Rating: 5/5
Summary: The story begins with Kote, a lowly though kind innkeeper in a small town off the beaten path. No one really knows his past, but he is a part of the town anyway. When a strange creature attacks one of his regular customers, Kote takes things into his own hands. While hunting the creatures, he meets Chronicler who knows about his past. After defeating said creatures, Kote rescues and takes Chronicler back to his inn. When Chronicler awakes, he tells Kote why he has come: to record the story of Kvothe, a hero in his own right with many stories, though not all of them true. They strike a deal and Kote- who is actually Kvothe-begins to tell his tale.
This story was intriguing for many reasons. The best one is the originality and the vivid new world the Rothfuss has created. There is a map, several countries, a rich history, a fascinating culture and multiple languages. Basically there is everything you could want to know about a fantasy world. Rothfuss has thought of everything in his world: what it looks like, feels like, smells like, tastes like. While reading, I can perfectly envision this world and it felt as if I could almost reach out and touch it.
Another thing I liked was how Kvothe narrated. It kind of felt like a ballad, but better. Kvothe is not one who dances around edges, he is straightforward, but boy can he spin a story. I loved how eager he was to learn everything and how he used his childhood experiences as a trouper help him reach his goals. If anyone tells you theatre skills are useless, laugh at them and point them to this book. Throughout the day one part of this, Kvothe uses many masks which help him survive and occasionally outwit the evil git Ambrose (little jerk face!). His sharp wit also helps get him out of some precarious situations, which Kvothe finds himself in quite often unfortunately.
The plot was fascinating. I loved almost every minute of it, especially the University studies. To say this is action packed would be a lie, but it’s entrancing as is. I was sucked up into Kvothe’s life and adventures. Don’t get me wrong, there is adventure, but the whole story isn’t just fight one, fight two, war here, battle there. No it is much more complex than that. There isn’t just magic, but sympathy and sygaldry, in addition you can control things if you name them properly. The way Rothfuss designed his world is almost scientific in its approach, he can explain all of the fantastical things in his world and damn it’s so cool!
There are plenty sad bits in this story, as can be expected, but I didn’t expect them to hit me so hard. Kvothe would hit a lucky patch and almost immediately it would stop and he’d be worse off than before. Sometimes it was partly his fault, other times it wasn’t. Still, I felt for the guy, because he’s had one rough life and one of his main goals is to read a bunch of books! I can relate to books! Thankfully, it’s not all sadness. Kvothe makes good friends at the University and they support him quite a bit. Another bright patch is Denna. She has a knack for showing up when Kvothe least expects it and I loved that. They don’t quite have a romance, though I can tell they both have feelings for each other, obviously. It is super adorable, puppy love that leaves you happy and thinking cute thoughts. But I mean they’re both like 15 so it’s like this is going to be some crazy, erotic love affair and I appreciated that.
Overall, I loved the world that was built throughout the novel and all the characters I met. I’m excited to pick up the next one soon, though it might have to wait a bit since it’s like 1000+ pages and I’m already booked! 😛
P.S. OMG ELODIN IS THE BEST EVER I LOVE THIS CRAZY MAN!
