought the first two books were well-written if not particularly ground-breaking. The series reads very quickly despite its length, and that's a credit to the writing. What's really held them back for me, however, has been the characters. Strong characterization is probably my highest priority in a book, and unfortunately I've found it to be the weakest part of the series. Typically Rothfuss gets criticized for how he writes women, but I don't think the men were much better.
Completely agree, especially in Wise Man's Fear. And honestly, I'm usually super character driven, so I'm not sure how I even managed to enjoy his books, but I did.
I've just started The Name of the Wind (20% complete by my Kindle's estimate) and this is probably why I'm going to put it down. It's really not working for me.
Yeah, Wise Man's Fear really didn't live up the the promise of Name of the Wind. Kvothe was always a bad Marty Stu, but it only became unbearable in the 2nd volume. Repeatedly proclaiming how incredibly good he was at sex got super old after about the first time. I'm looking forward to the last (?) Kingkiller book, but I'm seriously hoping that Rothfuss is using this insanely long delay to take some character development classes and hire an editor. I love the world he's built, but I'm only cautiously optimistic for the conclusion of the story.
I honestly really enjoyed The Name of the Wind. I was sorta done with fantasy for a bit before I read it, so it was nice. I really appreciate that Rothfuss is obviously a really clever man and so can write a really clever character. It was entertaining and his writing style is quite beautiful.
Have to be honest about The Wise Man's Fear though, I was bored. The lightening tree was cool, everything else was kinda blah for me.
I'm definitely still read his next book, whenever that is...
So full disclosure, I've given up on any reasonable hope that Pat will finish this one (and he just left twitter too, but I think that's pretty reasonable in context).
On the flip side, I still highly recommend you read the two books (and three novellas) that exist in the series. Rothfuss is a brilliant writer, and his prose reads quite poetically a lot of the time. The man is a wordsmith, and I feel like I've developed as a reader by having read his work. The story is great and at times very relatable, though the protagonist can be a bit of a wanker.
All told, they are some deeply satisfying novels to read - and if you have time to get through them, a quick reader can be done both in a week or two if they push.
And you will...I originally wasn't going to start it until it was done, but I did. And I should have known better!
To be fair, the first book is relatively complete. You're not really into the story, but it's also not a cliff hanger.
Edit to add: There's also speculation that this story will be 6-9 books, since each book so far is a single night of storytelling, so the third book should catch us up to the present. So yeah...this could be a super long wait. Still worth picking up the first one though.
Brandon Sanderson really does spoil his fans with the breakneck pace he writes at. As a longtime fan of the Cosmere, I really enjoyed the Kingkiller Chronicles despite the fact that the series isn't finished, simply due to the quality of Rothfuss' writing. If you really feel like you won't be able to get into the series because it's unlikely to be finished soon, I understand, but in my opinion it's still worth a read.
Honestly, I'm kinda hoping for a TV series, since I have serious doubts about the author finishing this. Still he's probably one of the most poetic author's I've read in a long time.
Sanderson's good too. I do appreciate that he really commits to a timeline. His magic and world building is pretty good, but I find his characters are generally a bit "too nice". He's always a feel good read though.