In which I read The Name of the Wind in two days

Let me tell you why this book annoyed me:

1. Flashback. The whole book is a flashback.

2. Even more annoying: you don’t find that out until 46 pages in when Kvothe (our hero) starts telling the story of his life to the Chronicler.

3. The use of made-up words for regular words. I get it. It’s a fantasy. Still, I think it would be ok to use the proper word for tree instead of calling it an oakling. Which this book doesn’t do. But it does use “span” for a specific measure of time. A week? A day? Two hours? I read the whole book and I’m still not sure.

4. You get to the end. 662 pages until the end. And then you realize that the story has stopped in the middle and a sequel is in the offing. Or two sequels. Who knows? Though at least this one didn’t end on a cliffhanger.

5. If the author doesn’t have the next book out within the year I will be at his house pulling the manuscript out of his hand and publishing it. The book is that good.

If you like fantasy, Tolkien-type fantasy, you will enjoy this book. There is adventure, more adventure, magic, a little romance and a very smart, very talented hero. The author, Patrick Rothfuss, weaves a picaresque tale that is impossible to put down.