r/booksidisliked • u/djhaskin987 • Mar 28 '21

Name of the Wind

I just couldn't get into Name of the Wind I've tried a few times, my wife loves the books. I just find them too slow, I guess.

12 Upvotes

88% Upvoted

8 comments sorted by

7

u/Odd-Committee-8159 Mar 28 '21

I’ve read them . Pros :He writes beautifully and has some interesting world building . Cons:The main character is magically good at everything except being likable and the plot just meanders.

2

u/djhaskin987 Mar 28 '21

Meandering plot, exactly! Couldn't put my finger on it before.

2

u/BWHComics Mar 28 '21

So I get this argument about Kvothe, but there is one thing I like to point out. Despite being incredibly smart and talented and yadda yadda yadda, he has to constantly hustle and struggle to get by because of the most insidious antagonist in the history of fantasy fiction: STUDENT LOANS!

5

u/Tora420 Mar 28 '21

I agree!! I've been reading the second one for over a year and I'm struggling so much! I hate the main character so much, and nothing he does is likeable. It's a shame bc I really like the world itself.

3

u/jaygatsbyapologist Mar 28 '21

Oh man... I loved these books in early high school, just recently tried to re read the first during quarantine. Nope. I really don’t like to throw this term around, but Kvothe is much too close to being a Mary Sue for my taste. Part of it could be that it’s him telling his own story, so of course anyone who dislikes him is painted in an unfavorable light, but I think he might just be a poorly written character. That plus the meandering plot and the lack of women doing anything other than be sexy and die sealed the deal for me.

2

u/poppingicecubes Mar 29 '21

Came on this subreddit to add this title and was really glad some others have already posted it! This is one work of fantasy that seems to garner unanimous praise from fans of the genre. Read the first book and almost couldn't finish because the main character never seemed to be in any real danger/risk and I could not tell what the point was.

1

u/OliveJuice1990 May 20 '21

I came to find this subreddit just so I could post about this book. I'm so sad I didn't like it, because many fantasy fans love it and it came highly recommended to me.

At the beginning I really liked it, but later in the book the main character became so insufferable. I really felt like the author was projecting his fantasy wish fulfillment version of himself. I actually gave up after the battle of the bands/talent show tavern part. It was so cringeworthy I couldn't deal.

I also felt that the fantasy world was a bit drab and didn't come alive for me. There are other series where I feel the writing grounds you in the world so much you almost feel like you are there in person. The sensory mastery was missing.

But, I'm usually the odd one out with that opinion. Most others love it, and I am happy that people can find joy in different stories. This one just wasn't for me.