Mini-Review: The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss warns you not to read his latest novella, The Slow Regard of Silent Things – for reals – he says it repeatedly in the Foreword. I can understand this – it’s very different from the epic fantasy he’s most famous for. People looking for anything that’s more of the same will be…unrewarded in their quest. That doesn’t mean one shouldn’t read the novella – because it’s good, very good in fact. But not classic fantasy and not what most people think of when they want to read something from Rothfuss.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is more a character study of Auri, a minor character from his world of epic fantasy. It’s simply the telling of a few days in Auri’s life as she prepares to meet with Kvothe, told in her own form of first person. The power of Rothfuss’ story telling is quite evident even in this more experimental novella – he makes a multi-page description of making soap exciting and entertaining. His playful prose only enhances his storytelling mojo, which makes this weird tragedy of an exploration of Auri something fun to read.

Of course the real beauty of the story is Auri – she is a tragic character, ‘broken’ in some way. But she’s found her world, her form of happiness, and it works. It reminds us to look past the exterior and consider an actual perspective. I think many will find her world something quite special, something they can relate to in some way, and something that brings of tear to their eye.

For the most part the experiment of The Slow Regard of Silent Things works well. Rothfuss shows flexibility and understanding and he once again entertains. Though he does slip up a few times where the story abruptly slips into a male gaze, and it still seems unfair that the world of Auri in this story entirely revolves around Kvothe.

So, some fans may heed Rothfuss’ warning and not read it. Many will not – some of those will love it, some will not. But I think a lot of them will ultimately feel as I do, that it is was a wonderful regard of a moment that has me even more excited for book three.

The Name of the Wind: My Review (don’t read, this one is old and I was such a ‘young’ blogger), Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

The Wise Man’s Fear: My Review, Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

The Slow Regard of Silent Things: Indiebound, Book Depository, Amazon

Review: The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss

After years of anxious waiting, The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound) is one of this year’s most anticipated epic fantasy books. Following up on the hugely popular (though not universally so) debut, The Name of the Wind (Book Depository, Powell’s Books, Indiebound), fans and critics alike are wondering if The Wise Man’s Fear lives up to its predecessor. In my opinion it does – it features the same wondrous story-telling, entertaining style and shows improvement in Rothfuss’ craft. Translation: if you liked The Name of the Wind, you can bet that you’ll like The Wise Man’s Fear – probably even more.

The Wise Man’s Fear picks up on day two of an older Kvothe’s narration of his life, his coming of age and into legend, to the Chronicler. The story begins shortly after the events of The Name of the Wind and carries things forward. We follow Kvothe as he continues his studies at the University, takes time off to see the world, attempts to gain a patron, learns to fight, gets in over his head, and eventually returns to the University. For those like me who haven’t read The Name of the Wind since its release in 2007, a re-read could be beneficial, but I was just fine without one.

In this series, Rothfuss sets out deconstruct the standard epic fantasy hero. To do this he must embrace a number of the classic tropes involved – Kvothe is orphaned, driven to avenge his parents’ death, attractive, arrogant, gifted (at music and in some academic pursuits), an adolescent coming of age, a legendary fighter, a talented wizard, etc. The joy for me is in watching Rothfuss slowly dissect this ideal fantasy hero – a classic Gary Stu if you will. Rothfuss chooses to do so by having an older and (possibly) wiser hero relay his story to a chronicler and the reader sees this all through the first person perspective of Kvothe telling his coming of age story. Kvothe chooses what to share and how to share it while periodic interludes provide hints of the popular versions of these events as told by people at large and offer other fun and interesting perspectives. Kvothe often leaves out what would otherwise seem rather important – like the time he is on a ship attacked and sunk by pirates which he barely survives after which he spends time as a penniless beggar is glossed over in only a couple of lines, yet he spends pages mooning over the girl of his dreams. Apparently one of the more infamous events in Kvothe’s popular lore is a trial that he eventually wins – yet he barely mentions it in his retelling, much to the chronicler’s chagrin. The reader is left wondering which is more at work – the exaggeration of rumor or Kvothe’s own version of things?

It’s in this style with Kvothe as a narrator that is both one of Rothfuss’ greatest strengths and weaknesses. The reader sees that the infamous Kvothe Kingkiller is at times nothing more than bumbling idiot of an adolescent – utterly clueless about events around him and women in particular. We get to see Kvothe learn to fight in a distant land where he gets his butt kicked repeatedly (often by little girls) and never even becomes an average fighter among those that teach him. And at other times we see nothing but arrogance. Kvothe tells the stories he wants – so we get to see him talk endlessly about his lady love. We get to hear all about those stories from the University – you know the types that your buddy tells over and over even though you’ve heard them all 1000 times before. The events that you feel are important are either lacking or different. And it’s all complicated by the factor that Kvothe is probably not the most reliable narrator – did he ever grow beyond that arrogant kid who loved to embellish stories about himself?

Through it all, the journey is in the story and the story is in the journey. Rothfuss’ books aren’t set up with the awe-inspiring climatic events of the standard epic fantasy. The main events in the book are internal to Kvothe – what means most to him. The rejection of his lady-love is a much more important event to him than slaughtering a gang of murderous imposters and rescuing a couple of village girls – while both impact him greatly, one haunts him in a much more profound way even though he himself thinks it should be otherwise. Rothfuss reinforces his emphasis on the journey by utilizing stories-within-stories-within-stories.

The truth is that all of this would be a complete failure if not for Rothfuss’ incredible story-telling ability. The style that he writes with is intoxicating and addictive – there is energy to his story-telling that cannot be denied. Calling the book a page-turner doesn’t quite do it – this is a 1000+ page book that reads like a book less than half its size. In a time when I have very limited time for reading, I still managed to finish it in less than a week. The way Rothfuss writes makes me think he’s one of those people that you could spend all night listening to as they tell one ridiculous story after another. At the time of your listening you are having the time of your life, later in retrospect you kind of wonder what the big deal was.

So, in my mind The Wise Man’s Fear absolutely lives up to and even surpasses Rothfuss’ entertaining debut, The Name of the Wind. However, I think it’s also equally clear that The Wise Man’s Fear has essentially the same strengths and weaknesses as The Name of the Wind. Like me, many fans will get lost in Rothfuss’ superb story-telling, while others will be let down by a book that begins and ends at the University and once again lacks the standard climatic ending of a typical epic fantasy book. A book that still offers no hints about the king-killing of the trilogy title of The Kingkiller Chronicle and no resolution to plots set in motion in book 1. For me the value is in the journey – the story – and with Rothfuss telling, I’m all ears. 8-8.5/10

Related Posts: Review of The Name of the Wind (note, this is an early review in the first couple of years of the blog – I like to think I’m a bit better at it now)

Patrick Rothfuss Podcast

With the release of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss today, there is a podcast up at Penguin/Putnam. In addition to all the buzz at his website, there is my review, my interview, and this interview by Pat and Rob with the Fantasy Hotlist and SFF World, respectively.

Patrick Rothfuss On The Spot

My interview with Patrick Rothfuss has been posted at FantasyBookSpot. He’s a fun, easy going guy who has written a great book. Check out the interview, buy The Name of the Wind – you’ll thank me.

Rothfuss Buzz

A couple weeks ago I posted my review of Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel, The Name of the Wind. The buzz has steadily grown toward the release date in late March. Now the official website is up and running with excerpts all the usual perks.

Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

Let’s get strait to the point – The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss may be the best debut of high/epic fantasy I have ever read. Daw Books is marketing this novel pretty heavily by providing ARCs to many bloggers/reviewers – instead of the normal cover art is a letter from the president Daw essentially stating that this is the best first fantasy novel she has read in 30 years of working as an editor. I can see why she would say this.

Kvothe (pronounced ‘quothe’) is the great hero of the land, a man of legend who is equally admired and scorned as tales of his life have grown into life of their own. We are introduced to this larger than life hero as a humble inn keeper, living under an assumed name far removed from the lands of his past. He has moved on and only looks forward to a boring life and his eventual death.

A man known simply as The Chronicler tracks Kvothe to his hideaway and encourages him to tell his life’s story – the real story, unstained by the embellishment of fame and oral tradition. Kvothe reluctantly agrees and starts at the beginning – his travels as a boy in a clan of nomadic troupers.

The Name of the Wind is the first installment of the already completed (but not yet published) trilogy – The Kingkiller Chronicles. The tale Kvothe tells us is of childhood and adolescence, ranging from happy memories of family and mentor to fighting for survival as an orphaned urchin, and ends with his time at the University and hints of exciting and tragic events to come.

I realize that the above description doesn’t capture the implied excellence of my opening, however, the story is wonderfully told. The prose is not the love of language you get from some writers, but neither is it hindrance to the story – in fact, I have to say it’s utterly forgettable in an almost perfectly simple way. The writing invites complete immersion in the world Rothfuss has created – the story flows, and I can’t easily recall a book that was harder to put down.

As excellent of a job that Rothfuss does with the telling of the story, he may actually exceed it with his characterization. Good characterization is essential to good writing, and great characterization makes for phenomenal reading. I’ve only rarely encountered writing where characterization is almost totally achieved by showing it. Rothfuss does not ‘tell’ us about his characters, he shows them to us – we learn all we need and more about them from their actions, manner, and even dress. It’s because it’s so rare that it stands out so brightly in the book.

In spite of the glowing review I’ve given so far, the book has it’s downsides as well – though they are thankfully easy to overlook. This is yet another epic fantasy saga set in a medieval world that his heavily influenced by Northern European myth and folklore, particularly Celtic – I daresay the genre has plenty. Our hero is just another greater-than-life orphan from obscure roots – thankfully Rothfuss takes what at least feels like a fresh approach. What is probably the greatest offense of this book is the lack of a true ending. It doesn’t end at cliff-hanger or anything, but there is no resolution beyond a rather arbitrary halting of a story that wasn’t intended to broken into three pieces.

I know that I don’t need yet another series to read, and that many of you feel the same way. This book will start to generate some hype over the next few months and there are grounds to debunk the hype; however, for fans of epic fantasy, this is a must-read. I’d not compare it to Martin, Jordan, Bakker, or Erikson – Tad Williams is probably the best fit, though it already exceeds anything I’ve read by him. Were you a fan of much hyped The Lies of Locke Lamora last year (I am) – this is a better written and equally engaging story, if in a bit of a different vein. The Name of the Wind rates an 8 out of 10, even with the sub-par ending – I strongly recommended it.

Related Posts: Review of The Wise Man's Fear