I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the university at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me.

So begins the tale of Kvothe - currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeeper - from his childhood in a troupe of travelling players, through his years spent as a near feral orphan in a crime riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic.

In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin.

The Name of the Wind is fantasy at its very best.

Read by Rupert Degas.

Please note this is now the entire audio of this book.

Listening Length

28 hours and 3 minutes
Author

Patrick Rothfuss
Narrator

Rupert Degas
Audible release date

6 March 2012
Language

English
Publisher

Orion Publishing Group
ASIN

B00NIFN858
Version

Unabridged
Program Type

Audiobook
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Product details

Listening Length	28 hours and 3 minutes
Author	Patrick Rothfuss
Narrator	Rupert Degas
Whispersync for Voice	Ready
Audible.com.au Release Date	06 March 2012
Publisher	Orion Publishing Group
Program Type	Audiobook
Version	Unabridged
Language	English
ASIN	B00NIFN858
Best Sellers Rank	147 in Audible Books & Originals (See Top 100 in Audible Books & Originals) 15 in Military Fantasy (Books) 21 in Fantasy (Audible Books & Originals)

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5 star		73%
4 star		19%
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2 star		2%
1 star		1%

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Top reviews from Australia

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Thomas

Gripping read!

Reviewed in Australia on 29 September 2019

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This is one of those books that you cannot put down. It reminded me of books I read as a teenager when I was devouring fiction without a care in the world. Now that I have to work to eat a book like this is a refreshing break from reality.
Yet at the same time it holds a wisdom that holds power in our own reality and so it makes you pause and think not just escape.
There are certain paragraphs that I have read and reread time and again because I cried out “YES!” in my mind at finding someone speaking my language.
In short this book has gained a place as one of my favourites and once I’ve taken a moment to digest it I will read it once more. But it, read it. You’ll have no regrets.

3 people found this helpful

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Amazon Customer

Great blurb, disappointing novel, poor packaging.

Reviewed in Australia on 20 December 2018

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TNOTW has been a mainstay of recommended lists for years now so I finally decided to buy both paperbacks.

Rothfuss is a wonderful writer and fully justifies the recommendation from Ursula K. Le Guin on the back cover. Unfortunately, the same can't be said for the actual story within the book.

After meeting Kvothe briefly as an adult, we follow along back to his past years as a teenage prodigy brimming with talent, ambition and a conspicuous lack of common sense and humility. Instead of adventuring across the world, much of the book covers Kvothe's time at the University and various taverns. This is not what I expected from the book based on the back covers blurb.

The blurb also makes fantastical claims such as "So begins a tale unequaled in fantasy literature" and "Shelve The Name of The Wind beside The Lord of the Rings...and look forward to the day when it's mentioned in the same breath, perhaps as first among equals". Sadly both these claims are erroneous as the book isn't anywhere near Erikson's Malazan book of the Fallen or Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, let alone Tolkien's work.

None of these criticisms should detract from the fact that this is a good book though, and if it were not for the claims on the back cover I would probably award four stars. However...

Packaging: TNOTW has had 5mm trimmed from the right-hand side of the cover in order to fit an inner page of glowing reviews. The sequel also shares this packaging and I don't care for it. Font size within the book is smaller than I prefer and the line spacing is cramped, as well as the left and right margins being very small, forcing me to pull the book out and mark the spine. Had I picked this book up in a bookstore I would not have purchased it in this format.

Finally, one small pet peeve: p. 107 " ... that he accused them of doing things I'm sure no donkey has ever willingly done, especially not Beta, who possessed impeccable moral character." Sentences like this one add nothing to the story being told and should be removed in the editing process.

4 people found this helpful

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Deso

A good read

Reviewed in Australia on 11 February 2022

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While I enjoyed the drama and the underlying tension, I felt that a number of parts were somewhat drawn out and took or are taking too long to get anywhere. I am at a crossroad of whether to continue with the next work or to move onto something else.

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Bruce Hanslo

Poetic Prose - Word Magic

Reviewed in Australia on 5 November 2019

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A mesmerising and melodic tale, told with great skill and sensitivity. Kvothe is a legend languishing in an inn and waiting to die, when a famous chronicler comes apon him...and so begins the telling of the tale behind the legend.
Patrick Rothfuss takes time and care in the telling of the story and uses all the words necessary to tell it, and not one more.
It has all the elements of an enduring fantasy novel, but will not conform to tired convention. A beautifully told story, it will wrap itself around you like a cool spring breeze.
If you need a steady stream of common characters, predictable politics and bloody battles - you may be disappointed. This is the fascinating fable of the character behind the legend, the troubles and triumphs of his life and the loves he loves.
It is not the Big Mac of literature, with the thin patti of processed plot bunned between insubstantial individuals and seasoned with the salt and sugar of salacious scenes.
It is the gourmet burger, the real beef of brave deeds inside complex carbohydrate characters nestled within the fresh tomato and lettuce of a creative and poetic voice.
It takes time to develop and Patrick Rothfuss writes intentionally to his own perfect rhythm.

I loved the style of the telling of this tale, the slow burning, but never boring, plot and the realness of the characters and their banter. If you are chasing a fast read, an action packed tale or conventional fantasy - you won’t find it here. You will find intriguing mystery, clever magic, great friendships and poetic prose.

A book worth reading.

One person found this helpful

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Kindle Customer

Slow, directionless

Reviewed in Australia on 20 February 2021

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Seems to be a self indulgent use of words.
Lacks character development
Where, why does Denna go? Who, what is Bast? Any chance of exploring the Chandrian? These would have been of better use than "interludes".
600 pages for the main, dare i say only, character to be an orphan, musician, student, potential magic weilder....ho hum, a story written hundreds of times. And better written at that.
After waiting so long to read it, its disappointing at best and wasting my time at worse.

One person found this helpful

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Teresa Humphries

Brilliant book full of drama, mischief and love

Reviewed in Australia on 18 February 2017

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I'm a great fan of fantasy but find some a bit too fluffy for my liking - The name of the wind is not 'fluffy' at all, It's a marvellously written book composed by a true genius. Patricks's ability to piece together the story of a boys life and ability to portray the struggles, triumphs and tests along the way is incredible. A marvellous book.

6 people found this helpful

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Mandy Abela

Enjoyable

Reviewed in Australia on 7 December 2018

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A new friend recommended this and one other from the series (to start with), so I decided to give them a chance, and was pleasantly surprised. When I find myself thinking of the protagonist in moments when I’m not reading, which leads to me wishing that I had that quiet moment to reconnect, then I know I’ve found a good story. See you soon Kvothe, and thank you Jake.

One person found this helpful

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Top reviews from other countries

M. Duncan

Great read, needs an edit

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 14 August 2018

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Good Points:
- Well written, mainly.
- Fascinating magic system, and interesting world building
- bits set in university, with the education of a wizard are great. there are a lot of similarities with Harry Potter, which many will point out, but there are enough differences to keep it a very different book
- Lots of mystery: the author cleverly sets up a lot of mysteries, which keeps the pages turning. There is plenty of suspense and it is an engaging read.

Bad bits
- This book needs a good edit. Many incidents or story sections are repetitive - how many times will the character not have enough money for tuition and have to go and find money? How many times will he meet his lady love and just have a chat with her (more later)
- Framing story: the whole story is recounted in a pub by the main character in the first person. I don't think this framing adds much to the narrative, and just makes it longer and more difficult to get into.
- Poorly drawn characters: although NOTW is well written in general, many characters seem sketchy. Willem and Simmon are good examples. The masters in the university are better drawn. The physical descriptions are usually poor, or non-existent, and few characters have strong enough traits to be memorable.
- The love interest: creating a love interest and then putting off the characters getting together is a staple of most fictional genres. I don't think it has ever been spun out like this, and with such an unlikeable love interest. There are several identical chapters where the character looks for the boring, self-centred, but (yawn) incredibly beautiful Denna, finds her, they have a great chat, but once again, nothing happens. This quickly becomes boring, and I wish she would get killed off so we didn't have to read this.

Overall, I would recommend fans of Harry Potter, or fantasy genre to read the book. I think the sequel, which I am currently reading, compounds many of the weaknesses of the first book, so I may not make it until the third book.

75 people found this helpful

Mark

Fantastic read. I`m an instant Patrick Rothruss fan after ...

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 15 January 2018

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Fantastic read. I`m an instant Patrick Rothruss fan after reading this book. There are so many twists and turns, and emotional ups and downs, that I was a wreck by the time I reached the last page. But couldnt wait to pick up the next one. This is, as described by the main character, a tragic story. But unlike so many other books, it is not filled with page after page of misery. There are genuine moments of happiness and joy, but equally, there are heartbreaking moments, and through it all, I felt absolutely invested in the characters I was introduced to. Its mostly written from the perspective of the main character recounting his life to a scribe, so you will find yourself often wondering what is real, and what is tainted by the perspective of the person recounting his life.

24 people found this helpful

A. Cresswell

Too slow for me unfortunately.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 23 July 2018

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I took this on holiday and it took a lot to get me into this book. I eventually finished it after 2 weeks and that's a long time for me. I wasn't sure what I was expecting as this is a story about a barkeep who it transpires is something else altogether and the barkeep sits down to tell his life's story to a scribe.
So you have 2 main threads ... what's going on with the barkeep and the village he is in "The present" and then the story of how he ended up where he is "His past". Frustratingly the story in both present and past is slow ... it just doesn't move with pace and there's not enough happening over what is a fairly large book. When you finally get to the end you realise you're probably less than a quarter of the way through the Barkeep's life. The writing is good and the idea's are good but it's just too damn slow and I didn't want to run off and buy the next instalment because of this. It's not like one of Feists page turners. Shame because like I said the writing is good and so are the idea's.

19 people found this helpful

Kindle Customer

One of the best reads this year

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 31 December 2017

Verified Purchase

Came across this book by accident. One of the best reads I have had in 2017. The story telling device works well here occasionally reverting to the 'present'. The main character is allowed to develop as the storytelling proceeds removing otherwise unnecessary back story. The flow is good and it is well-written and described. Cannot rate this book highly enough and look forward to the next in the series

17 people found this helpful

SarzWix

Gets better with every re-read.

Reviewed in the United Kingdom on 8 November 2016

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I've just completed my 7th or 8th re-read, I've lost count now, but still managed to spot things I missed before. Truly a work of genius in so many different ways; it is not only a brilliant, epic fantasy, it also questions the nature of stories and story-telling, human nature, political and social hierarchies, and many other things.

37 people found this helpful

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The Name of the Wind: The Kingkiller Chronicle, Book 1 Audible Audiobook – Unabridged

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