| The Name of the Wind | |
|---|---|
| Author(s) | Patrick Rothfuss |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Series | The Kingkiller Chronicle |
| Genre(s) | Heroic fantasy |
| Publisher | DAW Books Hardcover |
| Pages | 662 pp (hardcover) |
| ISBN | 978-0756404079 |
| OCLC Number | 145149268 |
| Dewey Decimal | 813/.6 22 |
| LC Classification | PS3618.O8685 N36 2007 |
| Followed by | The Wise Man's Fear |
The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One) is a fantasy novel by Patrick Rothfuss, the first book in a series called The Kingkiller Chronicle. It was published in 2007 by DAW books with two possible hardcovers: one features the face of the Green Man with the title letters in silver and the other shows the figure of Kvothe with the letters printed in gold. A new cover was released in subsequent reprints, depicting a cloaked figure under a dark sky in a windy field.
Rothfuss spent 7 years writing The Name of the Wind, drawing on his interests and hobbies, and the education he pursued over 9 years at university. A short story excerpted from the novel "A Wise Man's Fear" (sequel to "The Name of the Wind")[1] , "The Road to Levinshire", won the Writers of the Future contest in 2002, leading to the book's publication. The sequel, The Wise Man's Fear, was released on March 1, 2011 by DAW.
Contents |
The book is divided into two time periods, the first in the present and the other covering years of the past, chronicling Kvothe's (Kote's) youth as he tells his story to a Chronicler who asks for the unexaggerated version of his life.
The innkeeper Kote and his assistant Bast in the backwater town of Newarre are not what they seem. Kote is actually the Kvothe of legend, a hero who performed both great and terrible deeds before his disappearance made the general population believe him dead. Bast is one of the Fae whose full name is Bastas, Son of Remmen, Prince of Twilight and the Twyleth Mael. The Inn is sparsely used, and widespread troubles from an ongoing war have further reduced travelers passing through the small town.
The story begins with Cob, an older man from Newarre, telling a story of another legendary hero, Taborlin the Great, when one of the men from the town arrives bloody and in shock. He reveals a large spider-like creature which had attacked him on the road, and Kvothe identifies the thing as a scrael. He then journeys outside of town and meets Chronicler, a scribe who had been robbed by deserting soldiers and was headed into town himself. The two are attacked by more of the scrael, and Chronicler is knocked unconscious, coming to in the comforts of Kvothe’s inn. Chronicler recognizes him as Kvothe and asks to record his story. Kvothe initially refuses but eventually gives in, wanting to set the true events down into writing. He tells Chronicler that it will take three days to do properly (setting up the structure of the trilogy of novels).
Kvothe begins his story with his childhood amongst the Edema Ruh, a people of travelling performers much like gypsies. Kvothe, even for a Ruh, is an extremely talented musician, particularly with lute and voice, and learns at lightning speed. His father's troupe picks up an arcanist by the name of Abenthy, a graduate of the University (there is only one), who begins to train Kvothe in matters of science and "sympathy", a form of magic which allows the user to link two objects together and cause changes in the bound object by manipulating the other (a system drawing equally from modern thermodynamics, quantum entanglement and voodoo dolls). However, sympathy is the weaker form of magic in the world; Abenthy also knows true names, thus giving him power over those things he knows the true name of. Kvothe witnesses Abenthy calling the wind to fend off suspicious townspeople and spends the remainder of the novel attempting to discover the titular "Name of the Wind."
Meanwhile, Kvothe's father Arliden is attempting to compose a song about the "Chandrian," a mythical force of evil and corruption, occasionally referenced in children's rhymes but otherwise submerged in the murk of legend. Arliden's curiosity leads the Chandrian to visit the troupe and put everyone to the sword; Kvothe escapes by the simple expedient of having been out in the woods at the time. Now orphaned, Kvothe spends three deadening years in the city of Tarbean, forced to become a street urchin, before meeting a storyteller named Skarpi. Skarpi re-ignites Kvothe's interest in life by telling an ancient historical tale depicting the founding of the Chandrian and states that the Chandrian have enemies, leading Kvothe to believe that he may have a chance to avenge his parents. Kvothe, thus inspired, makes his way to the University to continue his education. There he bargains for, and obtains, enrollment on a shoestring budget, gaining acceptance to the high-leveled Arcanum far faster than the other students but being forced thereafter to scramble constantly to make ends meet. Kvothe begins a rivalry with a powerful, wealthy student named Ambrose, who looks on Kvothe with contempt due to Kvothe's poverty, and gains the contempt of an arrogant Master of the University as well. However, Kvothe succeeds at an astonishing pace in every class he enrolls in, impressing many of the Masters, and gains the jealousy and admiration of his classmates.
Kvothe's interest in the Chandrian leads him to the University's famous Archives. However, Ambrose tricks Kvothe into taking a candle amongst the books and the Master Archivist, Lorren, bans Kvothe from the Archives. Unable to work in the Archives, and with the Master Namer unhelpful in his mission of finding the name of the wind, Kvothe turns to work in the Artificery, where his quick fingers propel him rapidly through the courses. Kvothe also buys a lute despite his poverty and begins to rediscover his talent in music. When performing at a famous musical tavern called Eolian in the hopes of earning some much-needed money, Kvothe meets Denna, a beautiful and talented young woman whom he met on the road to the University from Tarbean and with whom he develops a slow romance. Denna attracts many other men and often disappears for weeks at a time, but it is hinted that she loves Kvothe as well.
When Kvothe hears reports of blue fire and murder at a nearby wedding, he realizes that it could be the work of the Chandrian, and rides to a small town called Trebon in his attempt to find proof that the Chandrian do exist. After an unexpected reunion with Denna, who was meeting with her mysterious patron, the two set out to find out what happened at the wedding. They meet a local farmer who reported strange sightings of blue fire, and later that night they encounter a massive fire-breathing herbivorous draccus. The draccus is later discovered to be addicted to denner trees (the trees have a resin that can be made into highly addictive drugs) and goes on a rampage through the town of Trebon, nearly burning down the whole town before Kvothe manages to kill it with a clever use of sympathy. Upon returning to the University, Ambrose once again taunts Kvothe, taking and breaking Kvothe's lute. Kvothe subconsciously roars out the name of the wind and the force of the wind breaks Ambrose's arm. Because of this feat, Master Namer Elodin promotes Kvothe to a second level student and attempts to teach him the power of names.
This first day during which Kvothe tells Chronicler his story ends when a lone mercenary arrives at the inn and attacks the local farmers who were having dinner in the inn. After the mercenary kills one of the farmers, Kvothe attempts to use sympathy to light the man on fire, but fails. The smith's apprentice eventually kills the man with an iron bar. As the customers leave, Kvothe, Bast, and Chronicler decide that the mercenary was possessed by a Mael, a creature from a land bordering that of the Fae, which is vulnerable to fire and iron.
As Chronicler goes to bed, Bast explains to Chronicler that he lured Chronicler to the inn because he wanted to shake Kvothe out of his monotonous life. Bast says that Kvothe's simple life is killing him and hopes that some good will come from the Chronicler helping Kvothe remember his days of glory.
See The Kingkiller Chronicle for an additional description of key characters and the setting.