As a rule, I don't like fantasy. My one exception has thus far been Harry Potter. I guess I always had trouble getting caught up in things that are way beyond the possibilities of this life. With this book, however, that was not the case.
I was so intimidated a. by the length of this book and b. by the fact that it's a fantasy novel, but enough people told me to read it, so I did. It took me quite a bit to get into the book. I'm talking about 100 pages, which out of 700ish isn't really that bad. Once I got into it, I really got into it.
I think what captured me was the extraordinary science behind Kvote's learning. It was beautiful and excellent and magical. I wanted it to be as real as the glass of water sitting next to me. I wanted to learn all the Kvote was learning, and I was fascinated by the progress and scope of the teaching he received.
My favorite parts were definitely anything that happened at the University. That's where you have the best enemy, the best friends, the love interest, and, most importantly to me, the vast majority of his learning. And every chapter ended with me wondering if he would be expelled in the next chapter because much of what he did warranted expulsion.
Another fascinating aspect occurred to me as I picked the second book off my shelf. The book says, "The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day Two." Then I realized that this whole book is the span of one day. 722 pages make up one day. The second book is over 1000 pages, but it's just day two. I'm glad I only just now figured that out because otherwise that would have made it hard for me to keep going.
But I loved the way this book is written. Kvote is narrating his life to an audience of two, and sometimes you get a bit of what is happening in the present, but that's not what's important. I'm sure it will be important later on, but for now, the past matters. It helped keep me engrossed in the story. Switching back to Kvote's present made me yearn for the past and helped keep the momentum going for me.
There are parts with dragons and demons that aren't super great for me because that's not my kind of book, but even those are find to read. I got through them, and I can say that I somewhat enjoyed them. I'm sure there will be more of that in the future books, which I'm not looking forward to, but given how much I enjoyed this first book, I'll enjoy those aspects as well.
The length of this book was the only thing that made it challenging for me. The writing is really easy to understand and follow. Rothfuss writes in a way that is simple yet exciting and engaging. He sucks his readers right in!
"I learned to love the feel of good words."
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