Book Review: “The Wise Man’s Fear” by Patrick Rothfuss

Haygen Riley-Gleason, Staff Writer

For those of you who enjoyed The Name of the wind by Patrick Rothfuss, you’ll be glad to know that this is its direct sequel. 

One musician, just 1 high school graduate this time, and an oddly large amount of governmental economy come together to form a well-written book that most fantasy readers will fall in love with.

The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrock Rothfuss follows the story young man named Kvothe as he travels through the large and incredible world of Temerant in search of his family’s killers.

Just like the previous installment in the series, this story is told through the eyes of 20 year old Kvothe, which gives the story a more authentic and human quality.

For those planning on reading this book, just know that it’s rather serious and depressive. It contains uncomfortable subjects such as, death and finding meaning in ones humanity. There is a fairly large amount of aimless wandering, which seems to be the theme of Patrick Rothfuss’s writing in general.

It’s pretty easy to say that the majority of this book’s emotional motif is based on failing at things and not getting what you want all the time. That, accompanied by a large amount of realizing you aren’t as powerful as people wealthier than you and fighting against them is practically impossible.

That aside, the story this time around is unique. In the previous installment of the series, it followed Kvothe on his journey through the world towards the university, where he would hopefully learn about the chandrian and how they killed his parents. Instead, The Wise Man’s Fear follows Kvothe on his journey to the kingdom of Vint, hoping to find a sponsor that would allow him access to the world’s libraries.

If you enjoyed The Name of the Wind, and you’re into depressive fantasy, then this book is for you.