I wrote a thank you note to Mr. Rothfuss this evening after finishing the 662 page fantasy novel. While I may have mentioned to a few authors in passing how much I like their books, I don’t think I’ve ever written a thank you note before.
Coming off my Harry Potter high during the summer, I dreaded going back to fantasy for awhile. In fact, while I picked up the novel back in early September, I didn’t start reading until Christmas Day. I had even sent a note of congratulations to Pat right as he received his first award for the first in the Kingkiller trilogy; telling him earnestly that I hadn’t opened the cover.
I’ve since been banging my head against the nearest piece of wood asking myself the terrible question, “WHY? Why did I wait so long to read this?”
If you’re thinking about picking up this novel for a future read, I would actually encourage you to drop anything you’re doing at the moment and go buy this book. As I mentioned in my note of gratitude, there is a wisdom in this story that you don’t necessarily find in fantasy these days. There are a couple of passages that I wish I had discovered before dropping money on therapy. As I stated to Pat, some of the lessons and anecdotes in the book read better than any factual self-help book out there and we’re talking of a mythical land with fictional characters.
I don’t know from where Mr. Rothfuss pulled the tragedy, love and insight, but all I can tell you is that this book gets my vote for best of the year. While it’s size might be daunting, it will easily suck you in and all you can do is put your hands in the air as the roller coaster starts.
Well done.
To any peeps in the Boston area that are reading this: Patrick will be at a signing at Pandemonium in Boston at 7:00 p.m. on January 3rd. I will be there with bells on.
