NON SPOILER: 0:32 summary 0:58 great flow & storytelling 1:19 atmosphere > world building 1:43 main character is divisive 4:40 series lacks conflict 6:45 wooing of female characters 7:28 kvothe has no end goal 8:32 long story short 10:07 rating NAME OF THE WIND: 10:34 I initially liked kvothe 11:39 but then he became annoying (university) 12:42 comparison to ACOTAR 13:19 kvothe never turns the other cheek (he’s petty) 14:08 why is he not researching the villains more?! 15:07 kvothe’s shenanigans rarely teach him a lesson 15:44 kvothe tries too hard to look “cool” (ex. school lashings) 16:44 what the hell are kvothe’s goals in life? 17:26 kvothe’s crying scene came out of nowhere 19:21 women are just there to be wooed or saved 20:16 unpopular (?) opinion on the love interest 20:41 magic system was too chaotic 21:05 comparison to Earthsea cycle WISE MAN’S FEAR: 23:18 NOTW was juvenile, so sequel seemed relatively better 24:25 but plot ultimately went nowhere 24:50 wooing of the female characters *eye roll* 25:08 badass female mentor sleeping with kvothe lol 25:47 what truly derails the series (cough, sex fairy) 26:42 felurian treats kvothe like special snowflake 27:12 kvothe’s two-faced personality gave me whiplash 31:51 let's acknowledge kvothe was R-worded, but… 35:51 this narrative oozes self-satisfaction 36:16 villains are one-dimensional 37:05 kvothe is always morally “right” 38:34 series has neither outer nor inner conflict 39:54 adult kvothe was awesome 40:56 author lacks self-awareness 41:28 comparison to Bartimaeus trilogy 42:24 why i say this series is emotional manipulation at its finest DISCLAIMER: I read this series back in 2017, so apologies in advance if my recollection is a bit wonky. I probably botched some details, but my interpretation this series still stands.
I thought the weird drugged out dragon scene was super out of nowhere, like he got to the end and realized he needed to have a big fight or action scene at the end and threw that in out of nowhere. Also why would the girl just eat some random gunk she found in a trough in the middle of some random place. Him getting banned from the library was stupid, why would he bring a torch in there? It felt so forced. And if he’s that good at the lute or whatever it was (it’s been a while since I read it) why wouldn’t he just play on the street for money, or literally anything else to try to make money to pay for his school. Great video, I forgot how frustrating it was to read that book which was why I didn’t go for the second
Oof, I don't even remember those details anymore, it's been too long. But yes, I recall many of the conflicts being quite forced to increase our admiration for Kvothe. Good decision not to read the second book btw; it's where I cemented my distaste for this series lol.
I've had this series recommended to me by two different people, but it was a struggle to get 100 pages in. I know frame stories are a pretty standard narrative device, especially in adult high fantasy, but I was leaps and bounds more interested in older Kvothe than the actual story, and it made me so mad. It left me wondering if I could even could call myself a fantasy-enjoyer anymore!
Oh yeah I loved adult Kvothe! Younger Kvothe behaved too juvenile hence why I was similarly frustrated and wanting to get back to adult Kvothe's story.
I didn't knew who Rothfuss was and came to this serie accidentally. First 2/3 of the 1st book feelt as story may have amazing potential, it reminded me somewhat of Eko's ''Baudolino'' novel. But sadly the longer i keept reading the more i realised that it was perhaps above average but just a typical student novella.
