4 of 6 people found this review helpful


My fellow fantasy fans I've also stopped by Kvothe's tale when searching for something to occupy my mind while waiting for the "A Dance of Dragons". After reading the recommendation here and reading some reviews I went to read it really high expectations. I read it all in one sitting (one Sunday) what shows how much the book has gripped me.
What was good about the book? First and foremost the writing. It's probably the best prose of all fantasy books I've ever read. Rothfuss has an eye for the perfect word (he's truly obssessive as he himself has admitted in his blog) and his writing is what really distinguishes the book.

Nonetheless I certainly wouldn't rank in the top 3. First because it's only the first of a trilogy. Martin's "A Song of Ice and Fire" isn't finished yet but hey we had 4 thousands pages to see how good he is. So his place as #1 it's deserved. Rothfuss'... isn't.
Second because as people have said before there's really only one character well developed here: Kvothe. No one else comes close: even secondary characters in Harry Potter are better developed (see Snape for instance). Though we can believe the other characters are real we can't empathize with than as we can with I don't know Jon Tyrion Jamie and dozens of others in "A Song of Ice and Fire'.
Third because the book is as has too been already written here only the beginning: you finished the 700 pages monster and thinks "where the hell is the climax?".
Fourth Kvothe's "superness" is a little exagerated as well as the many problems he faces during his short life.

Nonetheless a truly excellent book and I eagerly wait to read the next installment in this trilogy. 9/10.