The Wise Man's Fear
Do you like books? I like books. Good books now, not your usual hocus-pocus nonsense.
I recently read this one book called The Name of The Wind (TNOTW), written by Patrick Rothfuss. It was a pleasure to start, a great joy to read through and unfortunate to finish. When I finished it, I was left with an ache, gnawing at me as I wanted the story of Kvothe to continue.
I caved in after a few weeks and bought the sequel to this book, and it was called The Wise Man's Fear (Henceforth shortened into the acronym TWMF). Now, you must understand that I am careful with what books I pick up. I want a compelling story, characters that tug at your heart strings, and a well thought out system for imagination to make it unique. So I made sure to look up reviews about TWMF. I noticed that people did not enjoy this book as much as The Name of The Wind, and I was left wondering why. Some stated the pacing of the story was hurt with certain sections of the book. After having read TWMF twice now, I will take my chance to say that these people did not coherently put their opinion together well. So this little blog entry is my own opinion about TWMF, and to tackle what I now call the common criticisms that I have encountered over the net in relation to this book.
I think I will begin by comparing TNOTW to TWMF. TNOTW was practically almost perfect. It was not too long, it was not too short, the pacing was flawless, the character development was realistic and there were lots of twists and turns into the plot which made you scratch your head while thinking 'Damn, I wonder what's going to happen next'. In short, a brilliantly written fantasy book.
TWMF kicks things up a notch. The book is over 1000 pages long (which for me is a pleasure), the pacing is slightly slower, the character development is also realistic, and it gives a much deeper insight into the character of Kvothe. There are lots of colourful encounters in this book, and its terrifically well written. However, when I went looking on the internet for reviews, people did not like it as much as TNOTW. I couldn't help but ask myself why, as I read people's reviews.
The reasons why people did not like TWMF as much as TNOTW can be summed up in short little points:
1) The pacing is a bit less intensive and there is more attention to detail
2) It gives a build up for the final book (I personally think this is a good thing, but whatever)
3) It's not TNOTW (Yes, that's correct. People actually criticise TWMF because its not TNOTW. Can you believe that?)
4) Kvothe has sex. (... Yes. That's also correct. I will cover this point in more detail in this entry.)
I will tackle each point individually while I extend my own criticism for TWMF.
1) Yes, the pacing is certainly a notch less than TNOTW. Instead of a short paragraph for detail, we might on the odd uncommon occasion spend two short paragraphs on detail instead. I concur with this criticism, but its nothing that hurts either the book or the reader.
2) I think this is a good thing. 'Nuff said. I'm dying to read the third and final book because of it now.
3) I never understood the idiots who criticised in this manner. 'It's not The Name of The Wind, so its not as good!' Weeeeell crikey little pumpkin-pie, if you want to criticise like that, I'll tell you to pack your bags and skip out on the third book while you are at it because... well... let me tell you a little spoiler. IT WON'T BE THE NAME OF THE WIND. LOL. It will be The Doors Of Stone (Tentative title as of now), so if you don't like TWMF I suggest you go back and pick up TNOTW, and read it again. And again. And again. But whatever you do, don't pick up TWMF! Its not TNOTW!
Seriously. What is wrong with these kind of people? Can't they see it as one story? I know they are two separate books, but I personally consider them as a whole, telling the story of Kvothe. If I can do it, why can't they?
4) Sex.
...
Yes, that's right.
SEX.
Yes, that's absolutely correct. God's Black Hands forbid the FRIVOLOUS, DISGUSTING ACT OF SEX IN A BOOK!! OH MY GEE ITS SO DISGUSTING!
... Really? Quite honestly, this is how some of you reacted. I almost imagined that these people nearly dropped the book in a dramatic fashion all shaking as if they touched something vile and filthy. So, long story short for the people who act in this manner:
GROW UP.
Sex happens, and you have a lot of growing up to do if you don't accept that humans have a sexual side to themselves. 'But I'm not interested in how good Kvothe is at sex! I'm just interested in how the story will pan out!' Actually you may as well just say 'I'm just interested in how the story ends, not the crap in between or how he gets there or how he develops as a character'.
The sex that is presented in the story of Kvothe has been a re-occurring theme since TNOTW. In TNOTW, there was a distinct lack of sex and experiences with women. I can't count on my fingers how many times Kvothe said how he 'doesn't know anything about women', let alone the amount of times he was criticised by his friends for not pushing the envelope. Just in case you don't understand, let me spell that out for you: It means that the subject of women has been one of mystery, pleasure and misery for Kvothe. An obstacle to overcome, a chance for him to learn more, a chance for him to develop another dimension of his personality.
'He had plenty of romantics with Denna!', err, yes he did. But she also played him like a yo-yo. Always keeping him at distance, running away whenever it suits her. She strings him along while she full knows that Kvothe is in love with her. Any sane woman would know. He never got anywhere with Denna. They didn't even share a kiss. I rest my case.
I don't understand why people hated the part with Felurian either. I will exercise my criticism by saying that it was abrupt. Kind of like... Kvothe was trying to catch bandits. Blablabla. And suddenly... Felurian! ... Yeah, it was abrupt. But I do not understand why people abhorred the encounter with Felurian so much. By the way they are writing and criticising it, I would almost say that they were allergic to sex. The encounter with Felurian allowed him to overcome the obstacle that he had since the beginning of the story, his complete lack of knowledge with women. He developed as a character from it and used his wits to escape with his mind relatively intact before he was subjected to sexual debauchery.
'He spent too much time in the world of the Fae!', actually no he did not. It's not like all he did was have sex with Felurian. He found out more about Felurian herself (for example, she enjoys other pleasures of life next to sex, so its not like she is a succubus), Felurian made a shaed cloak for him, he explored the world of the Fae and accidently stumbled across the evil Cthaeh, and learned more about Cinder and how he too went to talk to the Cthaeh. This is all relevant to the story, because it again makes you wonder how things will play out for Kvothe in the third and final book.
That said, I am unable to predict what will happen in The Doors of Stone. Will Kvothe meet his end by the hands of the Sithe? Will he get his knack for adventure back and exact his revenge against The Seven at last? Will he finally reconcile with Denna or will he remain alone until the end of his days? Will we ever find out what lies beyond the stone doors at the University? I do not know. What I do know is that I will eagerly await the release of the third book. I will be one of the people who will buy it right off the bat the second it pops up in stores. And I will likely be one of the few people who will still consider it (all 3 books) to be one solid story, the story of Kvothe.
I recently read this one book called The Name of The Wind (TNOTW), written by Patrick Rothfuss. It was a pleasure to start, a great joy to read through and unfortunate to finish. When I finished it, I was left with an ache, gnawing at me as I wanted the story of Kvothe to continue.
I caved in after a few weeks and bought the sequel to this book, and it was called The Wise Man's Fear (Henceforth shortened into the acronym TWMF). Now, you must understand that I am careful with what books I pick up. I want a compelling story, characters that tug at your heart strings, and a well thought out system for imagination to make it unique. So I made sure to look up reviews about TWMF. I noticed that people did not enjoy this book as much as The Name of The Wind, and I was left wondering why. Some stated the pacing of the story was hurt with certain sections of the book. After having read TWMF twice now, I will take my chance to say that these people did not coherently put their opinion together well. So this little blog entry is my own opinion about TWMF, and to tackle what I now call the common criticisms that I have encountered over the net in relation to this book.
I think I will begin by comparing TNOTW to TWMF. TNOTW was practically almost perfect. It was not too long, it was not too short, the pacing was flawless, the character development was realistic and there were lots of twists and turns into the plot which made you scratch your head while thinking 'Damn, I wonder what's going to happen next'. In short, a brilliantly written fantasy book.
TWMF kicks things up a notch. The book is over 1000 pages long (which for me is a pleasure), the pacing is slightly slower, the character development is also realistic, and it gives a much deeper insight into the character of Kvothe. There are lots of colourful encounters in this book, and its terrifically well written. However, when I went looking on the internet for reviews, people did not like it as much as TNOTW. I couldn't help but ask myself why, as I read people's reviews.
The reasons why people did not like TWMF as much as TNOTW can be summed up in short little points:
1) The pacing is a bit less intensive and there is more attention to detail
2) It gives a build up for the final book (I personally think this is a good thing, but whatever)
3) It's not TNOTW (Yes, that's correct. People actually criticise TWMF because its not TNOTW. Can you believe that?)
4) Kvothe has sex. (... Yes. That's also correct. I will cover this point in more detail in this entry.)
I will tackle each point individually while I extend my own criticism for TWMF.
1) Yes, the pacing is certainly a notch less than TNOTW. Instead of a short paragraph for detail, we might on the odd uncommon occasion spend two short paragraphs on detail instead. I concur with this criticism, but its nothing that hurts either the book or the reader.
2) I think this is a good thing. 'Nuff said. I'm dying to read the third and final book because of it now.
3) I never understood the idiots who criticised in this manner. 'It's not The Name of The Wind, so its not as good!' Weeeeell crikey little pumpkin-pie, if you want to criticise like that, I'll tell you to pack your bags and skip out on the third book while you are at it because... well... let me tell you a little spoiler. IT WON'T BE THE NAME OF THE WIND. LOL. It will be The Doors Of Stone (Tentative title as of now), so if you don't like TWMF I suggest you go back and pick up TNOTW, and read it again. And again. And again. But whatever you do, don't pick up TWMF! Its not TNOTW!
Seriously. What is wrong with these kind of people? Can't they see it as one story? I know they are two separate books, but I personally consider them as a whole, telling the story of Kvothe. If I can do it, why can't they?
4) Sex.
...
Yes, that's right.
SEX.
Yes, that's absolutely correct. God's Black Hands forbid the FRIVOLOUS, DISGUSTING ACT OF SEX IN A BOOK!! OH MY GEE ITS SO DISGUSTING!
... Really? Quite honestly, this is how some of you reacted. I almost imagined that these people nearly dropped the book in a dramatic fashion all shaking as if they touched something vile and filthy. So, long story short for the people who act in this manner:
GROW UP.
Sex happens, and you have a lot of growing up to do if you don't accept that humans have a sexual side to themselves. 'But I'm not interested in how good Kvothe is at sex! I'm just interested in how the story will pan out!' Actually you may as well just say 'I'm just interested in how the story ends, not the crap in between or how he gets there or how he develops as a character'.
The sex that is presented in the story of Kvothe has been a re-occurring theme since TNOTW. In TNOTW, there was a distinct lack of sex and experiences with women. I can't count on my fingers how many times Kvothe said how he 'doesn't know anything about women', let alone the amount of times he was criticised by his friends for not pushing the envelope. Just in case you don't understand, let me spell that out for you: It means that the subject of women has been one of mystery, pleasure and misery for Kvothe. An obstacle to overcome, a chance for him to learn more, a chance for him to develop another dimension of his personality.
'He had plenty of romantics with Denna!', err, yes he did. But she also played him like a yo-yo. Always keeping him at distance, running away whenever it suits her. She strings him along while she full knows that Kvothe is in love with her. Any sane woman would know. He never got anywhere with Denna. They didn't even share a kiss. I rest my case.
I don't understand why people hated the part with Felurian either. I will exercise my criticism by saying that it was abrupt. Kind of like... Kvothe was trying to catch bandits. Blablabla. And suddenly... Felurian! ... Yeah, it was abrupt. But I do not understand why people abhorred the encounter with Felurian so much. By the way they are writing and criticising it, I would almost say that they were allergic to sex. The encounter with Felurian allowed him to overcome the obstacle that he had since the beginning of the story, his complete lack of knowledge with women. He developed as a character from it and used his wits to escape with his mind relatively intact before he was subjected to sexual debauchery.
'He spent too much time in the world of the Fae!', actually no he did not. It's not like all he did was have sex with Felurian. He found out more about Felurian herself (for example, she enjoys other pleasures of life next to sex, so its not like she is a succubus), Felurian made a shaed cloak for him, he explored the world of the Fae and accidently stumbled across the evil Cthaeh, and learned more about Cinder and how he too went to talk to the Cthaeh. This is all relevant to the story, because it again makes you wonder how things will play out for Kvothe in the third and final book.
That said, I am unable to predict what will happen in The Doors of Stone. Will Kvothe meet his end by the hands of the Sithe? Will he get his knack for adventure back and exact his revenge against The Seven at last? Will he finally reconcile with Denna or will he remain alone until the end of his days? Will we ever find out what lies beyond the stone doors at the University? I do not know. What I do know is that I will eagerly await the release of the third book. I will be one of the people who will buy it right off the bat the second it pops up in stores. And I will likely be one of the few people who will still consider it (all 3 books) to be one solid story, the story of Kvothe.