The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.
So begins the tale of a hero told from his own point of view- a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man’s Fear, Day Two of The Kingkiller Chronicle, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.
by Mike
So! This one is a continuation of The Name Of The Wind (see prior blog review).
The protagonist is still telling his frame story of how his entire heroic chosen-one narrative went wrong, plunging the continent into war. The sub-genre of fantasy still remains Euro-inspired but expands very nicely into other European themed cultures as the protagonist’s path takes him to other kingdoms. Court drama ensues, broadening the magical academia into a more political and higher stakes. This second book in the still unfinished trilogy (beware, the author has gone dark two-three years ago, over a decade after this released) does feel a little more unevenly paced than its predecessor, but continues the profound prose and poetic quality throughout. The lore gets expanded and the past of the continent ominously explored, and where the fantasy tropes stay fairly grounded and subtle, there are full sequences here that propel the story straight into mythological tones.
As a martial artist I also enjoyed the significant portion of the book that takes place in a foreign culture entirely consisting of monk-like sword-masters. Even though this seemed a little off-key with the general vibe at first, I enjoyed the meandering of the “hero’s” journey. Again, whenever the pacing seems to lull a little, the masterful writing still safe-guards this series’ identity as proper high-end fantasy.
Ending even more openly than the first part, I must warn new readers of the wait that is still ongoing for the next part, The Doors Of Stone. But as I thoroughly believe in the kind of tortured perfectionist that the author seems to be, I am convinced that he will be compelled to finish it. However long it takes, the 99% still believes!
So regardless, I cannot overstate how beautifully these books are written and how much of a pay-off even just the immersion provides.
