Your Next Favorite Fantasy Series

This is the blurb in the Onion A.V. Club that initially got me interested in Patrick Rothfuss's debut novel, The Name of the Wind:

1. Patrick Rothfuss, The Name Of The Wind (Daw)

When fantasy series have become as ubiquitous as Harlequin romances (and twice as predictable), a debut novel like The Name Of The Wind is more than a breath of fresh air. It's a reason to live a few more years, until Patrick Rothfuss gets the rest of the story of Kvothe, apprentice mage turned legendary outlaw, into print. Combining the academic setting of Harry Potter, the tortured heroism of Frodo, and the bittersweet apocalyptica of A Song Of Ice And Fire, Rothfuss' first novel in the Kingkiller Chronicles weaves a rich, fluid, irresistible world. The Name Of The Wind is the perfect midwinter escape—although the 2009 publication date for the next installment should serve as a warning: Read slowly.

High praise indeed. And the full review of the book on the same site is even more glowing, but I'm not linking to that here because it's a)pretty long and b)a bit spoilery. The back of the book itself is also loaded with high praise from the likes of Terry Brooks, Anne McCaffrey, and Orson Scott Card.

But what did I think of it? Let's just say that I'm generally a slow reader. It's not just that I don't have a lot of time to read, but when I do read it tends to be pretty slowly. When I left to visit Evelyn Is Not Real and Clyde Squid this past weekend, I had tons of music and podcasts to listen to during the trip, several magazines to catch up on, and this book. The only thing I ended up doing is reading this book. I read this book for about 8 consecutive hours until I finished it when I was stuck in the airport the other day. I didn't want it to end.

The comparisons in the mini-review are quite apt. If you're tired of waiting for the next A Song of Ice and Fire book, look no further. The Name of the Wind is considerably more focused considering it's about one character, and there's a reasonable chance the author will finish the series within the next couple years or so without dying, since he's a relatively young dude and this was, amazingly, his first novel. This isn't to say the book is without flaws--there are a couple lines that address the reader directly that I found somewhat annoying, though they were perfectly acceptable within the narrative structure of the book. It also takes a while to really ramp up, but if you can get past the first 100 pages or so (which aren't bad, but are still mostly prelude), you're good to go. Those quibbles aside, it was one of the most entertaining reads I've had for a while. It can be exciting, amusing, heartbreaking--everything a good adventure tale should be. Highly recommended as a fun summer read.