Reddit Reddit reviews The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle)

We found 11 Reddit comments about The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle). Here are the top ones, ranked by their Reddit score.

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11 Reddit comments about The Wise Man's Fear (Kingkiller Chronicle):

u/CVance1 · 9 pointsr/books
  1. The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss
  2. 10/10
  3. Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure
  4. The sequel to The Name Of The Wind, which I still consider one of the best written fantasy books out there. This one doesn't quite have the matching prose of the previous, but damn is it one good story. It's the continuation of the wizard Kvoth's story, day 2 rather.
  5. Amazon would recommend reading Name Of The Wind first.
u/ThatOneGuyDotNet · 3 pointsr/holidaybullshit

They talk about going to the library. Somebody in Nun yesterday (sorry don't remember who) suggested that a book has Chronicle in the title:
http://smile.amazon.com/The-Wise-Mans-Fear-Kingkiller/dp/0756407915

u/bunnysoup · 3 pointsr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

The Wise Man's Fear. I've been sucked into this series right proper.

u/Halgy · 2 pointsr/AskMen

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (and The Name of the Wind, the first in the trilogy, is also good). I only came across them a year ago or so, but they are absolutely fantastic and beautiful books. It takes restrain to read other books rather than these two over and over again.

u/King_Cudjoe · 2 pointsr/DestructiveReaders

I used to hate it when authors and instructors say "Show, don't tell." I hated it because most of the time, they didn't tell me how to show. I'll try my best to help you do that with this critique.

Showing is simply describing a thing as it exists, or as it happens.

Your telling, in particular, comes out through fancy language and excessive blocking.

I like where you began with your story. When a character committed some great crime, beginning the story in a prison cell is usually a good place to start from. The reader will forgive the exposition, because prisoners kept in solitary confinement have nothing but time to contemplate how they ended up there. That said, exposition from a lonely prisoner has to be interesting, and it has to sound like something they'd think to themselves in the dreary solitude.

There are elements to keep me interested, but MC isn't an interesting person. You are trying to make him interesting, and it isn't working because you're falling into the trap that ensnares fantasy writers in the early drafts. That fancy language, and the painstaking description. Don't worry, We all do it. I do it. But it's a habit you need to break, as it will yank the reader right out of your story.

I want to know more about your story, but it reads like stage directions from an aspiring English Ph.D student.

Used properly, lengthy blocking and florid descriptions can make a scene pop. For example, in The Wise Man's Fear, Patrick Rothfuss describes his character on the business end of a bitch-slap that seemed to call all of time, space, and gravity into knocking him on his ass:

> "If I say she slapped me, you will take the wrong impression. This wasn't the dramatic slap of the sort you see on a stage. Neither was it the offended stinging slap a lady-in-waiting makes against the smooth skin of a too-familiar nobleman...
>
> ...A slap is made with the fingers or the palm. it stings or startles. Vashet struck me with her open hand, but behind that was the strength of her arm. Behind that was her shoulder. Behind that was the complex machinery of her pivoting hips, her strong legs braced against the ground, and the ground itself beneath her. It was like the whole of creation striking me through the flat of her hand, and the only reason it didn't cripple me is that even in the middle of her fury, Vashet was always perfectly in control..."

There's so much description happening, but it's happening in the service of describing the power and control of a skilled martial artist who's just slapped a man silly. This also came after pages and pages of tension-building between these two characters.

Now here's your description of a man taking your MC by the chin:

> "Minar stepped close and reached out toward him with one hand. His wrist twisted as it passed the metal rods separating them and he stroked Narius under the chin with one finger, pausing just before it slipped off. Narius was forced to tilt his head back as Minar lifted his hand slightly. They locked eyes. Minar moved in closer. He smelled like pine sap and Narius clenched his teeth, responding to the uncomfortable advance and the fading memory of the outdoors. Minar’s finger curled and his thumb rested on the point of Narius’ chin. He opened his mouth slightly and broke his stare, instead casting his eyes downward."

You see the difference? there's a lot happening, but what, exactly? And why?

Reading through your draft, I get the impression you're building tension between these two characters by swinging the balance of power. Narius, confident and clever, has the upper hand in his own mind. But Minar has news that will annihilate Narius's confidence. The scene begins with Narius having the upper hand, and ends with him crumbling into a hollow and pathetic shell. This is great! Psychological intrigue is as essential to a good fantasy story as politics, battles between armies, and wizarding duels. But you're spoiling the intrigue in this scene in the following ways:

1) Leaving nothing in your MC's mind to our imagination, thereby preventing us from identifying with him:

> Narius’ wide eyes fixed themselves where a rod flawlessly met the floor. What felt like hours passed, though Narius knew better than to assume they would leave him unguarded for more than ten minutes. It was difficult for the prisoner to comprehend anything beyond his own swirling emotions. He felt his exposed fingers and toes become numb from the cold. Every so often, he saw wisps of ghostly mist swirl from the corner of his eye, catching firelight.

2) Occasionally describing him in a way he hasn't described himself (i.e. "The prisoner")

3) Describing every last detail of where every thing is, and how the characters interact with those things:

> Two thin shadows blocked sections of the sparse light that leaked under the heavy metal door. Through the wall of bars to his left, Narius watched the entrance and heard the latch snap as it released. Minar, captain of the guard at the high security prison where Narius was held, knocked twice before barging in. Narius wished he wouldn’t knock. The metallic ring resounded off the barren walls of the near empty room and lingered in his sound sensitive ears.

> Minar’s smile died as his gaze fell upon a rickety desk in the corner diagonal to Narius’ cot. Atop it rested a wooden tray. Cold steamed vegetables, a stale roll, and diced meat smothered in a gravy-like sauce lay largely untouched.

4) In addition to being painstakingly described, sometimes your description of the things isn't even consistent with how your main character feels about them:

> He placed to stool before the bars and sat. He was careful to mind his outrageously long, brown horns, which grew at a sharp backward angle from the top of his head. They cascaded in a gently arced fashion vertically down his back and stopped hear his hip bones, the ends curving slightly away from his body. Narius thought they were garish.

I won't repeat the critiques that have already been made about structure. But getting back to what I was saying about florid language, you seem to dip in and out of that mode of storytelling, and I get the sense you aren't completely at ease with it. That's fine, as long as you pare down your language so the reader can understand you. For example, this sentence reads like you are putting on a show of Narius's carelessness for the reader:

> “Is that a promise?” Narius carelessly dropped the roll on the floor, strode back across the cell, and sat once again on the cot, mirroring Minar with his own legs.

But this sentence reads like Narius is putting on a show of carelessness for Minar:

> "Is that a promise?" Narius tossed the roll to the grimy floor and sat on the cot, mirroring Minar's cross-legged pose.

Be yourself. High fantasy doesn't become high fantasy by trying to imitate the writing styles of Tolkien and Brooks and Martin. You have to let your ideas take it there, and you have to get your language out of the way.

I've gone through your draft and made suggestions throughout. I'm happy to answer any more questions you might have, either in this thread, or over PM.

u/AskMrScience · 2 pointsr/AdviceAnimals

Another classic example: "Why is the Maer looking at hairy balls?"

u/key2 · 1 pointr/Random_Acts_Of_Amazon

For you: this and this

Together they are just under $25. I see you're a GoT fan and you will 100% enjoy these books.

For me: This

Just above $25 but it's the only thing I have on there that's in that range.

u/Minte_Fresh · 1 pointr/suggestmeabook

The Name of the wind and The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss based on your fantasy preferences

u/JasonUncensored · 1 pointr/OutOfTheLoop

I read in The Wise Man's Fear that civilization literally means "no one shits in the well", and I've never thought it more applicable than right here.

u/muyoriginalken · 1 pointr/leagueoflegends

I think the most important thing to call out in this video is that Hai is reading one of my favorite books, Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss. You can barely see it at 16:44.