The Kingkiller Chronicles - A Gentle Fantasy
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- Опубліковано 16 вер 2024
- This is a spoiler-free introduction and overview of the Kingkiller Chronicles, the massively popular series by Patrick Rothfuss. I'll help you decide if you want to read it.
We discuss both novels and both novellas, including the recent release The Narrow Road Between Desires.
This includes a deep dive on writing beautiful prose, the theme of intelligence, and a response to some of the series common criticisms.
You can support my work through my patreon or my online shop;
/ cronkthebookguy
rainbowspaceun...
I've never even thought about Kvothe's lack of awkwardness. While he is apparently born with a high level of charisma, he spends his early childhood as the ultimate theater kid. He's a well-trained performer who knows how to always be "on." Additionally, he's a member of a marginalized group, and charisma is the skill that kept the members of that group alive. Kvothe describes his father's skills as far beyond his own, and social awkwardness is relative. I imagine that Kvothe's father would have made Kvothe look socially awkward by comparison.
Well said.
That's very well said. Kvothe definitely talks about putting on a 'performance' whenever he's in front of other people, and it gives him courage in social settings. You're very right about that.
One slight counter point is that he experiences a ton of trauma and violence in his childhood. There's the three year period he's on the streets. And he spends a month non-verbal from shock at one point. All of that should give him some intense PTSD, yet he has no social anxiety. 🤷♂
I still think he's just not allowed to have 'weak' moments, and I wish he did.
The small amounts I do remember, there is a scene when he approaches to rough guys, and immediately regrets addressing them as gentleman, or fellows? And he should have sad wassup dude, and then felt awkward. Maybe I've misremembered. Its been over ten years since I read them
Also on the point of Kvothe being a "Gary Sue", there's also a theory of narrator biase. He's a talented liar and already explains he's adapting the story as he tells it. So as he's telling the story, he's inflating his achievements.
He's different as the inn keeper because he's played the role for so long he's becoming the performance. So I'm guessing we'll never see or know the really Kvothe.
I agree 100%. We never really get to know anything about the "real" young Kvothe. We only hear about him from old Kvothe. It's probably very similar to how my son only hears stories of my glory days, and never really gets the whole story, lol
This series is my all time favourite. It was the prose that drew me to it. One of the best aspects for me is how nothing can happen for pages on end but I can’t stop reading because the prose is so beautiful. Thank you for pointing that out ❤
I think Kote being the narrator for his younger self is why he depicts himself as so perfect. He’s very unreliable
Yeah...normally I would agree with you, my friend. It's just that the whole reason older Kvothe is telling the story of his life is to prove he's NOT a hero. He's proving why he should not get involved in the conflict of the wider world. So he downplays his own accomplishments and shows that he's often just lucky, or that the story gets exaggerated in the retelling. This is particularly true of the 'Dragon Slayer' story, for example.
So it doesn't make sense for old Kvothe to exaggerate how smart he is. It looks like an inconsistency. It could just be ego? But it feels like a writing mistake.
Absolutely fantastic review. I love your description and depiction of the books. I absolutely love this series. Well done.
This is a very balanced review. I dnfed the first book after realizing that the plot meanders too much. But I loved the university scenes
You are an inspirtaion, please keep up inspiring readers new and old.
The only problem I have with the lack of more in the series is Rothfus' failure to provide the chapter for the fundraiser.
He needs to find a way to get them a chapter, even if that means working with a co-writer.
(One of my favorite books is Stars in my Pocket Like Grains of Sand by Samuel Delaney, which was supposed to be a duology. It was published in 1984. That second book is never coming. Delaney has said he no longer has any interest in the subject, and I appreciate that honesty. It lets me enjoy the one book for what it is.)
I'm reading The Name of the Wind atm and enjoying it soooo much! Love your thoughts on the series and thank you for keeping these spoiler-free!
Thank you! Yeah this was a tricky one for spoilers, glad that's appreciated.
21:33 THANKS👏YOU👏 Say it louder for the people in the back! I've never understood this; violence makes me deeply uncomfortable.
Amazing video as always! ❤
Wonderful! Thanks a lot!
I personally feel like the books are worth reading, even if they will never get a conclusion. I waited for a long time to read them (waiting for book 3), but when I finally read them last year, i was really pleasantly surprised by how well the books stand on their own. I really enjoyed the flow of the writing and the classic fantasy feel (magic school, not grimdark, following a young ‘hero’, having interesting magic in an intriguing, yet pretty basic world). To me it’s very unclear how the story in the books is related to the overarching grand and secretive plot, that is sometimes eluded to and frankly, I don’t really care. I just enjoyed the ride we got, following Kvothe growing up. But I guess it depends on the type of reader you are. I enjoy slower books that focus on the development of a character and I’m not really an endings-person, so I wasn’t feeling left in suspense.
Hope you’ll have a nice break 🌻. Thank you for another great video 😊. Can’t agree more with you on the publishing and matching books, the worst especially if the first edition has totally different sizes (usually in paperbacks) and you’ll have to wait years for it to match 😭. (My lost metal is huge next to the rest of mistborn)
OMG the same happened for me with Lost Metal! There was no way I was waiting.
Now there's two of us; the revolution has begun! 😂
You’re my favorite booktube channel
That is freaking awesome! Thank you! 😁
I absolutely love your videos, man. Please keep it up! You’re brilliant.
Gosh I love these books. It almost - almost - doesn't bother me that they're not finished, because I enjoy watching video essays or reading people's theories about all the mysteries within the world. Once the last book is out, it's kind of set in stone (haha, stone), and that will put an end to all the theorizing. The books have so many little clues built in that it seems like each video I watch I learn something new I missed on my read-throughs. In my opinion the worldbuilding is quite intriguing - there are some really interesting theories about the Underthing and what it used to be, and I love the Adem culture, the Amyr, the Chandrian, and the old myths we get to learn about. There's also the whole fairy realm and the Ctheah and Jak and that whole side of things. I realize these books aren't for everyone, but I think they are beautiful and fascinating. I'm unusually fond of slow-moving, cerebral stories like this though. Especially ones with hidden clues and mysteries. Maybe you could do a Patreon extra about your thoughts you didn't want to share in this video? I'd love to see that!
lol stone pun. 😁
Yes! It's crazy how many theories are out there, and so many of them seem 100% plausible! If Doors of Stone comes out, it really might be one of the best books ever. That only makes the wait even more bitter.
Haha great suggestion about Patreon extra! Sadly, all my 'extra thoughts' are just super negative. 😥 I try to keep this a happy place. But if you're interested, short version is this;
You know how Ambrose has all the wealth and privilege, but Kvothe has to struggle for everything? Well it's like Rothfuss is Ambrose. He has all this opportunity available to him that he squanders. Meanwhile I'm Kvothe who's been trying to break into the publishing industry for over a decade and have eventually turned to UA-cam and Indie publishing. It just makes me mad that he's taking up a huge patch of real estate in the industry. Authors like him make huge money for publishers with every book launch, and that cashflow is how they can afford to try out new authors. His situation has industry-wide consequences that he should take responsibility for.
I love your style. Your presentation is always on point. Description of the books and writing style and you really give the me the impression of what to expect from each book or series. It’s like taking a uni class and I love it!
I just finished Realm of the Elderlings. I really want to shake off the sadness of being out of that world but also the sadness of the ending.
I want to read Kingkiller but not having a full series makes me nervous. Which is why I never finished ASOIAF. I couldn’t continue because I was loving it and know I’d be one of those people who just gets frustrated not knowing how it ends. lol. I read all 17 books of RoTE in 5 months to give you an idea. Plus other classics and in school full time. 😂
So I have all of - Edan. Red Rising. Winter King. Mistborn. But I’m open to any suggestions even if they aren’t finished at this point. It’s just that Kingkiller seems to be going on the way of GRRM and that worries me a bit. I also have Kaigan and Will of the Many. 😂.
Yeah. I am stuck. Help please 🙏 Get me out of my own head and tell me what to read next to help me get over Fitz. 😂. ❤❤❤❤
I only read the first book. I overall liked it, but it had some flaws that are hard to ignore. I think its strongest point is definitely the writing. Everything is written very elegantly but yet it reads very fluidly.
I understand the Gary Sue argument. Kvothe is basically good at everything. But I attribute that to his education. At the start of the book, when he is with his family, you can see that he has a very rich environment for learning. Loving parents, a teacher, time to explore, lots of stimuli. He was raised in the perfect setting and his education is top notch. That's why he's so curious and a quick learner. When later he goes to that city and he's just trying to survive poverty, you can see how all of that goes away. Or not entirely away, but it stops for a while. Now he no longer cares about learning, he's just trying to survive. When he later goes to the university, you can see some of that curiosity and desire to learn coming back in. I think it's a nice mirror of our real world. Children who have the luck to grow in a rich environment have much better chances to do well academically and in life in general.
I just didn't like Kvothe's interactions with women. There were many cringy moments there. Like, fedora hat tipping moments.
I love Kingkiller …… AND I LOVE YOUR INTRO. KKC is all about the writing ❤️. So good.
I enjoyed book 1, but its been awhile. I'll probably start over now.
Your "song and dance" around spoilers was very entertaining! Keep up the good work my friend!
When u said Shallan I audibly gasped 😂 but after you explained your point I think she was the perfect example
Barely remember them, which is why i searched for this, great timing. You have a new subscriber.
Always a good day when you post
Id never heard of it before GPT recommending it to me highly after seeing my reading list... Feels like I live under a rock haha thank you for the spoiler free review.
I loved this deep dive! One of my all time favorite series. Need book 3 lol.
Man, I’ve gone back and forth on this series for a while. It makes so many epic promises and then sidesteps them all to tell a very mundane story for the most part. It is a story that goes nowhere, and does so slowly. Love slow burns but when you set up the chandrian and barely follow up on them or develop them as characters in any way, it’s hard for me to love the work.
Beautiful prose, tantalizing mysteries, decent explorations of a struggle with poverty but ultimately there are so many plates left hanging in the air, for thirteen YEARS, for the story to end satisfactorily. And the author is approaching levels of outright fraud at this point what with the chapter thing you pointed out. Whole thing just sucks, I’m with you on that.
Sad but true, my friend. 😥
I agree with you 100%
As someone who practices ethical non-monogamy, it's refreshing to see a perspective on human desire that more closely mirrors my own in fiction.
It's definitely a topic people are quick to misinterpret. Nice and rare to see it handled with some empathy. Also if you haven't, you should check out The Broken Earth trilogy if you want to see more.
Nice strange planet shirt! 🙂↕️ I love watching your videos, they’re very comforting to me and always make me excited about reading - thank you for all the hard work! 🥹
That's wonderful to hear! Thank you. :)
No violence in the first book??? The end of the first act sees a whole community of people brutally slaughtered. One woman is raped to death and her husband crawls 20 feet with his intestines spilling out just to be next to her when he dies. To be fair the rape is implied but still extremely violent
its also implied that the older boys in the city have their way with the younger ones in the alleys below where Kvothe was sleeping
Hm… it uses fantasy tropes. Magic of names? Becoming at age? Wizard school? Super talented wizard kid? 👀 Revenge on his family so let’s go! Pretty much these are some of them and not all. It uses them better. More like Ursula Le Guin as he took inspiration from her.
This was very insightful, well done! Yeah I think tropes are truly unavoidable, because stories are always a little similar to something else. I think Kingkiller does a good job at avoiding the most stereotypical fantasy tropes that have been overused. (Except maybe wizard school. 😆
Correction: Kvothe THINKS hes the smartest person in the room. The reader is supposed to pick up on how wrong he is. His friends and people around constsntly correct him. He often ignores them and suffers for it. The current time line has the world quite literally falling apart due to him.
I think it’s one of the best FOR ME. I know not everyone will like it but to me it was literally the most enjoyable thing I’ve ever read outside of lotr
I always call it low fantasy when I’m describing it
I read the name of the wind about five years ago and really enjoyed it. Must admit I’ve put off reading the other books because of the ending thing 😂 I definitely need to give the wise man’s fear a read sometime though, it’s been on my shelf for years 🙈
Kvothe= Cool Shallan? I agree, but i prefer Shallan in general, it's a more nuanced character.
I love this! Hard agree!
I love your beautiful hair, Cronk. But sometimes it prevents us from reading the text on your t-shirts, which I find a bit distracting 😂
my fav series
Vignette = When "slice of life" animes meets books
Good job being balanced.
Very interesting and well done video, BUT I refuse to start the books before the series is finished.
The missing third book killed it for me. I got burned by Melanie Rawn's Ruins of Ambrai series so have real problems with unfinished series.
Regarding content warnings - I would add SA as well, due to things heavily implied that happened in Tarbean (keeping this spoiler free)
This is a really good point. I actually struggle with writing the content warning segments, because sometimes things are seen on-screen, and other times it's just implied, like in Tarbean. So how much to include? I go back and forth all the time.
@@cronkthebookguy I totally get that. Also because different readers interpret the same words / passages in different ways.
Can anyone tell me which book has the most of this 'sympathetic' magic system at play? Since it's an unfinished series with an emphasis on prose, I'm not too fussed about following the overall story but I would LOVE to see all the clever applications of this cool concept. (Very helpful video!)
Well the Sympathy magic is in both books, but you see enough of it in book 1 to get a great idea. It has a few surprises that are very entertaining.
Inb4 Doors of Stone
All of your criticisms fail to take into account how this is a first person recounting of events from long ago.
Of course someone you make themselves look smarter, forget about awkward interactions or leave them out, make their enemies look flat and one-dimensional. Of course a teenager would find women unpredictable, etc.
You made too look unimpressed with the trope of "hidden royalty".
So did you miss the part in Wise Man's fear where you see the Mear's new wife Meluan Lackless is actually Kvothe's mums sister? And his mum is the lady Lackless from the song is about in book one? And why Meluan Lackless hates the Ruh.
Effectively Kvothe is hidden Royalty, it just hasn't been revealed yet.
ua-cam.com/video/Crr5Ulvv37I/v-deo.htmlsi=BMEz1FDWP1yRQ2PA I actually went ahead and made my own version of book 3.
That's an interesting point regarding Shallan, but as someone who doesn't enjoy Sanderson's humour anyway the intent behind them is irrelevant to me 😂
This series sucked for me. Snails pacing & endless side quests, while never progressing the main plot. 2 of 3 books out & the MC has never reconfronted the main villains. He also hasn't learned to call a single name freely. Last book will be a rushed mess to compensate.
when is the next book coming out?
Someday, maybe.
A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away lol.
Never
Rothfuss should release the promised chapter. If he wants to later add Voice-acting narrators great. Get it out in prose first. Then get fancy later.
Complete waste of a promising power system in this one. A big nothing burger.
Surprised about this video, it isn’t a series unless it has an ending. I don’t believe Rothfuss has the capacity to finish this ‘series’. It has been 13+ years since book 2 came out, in that time he has published one novella and polished up a short story he wrote and spun it out as a novella. I have no faith that book 3 will ever be written unless Rothfuss gets some serious help.
violence is very natural. life is violent in its nature, to survive means to consume other life. And no life wants to be consumed, so it is inherently violent.
The only books I've read/listened to more than Harry Potter
I havent reqd the series, merely know of it from a decent amount of research on book tube....has kvothe even killed a king yet across four books?😂 I genuinely am just curious in case any neckbeards jump down my throat😂
Cheers all
...we haven't even seen a king yet. 😕
😂😂@@cronkthebookguy
Kvothe and Shallan being each criticised for not being more like the other is spot on. But I think we need to keep in mind the narrator is Kvothe himself and he made it clear he doesn't shy from exaggeration and manipulating the truth in order to tell a good story. Now I don't personally think he's a Gary Sue, I think he's kind of an idiot. He's a very typical intelligent youth who knows he's intelligent and relies on it too much. He's like that DnD wizard who put all his points in intelligence and charisma but nothing in wisdom.
As for Rothfuss, I got banned from the KKC subreddit for criticising his repeated false advertising. The way he sold the first book was by making it very clear the entire series is completed and he's just in the editing phase, and people bought it. Personally I thought the series was completed when I started reading it because there was an entry for Doors of Stone on Goodreads with reviews, I didn't check anything beyond that because up to that point I never needed to. Imagine my disappointment when I found out there is no 3rd book.
That's curious! I have seen so much online chatter about people getting banned from his subreddits and facebook groups. What is with that??? What a strange fandom...
Yes I heard that too, about all three books being written already. Absolutely feels like false advertising.