The Wise Man's Fear: Kingkiller Chronicles, Day 2

Those in fear of a "sophomore slump" should look elsewhere. This is the stunningly excellent follow-up and second part of a proposed trilogy to "The Name of the Wind". I devoured this book. I am going to listen to it again with my wife, and that is a rare thing. After finishing this wonderful tale of old evil, love, loss, mischief, grief, song, cleverness, jocularity, beauty, and fantasy. I turned to my wife and said "you have to read these, they are wonderful". Our literary tastes never cross paths, but this is a tale I don't think anyone should miss. To not pass these along to others is neglect.

There are passages in this book that are achingly beautiful and so well written that I dispare for all others who attempt to write epic fantasy. There is a good deal of action too and it's never far from the main narrative of this installment. It's just that Rotfuss crossed the line with this book. There is passable fantasy, good, and even excellent fantasy. This, this is pantheon fantasy, this is why I read the genre, dare I say "tolkienesque". It really is that good. What a great time to be a fantasy fan.

The narration continues flawlessly from the first book and Mr. Podehl gives an outstanding performance. I am rapidly becoming a fan of his work, I certainly will look for him in future listens.

This review covers the first books of the series Kingkiller Chronicles. Some fantasy can be exhausting: Dan Simmons, Brandon Sanderson, George R. R. Martin, Robert Jordan, even sometimes Neil Gaiman. Their stories can take your breath away but sometimes, also, knock the wind out of you with a force. Patrick Rothfuss is not about that. He is more about an easy-going kind of entertainment. These books do not knock you over with amazement, epic wars or adventure. They are more subtle and a great richness comes through in that subtlety. While usually light, do not be fooled; they contain a depth and richness that is just easy to read and easier to appreciate. This is nothing short of outstanding fantasy prose and character development. These stories are long but not too long. Rothfuss does not ramble. The continuity of the protagonist Kvothe’s stories is there but not so complex or convoluted that one can get lost over the span. While there are many characters there is a core of them that are easy to know and become invested in. The stories are more about people and their relationships than about what the wizard-in-training is actually learning and practicing. At least the first two books do not contain that much magic but they do not leave you wanting either. They only leave you in great anticipation of the next book to come in the series. Nick Podehl’s reading is impeccable. I am loathe to say this is a great book for YA’s for fear it might deter older readers from venturing here. That would be a mistake. These are great books for readers of all age or gender.

I listened to this book for 8 straight hours today. I had to force myself to stop listening ........and i still want to put my headphone's back on.


I was afraid it wouldn't be able to keep up with the last one, but thus far it has exceeded my expectations.

The book was released March 1st. It wasn't up on audible yet so I went to a traditional book store and bought a copy.It is now 12:30 am on March 4th. I finished it 30 minutes ago, now audible has it up and I just bought a copy and am going to start it again tonight.

I read a hundred books a year and I've never done anything like this before.

Read the name of the wind, then read this. It's better in just about every way.

Amazing book. Amazing series. I basically haven't done anything for the past 3 days so I could listen to it all. Every time I read/listen to a story on this level, I feel empty when I have to wait for the next. I agree with the extra time spent on it. It was worth it.

If you enjoyed The Name of the Wind (Day 1), you will most likely enjoy The Wise Man???s Fear (Day 2). When I was listening to this book, I only hoped it would be the equal of the previous book. I can confidently report that, in my opinion, it is at least as enjoyable. I cannot wait for Day 3. I hope the ending doesn???t break my heart. I am beginning to fear it might.

Amazing book. I know its only march but this is definitely my favorite book of the year so far. Unlike many other authors I enjoy Patrick doesn't was a single word, but carefully chooses every syllable that goes into his master piece. The only negative thing I have to say is that I wish he would write faster. I just want to know how the story ends. Brandon Sanderson writes extremely fast and puts out books of almost the same quality.

I thought I knew what I was getting into with this second installment of Patrick Rothfuss's adventure trilogy. I knew the tropes and motifs and lay of the imaginary land were all fairly standard (but perfectly enjoyable) just-add-water conventions of the genre. But there was something gleeful and naive about his first book in the series that appealed to me, so I thought I'd hang in there with him and spend some time with familiar stock characters and territory. I know this sounds pretty condescending on my part--but there is kind of childlike comfort in knowing how things will play out in a fantasy story.
That said, I'm appalled--truly appalled--and so deeply disappointed that Mr Rothfuss has either ignored editorial advice, or missed out completely on the opportunity to work with an editor with any gift for structure or language. There is a repetition of words and phrases throughout the plodding text that clearly escaped the red pencil due to someone's utter laziness. This story should clip along, but it's constantly bogged down by inexcusably poor editing choices, or rather, non-choices. Seriously, did anyone give the manuscript a close read?
Secondly, there is the issue of reader Nick Podehl, who does his best to capture fictional accents (though he usually makes them some form of upper crust Brit or low Cockney...or his other mode is to go vaguely Eastern European for the ambiguous characters. And of course the prerequisite high, gentle voice for the couple of female characters, when they get a voice at all. (Oh, Rothfuss can't write a female character. Sorry). The greatest crime in Mr Podehl's narration is the mispronunciation of words he doesn't know. Reading without comprehension. Unsolicited advice: if you don't know a word that you have to read aloud, please consult a dictionary. There are any number of talking dictionaries online, free of charge. There is no excuse. I'm not talking about foreign words.
All that said, I used this audiobook as a companion for a long, tedious packing job...it kept me company while I toiled away doing challenging, sad manual labor, cleaning out my mother's apartment after she'd passed. I wanted an audiobook that was in the fantasy genre, that was easy to follow, that didn't have any big ideas that would require thoughtful consideration, and for that, it fit the bill. But clean up your act, guys.

Eh. I'm a completist...so if I can get through this second text, I'd say maybe I would give the final installment a try.

I wouldn't seek him out.

Nope.

I've probably said enough. But one more thing, and it's not very nice. Judging from Rothfuss's online presence, he seems very high on himself. He has said (and I'm completely paraphrasing) that he has created something brand new, that defies categorization, that doesn't follow any traditional conventions of storytelling because the story he's telling is so vast and epic. I think a reality check is in order. His books are nothing if not utterly conventional quest adventures. The world is colorful but as derivative as they come. I think he is overly confident, even fancies himself a wordsmith and a grand teller of tales. This does not serve his writing at all. He'd be better off hunkering down and honing his craft, paring down his flabby sentences, and lay off the blogs. I feel guilty being so stridently negative but this book wasn't ready for publishing. Epic adventures still need to be rigorously rendered. Please choose your next editor wisely.

I loved this book from the beginning all the way until the Sex Faery. But I thought I could push on past the stupid SEX FAERY part, seriously a sex faery. Little did I know that was only the hors d'oeuvres of the crap feast. The culture of the mercenaries was so terrible it was laughable. I listened in complete shock as all the fine writing and beautiful storytelling of the last many hours went down the drain never to return. Rothfuss has lost all my trust.

I wish audible would refund my credit on this one, but for some reason they wouldn't. Boo.

I absolutely loved The Name of the Wind. This books is good, but a bit of a letdown. Don't get me wrong. If you liked Kvothe and The Name of the Wind buy this book now. It continues where the first left off pushing through Kvothe's adolescence and early adulthood. Unfortunately, not a whole lot of significant events concerning the main story take place. What we do get is a series of "side quests" that (if you've ever played an RPG) are essential to get from young stupid Kvothe to Kvothe the badass. They're enjoyable enough and worth a listen but pale in comparison the overall story going on here. Can't wait for the next installment in this fantasy series. Nick Podehl does a great job in the Narration.