It’s so brilliantly narrated, jumping back into the present with Chronicler, Kvothe, and Bast as the story is told and in Kvothe’s youth, as a 15 year old. He’s a genius, but he also mentions, “first and foremost, I was a fifteen year old boy” so he can also be an unwitting idiot at times which makes for much mocking from his friends. There is so much about this book that makes me want to flail with glee. Of course, he’s a genius, but a wretchedly poor genius, so how does he make it in? Dun dunnnn…. I’ll say no more than this.įast-forwarding a BIT because of spoilers, I don’t want to ruin any transitions of this wonderful book! Kvothe is intent upon joining the university, where Ben learned sympathy and alchemy, maths and physics. Real magic, is when Kvothe saw Abenthy call the wind, and the wind blustered at his words. You can start a fire with a breath, levitate a stone… but this isn’t real magic. Ben teaches Kvothe sympathy, a way to scientifically bind (with one’s energy) external matter to each other. The world-building and magic system in this book are remarkable. Abenthy the Arcanist is Kvothe’s first teacher. The synopsis tells you that we see Kvothe grow up, beginning when he was a small child of 11, living with his family, a travelling troupe of entertainers. Kvothe is famous, and we’re finding out why. The key things you need to know about Kvothe are that he’s basically a genius child, he has a heart of music, he attends a magical university, and he somehow ends up owning a tavern and recounting this story to Chronicler. It’s described to you by narration about 50 pages into the book, but by then I’d already settled on some strange kv-oath pronunciation in my head. “Quothe” is how you pronounce Kvothe’s name. Brandon’s writing doesn’t do that on the same level for me, his definitely wraps around my mind though! (I love his books, too.) YES, Brandon Sanderson is also my love, but this book just weaves into your thoughts and imagination and settles there warmly. The first thing you need to know is that The Name of the Wind is my go-to favourite fantasy book. How do I even begin to review such a beautifully written, lyrical, funny book? I will do my absolute best. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, and his life as a fugitive after the murder of a king form a gripping coming-of-age story unrivaled in recent literature. Told in Kvothe’s own voice, this is the tale of the magically gifted young man who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen.

Name of the wind cover