Patrick Rothfuss' Name of the Wind is a pretty entertaining fantasy novel. It has all the usual ingredients for success: a young boy-hero gifted in magic, a quick thinker, and a general rags-to-riches storyline. Add in a school/university setting and more underdog-ness, and you wonder if the author made up a list of attributes in best-selling fantasy novels and decided to blend them all in for a sure-fire milkshake of success. There is also more than a little bit of Le Guin's Earthsea universe sprinkled throughout Rothfuss' effort.
While all the ingredients are available, the book falters in a number of places when it comes to plot and flow. These things largely take the sheen off what could have been a solid work. Nevertheless, it was interesting enough for me to want to read the next instalment of the series.
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