I really liked "The Name of the Wind" and "The Wise Man's Fear"... does anyone know when Book three is supposed to be released?

Did anyone else read these two and is waiting for #3 to come out?

...

Can you recommend similar titles and authors? I am about to start "Sword Song" (audiobook while driving) which is a historical fiction about the wars between the Norse and Saxony over Old England... but I just realized that is book 4 of the series (damn library not putting the volume # on audio books)

Loved the books but have no idea when the next one comes out. I want to say I may have heard spring of 2014 but I could be making that up.

Not sure I could really draw a whole lot of similarities between the two but The Passage and The Twelve by Justin Cronin were very enjoyable to me as well. Those are the first two books in a trilogy as well and are fast paced and character based stories as well.

Queue JLB to light this thread up. He introduced me to these books. Definitely very excited for the third book and I believe my brother read the first two at my recommendation as well.

It feels fairly unique as a set of books to me so far with the way the story is told. Most fantasy books I read these days have multiple storylines going on at the same time so I can't think of anything off of the top of my head that resembles Kingkiller.

My friend and I who have read these both enjoy Jim Butcher novels a lot(dresden files and alera codex).

I actually looked this up a few days ago. Last time he commented, it was spring 2014.

Rothfuss is an outstanding writer, and I'm eagerly awaiting book 3. His blog is also pretty entertaining.

You will like Sword Song. Cornwell is a good writer, and Uhtred is a likeable b*stard of a protagonist. It is a long series, and he isn't done yet.

GAAAAAHHHH...I love this series. Read them each twice last year and about to start them again.

I think Rothfuss' prose is freaking amazing. There is a rhythm to his writing that makes these books just flow so well. Hell, I thought the second read through was better and it went much quicker. The shortest 1k page books I have ever read. He doesn't seem to wast a sentence... at least in my opinion.

The way the entire story is put together is great. The villains are amazing because of the way he writes them. The way they are a myth that only he and few others know to be real. The magic system is great, and I can't wait to learn more about Naming. Elodin is one of the greatest characters of ever. I still laugh out loud when I read the **** he says or read that bit about the two of them getting stuck on top of the tower in a monsoon completely naked.

I could literally write pages about what I love about these books. Unfortunately, Rothfuss' greatest flaw is also one of his greatest strengths... his editing. He takes for freaking ever with editing these books. However, based on the quality of the last two, he can take as much time as he likes... just do it right.

Really, I think the next one is going to be truly amazing and the climax of the story. Kind of how Return of the King is pretty much one giant climatic event. If you read the synopsis on the back of the books, the vast majority of that stuff hasn't even happened yet.

If you enjoy reading blogs, Rothfuss' is usually fairly entertaining. You sometimes get great gems like this one which he released right before The Wise Man's Fear:

(name of the wind spoiler alert here
http://blog.patrickrothfuss.com/2011/02/our-story-thus-far/

[This message has been edited by jlb2957 (edited 7/7/2013 9:07p).]

Really, I would love to have a discussion with others who have read the book about what they think about the various story arcs.

As for recommendations, I will always recommend The King Killer Chronicles and The Dresden Files.

The Dresden Files pretty much start out at a unanimous "pretty good" to "fair" then he starts to really get it going at about book 3. As the series progresses, you start to think that Butcher can do no wrong. They are fun reads with great characters. Each one just seems to build on the one before it... and then he hits you with Changes... right in the face with awesome.

But alas, no one is perfect and Butcher is no exception. You then have to read the weakest of the series in Ghost Story. I wouldn't call it bad... just not near the same level as you have come to expect. However! Have no fear! For Butcher comes back for a surprise kick in balls with Cold Days; my personal favorite of the series.

Anyways... if you are looking for a series to jump into, then check it out. Urban fantasy about a wise cracking Wizard PI in modern day Chicago. There are 14 books out so far and he usually gets about 1 out a year as well as other side series' he writes. In about 13 years, he has written 14 Dresden books as well as Side Jobs (a collection of short stories in the Dresdenverse) as well as the Codex Alera series. I enjoyed the Codex Alera series a lot but you have to push through much of the first book. They do get much better as the series goes on and the many secrets begin to be revealed.

[This message has been edited by jlb2957 (edited 7/7/2013 9:24p).]

Alright, my kind of thread.

First, Rothfuss is awesome and I love the kingkiller series. In my opinion, there are few authors who write as well as Rothfuss does.

However, there are some guy out there that write pretty well and write much quicker (Jim Butcher being one of them).

Series that are "similar" in style to the kingkiller: Mistborne by Sanderson is a trilogy that is already completed. Sanderson is a stud and one of my favorite writers. He doesn't write as well as Rothfuss, but he's much more prolific and he designs some great worlds in his fantasy.

The Way of Kings is another Sanderson book and it is one of my favorite books in years, but it's just book one in an ongoing series and I have no idea when book two is coming out.

Speaking of Sanderson, you may want to check out Robert Jordan and his Wheel of Time series if you want idea of what influences many of today's fantasy authors. Jordan's books drag in the middle and he died before he finished the series, but Sanderson wrote the last three books and did a pretty admirable job finishing up for him.

I could go on and on about fantasy books, but I'll stop there as those two authors (along with Jim Butcher) are the ones who I think the tone of their books most closely match the tone of Rothfuss's books.

[This message has been edited by bendover (edited 7/7/2013 11:05p).]

^ Book 2 for Brandon Sanderson's series is slated for January 21st of next year. The first one is fantastic.

Great thread for anyone looking for a fantasy series.

I loved the Dresden Files so much that Sanderson's name came up when I was looking for writers similar to Jim Butcher. I started with the Kingkiller series and then The Way of Kings. The only complaint I have about any of those books is that there aren't anymore of them out right now.

Sanderson is a very talented writer who is the only person I have found that holds a candle to Jim Butcher. Both Butcher and Sanderson have written some of my favorite books read in the last 5 years.

Now if they can only write faster...

Nerds unite!

Love Rothfuss' work so far. For those who are interested he'll be writing dialogue and story for the new Numenara: Torment game that just got Kickstarted.

Sanderson's Way of Kings is also one of my favorite series so far. Waiting for the 2nd one to drop (late 2013 or early 2014 because it's done now) but he had a short story recently, The Emperor's Soul, which is fantastic. Haven't read his new one Rithmatist yet but he's an author who I'll pretty much read whatever he puts out, which is freaking considerable.

Y'all should read Blood Song by Antony Ryan. It was a self-published effort on Kindle that had like 500 5 star reviews so I checked it out for $4. Probably the best debut I've read since Rothfuss released, just unbelievably well paced and written.

I finished the Wise Mans Fear over the weekend. I enjoyed both books and can't wait till Rothfuss releases the final chapter. I liked the magic system. You don't have to be born with magical powers. Anyone, with enough determination and smarts, can learn magic.

He left us with more questions than he answered in this book. Hopefully he wraps it all up in the next book.

Now if we can just get GRRM off his a**.

This way of kings book keeps coming up, I may need to check it out.

Thanks for the input so far guys...

On the flip side of fantasy, any good new Sci-Fi out there?

I loved Ender's Game and all the following books with Bean, etc.

I also have read every Star Wars book ever written up to the "Fate of teh JEdi" series that started a few years back (basically i haven't picked up a Star Wars novel since Jacen Solo was killed off).

Spreadsheet:

Look into Jack Campbell's "The Lost Fleet" series.

Yes!

I'm re-reading them at the moment. I agree with some earlier sentiments: Elodin is the funniest literary character I've come across. I genuinely laugh out loud when I'm reading by myself.

Also, if any piece of literature could make me weep for its beauty, it would be Rothfuss' "Silence of Three Parts" Prologues and Epilogues.

I've heard the 3rd book is due 2014 sometime. I don't know how I can wait that long, and I'm not sure how he's going to tie up all the loose ends. It's going to be a loooong book. And it's going to be perfect.

Similar books:

The Gentleman b a s t a r d s series by Scott Lynch
"The Lies of Locke Lamora"
"Red Seas Under Red Skies"
the 3rd book is set to release in October!

[This message has been edited by mid90 (edited 7/8/2013 2:10p).]

I enjoyed the Lies of Locke Lamora... but I didn't find it the page turner that the King Killer Chronicle was. But definitely a solid book. I still need to read the second one though.

Lies of Locke Lamora was about 200 pages too long.

I enjoyed Name of the Wind a lot. Wise Man's Fear was also good, but not as good as the first.

Question for you guys... what is your favorite chapter of the books?

Off the top of my head, I would have to go with either the scene where he earns his talent pipes, the chapter where he gives the lecture, or just about every time he goes before the masters.

EDIT: Also can't forget where he first calls the Name of the Wind... greatness.

[This message has been edited by jlb2957 (edited 7/8/2013 4:40p).]

No way he finishes the story in one more book. Too much left to do.

This thread got popular

I suppose I should give jlb credit for knowing a good book and getting me into these...

I don't think he is done with 3 books either. I think the 3rd book will catch us up to where Kvothe is currently, masquerading as the innkeeper. I think a second trilogy is going to be needed to take us from the "present day" forward.

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Y'all should read Blood Song by Antony Ryan. It was a self-published effort on Kindle that had like 500 5 star reviews so I checked it out for $4. Probably the best debut I've read since Rothfuss released, just unbelievably well paced and written.

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I enjoyed Blood Song almost as much as the first two King Killer books.

I too am waiting for the next books to come out. All these fantasy writers need to speed up.

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I don't think he is done with 3 books either. I think the 3rd book will catch us up to where Kvothe is currently, masquerading as the innkeeper. I think a second trilogy is going to be needed to take us from the "present day" forward.

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I think Rothfuss has said as much. The three books are just the three days of him telling the story. He will continue in the world from there. The scary part is that the trilogy was already pretty much written when it was published... it has only taken him this long to edit (granted, he has added a lot since he originally wrote it. The fact that he is telling the story as the inn keeper as added after the story was written).

If you liked Way of Kings, you should read Sanderson's Mistborn series as well. Excellent reading.

Mistborn is a good series, as well, but I think The Way of Kings will be much more epic. Sanderson just has so many irons in the fire at one time.

I am very excited to hear that Scott Lynch is going to be continuing the Gentlemen B*stard Sequence. He had some sort of nervous breakdown and didn't write for a long time.

Also, try Brent Weeks (either series), John Marco's Jackal of Nar series and Robin Hobb (but only books about the Farseers, starting with Assassin's Apprentice)

Farseer series is money.

I do agree, Way of Kings was better.

The Night Angel Trilogy from Weeks is a good one.

I like Robin Hobb. Honestly, I think my favorite books in the Farseer arc are actually the Liveship Traders trilogy, which is the 2nd trilogy. I haven't read the Rain Wild Chronicles yet.

I did read The Soldier Son Trilogy. I really thought she had greatness started at the beginning of the trilogy, but it just went off the deep end by the end.

I have not been able to make it all the way through Wise Man's Fear yet. Need to give it another shot.

If anyone is on the fence about reading The Kingkiller Chronicle, reading the introduction of the main character should push you over. Its one of my favorite character introductions ever.

"My name is Kvothe, pronounced nearly the same as "quothe." Names are important as they tell you a great deal about a person. I've had more names than anyone has a right to. The Adem call me Maedre. Which, depending on how it's spoken, can mean The Flame, The Thunder, or The Broken Tree.

"The Flame" is obvious if you've ever seen me. I have red hair, bright. If I had been born a couple of hundred years ago I would probably have been burned as a demon. I keep it short but it's unruly. When left to its own devices, it sticks up and makes me look as if I have been set afire.

"The Thunder" I attribute to a strong baritone and a great deal of stage training at an early age.

I've never thought of "The Broken Tree" as very significant. Although in retrospect, I suppose it could be considered at least partially prophetic.

My first mentor called me E'lir because I was clever and I knew it. My first real lover called me Dulator because she liked the sound of it. I have been called Shadicar, Lightfinger, and Six-String. I have been called Kvothe the Bloodless, Kvothe the Arcane, and Kvothe Kingkiller. I have earned those names. Bought and paid for them.

But I was brought up as Kvothe. My father once told me it meant "to know."

I have, of course, been called many other things. Most of them uncouth, although very few were unearned.

I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me."

quote:

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I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I burned down the town of Trebon. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I was expelled from the University at a younger age than most people are allowed in. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep.

You may have heard of me."

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I have to disagree. This quote sums up pretty well one of my major beefs with this series. The protagonist often comes across as a smug turd. And the female protagonist is pretty annoying to boot. Don't get me wrong. This series is worth a read, but I can't understand why it is so hyped. It has some amazing parts and some amazingly bad parts.