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The Wise Man's Fear

Book 2 in the series:The Kingkiller Chronicle

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The Wise Man's Fear is the second installment in The Kingkiller Chronicle series by Patrick Rothfuss. The book continues the story of young Kvothe as he navigates through various adventures, both at the University and beyond. The narrative is framed by present-day Kvothe telling his life story to the Chronicler, offering a mix of episodic adventures, character development, and world-building. While some readers appreciate the diverse range of cultures and settings portrayed, others find certain parts, like Kvothe's time in Fae and encounters with characters like Denna, to be less engaging. The book delves into themes of gender politics, student-teacher relationships, and the protagonist's journey towards unraveling mysteries surrounding the Chandrian.

Characters:

The characters are well-developed, featuring Kvothe's growth and challenges, alongside a vivid cast that represents different cultures and themes.

Writing/Prose:

Rothfuss's writing combines lyrical prose with detailed world-building, humor, and character introspection, creating an immersive reading experience.

Plot/Storyline:

The plot follows Kvothe's journey as he expands his adventures beyond the University, dealing with various characters and learning about different cultures, while still searching for answers about his past.

Setting:

The setting features a richly detailed fictional world with diverse cultures, institutions like the University, and various magical realms that enhance the story.

Pacing:

The pacing varies, with some slow sections primarily in the middle, but it picks up towards the end, creating a balance between adventure and introspection.
BAST SLOUCHED AGAINST THE long stretch of mahogany bar, bored. Looking around the empty room, he sighed and rummaged around until he found a clean linen cloth. Then, with a resigned look, he began to ...

Notes:

The Wise Man's Fear is the second book in the Kingkiller Chronicle series by Patrick Rothfuss.
Kvothe, the main character, is a legendary figure told in flashback as he recounts his life to a scribe.
The book deals extensively with Kvothe's education at the University and includes various adventures he embarks on.
Readers express a mix of enjoyment and frustration with the book's pacing, particularly its length of around 1,000 pages.
There are themes of money, love, and identity explored through Kvothe's relationships, particularly with Denna.
The novel features Kvothe's encounters with various cultures, including the Adem and the Fae, which are praised for their creativity.
Some readers feel that the book's middle drags due to too much focus on certain plotlines with less progress towards overarching mysteries.
There are mentions of Kvothe's growth and maturation throughout the book, contrasting with his earlier self-centered behavior.
The book contains an array of characters, yet Criticism is aimed at sometimes shallow female characterizations.
The tension between the story's past events and the present-day narrative at the inn creates a sense of mystery and expectation for the final book.

Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings

The story contains themes of violence, sexual situations, and implications of sexual assault and misogyny.

Has Romance?

The romance in The Wise Man's Fear is significant, with Kvothe's relationships influencing much of the narrative.

From The Publisher:

Discover #1 New York Times-bestselling Patrick Rothfuss' epic fantasy series, The Kingkiller Chronicle.

"I just love the world of Patrick Rothfuss." -Lin-Manuel Miranda

"He's bloody good, this Rothfuss guy." -George R. R. Martin

"Rothfuss has real talent." -Terry Brooks

DAY TWO: THE WISE MAN'S FEAR

"There are three things all wise men fear: the sea in storm, a night with no moon, and the anger of a gentle man."

My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.

So begins a tale told from his own point of view-a story unequaled in fantasy literature. Now in The Wise Man's Fear, Day Two of The Kingkiller Chronicle, 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.

Praise for The Kingkiller Chronicle:

"The best epic fantasy I read last year…. He's bloody good, this Rothfuss guy."

-George R. R. Martin, New York Times-bestselling author of A Song of Ice and Fire

"Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous."

-Terry Brooks, New York Times-bestselling author of Shannara

"It is a rare and great pleasure to find a fantasist writing…with true music in the words."

-Ursula K. Le Guin, award-winning author of Earthsea

"The characters are real and the magic is true."

-Robin Hobb, New York Times-bestselling author of Assassin's Apprentice

"Masterful…. There is a beauty to Pat's writing that defies description."

-Brandon Sanderson, New York Times-bestselling author of Mistborn

Ratings (197)

Incredible (90)
Loved It (63)
Liked It (23)
It Was OK (18)
Hated It (3)

Reader Stats (254):

Read It (206)
Currently Reading (1)
Want To Read (36)
Did Not Finish (1)
Not Interested (10)

5 comment(s)

Loved It
1 month

Well, this book fell into the sequel trap that most books do - it is good and interesting, but you can also tell that the author is holding back the really good stuff for the final book - most trilogies do this - and the books tend to either either go great-decent-wonderful or great-decent-what the frig? - this one I hope will be the former and not the latter - don't get me wrong - this is an enjoyable enough read, but I felt that some of the fire and drive from The Name of the Wind was missing - as far as the King Killer meta-stories go, this one was hit or miss for me, and since I will not present spoilers, let's just say that one of the sub-plots to me was frivolous and boring, and I glazed over it without true interest - though, another of the sub-plots was interesting and didn't end the way that I had guessed, which is also good, as predictable is not always a good thing - and then one of the sub-plots was so spread out, that you wanted it resolved, and Kvothe went and did something else - he had several stories and events happen in between the one that I wanted resolved, and of course that didn't end predictable either - Patrick Rothfuss is good at that part - he gives you everything that you know and love in the storyline, except the endings are all skewed - not bad or failed, but the happy endings never end the way that you think, and I enjoy that immensely - I will definitely be one of the many anticipating book three of the series.

 
Loved It
2 months

As much as I liked the first book,

The Wise Man's Fear is a better novel. It has more depth, and reminds me quite a bit of Jacqueline Carey's Kushiel series (although it isn't that good). Rothfuss plays with the ideas of stories within stories, teasing the reader with the idea that this very traditional fantasy novel may not end with what today's fantasy audience would call a satisfying ending.

 
It Was OK
3 months

This book is awful. Rambling, pointless, terrible pacing, chapters full of immature misogynistic sex fantasies. I almost didn't finish it, and finally did, mainly out of spite. Also nothing happens to add to the story from book #1, which I actually liked.

 
Loved It
5 months

I think I enjoyed the first book better, but that's not to say that this book wasn't wonderful. Rothfuss has a way of drawing in the reader from the first line and keeping them entranced all the way to the end.

I never found myself uninterested in what was happening to Kvothe, and I appreciated the fact that this book gave the readers a chance to learn more about the world around the characters and a few different different cultures. Perhaps I felt there could've been less time spent in the same settings, but that didn't effect my enjoyment of the book itself.

My timing in discovering this series could've been better. After being able to read two long books relatively near each other, I'll have to wait with everyone else for the next book in the series. If only I had found this series a few years in the future!

I look forward to what the next book will bring the characters of this series, and you can count on me being one of the first people to buy a copy.

 
Incredible
2 years

Incredibile writing

 

About the Author:

Patrick Rothfuss is the bestselling author of The Kingkiller Chronicle. His first novel, The Name of the Wind, won the Quill Award and was a Publishers Weekly Best Book of the Year. Its sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, debuted at #1 on The New York Times bestseller…

 
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