The Best Book Ever Written (almost)

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  • spellman23spellman23 NS1 Theorycraft Expert Join Date: 2007-05-17 Member: 60920Members
  • PaniggPanigg Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58212Members
    I will order 100 copies tomorrow.
  • lolfighterlolfighter Snark, Dire Join Date: 2003-04-20 Member: 15693Members
    Funny, am I the only one who DOESN'T want Firefly necromanced? I would have LOVED to see season 2, but that was before I saw the movie. It tied up too many loose ends and killed off too many beloved characters. Even if you did a retcon and declared the movie non-canon, it'd hover like a spectre over the new season. I think it would end in disappointment for everyone involved.
  • locallyunscenelocallyunscene Feeder of Trolls Join Date: 2002-12-25 Member: 11528Members, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1834665:date=Feb 23 2011, 07:43 PM:name=lolfighter)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (lolfighter @ Feb 23 2011, 07:43 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1834665"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Funny, am I the only one who DOESN'T want Firefly necromanced? I would have LOVED to see season 2, but that was before I saw the movie. It tied up too many loose ends and killed off too many beloved characters. Even if you did a retcon and declared the movie non-canon, it'd hover like a spectre over the new season. I think it would end in disappointment for everyone involved.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I kinda agree, but I don't watch much TV anyway so I'd enjoy it for what it is if it came back on. It would probably come back as a web series like Dr. Horrible anyway. Even if Whedon gets the rights it's not like he wants to give them up again to run another single season on some network. While I think it would be cooler for Rothfuss to spend the money on something Kingkiller related I can't fault the guy for wanting to bring Firefly back to life and spending his money on it.

    Also, I can't wait to read the WMF. I wonder if my order will ship the day of or if it will arrive the day of... Most likely the former.
  • ThansalThansal The New Scum Join Date: 2002-08-22 Member: 1215Members, Constellation
    So, thunt is shilling for this again:

    <a href="http://www.goblinscomic.com/" target="_blank">http://www.goblinscomic.com/</a>
  • ZaggyZaggy NullPointerException The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-12-10 Member: 24214Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Onos, Subnautica Playtester
    edited March 2011
    Whoops, I kinda derailed the topic with the Firefly thing.
    In other news, I've got the 2nd book!
    Holding my first radio ever here too, no longer works though :<
    <img src="http://i.imgur.com/HukHy.jpg" border="0" class="linked-image" />
  • PaniggPanigg Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58212Members
    Grr, is not here yet, will not arive on monday since that day is off in Jehrmahney! Will have to wait another day. :/
  • RetalesRetales Panigg cultist Join Date: 2003-08-07 Member: 19180Members
    I've started re-reading the first book and I expect to get the second one any day now! I'm really glad I did decide to re-read, because now I'll have all the little details fresh in my memory. I've even spotted some things that make more sense the second time around.
  • AldarisAldaris Join Date: 2002-03-25 Member: 351Members, Constellation
    Same thoughts as you Retales. Bought the book on release day, and read the first chapter, but have resisted reading anymore until I finish first book.
  • locallyunscenelocallyunscene Feeder of Trolls Join Date: 2002-12-25 Member: 11528Members, Constellation
    <!--quoteo(post=1836385:date=Mar 7 2011, 06:45 PM:name=Aldaris)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Aldaris @ Mar 7 2011, 06:45 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836385"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Same thoughts as you Retales. Bought the book on release day, and read the first chapter, but have resisted reading anymore until I finish first book.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I couldn't resist, also I wanted to be able to read the reviews without worrying about spoilers. I'm considering reading through it again though. I feel like I tore through it the first time and missed some of the more subtle aspects of it. I just used my free credit at audible to get the audio book version of NotW so maybe I'll listen to that first before going at it again.
  • remiremi remedy [blu.knight] Join Date: 2003-11-18 Member: 23112Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester
    <!--quoteo(post=1836411:date=Mar 7 2011, 04:04 PM:name=locallyunscene)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (locallyunscene @ Mar 7 2011, 04:04 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836411"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I couldn't resist, also I wanted to be able to read the reviews without worrying about spoilers. I'm considering reading through it again though. I feel like I tore through it the first time and missed some of the more subtle aspects of it. I just used my free credit at audible to get the audio book version of NotW so maybe I'll listen to that first before going at it again.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    The new book is so good...

    I've been trying and failing to resist reading it. I really need to re-read the first one so I have some clue of what is going on. :)
  • ZaggyZaggy NullPointerException The Netherlands Join Date: 2003-12-10 Member: 24214Forum Moderators, NS2 Playtester, Reinforced - Onos, Subnautica Playtester
    re-reading as well!
  • PaniggPanigg Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58212Members
    They have arived!

    1st: Holy ######, the second book is gigantic. This'll be a long read. I'll need at least 2 days! ^^
  • remiremi remedy [blu.knight] Join Date: 2003-11-18 Member: 23112Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester
    LOTS OF BLACK LINES FOLLOW

    I feel like this book kind of falls apart in it's second half. Loses it's structure and just starts being a series of short stories about Kvothe...

    <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>About the time he goes off to the Fae world it starts falling apart. It just starts seeming like a lot of side quests.

    I loved the idea of the oracle tree thing and how by its very nature it is malicious. It tells the future to those who talk to it, but in knowing how they will react to hearing it attempts to say the absolute most destructive things to it. It is stuck in one spot because it is a tree, yet all the terrible big events across the world can be traced back to someone talking to it.

    I also loved the whole Adem arc because it had a lot of interesting statements about human nature and society and Pat put together a very interesting and very alien culture to introduce us to. It wasn't done perfectly, as he somewhat negated all of it at the end when he showed they didn't believe that men have anything to do with babies... Made them seem extremely ignorant and in doing so invalidated a lot of what they believe; but I think the point he was going for there of having a society where women reign supreme and men are really just there essentially for entertainment which is an interesting one.

    In the Adem bit he also brings in a bit of Freud with talking about "anger" and that sex is "taking anger". Men don't have productive ways to use their anger, and so it builds up and comes out as violence. This seems pretty identical to the idea that Freud had, which is that if you aren't using sexual energy productively it gets converted to anger and frustration.

    Killing the fake Edema Ruh gang seemed completely out of nowhere though. Not two steps outside the gates of the Adem city and he's already slaughtering people without any consideration for if it is of the Lethani...</span>

    Interesting still, but without the rise and fall of a good story... The ended was especially abrupt.
    <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>I was hoping he would at least do a little more at university before the book was over rather than the entire book feeling like a giant side quest.</span>

    I'm curious what the rest of you thought of it.
  • remiremi remedy [blu.knight] Join Date: 2003-11-18 Member: 23112Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester
    edited March 2011
    Ah another thing about this book. I didn't like when the narrator (Kvothe) addresses the audience (Bast and Chronicle). I found it extremely disorienting since it there are lines like "You may have heard this song, though it goes by a different name now [blah blah blah]" my first reaction is confusion since I have never heard of the song the narrator is referencing (or have the experiences to draw from to build the context). I then have to remember that he is telling the story to Bast and Chronicler and need to do a mental point of view switch and try to translate it to how it would have been taken by them hearing it instead (which is rather difficult to do since the only knowledge I have of the world is from what is being told to me and the characters themselves are largely a mystery that is only slowly being put together).

    Maybe Pat Rothfuss is just trying to remind the reader that we are two dreams in (Inception), but for me it just breaks the immersion.
  • Ph0enixPh0enix Join Date: 2002-10-08 Member: 1462Members, Constellation
    <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-03-20/hardcover-fiction/list.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/...ction/list.html</a>
  • locallyunscenelocallyunscene Feeder of Trolls Join Date: 2002-12-25 Member: 11528Members, Constellation
    edited March 2011
    <!--quoteo(post=1836953:date=Mar 13 2011, 05:31 AM:name=Psyke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke @ Mar 13 2011, 05:31 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836953"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->LOTS OF BLACK LINES FOLLOW

    I feel like this book kind of falls apart in it's second half. Loses it's structure and just starts being a series of short stories about Kvothe...
    [...]
    I'm curious what the rest of you thought of it.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I don't really agree, and in some ways I feel like that's really what the book is meant to be. He's telling us the stories behind the epic stories. Also, seemingly random stories have importance. For example, very early in the first book <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>when Kvothe's Mom catches him singing a song about Lady Lackless</span>. Rothfuss is very tight with his plot lines. I'd be very surpirised if some peices of the random stories aren't really hinting at things to come. That's the main reason I'm so keen to reread.
    Now WRT the black text:
    <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>With regards to the Adem babies thing, it didn't really bother me so much. It is true that "sometimes sex leads to babies, sometimes not. Sometimes they look like the father and sometimes not." I think part of what you mentioned about feeling less enthusiastic about the Adem was the intent. They have the "perfect" religion and the "perfect" fighting style. He needed something to bring them down to Earth.</span>
    Honestly, what bothered me more was <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>him glossing over Kvothe's travel by ship. One of the three things wise men fear is the sea in storm. How is this not a major part of the book? He probably had to cut it because it was too much of a "side quest" and didn't connect to the other plot lines well enough, but way to forsake the namesake of the book.</span>
    <!--quoteo(post=1836954:date=Mar 13 2011, 05:57 AM:name=Psyke)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke @ Mar 13 2011, 05:57 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836954"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Ah another thing about this book. I didn't like when the narrator (Kvothe) addresses the audience (Bast and Chronicle). I found it extremely disorienting since it there are lines like "You may have heard this song, though it goes by a different name now [blah blah blah]" my first reaction is confusion since I have never heard of the song the narrator is referencing (or have the experiences to draw from to build the context). I then have to remember that he is telling the story to Bast and Chronicler and need to do a mental point of view switch and try to translate it to how it would have been taken by them hearing it instead (which is rather difficult to do since the only knowledge I have of the world is from what is being told to me and the characters themselves are largely a mystery that is only slowly being put together).

    Maybe Pat Rothfuss is just trying to remind the reader that we are two dreams in (Inception), but for me it just breaks the immersion.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Yeah that broke the immersion for me too. The thing is the writing is <i>really</i> tight in those scenes. I'm going through the NOTW now and those scenes contain the most bits about the future. He really does excellent foreshadowing. Also I want to see how the final book wraps up. We know how the stories end, but what about after that. The frame leaves the story open to wrap it up in a more satisfying way.
    <!--quoteo(post=1836963:date=Mar 13 2011, 07:20 AM:name=Ph0enix)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Ph0enix @ Mar 13 2011, 07:20 AM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1836963"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><a href="http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/2011-03-20/hardcover-fiction/list.html" target="_blank">http://www.nytimes.com/best-sellers-books/...ction/list.html</a><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Holy Cannolli! Maybe we will see more Firefly afterall.
  • remiremi remedy [blu.knight] Join Date: 2003-11-18 Member: 23112Members, Super Administrators, Forum Admins, NS2 Developer, NS2 Playtester
    edited March 2011
    <!--quoteo(post=1837053:date=Mar 13 2011, 06:22 PM:name=locallyunscene)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (locallyunscene @ Mar 13 2011, 06:22 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1837053"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->I don't really agree, and in some ways I feel like that's really what the book is meant to be.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I agree with this, and was thinking about it as I was reading... but it made the book as a whole feel very unfufilling for me, especially because I know I won't see the third book and actually get some resolution to all of this for another 4 or 5 years.

    <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Also, seemingly random stories have importance. ...<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    I probably got less out of it too because Name of the Wind was so long ago. I wish I had all three in hand so I could just read them all in a row and be totally immersed in the world.

    <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec--><span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>With regards to the Adem babies thing, it didn't really bother me so much. It is true that "sometimes sex leads to babies, sometimes not. Sometimes they look like the father and sometimes not." I think part of what you mentioned about feeling less enthusiastic about the Adem was the intent. They have the "perfect" religion and the "perfect" fighting style. He needed something to bring them down to Earth.</span><!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>I know why he did it, but I felt like it wasn't a very good way to do it. It seems that a culture that has such a fundamentally wrong belief about the biology behind sex/babies must really be quite primitive... So to me it really makes me question their wisdom, which Pat really tried to establish through explaining the "Lethani" and the stories to the founding of the Adem culture.</span>

    <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->We know how the stories end, but what about after that. The frame leaves the story open to wrap it up in a more satisfying way.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>The issue is that in the meantime (until we get the next book) the conclusion (in the inn) is just very frustrating.</span>

    <!--quoteo--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Holy Cannolli! Maybe we will see more Firefly afterall.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Eh. I'd love to see it but I think it's really just a pipe dream. Fox wont' give up the rights, Nathan's not going to just up and leave Castle, and Joss I believe has already closed that chapter of his life.
    I'm pretty impressed to see Wise Man's Fear at NY Times #1 though. :)
  • TestamentTestament Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4037Members
    Has the second book in this series come out yet? I read this thread when it was posted, rushed out and spent $30 on the hardcover edition, read it once and then never again. It had its moments, but it ain't no Harlan Ellison story I'll tell you that much.
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1838047:date=Mar 20 2011, 02:25 PM:name=Testament)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Testament @ Mar 20 2011, 02:25 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1838047"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Has the second book in this series come out yet? I read this thread when it was posted, rushed out and spent $30 on the hardcover edition, read it once and then never again. It had its moments, but it ain't no Harlan Ellison story I'll tell you that much.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Yes, the second book is out. Harlan Ellison's a great writer too.
  • TestamentTestament Join Date: 2002-11-02 Member: 4037Members
    edited March 2011
    Would you say the second book is better, worse, or equal with the original? I can't really complain about he first part of the series, but it really feels like a Mary Sue tale without the exposition on the things he's done (ie: kill an angel) and the mistakes he's made.
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
    <!--quoteo(post=1838105:date=Mar 20 2011, 07:33 PM:name=Testament)--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Testament @ Mar 20 2011, 07:33 PM) <a href="index.php?act=findpost&pid=1838105"><{POST_SNAPBACK}></a></div><div class='quotemain'><!--quotec-->Would you say the second book is better, worse, or equal with the original? I can't really complain about he first part of the series, but it really feels like a Mary Sue tale without the exposition on the things he's done (ie: kill an angel) and the mistakes he's made.<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    Haven't had the time to read it (two jobs + full time school + in the process of choosing where to get my PhD). I've heard good things but mostly I've been keeping my ears covered until I get a chance to read it, which at this point is likely to be at some point after I've retired at the age of 87.
  • PaniggPanigg Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58212Members
    edited April 2011
    I'd say it pretty much picks up where the first book finished. It's a bit winded at the start in order to get back into the story but so far I like it. Am only on page 170 or so and the Kvothe character in the story seems to be denser than before, but I spend every free minute that I have reading. If we have sunlight that is... (yeah, my eyes can't take crappy energy saving lamplight anymore)
  • PaniggPanigg Join Date: 2006-11-02 Member: 58212Members
    Just finished it. I can't say I'm disappointed.

    I'm already missing the world, the characters. It really drew me in at page 200 or so, I could not, for the love of god, put the book aside. I read till the deep in the night and missed some classes because of it. If nothing else it was a fine companion for lonely days as my girlfriend is sick right now and can not tend to me properly.

    I strugle to return to my normal style of writing. Reading both books from cover to cover in two weeks time leaves it's marks, but I'll be shaking that off soon, sadly.
  • DiscoZombieDiscoZombie Join Date: 2003-08-05 Member: 18951Members
    I'm still re-reading the first book to get ready for this one. I keep spotting mysterious things I want to write down to find out if they're explained in book 2, but I'm actually listening to the audiobook this time around while commuting so I can't write -_-

    I'm on the last quarter of book 1, which I find rather dry compared to the first 3/4. Still psyched to start the 2nd.
  • ScytheScythe Join Date: 2002-01-25 Member: 46NS1 Playtester, Forum Moderators, Constellation, Reinforced - Silver
    I walked into a book shop at an airport and looked idly around for a book to read whilst on holidays. I saw Wise Man's Fear on the shelf and I recognised the name, so I bought it and the new Pratchett book, both in paperback. Flipped open the first page of Wise Man's Fear and realised it was the second in the series, so I rushed back into the shop and asked if they had the first one. They didn't but she said there was another book store further down the departure terminal. I went to the shop she referenced but they didn't have it either. The cashier recognised the cover of the second book before I'd opend my mouth and looked it up in the catalogue. They didn't have it, but a THIRD shop down the end of the terminal had a copy. I wandered down to it and found it after 20 minutes of looking, 5 with the help of an unpleasant harpy of a woman.

    I walked out of the shop with both books and Michelle grabbed me by the collar and dragged me to the departure gate, we arrived just as the lady was on the radio telling the ground crew to take our luggage off the plane. Apparently we were five seconds off missing the flight.

    Finished Red October and those three books over a week of holidays.

    I really, really appreciate the effort the author expended on constructing an incredibly deep and detailed world to frame the story. This was one of my favourite parts of Dragon Age and Mass Effect, learning about the world. The <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>narration</span> perspective didn't jar me at all, I felt it an interesting framework, allowing for an <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>extra layer of narrative</span>. I'm really looking forward to the third book.

    I too was a little cheesed about the omission of the <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>sea voyage</span>. Seems like it would've been interesting.

    --Scythe--
  • FehaFeha Join Date: 2006-11-16 Member: 58633Members
    A friend suggested this book for me, I didnt remember this thread at the time (didnt until just now :P). I bought it as I needed a book at the time, and it is pretty good. I am not used to the perspective, but there is definitelly nothing wrong with it.
    Good book, but not the best (among them tho).
  • spellman23spellman23 NS1 Theorycraft Expert Join Date: 2007-05-17 Member: 60920Members
    Hm, finished the 2nd one recently.

    Gotta say, didn't feel quite as tight as the 1st. A few of the lines felt a little more thrown in, and I started to get really annoyed at some of the resolutions that occurred.
  • TychoCelchuuuTychoCelchuuu Anememone Join Date: 2002-03-23 Member: 345Members
    Just finished the second one today. I was worried there wouldn't be any way for him to match the first book but I needn't have worried. <i>Soooooo</i> good. I felt sad reading it because every page I finished was one less page left in the book and one page more closer to the end. I'd say more but I'm not sure there's much more to say, because the book pretty much speaks for itself. Psyke, as for your concern about <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>how the Adem look like a bunch of idiots for not knowing where babies come from</span>, I think you're being way too harsh.

    <span style='color:#000000;background:#000000'>Think about how their entire culture for centuries has centered around casual sex and equality for women and men and so on. It's not like they're doing DNA testing or anything: all they know is that sometimes women get pregnant and have children. If you had been taught from the day you were born that men had nothing to do with it, you'd believe it too. People certainly believe sillier things.</span>
  • lolfighterlolfighter Snark, Dire Join Date: 2003-04-20 Member: 15693Members
    edited May 2011
    It's just so basic knowledge that it is hard to understand how the hell they could ###### it up. Just about everyone knows how pregnancy works. Not every single individual - there'll always be dummies - but overall, humans get the concept. Hell, it doesn't even require <i>sapience</i> - many animals understand the concept of fatherhood as well. Canids are a notable example. And except for the Adem, it certainly seems to be common knowledge.

    The Adem aren't aliens. They came from other populations. They're not a completely isolated people, despite their bigotry. They DID know how reproduction works, at some point, which leaves only two options: Either the knowledge was lost, or it was suppressed. And how do you LOSE that information? I know parents often find the "flowers and bees" talk uncomfortable, but why would Adem parents, if sex isn't taboo? No, I find the "lost information" theory entirely too implausible, which leaves only the "suppressed" one.

    So why was the role of men in reproduction suppressed among the Adem?


    Also, picking out a quote here:
    <!--QuoteBegin-Psyke+--><div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (Psyke)</div><div class='quotemain'><!--QuoteEBegin-->[The Adem arc] wasn't done perfectly, as he somewhat negated all of it at the end when he showed they didn't believe that men have anything to do with babies... Made them seem extremely ignorant and in doing so invalidated a lot of what they believe;<!--QuoteEnd--></div><!--QuoteEEnd-->
    They proved themselves ignorant long before that - willfully even. They are almost entirely ignorant of other cultures, and <i>entirely</i> by choice. They're perhaps the most wandering people in the world next to the Edema Ruh. But where the Ruh learn everything about everyone, the Adem do their damndest to learn as little as possible about anyone. They scoff at other cultures as 'barbarians' even though they know nothing about them. That is ignorance, and the Adem have it in spades. Their ignorance of reproduction is merely the most glaring example, and that's how I saw it - a final effort by Rothfuss to make you realize that, for all their skill and accomplishments, they are a profoundly insular and ignorant culture.
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