The Wise Man's Fear

Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 2

By: Patrick Rothfuss

Narrated by: Nick Podehl

Length: 42 hrs and 55 mins

Publisher's Summary

Discover #1 New York Times-bestselling Patrick Rothfuss’ epic fantasy series, The Kingkiller Chronicle.

“I just love the world of Patrick Rothfuss.” -Lin-Manuel Miranda

“He’s bloody good, this Rothfuss guy.” -George R. R. Martin

“Rothfuss has real talent.” -Terry Brooks

Day two: the wise man’s fear

“There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man.”

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

So begins a tale told from his own point of view - a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man’s Fear, Day Two of The Kingkiller Chronicle, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

Not just another day: listen to more in the Kingkiller Chronicles.

©2011 by Patrick Rothfuss. (P)2011 Brilliance Audio, all rights reserved.

Critic Reviews

"Narrator Nick Podehl arrives at the end of this long audiobook, the second in the Kingkiller series, as engaged and fresh as he was at the start.... Podehl adeptly presents the broad cast of characters - from moneylenders and courtesans to kings. One of the most fascinating portrayals by Podehl begins with a young mercenary from the Adem who says little. And when he does speak, he has a flat voice, mostly devoid of expression. Podehl builds on this when Kvothe returns with him to study among the Adem, where the mercenary develops a recognizable pattern of speech reflecting many of the culture's characteristics." ( AudioFile)

“The best epic fantasy I read last year.... He’s bloody good, this Rothfuss guy.”
(George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author of A Song of Ice and Fire)

“Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous.” (Terry Brooks, New York Times-bestselling author of Shannara)

"It is a rare and great pleasure to find a fantasist writing...with true music in the words." (Ursula K. Le Guin, award-winning author of Earthsea)

Well worth your time

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.

Excellent, Imaginative, Beautiful, Page Turning!!!

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.

SPIDERS CAN BREATHE UNDER WATER

THE TALLEST NAIL GETS HAMMERED DOWN FIRST.
I went 15 chapters and called it quits. I am sure it gets better and the writing is good. I just have a thing against writers who waste my time. One Credit equals One Book, so if you have lots of time, but little money or credits then this is the book for you. For one credit you get 44 hours of listening. You would have to spend four times that in most cases to listen to 44 hours of story from any other writer. In my case, I am thinking, I could listen to four times the entertaining good quality books. This is not terrible and my mind did not wonder that much, I just wanted something interesting to happen. My wife and I have a group of friends, we hang out with and we talk a lot. One of our friends is an interesting person and I want to hear what's going on in her life, but it takes her forever to tell a story. By the time she finishes her story I have lost interest. Rothfuss is that friend in most circles.

MY SLEEPING MIND
It is not that I can not listen to long books, I have listen to plenty, like from King Or McCammon and others, but I need something entertaining to be happening. This is one of the highest rated books at audible, so it is wherever your priorities lie.

YEARS for the next book?

The book was great. I found it better than the first. I don't care for the way the book ended. It just "stopped".abrubtly. It needed a better transition spot but it is still really good. I can't believe they are talking about 4 yrs for the next book!! If I realized that, I wouldn't have started it.

Parts were great, parts were long and annoying

I enjoyed the first book quite a lot and had high hopes for this one, but the story really bogged down a couple of times. Felurian, the sexy fairy section, went on forever. I felt like I was reading someone's fantasy. I don't like romance novels and the endless descriptions of their encounters really slopped over into that genre.

The Adem mercenaries chapters were also long and tedious by the end of them. And their world just seemed contrived. I'm no prude, but again I found the "you can have sex with anyone and there is no emotional consequences or pregnancy" aspect of their culture a little too much like every man's fantasy. I don't like to be taken out of a story by the voice of the author and I felt like that was what was happening.

All that said, I will probably listen to the last one when it comes out. There's enough interesting going on that I want to know what happens, but I was a bit disappointed and felt the book could have been better with a judicious edit.

A great story nearly ruined

My expectations were extremely high after a terrific first book.The first half of this second book was excellent, but in the middle of the story, Kvothe gets sent on a man hunt with a small band of mercenaries and it started to drag. After that, the time with the Faye was ridiculous and felt like it would never end. I found myself fast-forwarding through parts. When that part of the story finally ended it then moved onto yet another irritating, somewhat boring part of the story. All the sex scenes from the middle of the story on felt out of place and out of character. And the backward, "enlightened" life of those in the mercenary town was just plain silly. After that, thankfully, the story turned back around and got very good again for the last 8 hours or so. It was also disappointing that this is an "R" rated book because I was hoping to be able to let my middle-school aged children listen to it.

Amazing, chilling and funny

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.

Over 42 hours of uninteresting and silly events

What disappointed you about The Wise Man's Fear?

Let me start by saying that I really enjoyed the first installment "The name of the Wind". I really liked Rothfuss writing style and although there were things that annoyed me about the first book I thought that was a good book overall. Now, the second installment "The Wise Man's Fear" is another matter. I find it hard to believe that an author can write so much about nothing and some how people like it. 42 hours (I think the book is about a 1000 pages) and the plot doesn't progress one bit..not one bit...How can that be possible? Book two and Kvothe is still 16? I think at this pace we'll see the conclusion to the KingKiller Chronicles in 20 years, if we are not bored to death before!!!This book has NO PLOT, there is no excitement or big mystery, it only contains side events in the life of Kvothe. Events that are mostly unimportant for the plot and at times silly or boring but still they go on, and on and on. For example, all the hours/pages wasted in Dena and the Felurian. Really, what a waste of time, ink and Megabytes. Or what about the ridiculous ketan fighting thing? Really??? But of course we get no insight in potentially more interesting events. I'm starting to think that Mr. Rothfuss likes to write just to show his writing skills, just like some people like to talk just to hear themselves talk.Also, Kvothe's character in my opinions is very inconsistent in this book. At times his a very sharp/smart, street savvy, even mature, the next minute he is as naive and stupid as it comes. I found him less likeable and real because of these inconsistencies. Lastly, during the course of this book I got a strong feeling that Kvothe never becomes all that powerful or even competent throughout his life but instead he gets lucky during certain events, which are then exaggerated by story tellers and that's why he is telling "his real story". Hopefully, I'm wrong and that is not the case!

What could Patrick Rothfuss have done to make this a more enjoyable book for you?

Have a plot for this book instead of writing about silly and inconsequential events.

What about Nick Podehl’s performance did you like?

Great Performance. I think he is the reason why I continued listening.

What reaction did this book spark in you? Anger, sadness, disappointment?

I was completely disappointed with this book. Not sure if I'll continue to waste time and money in this "trilogy".

Great book!!

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.

My friends wondered where I was all weekend...

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.