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Cover of The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind

  • 736 pages · about 12 hours
  • First published 2007
  • 76 editions

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1 About this book

In a quiet country inn, the innkeeper Kote is recognized by a traveling scribe as Kvothe, a famous and notorious figure who has vanished from the world. Persuaded to tell his true story, Kvothe says it will take three days, and this book is the first. He recounts his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, the loss of his family, his years as a penniless orphan on the streets of the city of Tarbean, and his entry, still very young, into the University, where he studies a magic based on knowing the true names of things, makes friends and enemies, and looks for the truth about what happened to his family. The Name of the Wind, published in 2007, is the first volume of Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle.

  • Fantasy
  • Quests (Expeditions)
  • Loss (Psychology)
  • Voyages and travels
  • Murder
  • Magic
  • Magicians
  • Fantasy, epic

2 What to expect

The first volume of an unfinished fantasy trilogy, told as a life story: a legendary figure, now hiding as an innkeeper, narrates his own youth. It covers his childhood among traveling players, years of poverty and his time at a university of magic, with music, a carefully worked-out magic system and a first love. The prose is lyrical and the pace leisurely, more a coming-of-age tale than a quest, and the third book has not appeared.

Good for readers who want: character-driven fantasy, a school of magic, and an immersive read.

3 About Patrick Rothfuss

Born 1973

Patrick James Rothfuss (born June 6, 1973) is an American author. He is best known for his highly acclaimed series The Kingkiller Chronicle, beginning with Rothfuss' debut novel, The Name of the Wind (2007), which won several awards, and continuing in the sequel, The Wise Man's Fear (2011), which topped The New York Times Best Seller list.

Bio adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)

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