Building a good high fantasy story is a lot like building a fire. You need to lay down the ground work, loosely piling the tinder in the center, adding the kindling on top of that, larger pieces of wood then light the match and get it started. Add some more tinder as the fire grows until the larger pieces of wood burn on their own and then you just have to keep it going. In a good High Fantasy novel or series I’ve found that really takes about 30% of the book. Things kind of just plod along as you learn of the Hero/Heroine and their surroundings. This is no exception to that rule but it is totally worth it because the world building is phenomenal and the characters complex.
Meet Kvothe:
-- “I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. You may have heard of me.”
He is the heart of this story. Currently Kvothe is in hiding pretending to be an innkeeper, he doesn’t seem that special when we first meet him but all of that is about to change. This is his story told to a scribe who has followed rumors to find him. Kvothe has led quite the life, currently his best friend is a demon, he grew up traveling with something alike to gypsies, lived on the streets as a beggar and attended a school of magic that might even rival Hogwarts.
He has all kinds of interesting stories to tell and this is just the first day of the telling. The friends he makes, professors he has and enemies he acquired along the way are all spectacularly interesting and full of pizazz. There are numerous characters that I loved in the book but I don’t want to take up 15 pages righting about then so I have picked my favorite three
The one and only Lady Love of Kvothe the mysterious Deena
She is unlike any heroine in a story I’ve ever read. She is not the prim and proper Mary Jane character. She is so likeable but often in the company of other men as she tries to eke out a living of sorts. As a woman she has limited prospects and you can tell she likes Kvothe very much possibly loves and if she got to choose she would choose him but he has nothing he can give her now and so she floats in and out of his life.
-- “Denna is a wild thing," I explained. "Like a hind or a summer storm. If a storm blows down your house, or breaks a tree, you don't say the storm was mean. It was cruel. It acted according to its nature and something unfortunately was hurt. The same is true of Denna.”
She is a fierce, smart and brave. I love the banter between them and really it is a love of the whole person. Kvothe sees Deena for exactly who she is and is able to accept her and never judge. She is beautiful and men throw themselves at her all the time but Kvothe will bide his time just being happy to spend time with her and the depth of that loyalty and friendship that he offers is one more reason that I adore Kvothe.
-- “I have known her longer, my smile said. True, you have been inside the circle of her arms, tasted her mouth, felt the warmth of her, and that is something I have never had. But there is a part of her that is only for me. You cannot touch it, no matter how hard you might try. And after she has left you I will still be here, making her laugh. My light shining in her. I will still be here long after she has forgotten your name.”
You can tell they are going to have an epic love the kind that might end in tragedy but it will be beautiful, bold and brilliant.
Eloden the Mad Professor
-- “Elodin proved a difficult man to find. He had an office in Hollows, but never seemed to use it. When I visited Ledgers and Lists, I discovered he only taught one class: Unlikely Maths. However, this was less than helpful in tracking him down, as according to the ledger, the time of the class was 'now' and the location was 'everywhere.”
He is the best professor ever. You are never quite sure what he is doing and he is either the smartest man at the school or the craziest. Every interaction with him is perplexing and wonderful. He is full of so many fantastic characteristics that you are never sure what he is going to do next.
Auri, the girl living in the sewer Kvothe’s little moon beam:
I desperately want to know who Auri really is, as that is not her real name but the one that Kvothe picked for her. She is skittish and shy and she always brings Kvothe something when they meet up that is ridiculous like an ‘apple that thinks it is a pear’ or a ‘key that unlocks a door on the moon’. But there is something that tells me she may play an important role in Kvothe’s life. She is also just a little on the crazy side as well.
-- “I was wondering, Auri. Would you mind showing me the Underthing?”
Auri looked away, suddenly shy. “Kvothe, I thought you were a gentleman,” she said, tugging self-consciously at her ragged shirt. “Imagine asking to see a girl’s underthing.” She looked down, her hair hiding her face.
…”Auri,” I asked slowly, “are you joking with me?” She looked up and grinned. “Yes I am,” she said proudly. “Isn’t it wonderful?”
What a fantastically imagined world that Patrick Rothfuss has created. There are stories within stories throughout and even though you didn’t see the need for a few details on page 70 the importance of the come to light down the road. Everything is so well explained and shown that I feel like I could have gone to the Arcanium and learned to be and Arcanist.
Kvothe is flawed and broken trying to make it in this world and he is unapologetic of the mistakes he makes along the way. He is easy to like in all of his struggles because at the heart of him is a good man even when he is making bad choices. I loved everything about this story and can’t wait to see what happens next. The fire has been built and I will sit and warm myself by it's flames until there is nothing but embers left.
Kindle Customer
Robin Snyder