Patrick Rothfuss’: The Wise Man’s Fear

After a lengthy wait, I finally have my hands on the second book in Patrick Rothfuss’ The Kingkiller Chronicle. As always, when reviewing a sequel it will be almost impossible for me to not spoil some of the first book, The Name of the Wind. In The Wise Man’s Fear: The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two, our hero, Kvothe, has managed to secure his position at the University for just over two terms. Despite his academic progress, he is still no closer to finding the truth behind the demonic Chandrian, or why his troupe was murdered. Now, though a great deal of blundering and accident, Kvothe finds the outside world calling to him, and begins to realize that the answers he seeks will not be so simply found as reading a book.

In this book, Rothfuss manages to take a story that was deeply compelling and increase everything positive tenfold. The story itself is darker, the magic is grander and more mysterious, and the conflict immediately dwarfs that found throughout almost all of the first entry. In short, The Name of the Wind was our prologue to the world Rothfuss has created, as well as Kvothe. Now, we begin to see how the legendary figure Kvothe is to become is forged. The sheer mystery of Kvothe’s life will hae readers flying through pages, and there will almost certainly be moments where the story diverges in a way that the reader was completely unprepared for. That is Rothfuss’ accomplishment with this novel. While it all has a fantasy setting, the world and events feel real. As Kvothe himself warns, a story has happy ending, but life is far more unpredictable and terrifying. I can’t say too much more without spoiling a great deal of the story, but this is the The Empire Strikes Back of Rothfuss’ tale. With a haunting antagonistic force, a world teeming with life and unpredictability, and a protagonist who is both identifiable and terribly mystical, I am having a hard time seeing how Rothfuss will outdo himself with book three. If you like fantasy in any form, or are simply not adverse to fantasy and want a truly exceptional series to delve into, go and pick up book one. Don’t start here. If you have already checked out the series and are unsure about whether to proceed or not, you owe it to yourself to buy a copy of The Wise Man’s Fear.