“The Name of the Wind” is the first part of the Kingkiller Chronicles. I like Fantasy such as “A Song of Ice and Fire” (I have actually read all the books!) and “Otherland” by Tad Williams. It must be the real big thing, as it seems. I was in no way dissappointed by the “Name”, on the contrary, as it happens now I am one of the many fans desperately waiting for the 3rd part, “The Stone Door”….
The author had me with the prologue, telling me of three silences at the Waystone Inn. I could feel them, seeing the innkeeper going about his routines in the empty taproom. It is a melancholic beginning and sets the mood for the story. Kote, as the innkeeper calls himself nowadays, tells his life to Chronicler, because he is a man waiting to die. We are witnesses of this hero of his own making, incredibly gifted and talented, yet naive and uneducated in so many ways. He grows up as one of the Edema Ruh, a traveling folk playing shows and music to towners and courts, preferably under protection of a Lord or Maer. He’s quick witted and picks up the songs and rhythms easily and plays the lute perfectly early on. But he loses his family to cruel demons, killing the troupe because they sang a song about them. Now, on his own, Kvothe makes it his goal and purpose of a lifetime to learn all about the Chandrian. He enters the University and becomes quickly famous in many ways. And infamous as well because he’s still too young to be able to fully understand ways of politics and treating cleverly his enemies.
Kvothes story unravels and is intercepted by brief returns to the Waystone Inn, where Chronicler and Bast, the young apprentice of the innkeeper with a secret, too, listen. Dark things are casting their shadows on the travelers, the roads are bad, people get robbed by soldiers, farmers are suffering because they are forced to pay taxes twice. A war is coming upon them and it will be a desaster for everyone.
After the first day of his storytelling Kvothe closes the inn for the night.
And again, three silences settle over the house and its inhabitants and they are silences heavy with sorrow, fear and resignation.
I loved the book because it has all a good fantasy story has, mysteries, hints, the promise of beginnings, glimpses of what will be told further on. Good and bad, laughter and tears, friends and foes, but in the middle of it a truly appalling, charming boy, with subtle twists and a complex character who is worthwhile exploring.
