Not incredible or beautifully written, but I still couldn't put it down. ( )

Yer a wizard now, Kvothe. ( )

This was a great book almost solely because of the writing. The magic system was interesting, but not as detailed as Mistborn, and there were fewer main characters (it was far more of a first person story, since it is written in the form of Kvothe telling his life story). In spite of this, the book remains gripping throughout, only faltering a little when he stays in Tarbean and at the end. My final concern was Kvothe's constant struggle with bankruptcy despite the fact that he earns (and spends) lots of money every time he plays music in bars. He just seems to have no idea how to manage himself in that respect, which doesn't jive with the rest of his image. A great book overall (I have trouble describing it's strong points, but I enjoyed everything about the book except what I explicitly mentioned above) and I'm definitely looking forward to the next book in the series.

EDIT - Reread on May 3, 2012

On this reread, I realized that the money issue was nowhere near as big of a deal as it had been the first time I'd read through it. I'm surprised I even mentioned it, honestly. Overall the book was great. Now that I read the section with the Dracchus more closely, it made a bit more sense (though it was still kind of random with respect to the rest of the narrative). I'm very much looking forward to rereading the second book, since I've already forgotten what happens and I remember it being pretty sweet. More importantly though, I'm excited for the third book, whenever that comes out, since I think the conclusion of this series could very easily be the best. I'm almost hoping the 3rd book isn't the last... ( )

This is apparently the first of a trilogy of heroic fantasy books set in the world of Temerant, but as yet the third installment has not been written, so if you do begin this series, be aware it may not end. This is American author Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel and it has won many awards.

The story begins with a scene in a village inn where a scrael (spider monster) arrives and is dealt with by the innkeeper. The innkeeper Kvothe, it turns out, is hiding out in the village since slaying a king. He ends up recounting his life story to the Chronicler, which will take three days. Book one equates to day one of this story-telling.

Kvothe tells the tale of his childhood in a musical troupe, until his parents were killed by the Chandrian and he is left orphaned and must find a way to survive. Eventually Kvothe ends up in Imre and manages to get into University to study magic (Sympathy) and alchemy. Kvothe battles constantly with his pressing poverty and also pressure from enemies he develops along the way. He falls in love with Denna, and the two face fire and a dragon together.

This is an enjoyable read, with elements of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The audio-narration by Rupert Degas is exceptional. The style of the story as a recount or memoir did make me wonder if it was going anywhere, and it finishes nowhere specific. I also struggled a little with the boy genius character, as Kvothe is very much a male Mary Sue. He feels like he would be every geek’s self-projected dream of themselves. In terms of the female characterisation in the book it is disappointing. The women are only really there to lend support to Kvothe’s story. If it were condensed into the size of a film I doubt it would pass the Bechdel test. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read. I don’t think I will read book two though as book three is seemingly a non-starter. 3.5 stars for me. ( )

I read this for the "A Book Picked Out By Someone Else" part of my 2019 reading challenge. It was different than I expected it to be, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to hearing more about Kvothe's life. ( )