I have finished The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss.
The short review: It was everything I hoped it would be.
2011 is filled with promise. There are a number of high-profile releases taking place this year, and The Wise Man’s Fear was near the top of my list. I know I am not alone. After the March 2007 release of The Name of the Wind (review HERE), author Patrick Rothfuss gained an immediate growing readership that, in the four years since, has spanned the globe and become a cultish following that even Neil Gaiman would be envious of. In essence, The Name of the Wind is one of those excellent debuts that most people fall in love with, due to one of the most fully realized characters I’ve read—Kvothe, Arliden’s son.
Imagine how difficult it has been for those fans, who will have had to patiently wait four years to read The Wise Man’s Fear on March 1st.
For the purposes of this review, however, the readership of Patrick Rothfuss is one of three parts.
The first part of the readership is one that is apparent but rare, like those who haven’t watched the original Star Wars trilogy or hate Harry Potter. If you read The Name of the Wind and did not care for it, you will not enjoy The Wise Man’s Fear.
The second part is one that is more apparent still. If you read The Name of the Wind and loved the entirety of it like your first read of The Hobbit or viewing of The Fellowship of the Ring, you will love the entirety of The Wise Man’s Fear.
The third part is possibly the hardest to explain because it encompasses both other parts. I am within this part. It is a readership who enjoyed the first book but also thought it had some areas it could have been improved.
The Name of the Wind is a fabulous book. As I said in my review, it is also a rare book. The life story of Kvothe is told with brilliant expertise for a first time writer, and it grabs a hold of the imagination and doesn’t let go. That said, I felt it could have been tightened up, not just extraneous words throughout the prose but also in the middle of the story when the narrative slowed down quite a bit once Kvothe entered the University.
The Wise Man’s Fear is a great deal tighter when it comes to its words. Patrick spent four years rewriting it and it shows quite clearly. The additional words that hampered The Name of the Wind a bit are gone here. Each sentence is constructed with nary a word out of place; every paragraph flows smoothly page after page. I think readers will be able to tell the difference.
The Wise Man’s Fear does still have moments where the narrative slows down to a crawl. Readers within this particular part of three will notice it as I did. It is a large book and while the character development Kvothe goes through is fascinating, real, and tangible—to the point I’d argue he truly becomes a man in this book—it comes at a price. There were four different moments where I wanted the story to pick up and those were the moments I put the book down to work, go for a walk, or check email.
Those other tasks didn’t last long though. I returned to the book, as enchanted as before, and made my way through the areas I think could have been pruned back some. I was rewarded every time. Rothfuss is truly great at giving the reader a payoff like you can’t believe after every lull.
In this book, the stakes are even higher for Kvothe. Forced from the University, he takes to the road to find a patron. What he finds is nothing he expected to find. Lovelorn kings. Civilized mercenaries. The inhuman Fae. And the name of the wind.
I’ll leave it at that. No spoilers here.
I sincerely cannot wait to discuss this book with all of you when it is published. I eagerly look forward to the third book in the Kingkiller Chronicle, The Doors of Stone! It can’t come quick enough but I’ll wait for it patiently because I can see the payoff for the entire trilogy is going to be something truly special.
Overall, The Wise Man’s Fear is as great a sequel book as we all could have hoped for.
Final Verdict: 4 1/2 / 5 stars
The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss will be published in one month on March 1st.
I did not read past the second line of this review, and I don’t intend to. The short review told me everything I need to know.
Good to know, Dan! Guess I could have kept it even more brief then.
Wow, I loved your review. Didn’t realize it was possible to get more excited for this book . . . but some how you did that lol.
your review gave me goosebumps. Very well written and I loved how you mimiced the first/last chapters of NOTW. I’m seriously jealous that you have gotten to read it. In case you haven’t guessed, I’m in the second group.
ONLY 25 DAYS LEFT!
Grr, I forgot to mention in my review that the book made me laugh out loud probably 25 times and tear up twice. The first moment of almost tears was so poignant I had to put the book down and walk away because it was that moving.
Wonderful review, thank you for keeping it spoiler free!
I didn’t mind the slower parts in NOTW, for me, they were intimate, tender moments. And I’m looking forward to more of them.
I am one of the die hard fans who managed to get a hold of the advance reader’s copy of the Name of the Wind and have been waiting ever since. In all honesty a lot of the same reader’s for Patrick Rothfuss have probably been waiting even longer for the Wheel of Time series, so what is four years, at least there are no signs of a never ending series spanning 20 years ( which I am now finding sad…. go for the gold and write 10 books in this series). Your review was excellent and fair, unlike you however, I enjoy the slower times to recoup from the leaps and bounds of the plot and to become fully invested in the character.
I’m jealous the you already were able to read it! Good review and can’t wait for the book!
Thanks for the reveiw. I gotta agree with redhead though about the slower parts. It seems that latley fantasy has gravitated towards a supposedly gritty realism but it always seemed to me that these super fast paced books neglected the fact that real life does not move fast all the time. Sometimes what makes the storm all the more intense is the calm that comes before.
Nice reference about the Prologue and Epilogue of the Name of the Wind !
I wonder if the Wise Man’s Fear starts and ends in the same way as well ?
I guess I’ll have to wait and see ! I just ordered my copy from Amazon.ca…It should arrive between the 7th and the 11th. Gosh I’m excited !
Happy reading everyone !
Alexandre
Very well written review! I have been looking for reviews and they have been sparse, so far so yours was a real treat. Can’t wait to get the book in my hands on Tuesday and will be making the short drive to Beaverton on Wednesday to meet Pat and get it signed.
Just finished the book… now I am waiting for everyone else (including friends) to catch up.
I really enjoyed this second instalment and I agree with your review.
I didn’t mind the lulls because it gave me time to stretch out from the tense and awkward sitting position I found myself in for the rest.
I came away feeling a little frustrated – partly due to some irritating behaviour of the character and the rest for not being able to continue.
I look forward to the next instalment and am currently enjoying mentally digesting this work
ooooOOOOOOOO!!!!!! YEEEEEAAAHHHHHH!!!!!
I cannot wait for this book. In 2-3 days it will arrive at my house and the first step towards failing my A-Levels will begin. Thank you for your review, I am now thinking about it excessively and not paying attention in my lessons.
Every part of that was sincere.
I just finished the book and I’m actually itching for a bit of discussion about the book.
Just like you, I’ve laughed hard, got watery eyed, stood up and cheered Kvothe. I was envious at times too, that lucky motherf-
I’m content with the overload this book contained for us. It’s really something that this book is nearly a thousand pages long. That being said, I feel like I’m having trouble remembering every little detail, which is why I’m up for discussion.
I’m satisfied with the book in every way. The only question I’ve got is what happens next?
Matthias, I finished it yesterday, am itching for some discussion too.
Everyone seems to think “can’t remember every single detail” is a negative. But I don’t feel that way. Do you (generic you) remember every single thing you did last week? I sure don’t. I’ve got a stack of notes for my review, just need to turn them into coherent sentences that say something other than “best. . . book. . . . ever. . . “
Just finished it with some seriously mixed feelings. I was as enthralled with Kvothe and his story as I was in the first installment, and feel that anyone pleased by the first will be glad they read the second.
However, I have to say that I’m a bit disappointed with the overall structure and pace of WMF, both on it’s own and in context of the series as a whole. It’s *just* like the first one, which is good, but can come across at times as just a series of cool but isolated events. There is a thread weaving it all together, and everything that happens goes towards Kvothe’s advancement in some way, but not a thing happened to the plot to kick it over to the next level. Pacing wise, it feels more like Act I – Part Two than Act II.
That said, my opinion of WMF could change drastically depending on what happens next. It very well could end up being that Rothfuss has put everything into place so elaborately that when it all comes together, it’ll click and I’ll wonder what my nagging tic was ever about…but for right now, that nagging tic is saying that something’s just off. Too much time spent on Maer, Adem (they were incredibly interesting, but it reeeally started dragging to me), and the mercenary hunt, while whole interesting sounding sections are glossed over. All that, and we only get glimpses at the bigger picture, enough to remind us that it’s there, but at the end of it we’re at about the same place we left off in the first book.
Argh, I dunno…such a good book, but it’s left me worried and anxious. Guess we’ll just have to see.
I absolutely agree with Frankie, it really seems like Act 1 part 1 :/ Actually i would be happy with that were it not for the fact that there are only 3 books in total. What is worse …we hardly know Kvothe better then at the end of TNotW.
Overall a great book though.
So, all we have to do is waiting for part 3
I completely agree with Frankie. While I did enjoy the book there is very little progress in the underlying story, the advancement in this area could be compiled into about a paragraph.
The book seems overwritten, which is hardly surprising as Rothfuss spent the last 4 years fussing over each detail. Many sections of the book were several chapters too long and whilst these individual sections were interesting they became rather tedious as they dragged on and on – especially when you think about the very short timeframe they take up in the overall story.
I’m wondering how Rothfuss is going to make this into a trilogy as he will have to jam a decades worth of Kvothe’s life into the final book. If he goes at the # of pages per year rate (1,000 at the moment) he is at now the next book will be over 10,000 pages long, longer if Kvothe’s backstory story catches up with the present (the inn scenes) and carries on to a continuation of that storyline the book will take up an entire shelf on it’s own!
Rating: 3.5/5 from me, I loved the first one but I was expecting so much more from this, especially after such a long gap between the two books.
I agree with the previous posts. I accidentally bought the first book mistaking it for another. best mistake ever., I loved the first book. The second book was equally good minus some very slow points. After he left the University the pace slowed. He never really gave me a reason to care. The parts with the Maer took up too much space for the little overall effect on plot. I loved the culture of the Adem, but the pacing was a bit slow there. That being said, i found the book to be amazing and couldnt put it down. I greatly anticipate the finally.