The Name of the Wind: Beginning of a Legend

This one has been sitting on my reading list for a while now. Did I know anything about it? Beyond the title: not a thing. But it seemed pretty popular, so I decided to give it a go… eventually.

And now, one book read later, here we are. Did I find another gem? Or did curiosity kill the cat?

Pay your tuition and tune your lute. This is the Name of the Wind.

Our story begins in a nice tavern in a distant village. Townsfolk exchange drinks and stories when another man comes stumbling inside, covered in wounds. An odd spider-like creature had attacked him, one that the tavern owner and his apprentice seem to recognize.

A detail that I nearly forgot, since it doesn’t come up again until near the end of the novel.

Not long after, a new face arrives: Chronicler, a… chronicler. He’s come in search of Kvothe, a living legend respected and feared all across the world. Chronicler has one massive question: just how did Kvothe earn that reputation?

The Name of the Wind has a rather interesting narrative framing. Most of it is told in first-person, with Kvothe recounting the events of his life to Chronicler. This is broken up by the occasional interlude that takes us back to the present, which are told in third-person. Back and forth we go.

This is a brilliant creative framing for a story! We learn more about Kvothe from how he tells his tale than we do from the tale itself! He’s a flagrant storyteller, embellishing details for dramatic effect, and he’s also unreliable, willingly admitting to forgetting details. It’s superb writing!

As for the story itself, it’s pretty good! Albeit slow. This is not a mile-a-minute adventure. It’s a man’s life story, from childhood to his school days to adulthood. You experience his first love, meet his first enemies, experience the hell of his homeless days, you get the picture. It’s basically a fantasy biography. If you’re looking for something exciting and fast-paced, this isn’t that.

If I had to level any one critique at this story, it’s that the present events don’t feel particularly important to the past ones beyond the framing device. Barely ten chapters in, I almost entirely forgot about the spider-thing that had Kvothe and his apprentice so worried. I’d figured that would play a larger role in the story that it did. But admittedly, that’s a rather personal and flimsy bit of criticism.

It may not always be exciting, but it’s definitely interesting. A creative and intriguing character study, it had me engaged from start to end. It’s a strong start to the series, and I can’t wait to see where it goes next!

A sentiment shared by the rest of the audience, from what I understand. Though I still have a bit of catching up to do before we and I can have that conversation.