Eddis, Attolia, Sounis

I just read a few great books:

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss - I am still marveling. It's a quiet sort of epic fantasy with what's been described as an anti-hero protagonist. I loved it. And the writing is incredible.

And Son of the Shadows by Juliet Marillier - loved that, too.

And I've just discovered Dorothy L. Sayers and I'm about to read Elizabeth Wein, so life's good :)

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qwentoozla

I picked up the Name of the Wind at the bookstore today but couldn't figure out if I'd like it. I'll have to pick it up at the library some time!

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tiegirl.livejournal.com

I loved The Name of the Wind. And Aspectabund. I am here to make you feel positively virtuous. Not only have I not read P.G. Wodehouse, I have also not read Douglas Adams, Dorothy Sayers, or Terry Pratchett, or or or. And I am TOS (The Oldest Sounisian) at almost 53. I do not know if I can ever catch up. So keep me in your thoughts.

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qwentoozla

Hee! *feels virtuous* But you can still catch up! Anyone, I'm sure there are tons of fine authors I have not read.

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The Name of the Wind is really good, but be warned. It is the first in a planned trilogy and this is definitely only a set up for the rest of the story. There is no closure. The release date for the second book has been moved back several times. So you will have a while to wait before the story finishes.

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qwentoozla

He was at the Comic Con panel and people kept mentioning how he needs to finish his series! Megan said it was like a panel for people who take too long to finish their books. "But you just had one out!" I told her. :)

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teenareena.livejournal.com

OMG, you were at that panel? I'm sooo jealous.

And haha to the finishing serie comment. At least Megan stick to her publishing date! (Sorry Mr.Rothfuss, can't help whining.)

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Also very jealous you were at that panel.

At least Megan stick to her publishing date!

And her books can stand alone. There is closure at the end. So even if she never finished another one (God forbid) the story doesn't feel totally incomplete. There was no kind of closure at the end of The Name of the Wind.

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You were at the panel??? Details, please. DEEEETAAAIIIILLLLLS.

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qwentoozla

I had originally intended to make a post about it but I never did! Maybe I'll do that... It was very interesting, they discussed various things about epic fantasy, basically.

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OH, do make a post! I'd love to hear what they had to say.

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Bah. The Name of the Wind fell just short of charming me and I'm still not entirely sure why (65% says it's because I really, deeply, passionately dislike Denna)...

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I didn't like or dislike her especially, I think because she wasn't in the book much (or I didn't pay her much attention). Although if she turns out to be the princess that the blurb mentions, I will be angry. One thing I like is that he isn't cliche.

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I (respectfully) disagree: I think he is cliche in a lot of ways. In the best possible ways, though; this is a book where almost everything in it seems gently derivative of something else. It's a little Earthsea and a LOT Song of Ice and Fire - but not Harry Potter, no matter what Orson Scott Card says about it - it's every fantasy hero who has grown up on the streets under his own spunkiness and loved an unattainable woman. Perhaps predictable is a better word than cliche, but the point is that it's a decent embroidery on a well-established structure. Now that's OK, but I think I was hoping for more somewhere along the way...It seems like there's enough spark behind the plot and characters to give the story its own life, and it floats along under a breath of wind (and Kvothe's stubbornness).

There are some parts that are alive: the dragon cracked me up, and I enjoy Innkeeper Kvothe (he's got potential as a nicely-dimensioned character and there are interesting things to say about someone's relationship to his own legend), but I'd say a good chunk of the novel is predictable, overlong, derivative, and cursed with some bone-headed female characters, including one of the worst Mary Sues I've ever encountered.

Despite all of that, this really is one of the books that I love to complain about, and my inability to stop talking about what bothers me is actually a sign that I enjoyed it. It brings out the editor in me: this is so GOOD! Can you make it BETTER?

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Oooh - I actually completely agree with that (except for the Earthsea and Song of Fire and Ice - confession: I've never read anything by Ursula le Guin (I tried! When I was eleven! And it was way too boring!) and I've never even heard of Song of Fire and Ice (so, uh, what is it?) and - ya know, I'm feeling kinda stupid tonight, my brain's melting from my college class - but you are referring to the Orson Scott Card essay where he calls Harry Potter unoriginal? The "Dumbledore being announced as gay" one?

But what I meant when I said that it wasn't cliche is that the book isn't typical epic fantasy fare. It isn't some battle against good and evil; if anything, it's more of a chronicle of revenge. And Kvothe, to me, is more of an anti-hero than anything. And I loved the writing, and though the pacing was slow, I really didn't mind, because I loved the writing.

About predictability: I agree with you completely, and yet somehow - maybe because he was telling his story, and you knew where he was, and key events, like his getting thrown out of university - it just worked for me. It was almost a tribute to other fantasy works while carving out its own niche.

BTW - weird observation, but the few current male authors that I'm reading now, like Patrick Rothfuss and John Green especially - I haven't really liked the woman in their books at all. Hmmm. *trying to think of other currently writing male authors to see if that holds true*

What do you think? Also, will you be reading the sequel? And this might be a bit long - sorry about that.

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Aww, poor Beth. My mother tied me to a chair and read me Earthsea when I was still impressionable, and I loved it, and then in college I read The Left Hand of Darkness and it blew my mind. Earthsea is a series of three (originally three; now there's six of them) books about a famous mage, except that the books make it clear that he's done some amazing things, but we're not going to talk about the "established corpus" - in scare quotes because Le Guin actually never wrote that part - we're going to talk about two adventures he had when he was very young, and then things he did when he was old and trying to hide from his fame. The idea of Kvothe seems very Le Guin to me; sort of Earthsea on steroids. They're lovely books, all of them, but if The Wizard drives you nuts, try The Tombs of Atuan. It's about women, which helps.

Song of Ice and Fire is this massively long series by George RR Martin. It's complicated and messy and twisted, but basically comes down to a kingdom undergoing internal political convulsions and external invasion by fantasy zombies from the north. The size of the books, the comprehensiveness of the world, and the presence of zombie powers in Rothfuss all seem very derivative of GRRM. But, really, I did find the Rothfuss book mostly enjoyable (and I so very wanted to have a crush on Kvothe, because he's just the kind of protagonist I usually crush on). I think you're right that it is a tribute and that it is getting its own foothold. But I want it to be even more than the fairly solid novel it is - which is why the things that bother me bother me SO MUCH.

Also, remember last week Philia mentioned her peeve about martial arts being easy? I feel that way about music - and while I do respect that Kvothe actually puts in practice time (unlike some people), he's just too good too fast and that's annoying. And Denna's mad skillz read pretty Sue-ish too me.

Orson Scott Card has loudly endorsed Rothfuss, here: http://www.patrickrothfuss.com/content/reviews.asp#orsonscott
All respect to Card and Ender, I disagree - although I realize this is probably a debate that can't be resolved. Ever.

My theory is that the male fantasy woman - "guy bait," if you will - is like Denna or the John Green girls: someone smart and funny and gorgeous and pretty much perfect; your unattainable best friend who always goes for the guys that make you feel small and useless, until one day she turns around and falls for you. So Denna isn't supposed to appeal to me anyway, which explains why I dislike her so much.

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My theory is that the male fantasy woman - "guy bait," if you will - is like Denna or the John Green girls: someone smart and funny and gorgeous and pretty much perfect; your unattainable best friend who always goes for the guys that make you feel small and useless, until one day she turns around and falls for you. So Denna isn't supposed to appeal to me anyway, which explains why I dislike her so much.

Honestly, I don't know if girls like that even exist - ya know, perfect ones, not smart and gorgeous - except in guys' imaginations. While they're pining. And at least we know that he doesn't end up with Denna *phew* because he's alone in his inn. Except for his student (who had better have a bigger presence in the next book, because I liked him). Although I guess she might show up again, because it's not just Kvothe telling his story; there's also the monster spider stuff going on, which is another thing I liked about the book.

I'm off to - tentatively - find a copy of Ursula le Guin's book. :)

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Just jumping in here to say I really don't like Denna either and am fervently hoping someone shoves her off a high mountain in the next book. My husband loves this book more than I do but he equally can't stand her character. (He has also read QT and very much likes Irene.) So that bait doesn't work for all guys.

My favorite parts of this book were the ones with Kvothe in his inn. That is why I am so willing to pick up the next volume. I want to know more about that guy. And I agree with Beth. His sidekick?, assistant?, fanboy?, whatever is really fascinating. Want to know more about him.

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Best description of Bast ever. He's probably all of the above, and some kind of supernatural thingy to boot.

I will happily push Denna off a high mountain - although my friend thinks Kvothe is going to kill her at some point. That works too.

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Yes, Bast is definitely supernatural too. My favorite scene in the whole book is probably the one at the end between him and Chronicler.

I like your friend's idea. Maybe Kvothe can push her off the high mountain. :)

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