The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss

The name of the wind is the first of three installments of the Chronicle of the murderer of Reyes, created by Patrick Rothfuss. Published during 2007, the beginning of this series marked a turning point in the literary career of the American writer. The plot takes place in an epic fantasy world, full of unique brushstrokes, very stimulating for the readers' imagination.

This book was met with rave reviews and quickly became a publishing success due to the author's original narrative style. —Divided into two timelines— where every detail and all events have significance in the outcome, which reveals the presence of a greater plan. The trilogy is completed with The fear of a wise man (2011) and The stone gates (title not final, not yet published). For his good work, Rothfuss's work is heading to be among the best fantasy books ever.

About the Author

Birth, family and studies

Patrick Rothfuss was born on June 6, 1973 in Madison, Wisconsin, USA. From an early age, his parents noticed his fondness for reading, favored by the few hours of television shared by the family, as well as the rainy climate in his hometown, which limited the time spent in open spaces. His decision to study English Literature at Wisconsin Stevens Point University is not surprising then.

Work as a teacher and writer

He obtained his bachelor's degree in 1991. Shortly afterwards, he completed a pedagogical course at Washington State University. and he returned to his alma mater, this time as a teacher.

By that time he had already begun to write Song of Flame and Thunder, a work so extensive, that the most practical for its publication was to divide it into several parts. One of them, The way of Levinshir, it earned him the 2002 Young Writers Award.

The name of the wind and fame

The publication of The name of the wind allowed Rothfuss to achieve fame in the world of literature. This work earned him the Quill awards (all of the year 2007) for the best fantasy and fiction novel, Book of the Year from the magazine Publishers Weekly in the genre of science fiction, fantasy and horror, and Best Book of the prestigious FantasyLiterature.com portal. Likewise, the book was praised by the press for its magical depth.

The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Fu

During 2010 Rothfuss published The Adventures of the Princess and Mr. Fu, a horror satire on a nameless princess with three different endings, one more bloody than the previous one. During April 2011, the second volume of the Chronicle of the killer of kings, The fear of a wise man. It was also highly applauded by the press and received with great expectation among readers.

Enrichment of your work

Additionally, Rothfuss worked on side stories focused on characters from the chronicle (Auri, in The music of silence; and Bast, riding a The lightning tree; both launched during 2014). It should be noted, The Levinshir Path is actually an excerpt from The fear of a wise man. The aforementioned stories have only managed to increase the expectation of the fans for the closing of the trilogy.

Narrative style and original elements of The name of the wind

Patrick Rothfuss employed two narrators on two timelines to tell his story: a third-person narrator from the present tense and to Kvote, the mysterious protagonist of this volume, who explains the events of the past by evoking his memories and experiences. In some segments, the narration features intermissions to introduce the characters arriving at “Rock by Day”, the inn run by Kvote and his disciple Bast.

Magic is a common element within the world created by Rothfuss. En The name of the wind various types of kinesia appear. Among them, the most frequent are “sympathy”, an energy subject to certain principles of thermodynamics that allows two objects to be controlled and connected in an immaterial way, and “nomination”, a force anchored in the power of each person's intuition.

Fragment

“Oh what a magnificent gift. He looked at the bottle admiringly. Imagine how many drunk bees. He uncorked the cork and sniffed the wine. What's inside?

"Sunbeams," I replied. And a smile, and a question.

He put the mouth of the bottle to his ear and smiled at me.

"The question is at the bottom," I said.

"A very heavy question," she said, and held out a hand to me. I have brought you a ring.

It was a ring of warm, smooth wood.

-What are you doing? -I asked for.

-Keep secrets".

Synopsis of The name of the wind

Kote's Secret (Kvote)

Kvote always presents himself as "Kote" in order to hide his true identity. Well Despite being a very talented young man, after a series of events (explained in the outcome of the book), he decided to disappear in an isolated cabin… Even the popular belief was that he was dead.

But surprisingly one day Kvote decides to reveal his story "in three days" to Devan Lochees, a chronicler who appears at his inn. interested in the adventures of the most important characters of his time. Kvote begins by describing his colorful childhood surrounded by his family of artists, in an environment full of musicians, dancers and storytellers.

Lot and Abenthy

Kvote met his great teacher — an arcanist named Abenthy — while on a business trip. The protagonist joins the group of his instructor, but even so his learning process was definitively truncated when Abenthy leaves. the troupe, and the group is killed by a gang of ruthless beings who acted for no apparent reason, the Chandrian.

Kote, university and music

To complete his training as an arcanist, Kvote set out to enter the University, a prestigious university where admissions were only granted for money or through powerful influences.

Despite his financial hardships, Kvote managed to enter and stand out for his qualifications. However, their natural talents were more outstanding, such as their skill with the lute, a quality most characteristic of the Edena Ruh.

Kote and Deena

Thanks to music (in addition to her other talents) she was able to pay for her studies and that's how she met Deena, her great friend, with whom he investigated a tragedy that occurred at a wedding, as Kvote finds similarities with the event in which his parents died. His initial suspicions were vehemently pointed at the Chandrians, but instead he and Deena struck a draccus (a variety of dragon) and ended up without further evidence of the case ...

The protagonist's narration is interrupted when a mercenary - apparently under the influence of a demonic entity- Enter Roca de Día to attack the diners. Once the mercenary is neutralized, Bast implores the Lochees chronicler to bring Kvote out of his apathy in order to reawaken the latent hero within him.

Ultimately, a book to read all the time and all the time, do not miss it.