Fantasy books are typically designed to be a kind of literary nerd porn, throwing around goblins, dragons and dual-wielding dark elves with nary a care for the reader's intellect. Either that or they are interminably, unnecessarily long. With fantasy we're resigned to getting either the dragon or the drag on.
A couple of years ago, some unknown, struggling teacher wrote one of the greatest books that I have ever read. Not one of the greatest fantasy stories - one of the greatest of any story. Honestly a literary masterpiece. Beautiful turns of phrase, deep characters, fantastic twists and bends in the narrative all told from a refreshing perspective. As soon as I finished it I rushed out (ok, to Google) to see what else the author had written.
It was the fellow's first book. I wailed, gnashed my teeth, and went back to reading the usual pointless drivel.
Until now. I just discovered that the second book, The Wise Man's Fear, came out in March. I literally dropped what I was doing at work and marched straight down to the local book shop. They charge ridiculous prices to the point where I usually just torrent books that I want to read and put them on my e-reader.
But not this one. Some things just deserve the hard copy. And I wasn't alone - the cashier had sold two copies in the last half an hour. I'll be gobbling this up over the next few days - if you haven't read the first book, I highly recommend that you go and pick yourself up a copy, and treat your mind to something special. You can go back to the nerd porn afterwards, but you might not look at it the same way.
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3 comments:
I enjoyed The Wise Man's Fear just as much as the first book; it was as though he'd just followed straight on, and we'd not had to wait interminable years for the sequel.
The storytelling is just as joyous, the only difference between the books is that the second adds yet more interesting characters and settings and lore.
Hopefully you won't be disappointed either.
I also feel Rothfuss first work is a masterpiece. Stepping into book two puts me back into familiar territory...even moreso, as I learn to actually hate and love various characters.
This author and this series WILL be a wild ride.
Adding this to my wishlist for my birthday...Done! Thanks Melf ;)
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