Blue-Footed Musings

I just finished my fourth book for January 2024. It was The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss. I gave it a B grade.

I may raise or lower that grade later, depending on how the book sits with me. It probably deserves worse, to be honest, but I’m trying not to be too vengeful in my grading. You see, it’s a 662-page book in which almost nothing happens. It leaves numerous questions unanswered and is clearly nothing but a set-up for a series. That kind of book always leaves me feeling not only disappointed but also manipulated.

You’d think you’d get more from a book blurbed by Ursula K. Le Guin, Terry Brooks, and Orson Scott Card! I bought the book on impulse, while at a bookstore, after having had it recommended to me repeatedly. So I paid full price, and that doesn’t help with my feelings of having been manipulated.

Is it a bad book? No. Does it have problems? Yes, it does. Am I going to go into them? Not really. I’m just going to give a brief description of the story. It’s a fantasy novel about a man named Kvothe who is famous in his world, but he’s currently living incognito as an innkeeper in an out-of-the-way town. He is tracked down by someone called the Chronicler to whom he agrees to tell his life’s story.

After reading all 662 pages, I still don’t know why the character is famous, or why he’s hiding out, or much about his world except that it has Gypsy wannabes, dragon wannabes, fairy wannabes, and some form of magic. The text is perfectly readable, good at times, but it leaves just too many questions unanswered.

I ordered the second book of the series from the library. At the time I requested the book, I thought I’d probably read it, because I wanted to at least know why I’d bothered with the first one. But, according to Wikipedia, the two books are part of an intended trilogy, and the third book hasn’t been published yet, even though the second book came out in 2011. And after reading the Patrick Rothfuss page at Wikipedia, I’m not so sure I should even bother with the second book. Shame on all the Rothfuss fans who keep recommending the unfinished series even though the author keeps leaving them hanging!

Just goes to show, you listen to other people’s book recommendations at your own peril.

Two of the books of Lloyd Alexander’s Chronicles of Prydain were on the Top 100 Children’s Books. If I’d had any say in the list, I’d have included the entire series as a single item (ditto the Harry Potter and Ramona books). But, I am glad that having #2 and #5 on the list inspired me to read the entire series, because all of the books were good.

What I admire most about these books is that they never dawdle. The characters move from scene to scene so fast that you’d think the story would feel rushed, or that the settings and characters would seem poorly described, but that never happens. Readers are never given any more or any less than exactly what they need, and the pacing is consequently perfect.

• The Book of Three, A-: This first book of the series introduces the main characters, which include the assistant pig-keeper Taran, the oracular pig Hen Wen, Princess Eilonwy, the bard Fflewddur Fflam, the beastly-but-good Gurgi, Prince Gwydion, and the dwarf Doli, as well as the evil that they must fight: the Horned King and his master, the sorcerer Arawn. I struggled to get into this book at first (I mean, an oracular pig?), but my persistence paid off in the end, especially since the following three books are even better.
• The Black Cauldron, A: In this second book, the characters attempt to find and destroy the black cauldron, in order to keep it from Arawn, who uses its magic to create armies of undead warriors. The cauldron is neither easily acquired nor easily destroyed, and the companions will face a difficult journey that will require many a sacrifice. The Disney adaptation of this book takes more than a few liberties with the story, but it’s entertaining in its own right.
• The Castle of Llyr, A: Eilonwy goes to another kingdom to learn how to be a proper princess, but is kidnapped. Her friends race to the rescue.
• Taran Wanderer, A: This was my favorite of the series. Taran seeks to find out who his parents are, traveling from place to place, learning new trades, making new friends, and growing up along the way.
• The High King, A-: The High King is a wonderful end to the series in that it brings back all of the characters from the previous four books so that they can fight their last battle against evil. The book’s ending is bittersweet, though. Not all of their stories ended happily, and even for the main characters the ending was not as bright as I might have wished. While probably my least favorite of the five, it’s still worth reading (unlike certain other series-ending books I can think of!).

I kept all five books. If I should be so lucky as to have enough time, I will read them again someday.