bouncyDAW, paperback
736 pages, epic fantasy
Currently in print
***
Let's start with my biases: I would never, ever, in a million years, have picked up this book during a casual stroll through the bookstore. Too many bad Tolkien impersonators and wanna-be chroniclers of their epic D&D adventures have rendered me largely opposed to the 'epic fantasy' genre, even as the prevalence of poorly-masked porn has turned a lot of people off the genre where I write. So believe me when I say that my even reading this book was something of a miracle, born out of desperation for something new to read and the author's own status as Also A Guy At DAW.
Let's follow with an anecdote: I was in Seattle this past weekend, and mentioned to my friend Luis that I'd just finished an amazing book, called The Name of the Wind. His wife Alisa immediately squealed that she'd just finished the book herself, and followed her squealing with unqualified raving. None of which I was in a position to argue with, because I was raving just as vigorously.
The Name of the Wind is epic fantasy; that isn't up for debate. It's also the most incredible, amazing work of epic fantasy I've encountered since I hit the jaded old age of eleven, when I started to note the similarity in all these 'fantastic' worlds. It's difficult to give too much detail, both because there's so much detail to give, and because I don't want to spoil the surprises that this book has in store. It's all the best bits of the quest novel, the coming of age, the mystery, and the epic quest. It's funny, it's moving, it's sobering, and it's incredibly well-constructed. I am in awe. And I don't say that often.
Our hero is Kvothe (pronounced very much like 'Quoth,' and he talks enough to make a decent stand-in for Poe's raven), hero and villain of a thousand stories. This man is a legend in his own time...assuming his time is still the one he's in. The closest comparison my own experience gives is to Roland, the protagonist of Stephen King's Dark Tower series. This isn't anything like that, really, but it's the same sort of man. From the outside, you'd expect this incredible, legendary figure. And really...he's just a man.
Trying to give too much justification for why I loved this book would start going into the twists that made it such an incredible read, so I'll say this: it's been a long time since a book has sucked me in so hard, so fast, and so unexpectedly that I not only stayed up past my bedtime, I left my phone at home and spent the walk to and from the store reading. It's a doorway to another world, and its only real flaw is that it's the first of a trilogy, and the other two aren't ready to drop into your hands.
If you love epic fantasy, read this. If you don't love epic fantasy, because you've been burned by all the knock-offs and rip-offs and just plain trash, read this twice. It'll reaffirm your belief that Sturgeon's Law applies to everything, not just the things we admit to loving.
I can't wait for the sequel.
September 23 2008, 00:57:03 UTC 8 years ago
Nice to know I've got company :)
September 23 2008, 01:51:33 UTC 8 years ago