The Wise Man's Fear

Patrick Rothfuss' The Name of the Wind was released with much fanfare in 2007. Indeed, this debut enjoyed both commercial and critical success. The Name of the Wind became the bestselling fantasy debut in hardcover format of all time, beating both Terry Goodkind's Wizard's First Rule and George R. R. Martin's A Game of Thrones. The novel won the Quill Award and cracked the top 10 of the New York Times Bestsellers list in paperback. All in all, it was everything any author could ever hope for.

Based on the fact that the first draft of the entire trilogy had already been written, readers expected The Wise Man's Fear to be released the following year. Based on Rothfuss' answer in his first interview, his growing legions of fans were persuaded that the entire trilogy would be out by 2009:

Well.... I've already written them. So you won't have to wait forever for them to come out. They'll be released on a regular schedule. One per year.

You can also expect the second book to be written with the same degree of care and detail as this first one. You know the sophomore slump? When a writer's second novel is weaker because they're suddenly forced to write under deadline? I don't have to worry about that because my next two novels are already good to go.

Unfortunately, as many authors will tell you, life got in the way, forcing Patrick Rothfuss and his publishers to push back the release date of The Wise Man's Fear time and again. Following several postponements, Daw Books officially announced that the book would be released in early 2011. But as was the case with Martin's A Feast for Crows, the intervening years have raised readers' expectations to an incredibly high level. And the question was: Would The Wise Man's Fear be worth the wait?

So was it, in the end, worth the four years it took to be published? Let me set your mind at ease. For those who enjoyed The Name of the Wind, you can safely go ahead and pre-order The Wise Man's Fear. It's everything its predecessor was, and then some! However, if you weren't thrilled by Rothfuss' debut, then I believe you need not bother with the second volume. Style-wise and plot-wise, regardless of the fact that the storylines are a bit more ambitious, there is likely nothing that can win over readers who were not that impressed with The Name of the Wind. In terms of style and tone, both novels are pretty similar. So I doubt that The Wise Man's Fear can satisfy readers that weren't enchanted by the first one. But for fans of the author, buckle up! It should definitely scratch that itch!

Here's the blurb:

In The Wise Man's Fear, Day Two of The Kingkiller Chronicle, Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of his family, and travels into the Fae realm. There he meets Felurian, the faerie woman no man can resist, and who no man has ever survived...until Kvothe.

In The Wise Man's Fear, Kvothe takes his first steps on the path of the hero and learns how difficult life can be when a man becomes a legend in his own time.

The structure of the book is the same as that of The Name of the Wind. The better part of the novel recounts Kvothe's past and is told in the first person. The interludes, on the other hand, occur in "real time" and employ a third person narrative. I recall finding that specific structure a bit odd in Rothfuss' debut, but it works well in The Wise Man's Fear. It feels as though there are more interludes in this one, but I could be mistaken. While it's evident that many of these interludes will pave the way for the second trilogy to come, at times they felt a bit redundant and unnecessary. Especially since many of them break the momentum of the narrative, just as things are getting really interesting. Like unwanted commercial when you're watching a particularly good movie on TV. . .



Before going further, I also wanted to address something that's been appearing on many message boards on the internet. Patrick Rothfuss has often claimed that The Wise Man's Fear would feature more sex and violence than what his fans have been accustomed to in the past, and many readers have been wondering if they would find that offputting. In retrospect, it all depends on what sort of speculative fiction works you usually enjoy. If, à la Brandon Sanderson, you can't abide swearing and the depiction (in any shape of form) of sexuality, then perhaps you might find certain scenes offputting. There is nothing graphic, degrading, or low-brow about those sequences, mind you. Sex is part of life, and thus it is also part of this tale. Regarding the violence, there's very little of it. Nothing to write home about, to tell the truth. All in all, if you are a fan of authors such as George R. R. Martin, R. Scott Bakker, Joe Abercrombie, and Richard Morgan, what sex and violence you'll find within the pages of this book barely warrant a PG-13 label.

It's also been said that a more sexually active Kvothe was sort of a wish fulfillment thing on Rothfuss' part. It's been compared to that of Guy Gavriel Kay with bearded characters. Keeping that in mind as I read along, I would have to agree on this. For a redhead male, Kvothe sure gets an inordinate amount of action in The Wise Man's Fear. And if you had trouble believing that Archie could have both Betty and Veronica, you may raise an eyebrow on more than one occasion in this second volume. Having said that, it's simply something that will make you smirk from time to time, and it doesn't take anything away from the reading experience.

In terms of worldbuilding, the cover blurb hinted at a lot more in The Wise Man's Fear, so my curiosity was piqued. Rothfuss played his cards rather close to his chest in The Name of the Wind, and I was hoping to learn more about the world and its societies in this one. Sadly, yet again, the author offers us a few glimpses of the depth of his creation, yet he appears to be always holding back. Granted, Rothfuss elaborates on a lot more in this novel, which never fails to get the reader to hope for even more. That's good, no question, but Rothfuss rarely follows through with more revelations. To a certain extent, that was at times a disappointment, especially given the length of this book. I would have thought that the tale would have expanded a lot more in scope and vision, yet always you get the feeling that Patrick Rothfuss is holding himself back.

Oddly enough, what is perhaps the book's most impressive aspect could also be its biggest shortcoming. Rothfuss has an amazing eye for details. His fluid prose and evocative narrative make the story come alive, creating an imagery that never fails to dazzle. And yet, it could be that Rothfuss is too in love with his creation and spends an excessive amount of time describing the minutiae of Kvothe's mundane life instead of focusing on the greater scheme of things. As I mentioned, Rothfuss does it exceedingly well, and it makes the story leap off the page. But overdone, it's simply overkill.

Which then leads to pacing issues, precluding the story from progressing in a meaningful way in several portions of the novel. The Wise Man's Fear starts slow. How slow? Slow enough for Patrick Rothfuss to make Tad Williams look like Mike Tyson. And it's mainly due to the fact that the author spends about 400+ pages re-establishing facts from The Name of the Wind. Yes, Kvothe is poor. Yes, he has to play music to make ends meet. Yes, he has problems paying his tuition fees and must borrow money from dubious sources. Yes, he is a smartass. Yes, the Masters hate him. Yes, he's kind of a dumbass with women, especially Denna. Yes, there is trouble brewing between him and Ambrose. Nothing new under the sun. . . We're talking about a character who will kill a king and experience all sort of wonders. He'll go through harrowing ordeals and become one of the most notorious hero/villain the world has ever seen. So do I want to read another chapter featuring Kvothe crafting more sympathy lamps to help pay for tuition? Simply put: no.

Not that there is no meaningfull or important stuff within those chapters. Far from it. But I feel that a 3-page "What has gone before" section would have allowed Rothfuss to concentrate on those specific plotlines and probably save himself about 300+ pages of things we already knew. In addition, rehashing all that material means that there is very little sense of escalation, very little tension. In a sense, The Wise Man's Fear doesn't truly kick in until we are done with the University part. That's when the story kicks into high gear and where Patrick Rothfuss truly shines. Only then do we really realize that The Name of the Wind was no fluke. At that point, the tale that would make Kvothe the man he'll become begins in earnest.

I will not spoil the tale by unveiling anything that the blurb hasn't already revealed. But I really enjoyed how Kvothe's unending search for the Chandrian will bring him to attempt to uncover the secrets of the mysterious order of the Amyr. The time spent both with the Adem mercenaries and in the faerie world were also quite engrossing, if a bit overdone. Kvothe's time with Felurian is probably the most flagrant example. Yet that's just nitpicking, in the end. The last two thirds of The Wise Man's Fear are extremely good. They give us an idea of the breadth of the author's talent and imagination, hinting at a lot more to come.

My main complaint would have to be that for a work of its size, given its length The Wise Man's Fear doesn't move the story significantly forward the way George R. R. Martin's A Storm of Swords, Steven Erikson's Memories of Ice, and Robert Jordan's The Shadow Rising did with their own series. Could be that volume three will be for all the marbles. We'll have to wait and see. It might be that Rothfuss attention to details and certain would-be extraneous plotlines will pay unanticipated dividends in the final installment of the trilogy. Time will tell. . . But at face value, it looks as though, like its predecessor, The Wise Man's Fear is decidedly overlong.

Once more, this second volume is a character-driven book. As a first person narrative, it can't be anything but that. There is some character growth where Kvothe is concerned, yet less than I expected. Still, I figure that what he goes through in the last portion of the novel will help shape him into the figure he is destined to become. The supporting cast, though bigger than that in The Name of the Wind, is composed of a relatively small number of protagonists. Unfortunately, Denna remains as annoying as ever, and if they keep it up she and Kvothe will soon dethrone Perrin and Faile as the most exasperating couple (or pseudo couple) in fantasy.

In the end, if you liked The Name of the Wind, you will love The Wise Man's Fear. Indeed, although both books suffer from the same shortcomings, Patrick Rothfuss managed to take it up a few notches in this one. Hence, you are less likely to find the pacing issues and my nitpicking offputting in any significant manner. For those who had problems with Rothfuss' debut, however, this one might not be for you.

The Wise Man's Fear is a solid and accessible fantasy work. Whether or not it lives up to the high expectations the many delays engendered remains to be seen. But based on his loyal and enthusiastic fanbase, I'm pretty confident it will! Now let's just hope that it won't take four years for Patrick Rothfuss to complete the final chapter in this quality series.

The final verdict: 8/10

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