Review: The Slow Regard of Silent Things

The Slow Regard of Silent Things by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is a delightful, pecular story about a strange character named Auri. We meet Auri in The Name of the Wind, and I found her fascinating. I loved getting to know her a little better. While we don't really get may details as to why she is doing what she is doing in The Underthing or how she came to be there, we get to see her interacting there and just doing her thing. Though I would love to get more of her origin story at some point, she is a truly unique character and I'd love to know more about her. It is an odd tale, but I found it to be beautifully written and I loved the narration by the author himself. It was very poetic.

This story is not plot based whatsoever. Honestly I don't even think there is a plot, it is purely character driven and we just follow Auri around as she goes about her business in her particular way. Each day has a purpose and each item she finds has a place. Sometimes she is driven by something that is going to happen or a thing she needs to put somewhere. Mostly she is just driven by her unique personality and drive to just be herself and do what she does to survive and keep herself occupied.

I really enjoyed that Patrick Rothfuss himself narrated the audio.  It really lent something to the listening experience.  I enjoy his writing style.

I will say that if you prefer plot based works with character development and world building, this might not be for you.  This is more poetic and nonsensical.  I enjoyed it, and I'm looking forward to reading the rest of the series.

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Review: The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It has taken me several months to finally finish this book, partially because I had checked it out of the library and I had to wait on the wait list between requests and partly because it is extremely long. While I liked the journey, the ending left me wanting. I felt like I read all that and you leave me with that ending?  Huge cliffhanger!  I'm glad to have finished it finally and I can check off unreliable narrator from my reading challenge list.

The story finds Kvothe or Kote as he is known today in an inn where he has been an upstanding citizen of the town when a stranger enters the picture. This stranger is a chronicler and he is looking for the famous Kvothe and wants to write his story. Kvothe is a famed hero, but he's hiding out undercover as an inn keeper and the chronicler wants to know why and wants to document all of Kvothe's adventures. After some persuading, Kvothe agrees, but his terms are specific. He begins his tale in his childhood and we learn about his family, how he came to discover magic, and his many other adventures as a youth. We then hear about his trials and tribulations as the University, where he learns to hone his magic craft, but his is always finding mischief. His story is not one of fame, fortune, or heroism. Kvothe has had a terribly sad life, and he is on a mission to right the wrongs that were done to him and his family.

The story of his time at the university was interesting but it was long. It was slot at times, and not so slow at others. It picks up about halfway through the book, and the pace is steady from about the 50% mark to the end. There is more action happening at that time as well. I didn't find the story boring at all, just long. This was not a book I just couldn't put down, and even when I read for long stretches of time I didn't make much progress which was discouraging. I felt some of the plot lines were unnecessary, while other's could have been more explored. Kvothe himself doesn't seem to be doing anything for long stretches of time except going to classes or hanging about one place or another for long periods of time. I did like alot of the side characters, Kvothe's friends and instructors had great personalities, and his apprentice Bast who we meet at the end has proven to be more than what he appears.

I'll continue on with the series, as I did like The Name of the Wind and I do like Rothfuss' writing. I am anxious to hear about what happens next in the tale and some of the more action packed adventures that are hinted at during the telling of Kvothe's life story.