Kk King King itibaren Texas
...Ehhhh. I'm willing to wait for A Dance with Dragons to see how I feel about this series' turn of events, but this book was severely disappointing. Not because the OMGCHARACTERSILOVE aren't in it, or because OMGTHISCHARACTER died, it was just... As a reader and a wannabe writer, I tend to follow the advice of "Show, not tell" when applicable. FFC took the opposite road, and it suffered for it. Many characters were killed off or fought in great battles that you only hear about in Cersei's boardroom meetings. Yawn. Granted, DWD might show us these events from the others' points of views, but... I would rather have had that to begin with, than see a crazy, paranoid wench's increasingly crazy and paranoid view of the happenings. Some neat events took place, but very few story-turning events happened, unless you count killing off MORE staple characters to replace them with Greyjoys as crucial to the plot. It's good to have it read in order to prepare for the next book, but in short, I think a Cliff's Notes would have served me better.
Oh boy. How to start? I read this book back when it first came out. Long before joining goodreads (okay feels longer than it actually was) and before I knew how popular it would become. I remember loving it. But while waiting for the next book it slipped further and further from my mind. I'd see it in the bookstore and remember but forget again. Then the sequel finally came out. I bought and tried to read it without a reread of the first. I had forgotten too much and it didn't work out. I stopped and knew I had to reread this one. But I was almost afraid to. I hate rereading a favorite book and losing it. As if it does any good having a favorite book you can't enjoy. I know odd logic. I struggled with The Wise Mans Fear. And I'm not usually one to buy into or agree with hype. Usually when something is built up too high it can only fail. In my experience anyway. But I didn't lose a friend. I reconnected. I think I loved it even more this time. Have you ever heard two musicians playing the same piece with the same instrument but they can sound completely different? Love of music cannot be faked. No matter the talent. It can be heard. Felt. I think Patrick Rothfuss loves words as a great musician loves music. He did not merely write a story but constructed, conducted, something more. A living story. It is not only black lettering that can be seen. To me it had a voice. As though I could hear Kvothe himself. I have heard many readers who love the book but have the opinion that they hate Kvothe. With all due respect that's crazy to me. The character is the book. The story. Everything. They are one. The book is about a legend. A myth. How a myth is created and what happens when the legend ends. I want to know the rest of the tale. How does Kvothe become Kote? What is coming towards Kote? Who and what are the Chandrian? Does Ben make another appearance? What happens to Denna? Who I didn't hate this time. I actually liked her. And even though part of it did remind me of the Harry Potter series, Harry never had such a fun teacher as Elodin. Fun, crazy, whatever. Five, six, ten stars. A favorite book I do not have to be afraid to read again. And I know I will.