I just read this one. Admittedly, I'm behind the times.
After I read it, I checked out Rob's review. http://sffworld.com/brevoff/342.html I share his sentiments.
So, any thoughts on why this did not make the short lists of any of the major awards?
I just read this one. Admittedly, I'm behind the times.
After I read it, I checked out Rob's review. http://sffworld.com/brevoff/342.html I share his sentiments.
So, any thoughts on why this did not make the short lists of any of the major awards?
Maybe because it isn't that good?Originally Posted by Hereford Eye
Sorry, but I'm in the "emperor has no clothes" camp on this one. I thought it was okay, but I'm really not all that impressed by it. I guess the awards committees weren't all that impressed either....
I thought Rothfuss really only made a splash with the new tome? Before that I'd never heard of him, so it could just be ignorance.
Fair enough. Goodness is oft in the eye of the reader.Maybe because it isn't that good?
Goodness for me derives from the fact I read the book in two days. I have the time available so that wasn't a problem.
Rob summarized the plot in his review so I won't go into that. I read it in two days because I became involved with the characters and cared about them and wanted to know what happened next. For a coming of age story, it played true to form. The very talented young man still must learn through experience and he is no better at that than most of us. His experience of women seemed true to life; his experience of his peers likewise.
There is mystery and humor and a love of music that resonated with me. The magic and its limitations held up to less than intensive scrutiny. The story behind the story - why he is fading away - makes for good theater.
And the heroine is as tragic as any fantasy heroine, ever. I know there is much more to learn about her and I wish I didn't have to wait for Day Two to learn it.
My only complaint is that the paperback edition doesn't come out till next year. I dislike purchasing hard covers but I am sorely tempted to make an exception in this case.
That's why I ask the question.
I just finished it last night. Overall, I liked it.
It got a bit repetitive/predictable in certain places, and at times I found the progression of time to be a little jarring (a ton of stuff would happen in a span of a day or two, then months would pass with nothing happening).
I find Kvothe to be a very interesting character. I like how throughout the book, we're never told exactly why he is so special, or what he did to earn his reputation. It's revealed to us little by little.
I look forward to reading Wise Man's Fear when it comes out in paperback.
I thought Name of the Wind was rather entertaining. Wise Man's Fear is pretty average. Rothfuss writes a nice paragraph, but it's super self-indulgent at times (for me).
Nah, Rothfuss made it really big very quickly. Wise Man Fears was highly anticipated.
I loved it, Rothfuss' prose is beautiful and Kvothe was an endearing protagonist. The magic system was simple but well thought out and interesting, and I was glad that Rothfuss was really light on the worldbuilding bullshit. His life in poverty at that massive city (forget the name atm), the burning of Trevalion and all his time at the university had me totally captivated.
That said, it could have been a tad shorter (the story felt pointless up to the stage where Kvothe meets Chronicler for instance), and his relationship with Denna drove me up a wall.
LOL awards committees? Number one who cares? Hugo and WFA award winners do not impress me. Gotta be honest only cared for a handful of WFA winners that I read.Maybe because it isn't that good?
Sorry, but I'm in the "emperor has no clothes" camp on this one. I thought it was okay, but I'm really not all that impressed by it. I guess the awards committees weren't all that impressed either....
Oh and NOTW did win the Quill Award in 2007.
NOTW and WMF have received more critical acclaim than any other Epic Fantasy in the last 5 years. Fact. *shrugs* You want a list of glowing critical reviews? Already compiled.
I don't care much if a person doesn't like a book. But when they start making statements that are not based in fact then I am gonna call them on it.
3rdI,
Since you already went to the trouble to compile the list of awards these two books won for whatever reason, I would love to see it. Your legword could save others boardies some legword. Can you post it?
I have no clue which awards these two books have won (until I see 3rdI's list) but I am pretty sure my view will be that NoTW should have won more (loved it!) and WMF should have won less (ponderous to me).
Thanks for the list if you have time to post it!
All the best-
And? When have reviews ever truly meant anything? Review scores are inflated, many reviews overlook criticism in lieu of drowning the book in sugary praise and they don't play up a book's issues enough.
What I would want to see would be the more critical reviews of Rothfuss' work. I've already seen the pornokitsch review of WMF, and I'm sure there are others out there who would say Rothfuss' work is bloated tripe. Those are the reviews I want to see, because they're not blinded by fanboy-ish adoration for a guy who's put out just two books, but who is being heralded as the literary second coming of a certain beardy fellow.
Edit: I'd like to point out that I'm not trolling nor fishing for a flame fest, but I honestly think the reviews that suggest why you shouldn't read an author or book are just as telling, if not more so, than why you should.
Last edited by Loerwyn; July 28th, 2011 at 10:55 AM.
Goodreads has a number of them. Look for the one star ratings and then the HUGE amount of commentary from all the people who thought they should give it 5 stars...because you can tell someone what to think.
A lot of them will also be "I didn't like it because it sucked", but that was a good idea. That said, I want a properly structured and reasoned example of why I shouldn't read Rothfuss. If he does something that irks me, as things I've heard would suggest he has done, then I will not read his books solely for that reason.Goodreads has a number of them. Look for the one star ratings and then the HUGE amount of commentary from all the people who thought they should give it 5 stars...because you can tell someone what to think.
I'm not focusing solely on the negative reviews, as I've only read one (Pornokitsch's review), but I'm sick of seeing wall-to-wall praise for Rothfuss and minor details on what the person didn't like about the books. The thing with positive reviews is that the negatives get pushed to the back (just as the positives get pushed to the back with a negative review), so reading both gives me a better idea.
I never said any of that. I think that just as positive reviews heap praise on aspects of an author's work, a negative review is likely going to go into more detail with what was bad with it. That is what I want to know. I can't ask many people on this site what they think of his work because I will get almost nothing but praise - Some of it genuine and constructive, some of it fanboyish in "Rothfuss has written the best series ever" ways (Yes, I've seen it. No, I don't take it seriously).
What I'm trying to say is that I want, and need, views from the other side of the fence to decide on these books. His books are what, 800+ pages long? That's a lot of time to invest in one book. I'm not going to do that freely if I don't agree with aspects of the series, such as how characters behave or if the books could be trimmed by 200+ pages. I only slogged through the 600+ pages of utter tripe that was Canavan's The High Lord because it was the end to a series and I needed to know if she could redeem the path she took the book down, for example, and I came away sorely disappointed.
Do I have a lot of free time? Yes, but I'd rather spend it reading things I know I'll like rather than bashing my head against a wall trying to read a book about some sex-crazed 15 year old who gets more women than Ron Jeremy's career. Or, at least, that's how Kvothe's charm seems to work out as from the reviews I've seen.
There are plenty of positive reviews that are not based on fanboyism, just as there are critical reviews that are based solely on being contrarian, that they have an ax to grind against popularity for some reason particularly if for whatever reason they didn't enjoy the book. So they embellish the negativity. So focusing solely on them is just as wrong.
Fact of the matter is that the great majority of people who have read it, many of them who are very critical of what they like or dislike, have had many high praises for his work. One thing that most can agree on, even the detractors, are that Rothfuss is a talent and a very skillful writer.
I think there's too much to be proven out in a third volume before we can judge the series. Second books often suffer this problem. Kvothe's reliability or lack thereof as a narrator in particular could make us look at book 2 wholly different.
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