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fieldofhats's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
This book can be neatly divided into two very distinct books — the first third when he’s at the university, and the rest of it when he’s (mostly) not. The first book is an easy 5 stars, I LOVE the daily life of Kvothe in the university and I love reading about everything that goes on. Rothfuss, it seems, is really fantastic at writing magic schools and not much else. So this review will be split in two, and I’ll talk about the first third first.
The first arc of this book is set at the university and it doesn’t really further the plot, but it does give us more development and growth for Kvothe and the other cast of characters, and provides fun little stories that are infinitely entertaining (like when Ambrose poisoned Kvothe — truly one of the funniest bits I’ve seen in a fantasy novel). This whole novel could have been small details and further development of the university and the characters there and it would have been a million times better.I would have loved if this book closed out the university arc, with Kvothe getting expelled at the end — but alas, that is not the book we got.
One great thing about the first third is the development of side characters. Simmon and Devi get to shine, as well smaller characters like Fela and Masters Elodin and Kilvin. We see Simmon pushed to his limits when Kvothe is on the Plum Bob, and we witness how good of a person and friend he is with how much he’s willing to do for Kvothe. He’s also funny and a general joy to have on the page. In short, he’s the perfect best friend archetype. Devi doesn’t have “development”, but her story and motivations become clearer which I really enjoyed seeing. Elodin, Kilvin, and Fela don’t have arcs per-say, we just get to see more of them and witness how they interact with what’s going on, which is nice.
Willem and Denna are pleasant additions to the story, but they don’t quite grow or develop as much as the others. In fact, both characters are pretty flat and uninteresting, they’re just there to provide Kvothe with a best friend and a girlfriend, respectively. They don’t feel as alive as the other characters.
The rest of the book takes a gradual progression downward. I was prepared to not like the Vintas arc as much as the university arc, but I also didn’t think it would go on for more than half of the novel. The more we stayed in Severen, the more I hated it. When we got to the endlessly slow bandit hunt, I was irritated. I ended up not reading most of it, instead opting to read the cheeky chapter-by-chapter reviews of this book on the (now disbanded?) Doing in the Wizard blog. I read a couple of chapters here and there, but once the book became badly written fairy porn, I just stopped reading it altogether. I watched some reviews and got the spoiler gist of what happened, and then I skipped to when he goes back to the university and read that whole epilogue arc because that’s all I care about with this book.
The issues with the second half of the book go far beyond the fact that it’s boring, though — it’s sexist in about fifty different ways, it’s poorly written, and it’s just not very fun. For example, he almost calls Denna (Denna!) a whore — Felurian r*pes Kvothe and then he has a flashback of when some boys r*ped Kvothe in Tarbean (which is not something we saw in the first book) — after saving a group of women who were assaulted by men, Kvothe pulls the “not all men” card on them — and probably so much more than I can’t attest to because I didn’t read it.
Now, I understand narratively why he had to go to Vintas and have adventures, but that’s doesn’t change the fact that they were poorly written, unexciting adventures.
And then, when he goes back to the university, it’s still bad!For some reason everyone is over-the-moon about his return. I get that Simmon and his friends would be happy, but Elodin’s reaction seemed really weird. He didn’t leave the university in great terms with Elodin, so why is Kvothe suddenly his star student, especially when he hasn’t even learned to call the wind on command? He even gets private tutoring sessions from the chancellor, which is weird since the chancellor was such a non-character before this. He’s actually still a non-character; Rothfuss doesn’t go into any sort of detail about their tutoring.
The thing that really ground my gears the most was that Fela is/was in love with Kvothe. You know, Fela who Rothfuss set up to be in a relationship with Simmon at the beginning of the novel. That Fela. God, why does every woman in this book have to be either a whore or in love with Kvothe, or both?
The events that take place in the university epilogue section are also SO rushed. There were so many things that were glossed over that I think could have been really fun to see play out.Kvothe and Elodin getting stuck on the roof of the archives during a storm could have been really interesting (aside from the nudity bit), but we don’t get to really see it play out, Kvothe just tells us about it. He also calls the name of the wind THREE TIMES and we don’t get to see it??? And then Hemme becomes chancellor and he skips over it! Kvothe said that it doesn’t really affect his day-to-day life, but how?? It’s Hemme! Hemme hates him! It’s a fantastic setup for drama!
The gradual decline of writing in this novel is very clear. Comparing the prose, pacing, and character interactions from the first half of the book set in the university and the university epilogue at the end is like night and day, and it’s so sad and disappointing. My suggestion is to read this book up until he leaves the university, and then just stop altogether.
The first arc of this book is set at the university and it doesn’t really further the plot, but it does give us more development and growth for Kvothe and the other cast of characters, and provides fun little stories that are infinitely entertaining (like when Ambrose poisoned Kvothe — truly one of the funniest bits I’ve seen in a fantasy novel). This whole novel could have been small details and further development of the university and the characters there and it would have been a million times better.
One great thing about the first third is the development of side characters. Simmon and Devi get to shine, as well smaller characters like Fela and Masters Elodin and Kilvin. We see Simmon pushed to his limits when Kvothe is on the Plum Bob, and we witness how good of a person and friend he is with how much he’s willing to do for Kvothe. He’s also funny and a general joy to have on the page. In short, he’s the perfect best friend archetype. Devi doesn’t have “development”, but her story and motivations become clearer which I really enjoyed seeing. Elodin, Kilvin, and Fela don’t have arcs per-say, we just get to see more of them and witness how they interact with what’s going on, which is nice.
Willem and Denna are pleasant additions to the story, but they don’t quite grow or develop as much as the others. In fact, both characters are pretty flat and uninteresting, they’re just there to provide Kvothe with a best friend and a girlfriend, respectively. They don’t feel as alive as the other characters.
The rest of the book takes a gradual progression downward. I was prepared to not like the Vintas arc as much as the university arc, but I also didn’t think it would go on for more than half of the novel. The more we stayed in Severen, the more I hated it. When we got to the endlessly slow bandit hunt, I was irritated. I ended up not reading most of it, instead opting to read the cheeky chapter-by-chapter reviews of this book on the (now disbanded?) Doing in the Wizard blog. I read a couple of chapters here and there, but once the book became badly written fairy porn, I just stopped reading it altogether. I watched some reviews and got the spoiler gist of what happened, and then I skipped to when he goes back to the university and read that whole epilogue arc because that’s all I care about with this book.
The issues with the second half of the book go far beyond the fact that it’s boring, though — it’s sexist in about fifty different ways, it’s poorly written, and it’s just not very fun. For example, he almost calls Denna (Denna!) a whore — Felurian r*pes Kvothe and then he has a flashback of when some boys r*ped Kvothe in Tarbean (which is not something we saw in the first book) — after saving a group of women who were assaulted by men, Kvothe pulls the “not all men” card on them — and probably so much more than I can’t attest to because I didn’t read it.
Now, I understand narratively why he had to go to Vintas and have adventures, but that’s doesn’t change the fact that they were poorly written, unexciting adventures.
And then, when he goes back to the university, it’s still bad!
The thing that really ground my gears the most was that Fela is/was in love with Kvothe. You know, Fela who Rothfuss set up to be in a relationship with Simmon at the beginning of the novel. That Fela. God, why does every woman in this book have to be either a whore or in love with Kvothe, or both?
The events that take place in the university epilogue section are also SO rushed. There were so many things that were glossed over that I think could have been really fun to see play out.
The gradual decline of writing in this novel is very clear. Comparing the prose, pacing, and character interactions from the first half of the book set in the university and the university epilogue at the end is like night and day, and it’s so sad and disappointing. My suggestion is to read this book up until he leaves the university, and then just stop altogether.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
madmadmaddymad's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I really enjoyed this book!
My favorite sequence is the time Kvothe spent with Felurian. (What can you expect? I’m faerie trash.) I did not enjoy the Ademre sequence - even though the women are badasses, I still found it somehow misogynistic. Maybe it’s because of Kvothe, and how he tainted the time he spent there by talking about how it’s not proper for women to fight, women where he comes from do not fight, and bemoaning that he was paired to spar with a little girl. I just found that that part of the book really dragged, and even though we spent a lot of time there, I didn’t get close to any of the women, and I didn’t get the feeling that Kvothe really respected any of the women? I was waiting for it to be over, and him to go back to the Maer. Even though I didn’t care much for the court politics and the Maer, I still felt like there was more life in that part of the story than the piece in the Ademre.
But aside from that portion of the book… this was such a captivating and excellent story. I still love the parts with Bast, the Chronicler, and Kvothe-the-tavernkeep the most. It feels so fresh to read a fantasy story this way - to have the days laid out this way, and the story told from the hero’s perspective while a perfect stranger and truly good friend listen in.
Bast is obviously still my favorite
I love a scary faerie man
My favorite sequence is the time Kvothe spent with Felurian. (What can you expect? I’m faerie trash.) I did not enjoy the Ademre sequence - even though the women are badasses, I still found it somehow misogynistic. Maybe it’s because of Kvothe, and how he tainted the time he spent there by talking about how it’s not proper for women to fight, women where he comes from do not fight, and bemoaning that he was paired to spar with a little girl. I just found that that part of the book really dragged, and even though we spent a lot of time there, I didn’t get close to any of the women, and I didn’t get the feeling that Kvothe really respected any of the women? I was waiting for it to be over, and him to go back to the Maer. Even though I didn’t care much for the court politics and the Maer, I still felt like there was more life in that part of the story than the piece in the Ademre.
But aside from that portion of the book… this was such a captivating and excellent story. I still love the parts with Bast, the Chronicler, and Kvothe-the-tavernkeep the most. It feels so fresh to read a fantasy story this way - to have the days laid out this way, and the story told from the hero’s perspective while a perfect stranger and truly good friend listen in.
Bast is obviously still my favorite
I love a scary faerie man
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Violence, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Sexual content
persephonejae's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This series will always be on my top 10 favorites list. The first time I read it it was just a great, epic story of a young man trying to learn everything he can in order to revenge the death of his family. However, the more I read it, the more things I discover. Even a single word choice by the author can foreshadow an entire arc in the story. It's complex and glorious.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Classism
proza's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Blood, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and War
nerdkitten's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Medical content, Kidnapping, Murder, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Biphobia, Cursing, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Excrement, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and War
samhackett's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence
giulianalb99's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sin más. Esperaba que me gustara muchísimo este libro después de haberme leído el primero (El nombre del Viento) e incluso pensé que me iba a gustar más este, pero nada que ver. Sintiéndolo mucho y con toda la pena del mundo, me ha aburrido bastante y se me ha hecho interminable hasta tal punto que me he saltado páginas porque no veía el momento de que se terminara.
No puedo creer que de 1190 páginas que tiene el libro, más de la mitad sea PURO RELLENO porque hay millones de cosas que sobran, por eso me pregunto: ¿por qué es tan innecesariamente largo? 2 malditas semanas me ha llevado terminarme este libro que, de aquí a que salga el tercero (que seguramente me habré muerto y todo), lo tendré que volver a leer porque sé perfectamente que se me va a olvidar absolutamente todo. Tampoco entiendo muy bien qué pretende Rothfuss con el tercer tomo ¿Tendrá el doble de páginas? Porque este libro es TAN lento y todavía no sé casi nada de lo que de verdad importa: los putos Chandrian. Y no solo eso, es que el prota ha llamado al viento ¿cuánto? ¿dos veces? Que alguien me explique PARA QUÉ tanta palabrería para que pasen sólo un par de cosas interesantes.
En el primer libro me encantó Kvothe, pero en este simplemente me parece bastante arrogante y la mayoría de las veces se cree mejor que cualquier persona que le rodea. Hay algunos personajes nuevos que no están mal pero me faltan mujeres en la historia, y ni voy a decir nada sobre algunos comentarios misóginos repartidos por el libro porque sino mi lado feminista sale a la luz y mi reseña sería interminable.
Ni siquiera sé porqué le doy 3 estrellas, pero le doy el beneficio de la duda. Alomejor no era el momento adecuado para leer este libro y alomejor tenía unas expectativas bastante altas después del primero (y eso es culpa mía). No me desagrada para nada cómo escribe Rothfuss, pero no puedo no recalcar la cantidad de páginas innecesarias. Por supuesto que me leeré el tercero, pero ya me toca esperar a un futuro bastante lejano.
No puedo creer que de 1190 páginas que tiene el libro, más de la mitad sea PURO RELLENO porque hay millones de cosas que sobran, por eso me pregunto: ¿por qué es tan innecesariamente largo? 2 malditas semanas me ha llevado terminarme este libro que, de aquí a que salga el tercero (que seguramente me habré muerto y todo), lo tendré que volver a leer porque sé perfectamente que se me va a olvidar absolutamente todo. Tampoco entiendo muy bien qué pretende Rothfuss con el tercer tomo ¿Tendrá el doble de páginas? Porque este libro es TAN lento y todavía no sé casi nada de lo que de verdad importa: los putos Chandrian. Y no solo eso, es que el prota ha llamado al viento ¿cuánto? ¿dos veces? Que alguien me explique PARA QUÉ tanta palabrería para que pasen sólo un par de cosas interesantes.
En el primer libro me encantó Kvothe, pero en este simplemente me parece bastante arrogante y la mayoría de las veces se cree mejor que cualquier persona que le rodea. Hay algunos personajes nuevos que no están mal pero me faltan mujeres en la historia, y ni voy a decir nada sobre algunos comentarios misóginos repartidos por el libro porque sino mi lado feminista sale a la luz y mi reseña sería interminable.
Ni siquiera sé porqué le doy 3 estrellas, pero le doy el beneficio de la duda. Alomejor no era el momento adecuado para leer este libro y alomejor tenía unas expectativas bastante altas después del primero (y eso es culpa mía). No me desagrada para nada cómo escribe Rothfuss, pero no puedo no recalcar la cantidad de páginas innecesarias. Por supuesto que me leeré el tercero, pero ya me toca esperar a un futuro bastante lejano.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
akirma's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
amelia_d's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I'm quite disappointed to be honest, but my feelings about the book are very mixed so it's quite hard to give it a star rating that feels right.
The main positive for me is the incredible, detailed and original world building. I felt really engrossed in the world and loved learning more about how this world works.
For the most part I also found the story very compelling and intriguing, although it is quite scattered in a real-worldy kind of way which I'm aware some people didn't like.
Despite all that, the negatives for me almost made it unreadable at times. The main issue for me was that I found Kvothe thoroughly unlikeable, for most of the book he's constantly bragging about everything he does and how brilliant he is at everything he tries. I found this very grating. However it was almost unreadable due to the way Kvothe talks about women. I won't get into the details so this can remain spoiler free but at times I felt like I was reading a fanfic written by a 14 year old boy or an incel. I was cringing and sending pics to my friends/boyfriend of some paragraphs because I actually couldn't believe what I was reading. It felt very much like reading an incel's sexual fantasy who wishes that they could be Kvothe and I absolutely hated it. (also mild spoiler, there's a bit where Kvothe almost literally says "not all men" to a SA victim, seriously.)
So I am very torn. As I say, the story is compelling and intriguing and the world building is very impressive but at times the writing got so bad in terms of female characters in particular that I really don't know that I could bring nyself to read the 3rd book if it's ever completed.
The main positive for me is the incredible, detailed and original world building. I felt really engrossed in the world and loved learning more about how this world works.
For the most part I also found the story very compelling and intriguing, although it is quite scattered in a real-worldy kind of way which I'm aware some people didn't like.
Despite all that, the negatives for me almost made it unreadable at times. The main issue for me was that I found Kvothe thoroughly unlikeable, for most of the book he's constantly bragging about everything he does and how brilliant he is at everything he tries. I found this very grating. However it was almost unreadable due to the way Kvothe talks about women. I won't get into the details so this can remain spoiler free but at times I felt like I was reading a fanfic written by a 14 year old boy or an incel. I was cringing and sending pics to my friends/boyfriend of some paragraphs because I actually couldn't believe what I was reading. It felt very much like reading an incel's sexual fantasy who wishes that they could be Kvothe and I absolutely hated it. (also mild spoiler, there's a bit where Kvothe almost literally says "not all men" to a SA victim, seriously.)
So I am very torn. As I say, the story is compelling and intriguing and the world building is very impressive but at times the writing got so bad in terms of female characters in particular that I really don't know that I could bring nyself to read the 3rd book if it's ever completed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, and Kidnapping
Minor: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
tinyjude's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
1.25
I AM FREE.
I thought the book was never going to end, even when I skipped some chapters because they were so fcking unnecessary. So, because I was dreadfully bored and I want to get this done quickly here it goes:
The first half is the same as the first book, same problems, same enemies, everything felt like the 1st book which doesn't help to further the plot. Then, he travels the world but it quickly becomes boring as the story drags and drags and drags on inconsequential events. And just when I was starting to tolerate Denna, it gets worse. No single woman character can be saved here oh my god. The sexism in the descriptions... I wanted to hit myself with the book (and mind you, it weights more than a fcking brick so I could probably end with my skull half-opened). They are disgustingly described and characterized by their beauty and sensual qualities, they all fall for him, try to be cold but melt under his touch and oh, the part with the fata woman. I thought it was satire. I didn't need to read about how much he fcks and how a virgin boy is so good in bed. Dude, I can't believe that and I don't care, go back to the important plot.
And none of the big questions are answered. Just more sub-plots are added and not resolved. The pacing is bad, many chapters were not needed, the female characters need a shit ton of development, he is still a pain in the ass knowing-all and annoying. Many information about how intelligent or dexterous he is, is repeated following the exact same grammatical structure, which made it even more irritating. I just wanted this torture to end. I am probably missing a lot of other complaints and criticisms but I just want to forget already about this book
I thought the book was never going to end, even when I skipped some chapters because they were so fcking unnecessary. So, because I was dreadfully bored and I want to get this done quickly here it goes:
The first half is the same as the first book, same problems, same enemies, everything felt like the 1st book which doesn't help to further the plot. Then, he travels the world but it quickly becomes boring as the story drags and drags and drags on inconsequential events. And just when I was starting to tolerate Denna, it gets worse. No single woman character can be saved here oh my god. The sexism in the descriptions... I wanted to hit myself with the book (and mind you, it weights more than a fcking brick so I could probably end with my skull half-opened). They are disgustingly described and characterized by their beauty and sensual qualities, they all fall for him, try to be cold but melt under his touch and oh, the part with the fata woman. I thought it was satire. I didn't need to read about how much he fcks and how a virgin boy is so good in bed. Dude, I can't believe that and I don't care, go back to the important plot.
And none of the big questions are answered. Just more sub-plots are added and not resolved. The pacing is bad, many chapters were not needed, the female characters need a shit ton of development, he is still a pain in the ass knowing-all and annoying. Many information about how intelligent or dexterous he is, is repeated following the exact same grammatical structure, which made it even more irritating. I just wanted this torture to end. I am probably missing a lot of other complaints and criticisms but I just want to forget already about this book
Content Warnings
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Stalking, Alcohol, and Classism