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The Name of the Wind: He Took an Arrow to the Knee

edited October 2012 in GeekNights

The Name of the Wind: He Took an Arrow to the Knee


The current GeekNights Book Club selection is The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss, itself being book one of the "Kingkiller Chronicles."

This is a snippet of discussion prior to the recording of an unrelated show, where we were discussing the current book club book. After describing the basic premise, Scott goes on to point out that "I used to be an Adventurer, but I took an arrow to the knee" and its ilk (made famous by Skyrim and the resultant memes) seem to come originally from this very book. It may be a coincidence though. We then discuss the mechanics of an arrow going into one's knee.

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Comments

  • edited October 2012
    Rym I just realized I have a friend that looks a lot like you.

    And the jokes are too easy with this one.
    Post edited by Jack Draigo on
  • Your knee... my arrow is in it.
  • There isn't just one kind of magic in this book, there are many kinds of magic.

    Also, the audiobook versions contain 28 and 40 hours of storytelling by Kvothe each. I'm not sure how the author thinks so much story telling fits into single day-length spans of time in the narrative. I thought the first book, at 24 hours of listening left, would have all three days of storytelling in it, making three shifts of eight hours each. But no.
  • There isn't just one kind of magic in this book, there are many kinds of magic.

    Also, the audiobook versions contain 28 and 40 hours of storytelling by Kvothe each. I'm not sure how the author thinks so much story telling fits into single day-length spans of time in the narrative. I thought the first book, at 24 hours of listening left, would have all three days of storytelling in it, making three shifts of eight hours each. But no.
    I was curious about that! If I read the entire first book to myself non-stop would it take a single day? I guess not. I did just finish the first book last night. Second book already came from Amazon. Third book is not out yet...
  • Since the material is all high quality, I hardly think that qualifies as a criticism. So, the narrative conceit has a hole in it. It has that in common with most fantasy. Extending the series to 6 or 7 books may have supported the conceit while ruining the flow of the story.

    As it is, I can suspend disbelief when the writing is so well done.
  • I did just finish the first book last night. Second book already came from Amazon. Third book is not out yet...
    Good. I'm ploughing through the first book currently, so we should be able to do a show on it soon.

  • I don't think all the material is high quality, which is my problem. I think over half of it is wasted space. However, the other half I enjoyed enough to listen to the second book, though that one had more of the sub-par padding.
  • I don't think all the material is high quality, which is my problem. I think over half of it is wasted space. However, the other half I enjoyed enough to listen to the second book, though that one had more of the sub-par padding.
    Learning sexomancy from the goddess of sex so he can make good in the the hidden valley of sex ninjas is vital to his character arc

  • edited October 2012
    I think the audio format may detract from this title, but not enough to sit and argue about it.

    I'll agree that most of the Felurian arc and the kung fu arc seem to be wish fulfillment on the author's part.
    Post edited by muppet on
  • Wise Man's Fear starts with a huge section in the university, but just rehashes the same ideas from book 1. More counting money, more stuff with Malfoy, more stuff with Dena, more issues with grades... yawn. I like the inventions, but I really wanted the story to get going. Why include all that, but skip over the shipwreck?

    Once he's on his way, I don't mind the many diversions he takes. Most could be shorter.

    For someone so clever, I'm not sure why he didn't work out he was related to the *cough* *cough* he had to *cough*.

    Full reviews on my podcast, episodes SFBRP #099 and SFBRP #124.
  • I could do with out the constant, will he won't he get his homework in on time. Also fuck the Sex-o-mancy-kungfu arcs they made bollocks all sense and really made him a bit of a douche.
  • I could do with out the constant, will he won't he get his homework in on time. Also fuck the Sex-o-mancy-kungfu arcs they made bollocks all sense and really made him a bit of a douche.
    The plot tension from attending university while still dealing with all the other shit is fine with me. Seems natural. Harry Potter is super saccharine, and while creative, not terribly well written. I prefer this flavor of wizard school immensely.

    Now that I'm remembering more about the book (last read it maybe a year ago?), I do agree there's a lot of filler, but in between the filler is gold.
  • I like the filler, but its filler and it could be made for the ambrosia of the gods but its still filler. The world building is in there but it takes a bit to get through.
  • edited October 2012
    Robert Jordan wrote much better filler. I could read about totally superfluous characters and their wardrobes in Wheel of Time all day. I had to force myself to slug through the kung fu arc in Kingkiller book 2.
    Post edited by muppet on
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