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unthank's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
pabbo's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
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
fairhairedwarrior's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Rape
cooldudenick's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
spatters21's review against another edition
adventurous
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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content
connora795's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The book was good, I liked that Kvothe got some character development he REALLY needed. I wish he didn’t spend so much time in the university or so much time simping over Denna
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence
mhshokuhi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
به طور کلی کتاب خوبی نبود. نه تنها نزدیک به میزانی که هایپ میشه نیست، حتی کتاب قابل توجهی هم نیست.
البته منظورم این نیست که کتاب بدیه، کتاب پر از وقایع باحال و جذابه و هر کدوم جداگانه چیزهای خوبیاند و مشخصه که نویسنده خیلی ایده جذاب داره اما نمیتونه انتخاب کنه و میخواد به همشون یکجا بپردازه و این باعث میشه کتاب به شدت طولانی، پر از وقایع نامهم و بالا و پایینهای نامنظم باشه. اگه کتاب به چند جلد مختلف تقسیم میشد (مثلاً یه رمان اصلی و یه سری کتاب جانبی) که هر کتاب فراز و فرود خودش رو داشته باشه واقعاً نتیجهاش به نظرم بهتر میشد. الان اینطوریه که با حال و هوای کتاب قبل شروع میکنی، یکهو اما بورینگ و پر از روابط درباری میشه، یکهو ماجراجویی و اکشن میشه، یکهو کووت آفتاب مهتاب ندیده خدای سکس میشه و بعدش میره فنون پیشرفته سکسفو (بر وزن کونگفو. توی یکی از نقدها دیدم، خیلی واژهسازی خوبی کرده بود برای این قسمت کتاب 🤣) رو از یه پری یاد میگیره اما به جای اینکه عقلش رو از دست بده (ملت از شدت عشق به فِلوریِن دیوانه میشن یا هرچی) یا بلایی سرش بیاد سر یه واقعه دیگه (که باید بیاد) در میره الکی الکی و بعدش یکهو نویسنده میپره پایین و باز بورینگ میشه و شروع به توصیف یه سری آدم میکنه که روی اعصابن و مثلاً میخوان یه ویچر-اسسین به نظر بیان اما در اون حد نیستن و جذابیت خاصی ندارن و و رسوماتشون مسخره است -_- حالا بعد اون باز کتاب یکم بهتر میشه اما کلا چیز تازهای برای عرضه نداره و تکراری هست همه چیزها و نمیتونم خودم رو راضی کنم بیشتر از ۲.۷۵ بهش بدم. در حد ۲ نیست اما ۳ هم زیادشه 😅
مشکلم البته با بالا و پایین شدن نیست، مشکلم با یکهویی بودن همه چیزه، کلا هی از این ماجرا میپره به اون ماجرا بدون transition درست و حسابی و حس میکنی داری ۵۰تا داستان کوتاه بیربط رو میخونی که ۴۸تاش ابدا مهم نیستن برای داستان اصلی که یادش رفته تعریف کنه نویسنده.
کتاب قبلی سیر پیشرفت خیلی بهتر داشت، هی موضوع جذاب میگذاشت جلوت و توی چند فصل آینده شرح میداد و همینطور تا آخر و مشکلات دیگهای که توی نقد اون کتاب گفتم رو کامل میپوشوند.
و وای، راتفوس چقدر از کلمه nonchalant و مشتقاتش استفاده میکنه، دیوانه شدم -_- نانشلانت و کوفت و زهر مار. یه سری عبارت و اینهای دیگه هم هستن که به شدت زیاد استفاده میشن و واقعاً روی اعصابم بودن. اصلاً نشونه خوبی توی نویسندگی نیست به نظرم اونم وقتی جملهبندیهات ابدا سنگین یا کهنه یا اپیک نیست 😬
البته تلاش کرده جملاتش آهنگین باشه یه سری جاها و بد هم نیست اما اونقدر هم مهم نیست. مثلاً مقایسه کنید با آهنگ جملات تالکین که شاید به راحتی(؟) این نباشه آهنگش مثلاً اما اونجا قشنگ انگار به نفر روی صندلی نشسته و یه کتاب بزرگ دستش هست و داره برات داستان میخونه، برخلاف اینجا که کووت مثلاً داره همین کار رو میکنه حدوداً.
واقعاً میخواستم که این مجموعه رو دوست داشته باشم و با کلی ذوق و شوق شروع کردم اما نشد :/ بهخصوص حدود یک سوم آخر جلد ۲ رو به زور جلو بردم. جلد سوم وقتی بیاد اگه جلد آخر باشه میخونمش که تمومش کرده باشم، اما اگه بخواد کشش بده بعیده سراغش برم 😬
البته منظورم این نیست که کتاب بدیه، کتاب پر از وقایع باحال و جذابه و هر کدوم جداگانه چیزهای خوبیاند و مشخصه که نویسنده خیلی ایده جذاب داره اما نمیتونه انتخاب کنه و میخواد به همشون یکجا بپردازه و این باعث میشه کتاب به شدت طولانی، پر از وقایع نامهم و بالا و پایینهای نامنظم باشه. اگه کتاب به چند جلد مختلف تقسیم میشد (مثلاً یه رمان اصلی و یه سری کتاب جانبی) که هر کتاب فراز و فرود خودش رو داشته باشه واقعاً نتیجهاش به نظرم بهتر میشد. الان اینطوریه که با حال و هوای کتاب قبل شروع میکنی، یکهو اما بورینگ و پر از روابط درباری میشه، یکهو ماجراجویی و اکشن میشه، یکهو کووت آفتاب مهتاب ندیده خدای سکس میشه و بعدش میره فنون پیشرفته سکسفو (بر وزن کونگفو. توی یکی از نقدها دیدم، خیلی واژهسازی خوبی کرده بود برای این قسمت کتاب 🤣) رو از یه پری یاد میگیره اما به جای اینکه عقلش رو از دست بده (ملت از شدت عشق به فِلوریِن دیوانه میشن یا هرچی) یا بلایی سرش بیاد سر یه واقعه دیگه (که باید بیاد) در میره الکی الکی و بعدش یکهو نویسنده میپره پایین و باز بورینگ میشه و شروع به توصیف یه سری آدم میکنه که روی اعصابن و مثلاً میخوان یه ویچر-اسسین به نظر بیان اما در اون حد نیستن و جذابیت خاصی ندارن و و رسوماتشون مسخره است -_- حالا بعد اون باز کتاب یکم بهتر میشه اما کلا چیز تازهای برای عرضه نداره و تکراری هست همه چیزها و نمیتونم خودم رو راضی کنم بیشتر از ۲.۷۵ بهش بدم. در حد ۲ نیست اما ۳ هم زیادشه 😅
مشکلم البته با بالا و پایین شدن نیست، مشکلم با یکهویی بودن همه چیزه، کلا هی از این ماجرا میپره به اون ماجرا بدون transition درست و حسابی و حس میکنی داری ۵۰تا داستان کوتاه بیربط رو میخونی که ۴۸تاش ابدا مهم نیستن برای داستان اصلی که یادش رفته تعریف کنه نویسنده.
کتاب قبلی سیر پیشرفت خیلی بهتر داشت، هی موضوع جذاب میگذاشت جلوت و توی چند فصل آینده شرح میداد و همینطور تا آخر و مشکلات دیگهای که توی نقد اون کتاب گفتم رو کامل میپوشوند.
و وای، راتفوس چقدر از کلمه nonchalant و مشتقاتش استفاده میکنه، دیوانه شدم -_- نانشلانت و کوفت و زهر مار. یه سری عبارت و اینهای دیگه هم هستن که به شدت زیاد استفاده میشن و واقعاً روی اعصابم بودن. اصلاً نشونه خوبی توی نویسندگی نیست به نظرم اونم وقتی جملهبندیهات ابدا سنگین یا کهنه یا اپیک نیست 😬
البته تلاش کرده جملاتش آهنگین باشه یه سری جاها و بد هم نیست اما اونقدر هم مهم نیست. مثلاً مقایسه کنید با آهنگ جملات تالکین که شاید به راحتی(؟) این نباشه آهنگش مثلاً اما اونجا قشنگ انگار به نفر روی صندلی نشسته و یه کتاب بزرگ دستش هست و داره برات داستان میخونه، برخلاف اینجا که کووت مثلاً داره همین کار رو میکنه حدوداً.
واقعاً میخواستم که این مجموعه رو دوست داشته باشم و با کلی ذوق و شوق شروع کردم اما نشد :/ بهخصوص حدود یک سوم آخر جلد ۲ رو به زور جلو بردم. جلد سوم وقتی بیاد اگه جلد آخر باشه میخونمش که تمومش کرده باشم، اما اگه بخواد کشش بده بعیده سراغش برم 😬
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic friendship
Minor: Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Kidnapping
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
popcorn27's review against another edition
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content