Book Review: Name of the Wind

So a while back, I was walking through Auntie's Bookstore, in Spokane, WA. I've read pretty much everything ever written by Ted Dekker, Bill Myers, CS Lewis, JRR Tolkien, and many others.

I told her I like the Fantasy & Science Fiction genres, and I was looking for a new author.

"I have just the one," she said. "Follow me." She came out from behind the counter and we meandered up and down a few aisles. "Here it is," She turned and handed me this book:

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (Affiliate Link)

"Hm. I've never heard of him," I replied.

"He's Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, and Chronicles of Narnia all wrapped up into one amazing story," she was quite excited. "You'll love it!"

The woman handed me a few others to consider and then went about her duties. I took pictures but didn't have any money to spend that day.

Later, because I'd mentioned it, my boss bought it for my birthday.

I just finished all 713 pages, and I am AMAZED!

This might just be our generations, JRR Tolkien. Granted, no-one has produced a Lord of the Rings level epic, because no-one would undertake the layer upon layer approach he used to write it. However, this novel gives me all of the things I've wanted.

Without ruining too much, the story takes place in a Tolkien-like world. Horses, Swords, Mule Pulled Carts, Smith's, and Strawberry Wine blanket our landscape. The industrial age has not taken place yet. Also, this is not earth. The landscape is different, but it's still Earth-like.

The story starts out with a mysterious bartender, who's obviously more than he seems. Eventually, we are wrapped up in his own telling of his childhood and the events that led to his meteoric rise to fame; and hints at his fall. This being a trilogy, the story he tells to his listeners in the bar takes place over all three novels.

Dragons, Magic, Science, Myths Revealed as Science Misunderstood, it's everything I wanted to read since I last put down the worlds of Narnia, Hogwarts, and Middle Earth.

If you liked those, you'll love this book!

Darrell G. Wolfe

Storyteller | Writer | Thinker | Consultant | Multipotentialite

The Name of the Wind, by Patrick Rothfuss (Affiliate Link)