The Name of the Wind

Written by Patrick Rothfuss

Narrated by Rupert Degas

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the university at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.

So begins the tale of Kvothe—currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeeper—from his childhood in a troupe of travelling players, through his years spent as a near feral orphan in a crime riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic.

In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

Read by Rupert Degas.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hachette UK Audio
• Release date: Mar 6, 2012
• ISBN: 9781409109549

Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss was born in Wisconsin where long winters and lack of cable television brought about a love of reading and writing. His mother read to him as a child, and his father taught him to build things. If you are looking for the roots of his storytelling, look there. He still lives in central Wisconsin, still lacks cable television, teaches at the college he grew to love as a student and the long winters force him to stay inside and write.

Reviews for The Name of the Wind

[wanderlustlover_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Fall 2021 (November);
~ Sarah's Book Club

Where do I even start? How?

Perhaps, the best way is going into this saying I knew already all about the facts of how I would fall in love with it and be heartbroken/frustrated like everyone else in that book three would never come out. That both Rothfuss & Martin both published the last released books of their spanning fantasy series in 2011, putting both of them at a decade without a new piece. My eyes were open and I was aware, but then I started in, and it was worth it. Which I knew it likely would be, given how many book readers/reviews of my friends loved it.

The storytelling, inside and outside of the frame, is really well done, and the way the book lets the story introduce you to all the world-building really is amazing. Aside from the many hints layered in the outer frame from the beginning, the readers meet the world the way our main character does, face forward toward the world, as he's experiencing it and learning from it himself. The writing itself is gorgeous, a master class even in being an unreliable pov (due to its being told by a character in the book about events no one around can back up as true or false).

Things that made me intensely happy -- The focus on music. The friends at his school. The school itself, and how it's set up. The masters, especially Kilvin & Elodin. The atmospheric detail of every local. The entire last cliffhanger scene of a million little hints. The mystery of our immortal characters who ghost in and out, causing havoc. Everything to do with Bast.

[tuusannuuska-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

4,6 stars

high fantasy is not my usual cup of tea, but there's no denying how well written this book is. now i'm just cautious about moving on to the next book, because the third one is nowhere to be seen.

[chris.wolak · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

It took me a while to get into this book but since I'm the one who suggested it to the book group, I had to stick with it. Somewhere around page 200 I started getting into it and the pages flew by, but then shortly after page 500 it lost some luster for me. I'm not much of a fantasy reader so I don't have much to compare this one to, but as far as characters and action go I felt like this novel never really reached its potential.

[mjwebb-1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I had to read this book twice because I didn't take the time to enjoy it thoroughly first time around. That was my fault as I rushed it. This is a book that you need to take your time over, drink in every sumptuous paragraph and enjoy the author's slow unwinding of the tale. It really is beautifully written and I never appreciated that until I decided to give it a second go because of the extraordinarily good reviews on this site. Big learning curve for me and a big thumb's up for Mr Rothfus. :-)

[benkaboo-51322 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

What I liked about this book:

Character development: I liked the way he develops both his primary and secondary characters. They don't just say things that advance the plot, they are play their parts well. I remember stopping several times to enjoy the interaction with relatively minor characters.

Humor: It's a reasonably witty novel, I found myself chuckling both at the banter between the characters and also at some of the soliloquy observations of the main POV characters.

Page turner: While I was reading this book several friends and associates noticed me not wanting to put the book down (when I got home, when I got to work ... I figure that's a good thing).

What I thought could have been improved:

A couple of times in the book the author mentions relatively modern concepts such as 'germs' which feel like they're out of place in the medieval setting (even with the existence of magic). I didn't spot anything that would really explain these discrepancies and found them slightly jarring.

[marklacy-355086 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Very well written. Wish I could do [as a writer] with characterization what this guy can do.

[theriq-4267 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

High quality engaging fantasy. Just the right mix of old tropes and new directions to offer a sense of wonder rather than a sense that it's been done.

[jennybeast · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

How is this not on my goodreads? I read it years ago. Epic in a great way -- that is to say, epic storytelling. The sheer scale of story is here sometimes overwhelming, to the point where an 600 page book seems like a thankfully manageable little bite of a book. Not, of course, that I was prepared for it to end. I mourned that it had to end, even as a to-be-continued sort of thing.

[ragwaine · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

Well that was painful. Why didn't anyone tell me this was Harry Potter, just a little darker, and with 90% of the magic and character interaction removed?I had high hopes for this from all the hype, and there's no doubt that Rothfuss is an extremely talented writer, but my advice would be for him to just right normal fiction, it seems to be where he shines.This really should be labeled as "young adult". You've got 1 main character, he starts off about 9 years old and 600 pages later he's around 15. Of course he has interaction with other characters, but all of them are very minor. Being in my early 50's, I'm really not interested in reading about teen romances, or kids growing up. I read those stories when I was a kid, and I could relate to them.Finally, the best way to get me to never read one of your books again is to give me 600 pages of background "story" with hints of amazing events that never come up until the next book.

[dairyqueen84 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This meaty fantasy has a likeable main character in Kvothe and vividly drawn supporting characters. Kvothe's life is filled with tragedy, heartache, romance, and adventure. Recommended by a student, I look forward to the next one.

[irishmac473 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

A delightful story about a young orphan boy named Harry Potter who discovers he's a wizard and goes to a school for wizards called Hogworts. There he meets his new friends Hermione and Ron. He also meets his arch nemesis Malfoy.... Oh wait wrong story. Same premise just the names have been changed. The only reason I'm thinking about reading the 2nd book is because the end of the book finally became intriguing. 2 stars for the first 85% of the book and 4 stars for the end.

[klarsenmd · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Could have been great, but just too long and not paced to keep my interest enough to read the next book

[venarain-354758 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Enjoyable. I was a little taken aback by the semi juvenile first couple chapters, but it matured and the story was always engaging.

[eosch1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

If you read the reviews, you will find those who rave about this “epic” fantasy and those who found it insipid man-centered ego-boosting juvenile dribble.I liked the writing and the dialogue ...so much so that I didn’t DNF. And although I would have liked more strong female characters, their dearth didn’t stop me from enjoying it for the most part.But there was something missing for me...it went on for far too long, Kvothe often got on my nerves, and the plot just didn’t advance fast enough for me! Which means I won’t be advancing to the next book in the series.

[cypher2048 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

New personal favorite. I'm really enjoying the story within a story structure. I'm on to the sequel!

[nosborm · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Simply amazing. This book was suggested to me by one friend and lent by another. I literally tore through this book, staying up in until the next morning reading. I can't wait to start the next book, though perhaps I should wait until after some crucial deadlines pass first. Masterful.

[jamestomasino · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

This wasn't a book. It was the introduction to the book. It was a hint at character development in a really tiny way with a bit of unrelated plot drizzled on top. I don't know if it's the author to blame or the publisher for slicing it this way. However you look at it, that's the main reason this got such low marks.

Still, I should say something about the writing itself. Mr. Rothfuss has a pretty good handle on his world and writes most of his characters with a careful and accurate brush. There's little danger in getting folks mixed up because of their dialogue or actions. It's less the mechanics of his writing that bothers me than the organization of it.

This book is written in the third person, but most chapters are first person retrospectives of the main character's life. It's a story being told, and as such the author gets some leeway in commenting on things with the benefit of that character's hindsight. It's a neat structure and I didn't mind it at all. It became distracting later on, though, when these interludes (not the whole-chapter breaks, just the short commentary ones) would creep in and kill the pacing of the story. It seemed to happen most when the main character would remember a specific woman, when once again (for the 300th time) words were not sufficient to describe something and he has to have a quick flashback within a flashback to make a poetic metaphor.

Most disconcerting to me was that by 60%, I no longer cared for the main characters. They annoyed me. My sympathy was lost and try as I might to find it again by the end, it just wasn't there.

I have the second book laying around here, but I have a strong suspicion that it won't see the top of my to-read list.

[emscape · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This was recommended to me by a friend who was reading it for her book club. I'd like to have known that it was a) part of a series b) part of an UNFINISHED series c) super long and kinda boring. I think I might have liked it better if I'd read it as a younger person, someone with more time left to read long-ass books and also to wait for the series to be finished and possibly have to re-read the long-ass book before being able to finish the series. So many cliffhangers, and also the "ending" leaves one wanting more. Female love-interest is her own person and mostly interested in her own survival and comfort, not starring as the "female love-interest" in someone else's fantasy tale. This is written in such a way that most readers would describe her as fickle and irritating. I don't know, I just wasn't impressed.

[jsabrina-219220 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

This is a book to get lost in for hours at a time. The story is complicated, deft, and beautifully written. The main character is fascinating: larger than life and achingly human at once. Rothfuss plays with the elements of traditional fantasy -- a legendary hero, demons, dragons, arcane knowledge -- and builds something new and compelling.

[n.w.moors-1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is Kvothe's story as told by Kvothe. This first book is dictated to the Chronicler and covers the first sixteen years of his life, so it alternates to the present time where Kvothe is an innkeeper telling the story and the events of his youth. Kvothe is a Ruh, a gypsy-like tribe, and he travels with his parents and their troupe of entertainers. Along the way, Abenthy or Ben, a traveling arcanist joins the group and becomes young Kvothe's mentor and teacher. The group is slaughtered by mysterious men known as the Chandrians, but Kvothe escapes. For the next few years, he wanders, struggling to keep himself alive until he's admitted to University based on the arcanist skills he learned from Ben. His University years are filled with study, work, adventures, danger, and first love.It took me a while to get through this book; it's very long and I didn't want to miss any details. It's a rich story, filled with multiple fascinating items on each page. I've already purchased the next book, intent on discovering where Kvothe's life goes next. The story does tend to wander a bit though I suspect there are reasons for this that will be revealed in the next book.

[ma_washigeri · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

Plus a bit of a star because he has definitely built up a world I am enjoying - and I'm going to give part 2 a go. However there are 2 big problems. Firstly the book doesn't stand on it's own - that's just lazy - you might get most out of a trilogy by reading each part in sequence but if the first part is not a proper finished narrative then you are short changing the reader. Secondly most of the book is told in the first person. The narrator is obviously pretty unreliable but it's hard to see how much the author is in love with his character and blind to his faults (as opposed to the surface flaws we are presented with), and how much it is intentional satire. The best bits of the book are the interludes in the 'present' where we see the protagonist through other eyes. Shame they are so few and so short - here's hoping the next book has more of them.

Just read the reviews on the second book and I advise myself to skip it and continue with the third book if it ever gets written.

[octoberdad · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Well, dangit, now I'm gonna have to read the next one.

[kapilgupta-779229 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Really liked it. After a slow start, I found the book engrossing and fun to read.

[aadyer · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The first book in a trilogy known as the King killer Chronicles. It involves the autobiography of a mysterious innkeeper in a relatively sparsely populated fantasy world. It’s has moments of great pace and vigour but certainly in the middle third there does seem to be some flabby passages that could do with editing. The setting is an interesting one and Not one you would normally associate with her tropes of fantasy. It has elements of romance, Harry Potter like magical schooling and even at times the feeling of a western. The book ends with more questions than answers and it will be interesting to see what happens in the rest of the trilogy.

[andy_dimartino · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

It has been a long time since a 700 page novel has been consumed in less than 3 days in my world so it tells me that this author has a lot of power in his writing. The only disappointment: I don't have book 2 here right now to start on.

[ravenwood1984 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Absolutely great in my opinion. A book that you wouldn't mind re-reading once you finished. Every character is alive, you love, laugh, hate, and fear with them.

[antao-3 · Rating: 1 out of 5 stars]

I don't know about entitlement, or social contract for books in general, or the demon of writer's block - but with Rothfuss and Kingkiller it was said to be a book in three parts and I think the author claimed to "know" the three parts or overall story. I think in this case it was fair to expect the books be published in a reasonable timescale. I used to recommend Kingkiller to fellow fantasy fans but not any more, I now just don't believe in the existence of a third book now or any time soon. How could I recommend that knowing it'd just annoy anyone new to it? Unfortunately it feels like the author, possibly like Martin, has been distracted by more interesting projects - here seeing their work brought to the screen. If the author can't be bothered why should I? Calling it a trilogy in any current advertising should be done under the trades descriptions act... The worst of it is that this has now put me of reading series of books until all the series has been published. I've actively avoided books because I don't want to be left hanging again. Which is the worst of all - effectively the Kingkiller books have narrowed my reading list!Simple solution is to read books from the vast selection of finished works. Ideally pick a deceased author and you'll sleep soundly knowing that they can't decide to write an appalling sequel and ruin your beloved series. Or read current fiction on the reasonable understanding that the author may be hit by bus and you'll never find out what happened! Or read Abercrombie’s “The Age of Madness” trilogy which is already finished (I’ve already got the first two volumes on hold in my TBR pile; as soon as the third volume comes out in September 2021 it’ll be blast off time for reading the 3 volumes in a row!)Rothfuss's obviously made enough money to be cool doing whatever takes his fancy as opposed to grafting for a living. Try looking at the productivity of people who self-publish via Amazon and Kindle: the likes of Chris Nuttall and so on. Mr. Rothfuss, he is very active on the Web, and even lectures about writing. This seems odd given his lack of.....writing.Bottom-line: Don' buy Rothfuss’s next Kingkiller book whan ut eventuallay comes out. That'll teach thjm to type fstser even if theyre nort touch typists, like I jsut did (yse, writing books is just typing, don't glorify it, like it's some secreat of the universe involvoing hard thinking, jsut type away raelly qucikly like a mothertucker until you reach the end,!( NB: I have decided to NEVER read the Kingkiller chronicles again! Not because of the wait, but because the lead character is an insufferable Mary Sue…Especially in the chapter where he discovers the sex faerie and every chapter after that. Ugh.

[kohrmanmj · Rating: 2 out of 5 stars]

The book itself was enjoyable to a point; I've read far worse. I was determined to slog through until the end because, well, it had moments of entertainment. Although I strongly disliked the way Rothfuss designs his characters (my BIGGEST complaint, and this is coming from someone who holds a warm place in their heart for Robert Jordan's Wheel of Time series), it wasn't ALL bad. Who knows? Maybe by the end I would like it enough to want to continue past this "history" of the "Kvothe! The World's Greatest Man!" into the "present" and read something interesting with dynamic characters.

Then I read the summary of the series...

This book wasn't 600 pages of the history of the "World's Greatest Man". It was 600 pages of over-detailed, unnecessary PARTIAL history of the "World's Greatest Man". The next TWO books (presumably greater than another 1,000 pages) ALSO detail his history.

Nope.


Part of the problem could be that I started this book with absurdly high expectations based on rave reviews from persons I trust. Most of the problem is the way that Rothfuss writes his characters. This book is 600 pages of a singular character saying "look how great I am! I can do EVERYTHING. I am a genius! I am an esteemed scholar! I can fight! I am a master thief! I play music so beautifully it makes people weep! I know the secrets of the universe! I AM A GOD!". Bleh. All of the other male characters are not worth mentioning. No. Really. They have no interesting abilities or flaws. Any interesting personality trait or ability has already been used on Kvothe. The female characters were even less compelling. Either Rothfuss doesn't actually know any women, or he holds the female gender in complete contempt (again, this is coming from a Robert Jordan fan). Apparently the entire purpose of a woman, according to this series, is for sex* or to be loved so that a man can mourn her passing. Barf.

So why two stars instead of one? It at least kept me awake on a 12-hour road trip.

*case in point, from the wiki: "Due to Felurian's erotic disposition she is almost always nude and enjoys music, often personally enticing men with the sound of her singing. Customarily she is best known for seduction of mortal men into the Fae. Here, she either kills them or drives them insane with excess of sexual debauchery." NOT SURPRISED.

[sami7-951065 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

I wish I could forget it so I can read it again for the first time. The book that got everything right.

PS: I will just leave these here:
- "Call a jack a jack. Call a spade a spade. But always call a whore a lady. Their lives are hard enough, and it never hurts to be polite."
- "Famine and plague were everywhere, and in some places there was such despair that mothers could no longer muster enough hope to give their children names"
- "More or less. You have to be a bit of a liar to tell a story the right way. Too much truth confuses the facts. Too much honesty makes you sound insincere"
- "The boy grows upward, but the girl grows up"
- "She disappeared back into the crowd, a wonderful collection of gently moving curves"

[bobbybslax · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Rothfuss is a terrific writer (and I've not found his prose purple like others have). Some others still have found that the protagonist is too capable, but he is not simply handed his successes. There are many tragic hindrances laid upon our hero, and in this lies the conflict of the narrative. Overall, the story and characters are compelling, and altogether the book crafts an extraordinary heroic tale.