This is apparently the first of a trilogy of heroic fantasy books set in the world of Temerant, but as yet the third installment has not been written, so if you do begin this series, be aware it may not end. This is American author Patrick Rothfuss’ debut novel and it has won many awards.

The story begins with a scene in a village inn where a scrael (spider monster) arrives and is dealt with by the innkeeper. The innkeeper Kvothe, it turns out, is hiding out in the village since slaying a king. He ends up recounting his life story to the Chronicler, which will take three days. Book one equates to day one of this story-telling.

Kvothe tells the tale of his childhood in a musical troupe, until his parents were killed by the Chandrian and he is left orphaned and must find a way to survive. Eventually Kvothe ends up in Imre and manages to get into University to study magic (Sympathy) and alchemy. Kvothe battles constantly with his pressing poverty and also pressure from enemies he develops along the way. He falls in love with Denna, and the two face fire and a dragon together.

This is an enjoyable read, with elements of Lord of the Rings and Harry Potter. The audio-narration by Rupert Degas is exceptional. The style of the story as a recount or memoir did make me wonder if it was going anywhere, and it finishes nowhere specific. I also struggled a little with the boy genius character, as Kvothe is very much a male Mary Sue. He feels like he would be every geek’s self-projected dream of themselves. In terms of the female characterisation in the book it is disappointing. The women are only really there to lend support to Kvothe’s story. If it were condensed into the size of a film I doubt it would pass the Bechdel test. Nevertheless, it was an enjoyable read. I don’t think I will read book two though as book three is seemingly a non-starter. 3.5 stars for me. ( )

I read this for the "A Book Picked Out By Someone Else" part of my 2019 reading challenge. It was different than I expected it to be, but I really enjoyed it and look forward to hearing more about Kvothe's life. ( )

THE best Fantasy novel of 2009, IMHO ( )

An interesting and engaging fantasy, if a bit dated.

This type of protagonist (really amazing at just about everything, loved by all, etc.) hasn't aged quite that great, and that may have contributed to the author never finishing this series. Who knows. Regardless, this is a good fantasy read. The world is well established, the characters are interesting, and I would genuinely like to see where it's going.

Unfortunately, past a few side stories, the author hasn't continued after the next in the series. So be forewarned. ( )

Lot of hype around this one. I basically got tired of waiting for something to happen and gave up at the opening of chapter 4. I may be missing out, but I'm moving on to something a little faster paced. Don't know if I'll return, but if I do it'll be for one reason - to figure out what's up with Bast. I found a guy in a fantasy novel who has the same name as the ancient Egyptian cat goddess to be rather distracting. If the dude turns out to be a cat-or-something-like I might be forced to challenged the author's world building chops. If he's not a cat-or-something-like, I might be forced question his character building chops.... ( )