The Wise Man's Fear (Part One)

Having only just finished listening to "The Name of The Wind" which I thought was wonderful from start to finish I jumped wholeheartedly into the second of the series, "The Wise Man's Fear".

Rupert Degas gives one of my favourite deliveries of any audio narrator with this series. I often find myself preferring to listen to a great narrator reading a fairly good book than a poor narrator reading a fantastic book. It really makes a huge difference.

Thankfully, like the previous title, this audiobook is blessed with both excellent writing and narration. Patrick Rothfuss' intelligent and descriptive style is brought to life by Degas. The book is littered with detail that doesn't get in the way of the plot and characterisation is believable and rewarding. Rothfuss' pacing is nearly always spot on and he's fast becoming one of my favourite authors.

So why only four stars? Well, unlike "The Name of the Wind", this book feels a little disjointed. While the individual chapters are finely crafted, the book reads somewhat like a set of short stories. Kvothe's seems to just end up going from place to place after neatly wrapping up each story arc. It almost feels lazy, the way he bumps into a character, or is given a task which sends him on his way to the next part of the novel. This by no means ruins the book, but I did expect more from Rothfuss who is clearly is an extremely talented writer.

All in all, I thoroughly enjoyed the major part of this novel, and while I don't hold in quite the high regard as "The Name of the Wind" it's still a very good continuation of the series. I eagerly look forward to the next one.

Patrick Rothfuss' Kingkiller Chronicles is on par with Tolkien’s Lord of the Rings and JK Rowling’s Harry Potter. The large number of different directions and plots the ‘The Name of the Wind’ covers is dramatically expanded in ‘The Wise Man's Fear’. The world that Patrick Rothfuss has created around the life and tales of the central character Kvothe is incredible and the way the story is link as if a biography is inspirational. These are audio books that I will be listening to again and again; the books are incredibly well crafted, with fantastic audio book narration. I highly recommend them.

As with The Name of the Wind (the first book in this series), I absolutely loved this book. Completely engrossing and superb narration as ever from Rupert Degas. Well worth the credit / money!

As a follow on to the fantastic Name of the Wind - this is absolutely perfect. The story is wonderful, the characters detailed - the narration excellent. No idea when part 3 will be available but I hope that Rupert Degas is available to read it. A perfect combination.

If you want to get completely lost in another world - and enjoy the fantasy genre - listen to Name of the Wind and then The Wise Man's Fear. You will NOT regret it.

The 'fantasy' genre should have a special section just for books like these.

I've already listened to and read The Wise Man's Fear and The Name of the Wind several times and can see that the trilogy will be an enduring favourite in my collection, to revisit time and time again.

The richness and colour of the writing combined with the brooding, emotionally flawed character of Kvothe are compulsively absorbing.

I grew up with Lord of the Rings and have a deep connection with it, these 'Kvothe Chronicles' although different in substance, have created the same feeling of involvement, a very special place to escape to!

Rupert Degas gives a superb interpretation, the most gorgeous voice with no irritating phoney accents.

Bring on the next book.

Not only an entertaining story but a an audible delight. The author's command of language is exceptional.
This is a knife's edge continuation of the story begun in "The Name of the Wind". As with "A Song of Fire and Ice" constant climax and anti-climax, joy and disaster are expected as frequent components of the story. However Patrick Rothfuss succeeds in constantly surprising the reader despite knife edge anticipation, the nature of the twists and turns of the story are mostly unexpected by the listener always coming as an intriguing surprise.
Initially I found Ruper Degas somewhat drone and dull after listening to Roy Dotrice and Tony Robinson recently. However after a short period of adaptation i've grown extremely fond of him. His tone and timbre match Kvothe perfectly. So stick with it if you are initially put off.

I have such a deep love for this book that I think i may hate it!! I hate the fact that it has to end, i HATE the fact that at the end of every book i wish that i had forgone waiting for my monthly credit and just bought the next part to remove the profound emptiness and suspense that keeps my mined ticking over while im meant to be asleep!! god help me when the series draws to a close!! :S







All a little Melodramatic i admit, but this dose not make it any the less true. This story kept my glued to my Ipod. The twist and turns making my smile, laugh out loud and feel a deep seance of sadness, regret and frustration on behalf of many of the characters. Never in the 10 years i have been listening to audio books have i ever been drawn into a story like this.







For anyone who is contemplating purchasing this book but is wavering on the edge of uncertainty like i was before i listened to it pleas, trust me (a complete stranger i know) but you wont regret it ..... well you may but for all the right reasons :)

I also felt a shift in the usually perfectly paced narration in the "wise mans fear". A direction that wasn't completely unfamiliar, but it just didn't flow either. At one point it felt like a mass of spinning plates, never stopping to give breath to a conclusion, before tackling the next chaptor.Then in a turnaround the storry slowed down to a frustrating mundain pace, the same desriptions repeted numerus times in varius tones.
One of the characteristics I enjoyed in the previous book was the realistic pacing, the sense that is wasn't a book waiting to end. This second book could of been just as amazing.
The narratior was skilled enough to keep me listening and not give up in frustation. Not the gem the first book was, but the first part of the book was brilliant until the change in pace , and for that i give it credit and it earns three stars.

Well narrated, well written, great story, great characters, great development... Everything about this book and in fact this whole series is just fantastic. I was gripped, enthralled and totally addicted.

I gave a review for the first of the trilogy and there just aren't enough superlatives in the world! The only thing I would say is wait till the third book is published before you start, save you this agony!