Author Patrck Rothfuss blogs: "Here’s something that kinda stunned me when someone passed it my way: The Prague Philharmonic Orchestra performing a piece called “Arliden & Laurian” by Nicolas de Ferran, inspired by The Kingkiller Chronicle..." at http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2017/05/news-from-temerant/ 

Why, oh why did I wait so long to read this book?

The Name of the Wind was first published in 2007, and friends who are fans of epic fantasy have been talking about how great it was. But I was reading other stuff, and, well, time gets away from one.

I finally got around to reading it recently, and I very much enjoyed it.

A more-or-less itinerant Chronicler stumbles into an inn in the middle of nowhere one night, and finds himself face-to-face with a legend: Kvothe, the most amazing wizard (among other things) of all time. But here, Kvothe is known by another name, and he's running this inn with his loyal assistant, Bast. All is not what it seems, of course; Kvothe is Bast's teacher, and Bast himself is...perhaps not entirely human. And there's a monstrous evil thing that has begun attacking people not far from the inn. It's clear Kvothe will soon need to come out of hiding -- but first, he agrees to tell the Chronicler his life story. The Name of the Wind, the first installment of that tale, details Kvothe's early years, from his life with his parents in a performing troupe to his years at the University in Treban.

Rothfuss is a fine storyteller, and he's picked a unique way of telling his story: Kvothe tells his life story in first person, but the present-day frame for his tale is in third person, and I thought the choice made perfect sense. I found Kvothe to be an appealing hero, and his mysterious love interest intrigued me. Of course, this book has been compared to everything from Lord of the Rings to Game of Thrones to Harry Potter, but it's different from each of these. In all, a fine start to the series. You can bet it won't take me another nine years to read the next book.

My first book of the year was one that was forced upon me by the threat of the library ripping it off of my eReader before I had even a chance to begin. It seems like a good opening for a beginning.

The novella is ... unique. I wouldn't recommend it for someone who hasn't read at least The Name of the Wind (which is excellent). It's good to have some background or you are going to get lost quickly.

This is Auri's story. Not her complete story, but her story. What does she do in the course of a week? How does she interact with the world around her? That is what you see, and it is enchanting. 

Rothfuss' prose just floats off the page:

"But this was not a time for begging favors from the moon. Not now. She could not rush and neither could she be delayed. Some things were simply too important."

For a story without dialogue or traditional characters, I found myself invested into this girls life. I have questions, as you do in the Kingkiller Chronicles, but never did I imagine 'Would the gear ever find a place?' would be one of them. I was so damned worried about the gear! I haven't been that emotionally attached to something inanimate since the many rewatchings of Disney's Beauty and the Beast. 

In addition to the story, there is some lovely artwork scattered throughout. With these and with the ethereal prose, it almost feels like a old world fairy tale. Just one without a definite end. 

I enjoyed it though and was glad that this was the forced beginning to my book reading 2015. 

Patrick Rothfuss is a cheater!

The Name of the Wind introduces you to a mysterious character, Kvothe, who resides in a backwater town. Rothfuss eloquently nudges us to consider this man is more than he seems, a man of power, an eye in a powerful storm. I flipped the pages eager to find out who Kvothe is, why he is posing as an innkeeper in a small village, and discover his impact on the world at large.

Each page failed to answer my need, rather, it introduces risks, paints threats in the superstition of a people too afraid to accept the truth. I flipped on, reading into the late hours of the night, and discovered myself in the trap too late.

Instead of telling us about the present world, about the threats Kvothe briefly addresses, we are thrown back in time to the beginning. Rothfuss oils the pages with carefully constructed sentences that invites the imagination to a rich world. Before you know it, you're hundreds of pages in and committed.

Unlike other traps, you're happy to be caught.

What makes The Name of the Wind engrossing is the ease of the story. It's not to say the writing is basic, rather, some claim it has large swaths of purple prose. You're eased into the story. The medium of page and ink disappear and you are an audience of Kvothe's telling. His memory sinks into yours and you see what he recounts. You are a witness of Kvothe's life.

Now I'm a victim entangled in the Kingkiller Chronicles. Instead of fleeing, I've bought the second massive volume. I recommend this series to any fan of fantasy, any fan of excellent story telling. Even if Patrick Rothfuss is a cheater