The Wise Man's Fear
The Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 2
Failed to add items
Sorry, we are unable to add the item because your shopping cart is already at capacity.
Add to basket failed.
Please try again later
Add to wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Remove from wishlist failed.
Please try again later
Adding to library failed
Please try again
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
Pick 1 audiobook a month from our unmatched collection - including bestsellers and new releases.
Unlimited access to our all-you-can-listen catalogue of 15K+ audiobooks and podcasts
Access exclusive sales and deals.
£8.99/month after 30 days. Renews automatically.
The Wise Man's Fear
Narrated by:
Rupert Degas
Buy Now for £16.99
-
Narrated by:
-
Rupert Degas
-
By:
-
Patrick Rothfuss
About this listen
'He's bloody good, this Rothfuss guy' George R R Martin
Sequel to the extraordinary THE NAME OF THE WIND, THE WISE MAN'S FEAR is the second instalment of this superb fantasy trilogy from Patrick Rothfuss. This is the most exciting fantasy series since George R. R. Martin's A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE, and a must-read for all fans of HBO's GAME OF THRONES.
Picking up the tale of Kvothe Kingkiller once again, we follow him into exile, into political intrigue, courtship, adventure, love and magic ... and further along the path that has turned Kvothe, the mightiest magician of his age, a legend in his own time, into Kote, the unassuming pub landlord.
Packed with as much magic, adventure and home-grown drama as THE NAME OF THE WIND, this is a sequel in every way the equal to its predecessor and a must-read for all fantasy fans. Readable, engaging and gripping THE WISE MAN'S FEAR is the biggest and the best new fantasy novel out there.©2011 Patrick Rothfuss
Listeners also enjoyed...
Critic reviews
I just love the world of Patrick Rothfuss (Lin-Manuel Miranda)
He's bloody good, this Rothfuss guy (George R R Martin)
Rothfuss has real talent, and his tale of Kvothe is deep and intricate and wondrous (Terry Brooks)
It's not the fantasy trappings (as wonderful as they are) that make this novel so good, but what the author has to say about true, common things, about ambition and failure, art, love, and loss (Tad Williams)
Hail Patrick Rothfuss! A new giant is striding the land (Robert J. Sawyer, award-winning author of Wake)
Jordan and Goodkind must be looking nervously over their shoulders! (Kevin J. Anderson, New York Times-bestselling author of The Dark Between the Stars)
The great new fantasy writer we've been waiting for, and this is an astonishing book (Orson Scott Card, New York Times-bestselling author of Ender’s Game)
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.
Once again - brilliant
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
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.
More good work from Partick Rothfuss
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
The positive:
The story is an adventure tale with a great writing style and imagination. I loved the stories within stories, the descriptions of Sympathy, Kvoth's childhood as a traveler. There is an atmosphere in his descriptions that reminds me of genuine folk-tales and songs. I agree that it was very long - perhaps unnecessarily - much in the same way the Harry Potter books are long. But I enjoyed the world he created so much that I didn't mind at all. I think this is just a requisite of reading epic fantasy: Wander around the map a little. Enjoy it while you can. The intelligence and believability in this fantasy was such a relief, since I've found it lacking in almost every other novel in the genre. Rothfuss writes it simply like "a book" - rather than as "a fantasy book". Most of the time ....
The negative:
I almost gave up on it halfway-through. Every female character in the book is beautiful, which seems to be their first and most important trait. I've never been convinced by the character of Denna. Kvoth seems to know nothing about her at all. The only time I was vaguely interested was when they first met in NotW. Here, she is talking with Kvoth, and I thought they might have a connection. Yet he simply narrates right over her, saying how beautiful she looked in the moonlight. Rothfuss puts women on pedestals. This seems to be the problem with all women in the book (culminating in the un-readble Fae chapter).
Hopes for Book 3:
Kvoth fails at something with tragic consequences for his ego.
A strong female character appears without endless references to her appearance.
Kvoth realises how to be friends with a woman - without having sex with her!
Excellent epic let down by weak female characters
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
Not FUSSed
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
I have never read anything like this series, I can’t wait to read it’s conclusion.
Story – 4.5/5
Once again, I was sucked in and absorbed into the live of Kvothe, even more so than the first book it seems. This book probably developed more slowly than the first, but with good reason. The story, to me, seems like it is developing such an in depth view of the character, and his entire life story, ready for a huge conclusion that will have a large emotional impact on the reader.
Once again, there were happy, sad, funny and scary moments throughout, and Patrick Rothfuss’ stunning prose smoothly took us on a ride with all of these emotions. How he can describe the way Kvothe plays music in such a way to make it believably beautiful is something I have never experienced before, and a skill that I admire.
There were one or two small moments where I drifted from the story due to being a bit too long (the only thing preventing it getting a 5), but this is minor, I am still contempt that this is one of the best fantasy series ever written, and everyone, fantasy fan or not, should give this a go.
Performance – 5/5
Rupert Degas is one of the very best narrators out there. His voice acting is as if he had a full cast of actor’s doing it for him, even the female voices don’t remind you that it is a male narrator like in most audio books
He really helps to enhance the Kingkiller chronicle’s atmosphere, and make these audio books into something amazing. When you can just relax, and never have to wonder what is happening, or who is saying what, you know you have an amazing audio book narrator. I would purchase other books based on RD narrating alone.
The added sound effects between chapters are a nice touch and add to the atmosphere.
Overall – 4.5/5
This series is a work of art
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.