Book Review: The Name of the Wind

I decided to read Patrick Rothfus’ ‘The Name of the Wind’ after reading many reviews that gave a strong impression that Rothfus was some literary genius with the ingenuity to become the next George R.R. Martin. Many respected authors such as Tad Williams, Ursula Le Guin and others speak highly of his skills as a writer. As such, one should keep in mind  that my initial impressions of (and ultimate disappointment in) the book were heavily influenced by the hype surrounding it.

On completing the novel I was sorely disappointed. The first half was riveting and enjoyable on many levels, but the pacing seemed to falter towards the middle and never really picked up again. Too much of the second half was devoted to Kvothe’s awkward teenage romance. I’m not adverse to romantic subplots (I include them in my own work), but I quickly lose interest when it comes to dominate the plot. I’m not even entirely certain if there is a larger plot, given how much time Rothfus dedicates to subplots. I’m sure it will come together later in the series, but at this stage I left wondering how important the Chandrian are.

Most disappointing for me was the ending, which I found deeply unsatisfying. I appreciate that Rothfus was attempting to write the novel as an autobiography for his protagonist Kvothe, but that seems like a poor excuse for creating a ending that somehow succeeded in leaving the reader hanging while failing to create the suspense necessary to inspire me to pick up his second novel in the series. I’m in no way adverse to open endings, especially at the end of the first novel in a series. My issue is when the book seems to end arbitrarily. Most novels with an open ending, conclude some aspect of the plot and opens new challenges for the protagonist. But in ‘The Name of the Wind’ it felt more like Rothfus’ publisher directed him to cut the novel before the word count got too far out of hand. 

That said, I would still recommend ‘The Name of the Wind’ to anyone short on books to read and to aspiring fantasy author’s interested in researching the current state of the genre. I personally do not understand the hype surrounding Rothfus’ debut but it wasn’t awful by any means, and given how generic so much fantasy is, readers and critics are likely to appreciate anything that is innovative without being so transgressive as to not really fit the genre.

Personally, I think the success of this novel will be more transient once the hype dies down. Unless of course, Rothfuss can do something truly exceptional in the third novel that wraps everything up perfectly and shows that all those minor (seemingly arbitrary) details actually serve some beautifully crafted and masterful plot line that even George RR Martin would be envious of.