The Wise Man's Fear, a Review + an Analysis

Writing a review for The Wise Man's Fear, Book Two of Patrick Rothfuss's Kingkiller Chronicle, is a difficult task for me.  First, the book is 994 pages in length and covers so many plot-lines that it's hard to create a manageable review.  Second, there was considerable hype leading up to the release of the book, hype that I well bought into and dabbled with.  Third is the fact that this is the middle volume of a trilogy and the story, in the long run, is still unread.  Finally, and probably most importantly, is my bias towards Rothfuss.  If not for his genre-crushing, decade favorite Name of the Wind, I may have given up on fantasy a few years ago.  Instead, the man pulled the wool from my eyes and revealed that a story is more important than magic and cliches.  That said, this review is spoiler-free for Book 2, though it will contain spoilers from Book 1.  In addition to a traditional review, there will also be a clearly marked spoiler section for the analysis of the book (for those of you truly interested in such things, as well as a way for me to clear my head).  So, onto the review.

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Review (No WMF Spoilers)
It's another day for Kvothe, his student/assistant Bast, and the acclaimed scribe Devan Lochees (aka the Chronicler) at the Waystone Inn.  All more than a little burdened from the recent death of Shep and the unusual circumstances surrounding it, Kvothe is pressing on to tell the true story of the man behind the legends.  Times are hard for Newarre and its poor farmers, but times are hard for everyone.  

Rothfuss wastes no time getting into the meat of the story.  By Chapter Three, Kvothe is recalling the familiar story that began in Name of the Wind.  In fact, if physical evidence didn't say otherwise, the transition between Book One and Book Two is flawless enough that it feels like I'm reading one book, carrying over the same tone and voice the first one did so well.

If one considers The Wise Man's Fear on its own, problems arise.  In its 994 pages a lot of stuff happens, and on the other hand, nothing happens.  The reader gets plenty of insight to the Four Corners of Civilization, from language lessons in Ademre to lessons of the court in Severen, as well as more lore and history of all manner of folks between.  There is enough world building that one would be tempted to say Rothfuss is wasting too much time with supplemental information, putting off the more important elements of the story.  And, if one considers WMF on its own apart from the trilogy as a whole, I would agree.

There is not enough action and the story is not tight enough for this book to fit the normal molds and expectations readers have.  But, just as Rothfuss is not interested in telling a normal story with normal cliches, this book rises above the normal expectations.  I cannot see how anyone can take a single volume of a story instead of the whole and weigh it and judge it, not fairly, but it happens.  For myself, taking everything I learned in NotW and adding it to WMF, I see one beautiful tale, written in prose and verse sweet enough to charm anyone interested in a good story.

And that's what Wise Man's Fear is.  Better, even, than "good."  It's complex, elegant, hilarious, devastating, tense, dark, mysterious, and many more adjectives.  It's not a book that stands on its own, but its the middle piece to a three-piece puzzle.  The story is the most important thing, and Rothfuss is spinning a wonderful yarn.

All of this is not to say that I didn't have problems with WMF.  Do I feel like there was a lot of extraneous stuff?  Maybe, but is that necessarily a bad thing?  How often do we fall in love with things (book series, tv shows, video games, etc.) and wish we had more?  We long for special features and extended scenes.  Why else would there be a Saw VI and two video games to boot?  Could plenty of this stuff have been edited out and the story still be the same?  Yes.  But did I enjoy it all?  Absolutely.

I'm willing to wade through lots of boring stuff if the story's good, and Rothfuss's extra scenes are not boring.  In the end, what I can say about Wise Man's Fear is that its long, and if you get frustrated at a story that likes to simmer and slow-boil instead of splash out on the stove, then you may be irked, but you'll be entertained, as well.  If you liked The Name of the Wind you'll like this book.  I know I did.

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Analysis (WMF Spoilers)
This book is broken down into several different parts and plot lines.  Not all of them are resolved, and that makes things interesting.

1. The Present, in Newarre
1. Bast's schemes to get Kvothe back to his former self
2. Bandits and dangerous roads keeping travelers home
3. Demons and dark things (scrael & skin changer from NOTW)
4. Political unrest (Kvothe hints at the true reason why the war is going on)
2. The Frame Story, at the University
1. Kvothe looking for information about the Amyr, Chandrian, etc.
2. Auri and whatever her hidden information entails
3. The locked door in the Archives
4. Kvothe learning all his stuff, especially names
5. Ambrose
6. Devi, Sim, Willem, Fela, and all the other friends and acquaintances of Kvothe
7. Kvothe looking for a patron and his music at the Eolian
3. The Frame Story, in Severen
1. Kvothe helping out the Maer with all his stuff
2. Kvothe building his reputation & learning
4. The Frame Story, in the Eld
1. Kvothe and the gang looking for bandits
5. The Frame Story, in the Fae
1. Kvothe and Felurian, where he learns sex and gains a huge boost to his reputation
2. Kvothe getting his shaed
3. Kvothe meeting the Cthaeh and learning many things
6. The Frame Story, in Ademre
1. Kvothe learning of the Lethani and Adem culture
2. Kvothe learning to fight and think
3. Kvothe getting his sword
7. The Frame Story, the Road to Levinshire & the false Edemah Ruh

And above and through and between all of these plots are the two major plots: finding the Chandrian and Kvothe & Denna's relationship.  These two plotlines supersede everything else, at least in my opinion, but I cannot figure out which one ranks higher than the other.  Kvothe definitely loves Denna.  To the bottom of his soul he loves her, and yet he can't bring himself to let her know the truth about things.  This is quite frustrating and sad, especially considering her blatant absence and Kvothe's lifeless eyes in the Present.  Did she die, and is Kvothe somehow responsible?  Maybe.  Who knows?  Still, it irks me that Kvothe is too afraid to open himself to this woman, and yet he'll face down the Seven.  I wonder who her patron is and what Denna's after by sticking with him.  Heck, I wonder who Denna really is.

Then we get the Chandrian.  I love how they're barely in the story at all, and yet their presence is felt.  You hear it in the children songs and the campfire stories.  Felurian's refusal to speak of them is disturbing, and Shehyn's legend that can be told only once is mouth-dropping.  They remind me somewhat of Sauron, how he's not too involved in the actual story of LOTR, and yet he's never forgotten.  The Chandrian are even less interested in Kvothe, I think, but they're definitely there.

I really enjoyed the story of Jax and his stealing of the moon.  I thought it was awesome how Felurian told a story about Iax and his thievery of the moon and how it broke apart the world.  I wondered if perhaps the Lady Lackless's box contained this "piece of the moon."  

I also loved the Cthaeh and the Sword Tree.  I guess I might have a thing for ancient, magical swords, I dunno.  The fear Bast expressed when Kvothe mentioned the Cthaeh brings plenty of dread, and who knows what truth it has?

The comedy had me rolling, especially everything involving Elodin.  ("How to Succeed in Being a Jackass.")  I was very curious about the locked door in the Archives in NOTW, and now I'm even more so.  Puppet was pretty cool, too.

The book was long, but I never grew bored.  I did roll my eyes at some of Kvothe's choices and whatnot, but he's a fifteen year old boy, so those were forgivable.  

The idea of a frame story is still interesting.  Kvothe admitting he's not above embellishment made me raise an eyebrow.  It makes me question everything.  But I find it hard to believe how much detail Kvothe can remember.  It just doesn't seem possible.  

The book was so big I can't help but feel like I'm forgetting plenty.  Let me know what you liked and didn't like.  Feel free to be as explicit as you like.  Subscribe to the comments.  I know there are at least three people who've read this and have comments, so I'm interested.

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This was a long post.  The comments may or may not have spoilers, so beware.