What other fantasy books do YOU read?

[Bêthberry]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

My mouth is hanging open, my old friends! When NotW received so much buzz a couple of years back, I thought I'd check it out -- but he lost me in the first few sentences with the bit about the three-part silence. I read another couple of chapters, but I thought the writing was terrible and finally gave up. Now two wights whose tastes and opinions I highly value are gushing about the book. Did I just not push in far enough? Rothfuss seems to be a divisive writer. What do you guys think of the many complaints I've seen that Kvothe is the epitome of a Mary Sue character?

And a happy new year to you, Mister U.

This doesn't surprise me, as I once checked into Neal Stephenson's Cryptonomicon on your recommendation, but couldn't get into it, nor do I particularly like Stephen King, another of your faves. Methinks we have different tastes. (And I was much taken by William Gibson's Neuromancer, although was disappointed by his Pattern Recognition, so I don't think it's that I don't appreciate post-modern writing. And my taste is in good company, as Ursula LeGuin enjoys the language and the music of Rothfuss's words. As you say, Rothfuss is a divisive writer. But then so was/is Tolkien.

I liked the suspense over the scraeling creature in the first chapter and the characters' different attitudes towards it and the mix of realism with fantasy in the entire world. The elements of medievalism aren't sentimental but hard-nosed. And the theme of names intrigued me. And the travelling troupe. Gypsies still in Europe today are given short shrift (having personally seen how they are treated in Paris and Rome) and I appreciated the depiction of a similar group or tribe. Maybe it's the sense of a post-modern take on a medieval world that I found interesting.

Surely you mean Gary Stu or Marty Stu, Mister U? Here's a test for such characters, which I haven't bothered to work out: Litmus test for Mary Sue characters. Kvothe often is pig-heated and makes bad decisions and his red hair I thought was a reference to his tribe rather than anything Mary Sueish--although who's to say it isn't Rothfuss's joke at such character's expense? Can't remember the colour of his eyes. But then, you're the first I've read of a complaint that he is a Mary Sue character, so I'll put it down to your inimitable wit. But more seriously, I was drawn to figuring out the discrepancies in his condition.

I wonder what our very own Downs expert on Merisu would say?