The Name of the Wind
Genre: Epic Fantasy
Purchase: amzn.to/3FgELSk
For my first book of 2022, I chose to read The Name of the Wind. I’ve had this book on my list for years, thanks to my persistent daughter who promised I’d love the book. But deep fantasy….sometimes it can be a lot. Since I read so many books so quickly last year, though, I decided to slow things down with a much longer, much more involved book.
I’m glad I did.
This book was better than I expected, especially since the beginning starts out a little slow. If you pick this one up, just know this about the book, and then hang in there because once it gets good, it doesn’t stop being good.
The story is a story within a story, told by the legendary Kvothe as an older man about his past. Orphaned as a child, Kvothe goes from homeless and penniless in a dangerous city to being the top student at a school of magic. His driving motivation is to learn the name of the wind, as it will allow him to harness the most powerful magic he’s ever witnessed. Through this journey, Kvothe proves to not only be skilled with magic, but also with wit as he works his way through impossible situations…except for any matters of the heart. On that…it is mentioned there are 7 words to make a woman fall in love with you. I found it just as interesting to try to solve that riddle as I found the rest of the story. The answer is both given and kept a secret. Hint: keep an eye out for 7-word sentences.
The novel is full of both charming and dangerous moments of alchemy, and my attention was captured through the very end. I swore I wasn’t going to commit to the next novel in the series, but it is now sitting on my Kindle, waiting to be read.
If you love deep fantasy novels, The Alchemist, or grew up reading Harry Potter, you’ll love this book. If you’re into shorter novels that stick to one timeline, this one might be a challenge.
Note: This year, I’ve set a goal to read 100 books, and plan to share reviews about some of the ones I especially love. These are unsolicited reviews, and my opinion only. Affiliate links may apply, which provides me a small kickback if you buy through the link.