The Slow Regard of Silent Things - Patrick Rothfuss

In 2007 Patrick Rothfuss' debut novel The Name of the Wind, first book in the Kingkiller Chronicles, was published and it launched him right to the top of the Fantasy genre. To have a debut that well received is rare indeed. At the time Rothfuss was confident he would be able to deliver the second volume in the trilogy quickly but it turned out to be more complicated than he expected. The Wise Man's Fear didn't appear until 2011 and now, almost four years later, it is still unclear when the third volume, The Doors of Stone, will be published. October did see the release of a novella related to the Kingkiller Chronicles however: The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It is set in Kvote's world but I doubt it will satisfy those who are waiting for the third book. Rothfuss has written a very unusual novella indeed.

The novella is about a secondary character in the main series, the mysterious woman Auri who lives in the Underthing, the maze of abandoned cellars, tunnels and pipes under the university. She wakes up one morning realizing that in seven days, he will visit her. There is much to be done before he arrives. Auri quickly starts preparing for his visit and takes the reader on a trip though her subterranean world.

The Slow Regard of Silent Things is what happens when a writer writes the story he wants to write rather than what publishers (and presumably the majority of readers) want. Rothfuss opens with an introduction in which is he lays out the many reasons why we may not want to read the  novella. And it must be said, he has a point. The story he has written, to put it in his own words, doesn't do a lot of things a story is supposed to do.  In fact, it is probably one of the oddest pieces of writing I've ever encountered. Certainly not something one would expect of Rothfuss. At the end of the book he explains why he wrote it, which is just as interesting as the story itself. Do read that endnote.

The story did get published despite Rothfuss' own misgivings and that ought to tell the reader something. Publisher DAW spent a lot of effort on the packaging too. It is a nice little hardcover with lots of illustrations by Nate Taylor, the artist who worked with Rothfuss on the equally unusual picture book The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Whiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed. It almost looks like something Subterranean could have published.

Despite Rothfuss' warning this book is going to disappoint some people. The story adds nothing to the main storyline of the novels. It is entirely focused on Auri and as readers of Rothfuss' novels will already have gathered, she is a special woman. She lives completely in her own world, one that is very hard to understand for everybody else. On the surface not much is going on in the novella. She goes about the business of organising her surroundings with an attention to detail that seems both compulsive and random. Slowly, a way of thinking starts to become clear that helps Auri deal with her fears and loneliness.

Key to enjoying this novella is to see through the mundane activities and figure out what makes Auri tick. Rothfuss does leave clues about her past, although we never really get to find out what scarred her in the first place. That is not what Rothfus was trying to explore. He explores Auri's mind as it is, rather than asking how it became as peculiar as he describes it. To convey Auri's view on the world Rothfuss does a number of things with language that are less present in the main series. Auri's continual anthropomorphizing of inanimate objects in particular contribute to the strange atmosphere of the novella. It is definitely not something all readers will appreciate but personally I thought it was a beautiful bit of writing.

There will no doubt be a lot of get-on-with-writing-the-next-book-already type of comments directed at Rothfuss in response to publication. It will disappoint some readers, especially those who somehow missed the warnings not to expect more Kvote style action in this novella. I can't really say I'm sorry for those people. Not all stories have to be cast from the same mould. Rothfuss tried something different here and if you approach the work from the right angle The Slow Regard of Silent Things can be a very good, if peculiar, read. It is probably very much a love it or hate it story but if you like your reading a bit unusual I think you should try this.

Book Details
Title: The Slow Regard of Silent Things
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Publisher: DAW Books
Pages: 159
Year: 2014
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-7564-1043-8
First published: 2014

The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Wiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed - Patrick Rothfuss

Like the past few years I once again made the resolution to review all books I read this year. Last year I got close, 90 out a total of 91. This year, I am determined to make is 100%. But then I came across this book. The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Wiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed by Patrick Rothfuss, illustrated by Nate Taylor, is something quite out of the ordinary. For one thing, it is not a children's book.. The creators are quite clear about that right from the start. Despite their clear intent to spare the innocent psyche of children these books are usually meant for, I can't help but wonder where Rothfuss found the guts to publish something like this.

Consider, after years of painful therapy you have carefully transformed the thing under the bed from a lurking monster to a warm and comforting presence in the bedroom. Like having the cat sleep at your feet or having a loving parent look in on you while you sleep. And then, after finally managing a good night sleep without having to suppress the urge to check for monsters under the bed, Mr Rothfuss comes along and pulls a stunt like this. HOW DARE YOU! How do you think you'll EVER be able to explain this to Oot? This calls for mass book burnings and voodoo dolls I tell you! As if our lives are not already filled with horrors, you have to add princesses and teddy bears to the list! Why do you think people seek refuge in fantasy anyway? Thank to YOU and your accomplice Mr. Taylor, do not for a moment think your part in this crime will be forgotten, I will have to check under the bed again! You know, just to see if it is still there...

I'm not the only one who does that right?

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In other words, I kinda dig their sense of humour ;)

Book Details
Title: The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Wiffle: The Thing Beneath the Bed
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Illustrations: Nate Taylor
Publisher: Subterranean Press
Pages: 69
Year: 2010
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-1-59606-313-6
First published: 2010

The Wise Man's Fear - Patrick Rothfuss

The Wise Man's Fear, second book in the Kingkiller Chronicle is without a doubt one of the most anticipated novels of 2011. In fact, I've seen so many reviews pop up over the last days that I questioned the wisdom of adding another. Then again, I really wanted to read it and working my way though a thousand pages of Kvothe leaves me without any other content for the blog. In other words, you'll have to put up with another review of this book. It's been almost four years after Rothfuss' début, The Name of the Wind, hit the shelves and in the mean time expectation of this novel have only been raised. It's hard to follow up on such a successful début novel. Rothfuss clearly realized this and set about completely rewriting the already finished second novel. He took his sweet time but it has to be said, Rothfuss delivers a book that will do well with people who liked the first volume.

The Wise Man's Fear takes us back to the Waystone Inn in Newarre, where Kvothe prepares to tell the second part of his story to the Chronicler. The village is clearly rattled by events of the past few days. One of the villagers has been killed by what the villagers think is a demon and the war that is being fought far away has made it presence felt in the form of high taxes. These are hard times for Nevarre's small community.The Chronicler, Kvothe and his companion Bast know a lot more about what is going on in the world and it worries them. Bast would like to see Kvothe take a more active hand in these affairs, to have him live up to his reputation, but Kvothe refuses to take the bait. It seems Bast has to come up with more convincing methods to get Kvothe to move.

In the mean time, the story of Kvothe's life continues. On top of overcoming the financial obstacles, Kvothe has survived several challenges to his presence at university, most of which are tied to his nemesis Ambrose Jakis. Kvothe and Ambrose are not about to call off there feud however, the two scheme continually to make each other's lives impossible. At one point they cross the line and both of them are told rather bluntly, that they ought to take a term off from university. It is a disaster for Kvothe, who is now barred from the place where he most wants to be. He also sees part of his income cut off as he is no longer able to work in the university's Artificery. To make the best of this setback, Kvothe decides to pursue the hunt for a wealthy patron. Ambrose has made it impossible to find one close to the university but the world is a large place. It is time for Kvothe to see some more of it.

In the first book Kvothe is introduced as a young boy who is to smart for his own good. His rashness and confidence in his own abilities frequently leading him into trouble. Many of his actions are either exceedingly clever or stupid beyond all belief and Kvothe spends a great deal of time trying to deal with the consequences of such flashes of brilliance. In this book he matures a little. That is not to say he doesn't do some profoundly stupid thing from time to time but there does seem to be a little more mature reasoning behind it. The most obvious change is of course Kvothe's discovery of the physical side of love. Rothfuss is one of those authors who discretely fades to black when things get steamy but he suggests rather a lot of activity on that front. Which of course leads to a whole new set of complications.

The young Kvothe's colourful descriptions of his life are a stark contrast to the sad and subdued mood in the Waystone Inn. One of the things Rothfuss does very well in this novel is make the young Kvothe look larger than life, while making the mature Kvothe telling the story is only a shadow of the man he once was. Rothfuss dedicates only a few brief chapters to the present state of our hero but resignation and the conviction that his life is over stand out clearly in those scenes. It is still not quite clear what happened to Kvothe to put him in the state he is in. One thing is clear, while this book ends on a high, the final part of his story will be a tragedy.

At 994 pages, this book is significantly longer than the first novel in the series. It is even a few thousand words longer than The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson, one of the biggest books I've read last year. In fact, reading the hardcover is a good exercise in weightlifting. It begs the question if the story actually justifies that many pages. The answer to that is complicated. As I mentioned in my review of The Name of the Wind, the story rambles a bit. Rothfuss admitted as much by having Kvothe warn us in advance. The way Kvothe tells the story is part of the charm of the book but it also has some serious limitations. It didn't bother me in the first volume. Even if the novel isn't very tightly structured, it reads smoothly. Kvothe is a story teller and The Name of the Wind sounds like a story told around the camp fire.

The Wise Man's Fear is half again as long and personally I think it stretches the camp fire story feel of the previous book beyond what the story can handle. Kvothe does a lot in this novel, not necessarily finishing one thing before diving head first into the next adventure. Rothfuss regularly returns to a bit of unfinished business a hundred or two hundred pages later. Had Rothfuss not delivered one of the most celebrated débuts in the fantasy genre in recent years I suspect this book would have been severely edited. Truth been told, it would have been possible to reduce the number of pages significantly while keeping the main story intact.

Would this have been a good thing? I have mixed feelings about that. While I do think the book is a bit too long, Rothfuss clearly made an attempt to keep the problems of this particular format manageable and for the most part he succeeds. He even has Kvote skip some parts of his own story he does not consider interesting. There were a few points where I wondered why Rothfuss added yet another adventure to what already was quite a long list. In particular the inclusion of a long section on Kvothe's encounter with Felurian and his adventures with the Adem. The do in the end play their part in the larger story of course, but the also take up quite a few pages. The way Rothfuss tells his tale does not result in a lot of natural breaks in the story. When one does present itself Rothfuss takes is. There is quite a bit of Kvothe's boast at the beginning of the first novel that still has to fall into place so moving material to the next volume would probably have lead to trouble later on anyway.

Writing The Wise Man's Fear may have taken a while longer than many fans would have liked, it was definitely worth the wait. Rothfuss polished his story until is shines and given the almost impossible task he set himself after delivering one of the most remarkable fantasy novels in this decade, he was probably right to take his time. Kvothe is rash and self-centred but also brilliant and at times as cute as a baby seal. This book is every thing that The Name of the Wind and then some. Fans of the first book will be very satisfied with this second volume in The Kingkiller Chronicle. It is a very good read by a remarkable author but somehow I can't entirely shake the feeling that sometimes less is more.

Book Details
Title: The Wise Man's Fear
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Publisher: Gollancz
Pages: 994
Year: 2011
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 978-0-575-08141-3
First published: 2011

The Name of the Wind - Patrick Rothfuss

In 2006 the biggest début of the year in fantasy was without a doubt The Lies of Locke Lamora by Scott Lynch. The following year saw the rise of another new star in fantasy. The Name of the Wind, first book in the Kingkiller Chronicle, by Patrick Rothfuss made a huge impact and the second book, which will be released in March, has been on many a list of most anticipated releases for the last couple of years. Although the second volume had already been written by the time the first book was published, Rothfuss rewrote the entire book after realizing what professional editing did for the first volume. After such a successful début, the pressure was on to deliver a second book. I suspect Rothfuss was right taking his time to revise it. The first volume has certainly created high expectations on my part.

The story opens in a tavern in the village of Newarre (read: nowhere), where innkeeper Kote is trying to lead a quiet life, accompanied by his student Bast. The first sign that he may not be allowed to do just that is what a huge spider-like creature appears and attacks one of the locals. Fortunately for him, the creature is crushed under a horse of the local and he brings it in to the village for inspection. Although he doesn't tell the villagers, Kote knows what this creature is, how dangerous it is, what drew it to Newarre and that it is most likely not alone. Without telling the villagers or Bast, Kote sets out to kill the rest of the creatures.

While looking for the creatures in the darkness outside the village he runs into a lonely traveller. This man, known as The Chronicler, has been chasing a rumour that the great Kvothe, a man of legend and presumed dead, is living in Newarre. He recognizes Kote instantly. After they return to Kote's inn, The Chronicler convinces him to let him write down his story. But only on Kvothe's terms. He will need three days to tell it and The Chronicler is not allowed to change a single word. On this first day, Kvote tells the story of his youth, his parents, his first teacher and above all his time at the university. The tale of his brilliance and mistakes, his first love and his brush with the mysterious Chandrians. In short, the real story behind the legends that have sprung up around him. It does not need the embellishments associated with rumour and the creation of myths, the truth is quite exciting enough.

It's very easy to see why this book has such an appeal. It is not the most challenging of reads, neither is the setting the most original in modern fantasy but it is without a doubt a triumph of storytelling. When Kvothe tells us about his life the reader is sitting in that inn with him, hanging on his lips. Good storytelling is an art and keeping it up for the better part of 600 pages is very impressive indeed. Not to mention Rothfuss planned two more books in this style. He's set himself quite a challenge by choosing this limiting format but in The Name of the Wind at least, it works very well.

That is not to say the book is without weaknesses. The way he tells his story can come across as a ramble at some points. Rothfuss must have realized it because he lets Kvote warn the reader early on in the book when the author has him say:

"If I seem to wander, if I seem to stray, remember that true stories seldom take the straightest way."

Kvote to The Chronicler, Chapter Seven - Of Beginnings and the Names of Things

He is quite right here of course, the story does not take the straightest way. This being the first book, it is not easy to say what is foreshadowing and where Rothfuss genuinely wanders, but I can't shake the impression that he does from time to time.

Whether he is rambling or not, Kvote is a memorable character. He brags, he's overconfident and can be a bit of a drama queen. He's also brilliant and he knows it. In fact, that is what gets him in trouble most of the time. Too sure of his own capabilities and too impatient to wait, he frequently takes rash action. Because of this the story can change direction very quickly and in unpredictable ways. Although Rothfuss has already revealed some of the feats Kvothe has yet to perform, how he will get there is still a mystery. The flow of Kvothe's successes and disappointments in this books makes for some very good reading. It does not really lend itself well to a climax in this book however. The event that will close this story is known early on in the novel and when this event does occur, it feels a bit abrupt. Kvothe may be ready to call it a day, but as a reader you are for from done with this book. A curse and a blessing I suppose, given the years that have passed waiting for the second volume.

The Name of the Wind is one of those books that capture that sense of adventure many are looking for in a fantasy novel. We get to see a complex and to the reader brand new world through the eyes of a young protagonist (Kvothe tells about the first sixteen years of his life in this volume) and explore it with him. We see the world through the eyes of a young man full of possibilities. It's fresh, exciting and even bad luck does not stop Kvothe from going for it. Rothfuss also offers the reader the more mature, depressed and brooding Kvothe The Chronicler gets to see. It's a very interesting contrast and it raises quite a few questions. After this first book I am by no means sure how Rothfuss means to unite these two very different Kvothes. I do think Rothfuss has managed to create a character that will keep the reader turning pages for the full trilogy. A theory I am certainly going to check once I get my hands on The Wise Man's Fear.

Book Details
Title: The Name of the Wind
Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Publisher: DAW Books
Pages: 661
Year: 2007
Language: English
Format: Hardcover
ISBN: 0-7564-0407-9
First published: 2007