The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
The Name of the Wind is so highly recommended it is a wonder it took me this long to read it. The Name of the Wind follows Kvoth (pronounced Quoth) later in life as he retells the story of his childhood and first years at the university. In this way, it sounds a little lame. However, Kvoth is regarded as highly reputably or even thought of as a myth like something from a fairy tale. This retelling is the simple facts of the matter laid out. For example, Kvoth is known as the Bloodless. This came about because he was whipped in school and didn’t bleed because he took some medicine. But isn’t that name terrifying to a foe? Not everything is revealed to be such a low level scheme. He truly lives up to all his names and is great at so many, but he has humanity. Something many other protagonists lack.
The world weaved is interesting, a medieval swords and mystical and engimatic sorcery. Most are poor. War toils the folks. Bandits roam the roads. The sorcery is explained as Kvoth learns it…quickly and expertly.
If the general plot doesn’t sound interesting, the writing is beautiful. I felt it was a mix of Le Guin, Wizard of Earthsea, and the Lord Foul’s Bane chronicles. An example: “Words are pale shadows of forgotten names. As names have power, words have power. Words can light fires in the minds of men. Words can wring tears from the hardest hearts. There are seven words that will make a person love you. There are ten words that will break a strong man’s will. But a word is nothing but a painting of a fire. A name is the fire itself.” Read the inside summary as well. I was drawn into both the tale and the beauty of the words and tried to listen and savor it. The audible version was performed admirably.
High recommend if you have the time. 5 of 5 stars, absolutely loved it.
