This is Tyler Nordstrom with the Sioux City Public Library and you’re listening to Check It Out.
The Name of the Wind is a fantasy novel written by Patrick Rothfuss and is the first book in a trilogy that Rothfuss has yet to complete. At the beginning of the book, a mysterious innkeeper is revealed to be a man named Kvothe, a legendary sorcerer or arcanist in hiding. When a traveling scribe named the Chronicler recognizes Kvothe, the Chronicler asks him if he will recount his story. Kvothe assents and narrates his incredible past, telling of how as a young boy he realized that he had a natural capacity for magic, or what the people in his world call "sympathy." When Kvothe's parents are murdered by demonic creatures called the Chandarian, Kvothe is forced to spend several years surviving by himself.
Eventually he determines to join a renowned school of magic called the University, where he seeks to become an arcanist. At the University he discovers that there is more than one type of magic, including sympathy, which allows one to manipulate energy, and naming, which allows one to learn the true name of a thing and command it as he wills. Kvothe determines to master the art of naming so that he can avenge his family by finding and destroying the Chandarian. The only problem is: no one has heard of the Chandarian, or at least, no one believes they are real; they are nothing more than a whisper and a fairy tale. But this does not stop Kvothe; revenge burns too brightly in his heart for him to give up. It is a must read for not only fantasy fans, but also for anyone who appreciates an intricately designed world and masterful story.
Check out The Name of the Wind and other works of heroic fantasy like it at the Sioux City Public Library.
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