The Name of the Wind (The Kingkiller Chronicle Book 1)

When writing The Name of the Wind, Patrick Rothfuss attempted to write something different than other fantasy novels. In this he succeeded. He wrote something that was engaging and easy to follow. It does go long, but I wanted to keep going rather than put it down. There are also magical elements that play a role in the story, but they do not dominate it. 

The novel is primarily a story within the story. We learn the history of the main character, Kovothe, who came from a family of entertainers. He picked up everything quickly from music to science. While he was off galavanting, everyone in his group (including his family) were killed. He lives a rough life on the streets. He gets pretty good at basic survival skills, from begging to stealing. He suffers greatly, but does have some friends.

Kvothe decides to go off to the university. He uses some money he has obtained along with skills to clean himself up and dress appropriately. He is disappointed that he cannot immediately go to the library. He also discovers that it is the last day for entrance exams. He had studied others and is naturally precocious, so he passes the exams with ease. Tuition is set by the examiners and he actually gets negative tuition, which helps him survive. 

He gets into all sorts of mischief at school, but quickly moves up. (Though he nearly gets expelled and has to endure lashes.) He he takes out money from a loan shark, plays music and sneaks through tunnels under the school. He takes crazy risks but most of them end up working out in the end. He has run ins with a bully, but manages to overcome them. There is also a girl that joined him in signing. He is attracted to her, but wants to just remain good friends. Then there is the library girl. He is too naive to enter into a romantic relationship, but does seem to have friends. 

The strength of the book is that it could be a regular story from a century or two ago. The fantasy elements help to enrich the story. The "magic" is more of a science learned in school. They can use "sympathy" to help control similar devices. This magic can also be used to make lamps that are better than candles. 

Kovothe is also on a quest to find more about the "demons" that killed his family. He wants to gain more knowledge from the library. He also races to another town when he discovers that many people died a similar death. There he also finds a dragon-like creature. He tried to poison it with drugs he found produced illicitly in the forest. Alas, he ends up getting into a battle. 

We learn about more of his adventures, through the story. However, now we know that he is nothing more than an innkeeper. The internal story is complete, but sets itself up for many sequels.