This is a comparison of the fantasy novels focusing on the character Kvothe written by Patrick Rothfuss.
Patrick Rothfuss puts a lot of emphasis on a different brand of fantasy than what is typically the norm. There is a focus on the villages and the main character Kvothe, whose backstory is built up from early days into the later portions of his life.
His presence is felt early in the novel as a bartender, but he meets up with a couple of people that discuss his early life with him. Some of the highlights of his story include meeting goblins and running around in streets in the early stages. Later, he spends a lot of time in a University, where he learns alchemy and meets a number of new and interesting people. He also gets into conflicts that would lend him to becoming expelled at some point over the course of time as well. The tone of the novels The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear is more down to earth and earthly than other fantasy books. There isn’t as much of a focus upon the knights, elves, dwarves and various other races as there is a strengthening of a smaller number of relationships. This makes for a more structured story overall. There is also a sort of mysterious nature that recalls the like of books such as Robert McCammon’s Speaks the Nightbird.
Overall, this is easily among the most highly recommended fantasy available. All fans of the genre must give Rothfuss a shot.
