The Wise Man's Fear (2011)

Coming to the end of this book, I desperately need the next book to come out! There's so much left to learn about Kvothe. And about the too mysterious to trust Denna. And about the relationship between Bast and his Reshi. I devoured this book and want more! ( )

Rothfuss, Patrick. The Wise Man’s Fear. Kingkiller Chronicle No. 2. DAW, 2011.
The Wise Man’s fear was a slow read for me, and I am not sure why. The first volume went down quickly enough, but I read The Wise Man’s Fear in 100-page dollops with long, long pauses between. My procrastination is not the story’s fault. He is often compared with George R. R. Martin and Brandon Sanderson, but to me his novel most resembles the work of L. E. Modesitt, Jr. The Wise Man’s Fear is a well-told fantasy saga with a tight, single-character focus. This tight focus and an episodic plot permitted me to get back into the story even after a long hiatus. As Kvothe recounts his history to the Chronicler, we hope to learn why a man with his martial and magical adventures came to be a humble innkeeper. We almost find out. But Rothfuss has left enough room for the third novel in the series, still unpublished after a decade of work. Rothfuss is currently reading the prologue to the new volume at public events, so perhaps there is hope we will see the new novel soon. But maybe not, since much of his time is spent fundraising for a charity that he founded aimed at improving conditions in third-world villages, with playing and writing role-playing games, and with publishing illustrated novels. 4 stars. ( )

Too long. Although it was satisfying to read a book that was exactly 1,000 pages. ( )

Same as review of first. Compelling read even with an unlikeable main character ( )

(I listened to the audiobook)

I have mixed feelings on this.

Rothfuss tells a good story, and does an amazing job at world creation. There are definite, distinct regions in this world, with varied customs, languages and nuances.

And this book starts out quite well.

And then --- and you will know when it happens --- the book turns into an adolescent fantasy. Relentlessly so. And then there's the irritating and omnipresent relationship with that one girl that our hero just can't gather the courage to make his romantic intentions known to. It's exhausting.

Still, there is some interesting stuff here, and the audiobook is well performed. The ending does leave me eager for the third book to come out to see how this tale concludes (and how the matters that arose at the end of book two play out). ( )