Patrick Rothfuss-The Name Of The Wind-Book one of The King Killer Chronicles

[biodroid]

The crits compare it to Harry Potter, is that accurate?

 

[GOLLUM]

The crits compare it to Harry Potter, is that accurate?

UM...there are some general parallels in the storyline but Rothfuss is far more talented and frankly interesting writer than Rowling is ever likely to be IMO. You may gather from this comment that I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, albeit I've only now read the first few books in the Potter series. I did see the films to date, which were quite good but hardly revelatory or particularly original.

 

[Lord Soth]

I really enjoyed it, and although I read it some time ago I seem to remember that it seems to be falling into the trap of making the main hero to be brilliant at everything he does... not only is he (going to be) a powerful magician but also a brilliant fighter etc...

I think if i re-read it now i'd find it more annoying and less impressive than the first time round.

 

[Quick Ben]

The crits compare it to Harry Potter, is that accurate?

The main characters are both orphans and attend a special school.

That's about it.

 

[Moggle]

The crits compare it to Harry Potter, is that accurate?

I would say so. I would say they both have very similiar feel to them on top of the basic plot similiarities. The backstory was the best thing about the book. I have no idea why anyone found the present day stuff interesting in the least bit, especially when Rothfuss barely even touches on it.

I really enjoyed it, and although I read it some time ago I seem to remember that it seems to be falling into the trap of making the main hero to be brilliant at everything he does... not only is he (going to be) a powerful magician but also a brilliant fighter etc...

I think if i re-read it now i'd find it more annoying and less impressive than the first time round.

Shhhh..... Qvothe being the biggest Gary Stu on the planet is supposed to be a secret among his fans. However feel free to label characters from other books you don't like with that if you want.

 

[LaMattie]

The second book, WIse Man's Fear, is said to be out on March 1st, 2011.

 

[digs]

I agree. Honestly, I found the modern events far more intriguing than his back story... which to me often seemed like harry potter moved to an american college and with classic american fratboy arrogance replacing harry's charming humility. It was entertaining mainly in the way it reminded me of good times drinking and chasing girls and causing trouble at uni... but fell far short of the truly ominous and compelling vibe of what was going on outside the inn.

Yes! You've perfectly captured the way I felt about it. I enjoyed the book a lot, but it wasn't the incredible debut I was expecting from reviews and word of mouth. I agree with Lord Soth - Kvothe is too good at everything; he just doesn't seem very realistically drawn or relatable to me. I didn't find him particularly likeable either.

Having said all that, I will definitely read the second one and probably reread the first before I do so.

 

[Clansman]

I would say so. I would say they both have very similiar feel to them on top of the basic plot similiarities. The backstory was the best thing about the book. I have no idea why anyone found the present day stuff interesting in the least bit, especially when Rothfuss barely even touches on it.



Shhhh..... Qvothe being the biggest Gary Stu on the planet is supposed to be a secret among his fans. However feel free to label characters from other books you don't like with that if you want.

That's why Rothfuss has taken so long on his multiple re-writes of the second volume. Turning Qvothe from the best musician/magician/fighter/scholar on the planet into someone believable has taken a considerable amount of effort.

 

[Lord Soth]

Well thats very promising to hear, is there a date for the second yet? I'll probably re-read the first prior to that, just to get back up to speed...

 

[soulsinging]

UM...there are some general parallels in the storyline but Rothfuss is far more talented and frankly interesting writer than Rowling is ever likely to be IMO. You may gather from this comment that I'm not a huge Harry Potter fan, albeit I've only now read the first few books in the Potter series. I did see the films to date, which were quite good but hardly revelatory or particularly original.

You should give Potter a shot, the books are infinitely superior to the movies. I also think the first 2 HP books are not all that good, the series really only picks up steam in book 3 and from then on it rivals some of the best fantasy I've read. I would take it over Name of the Wind any day... every character feels lived in, whereas I felt like every character in NotW was just a cookie cutter foil to show how brilliant Qvothe is. I may give book two a chance though, if what they say about Rothfuss bringing him down a notch or two is true. He's one heckuva writer and despite my dislike for the main character, I flew through the book pretty quick.

 

[Hilarious Joke]

I love Name of the Wind. I love Kvothe. I love the backstory. I love the present day bits.

I also love Harry Potter - every one of the books.

Love, love, love!

Finally, in answer to this:

Plus, no more lute playing with missing strings. I play guitar, and one broken string is enough to totally screw you. Two broken strings, forget it. Your hands have to move too far to make it work.

I just watched this on Rothfuss' blog:

YouTube - Improvisation - Guitar with 3 strings.MP4

One of the most brilliant things I've seen this year. Guess what?

I LOVE it.

 

[Tansy]

I wouldn't compare him with Harry Potter in any way, he just attended magic school, you could compare it to Jim Butcher's Codex Alera if that was the case as at some point the kid goes to school to learn magic , but to me Harry bloody P is so teenager focused (and her writing is a bit crap) and the others aren't, not slept yet and its 5am so not making much sense

 

[GOLLUM]

You should give Potter a shot, the books are infinitely superior to the movies. I also think the first 2 HP books are not all that good, the series really only picks up steam in book 3 and from then on it rivals some of the best fantasy I've read. I would take it over Name of the Wind any day... every character feels lived in, whereas I felt like every character in NotW was just a cookie cutter foil to show how brilliant Qvothe is. I may give book two a chance though, if what they say about Rothfuss bringing him down a notch or two is true. He's one heckuva writer and despite my dislike for the main character, I flew through the book pretty quick.

Unfortunately I can't quite agree with you on this one. Of course I've only read up to Book 3, so I may try the next couple before passing final judgment as it were. I can say that the Harry Potter series as depicted by the films, whilst entertaining and having some intriguing ideas, is not overly original and not my idea of World Class authorship; bearing in mind you yourself may not have been making quite that claim w.r.t Rowling? Of course I'm comparing this series to both mainstream and non-mainstream Fantasy ala "World Literature" written by Nobel Laureates and the like and having also read in the field for over 25 years, both old and contemporary novels, that's the base from which I'm making my assessment of Rowling from. This is not to suggest that Rowling is not good at the particular style or approach she has taken, just not in the elite in an overall historical literary sense both within and outside of the mainstream Genre IMO.

Still, I'll consider reading the next couple of books in the series as you were obviously quite impressed by the books....and well who knows?... .

 

[Quick Ben]

Add another vote for HP from me, though I read it as a teenager and grew up with it - basically the audience it was targeted towards and that might have influenced my young impressionable mind

 

[The Procrastinator]

Just finished it. Enjoyed it very much. But I have to agree there is a bit of a Harry Potter feel there. Also, wanted to kick Kvothe - irritating boy. Having said that, am really looking forward to book 2.

 

[soulsinging]

Unfortunately I can't quite agree with you on this one. Of course I've only read up to Book 3, so I may try the next couple before passing final judgment as it were. I can say that the Harry Potter series as depicted by the films, whilst entertaining and having some intriguing ideas, is not overly original and not my idea of World Class authorship; bearing in mind you yourself may not have been making quite that claim w.r.t Rowling? Of course I'm comparing this series to both mainstream and non-mainstream Fantasy ala "World Literature" written by Nobel Laureates and the like and having also read in the field for over 25 years, both old and contemporary novels, that's the base from which I'm making my assessment of Rowling from. This is not to suggest that Rowling is not good at the particular style or approach she has taken, just not in the elite in an overall historical literary sense both within and outside of the mainstream Genre IMO.

Still, I'll consider reading the next couple of books in the series as you were obviously quite impressed by the books....and well who knows?... .

yeah, I'm not really the type to be impressed by world class authorship (eg. Michael Chabon writes incredible prose, but I don't find his novels all that interesting... ditto for NotW obviously). I'm more a reader for a good story. I'll admit, Rowling's not going to win any awards for great prose anytime soon, though the writing does improve a LOT after book 2, as does the plotting. For me, it was just a thrilling and engaging story, with lots of memorable and interesting characters. She builds suspense and mystery into her novels very well, and watching the characters grow up and have to face the reality of some of the cruelty in the world is very compelling. Things get considerably darker and more adult as the series goes on.

Originality is completely overrated imho. She may take the typical young hero motif from Star Wars, but the fact that she isn't doing anything new doesn't mean she's not doing it better than most other writers have (Rothfuss, for instance). I would much rather read a well told story than one that just does something new for the sake of newness. For instance, I was very underwhelmed by Sanderson's Elantris. I've considered reading Mistborn, but the only common praise I hear for it is that the magic system is unique... and that's just not enough to pique my interest. I'm a big detective novel fan, so I'm very plot and character driven. If something new and unique that is written well is more your speed, you may not be as impressed by HP as I was. I think HP is for this gen what Star Wars was to the one before. Maybe the ideas were pretty standard, but they were carried off so well that they transcended the fact that the ideas in them were really nothing new.

 

[GOLLUM]

yeah, I'm not really the type to be impressed by world class authorship (eg. Michael Chabon writes incredible prose, but I don't find his novels all that interesting... ditto for NotW obviously). I'm more a reader for a good story.

Originality is completely overrated imho. She may take the typical young hero motif from Star Wars, but the fact that she isn't doing anything new doesn't mean she's not doing it better than most other writers have (Rothfuss, for instance). I would much rather read a well told story than one that just does something new for the sake of newness.

No, I agree with you on that. What I'm referring to is when both the prose and the story itself are great, which isn't always the case as you point out. I also agree that the story must come first. If it's also brilliantly written then that's an added bonus. I'm therefore referring to stories that are both very well writtten but also have great storylines containing an element of the fantastic in them, by authors from predominantly non-English speaking cultures. People like Itlao Calvino, Umberto Eco, Nabokov, Ismail Kadare, Yusinari Kawabata, Jorge Louis Borges etc. is what I was driving at.

I do quite like authors that push the envelope but as you say, not just for the sake of it but more in the case where they manage to BOTH implement "cutting edge" or "expeirmental fiction" with a brilliantly engaging stroyline populated with intriguing characters. Not a common occurence but most of the authors whose work I collect thankfuly tend to fall into this category, hence my genuine enthusiam when it comes to talking about "World Literature".

Hopefully that provides a better insight into what I was driving at in my previous post.

 

[biodroid]

So, is it a slow boring read or is it fast paced high action adventure? I have the book and I am struggling a bit to get into it.

 

[soulsinging]

I'm therefore referring to stories that are both very well writtten but also have great storylines containing an element of the fantastic in them, by authors from predominantly non-English speaking cultures. People like Itlao Calvino, Umberto Eco, Nabokov, Ismail Kadare, Yusinari Kawabata, Jorge Louis Borges etc. is what I was driving at.

In that case, I doubt you're going to find much in modern fantasy that's up to par! I've only read Lolita by Nabakov from that list. Never even heard of the others outside Eco, who seems way too dense for me. I'm also leery of literature in translation... I feel like I'm guaranteed to lose something in translation. But then, Crime and Punishment is one of my favorite novels... go figure. Then again, I wouldn't really consider Eco or Nabakov to be "fantasy" in the sense we talk about it here w.r.t. books like GRRM, Name of the Wind, or Harry Potter. It sounds to me like you're more describing that nebulous gray area of magical realism (I think it's called) that people like Gabriel Garcia Marquez get labeled. I'd never put Rowling in the same breath as "the greats" (though I suspect she will be read for a long time into the future) per se, but I do think in terms of conventional fantasy as genre fiction, she's right at the top.

 

[soulsinging]

So, is it a slow boring read or is it fast paced high action adventure? I have the book and I am struggling a bit to get into it.

It's not fast-paced or high action really. The book does take a long time to build steam to be honest, but picks up as it goes along. That said, I'd hardly call it boring.