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The best sentence I read tonight
This might be the best written tedious fantasy book that I have come across for a while.
That's from an Amazon review of Patrick Rothfuss's The Name of the Wind, which is in fact the best written tedious fantasy book that I have come across for a while. Recommended.
Posted by Tyler Cowen on December 18, 2007 at 09:34 PM in Books | Permalink
Comments
ooo...tyler does fantasy?? I'm going to go digging in archives to find fantasy recs...
Posted by: shawn at Dec 18, 2007 10:09:56 PM
In general I'm all for good writing, but somehow when it comes to fantasy and science fiction I choose badly-written imaginative books over well-written tedious books. Witness Dune and Lord of the Rings, both of which have embarrassingly bad writing and which I love dearly nevertheless.
Posted by: tom s. at Dec 18, 2007 10:11:04 PM
tom s., can you think of any specific examples of what you mean by "embarassingly bad writing" in either Dune or LotR? I enjoyed those immensely as a teenager, but it's been a couple decades...
Posted by: nathan at Dec 18, 2007 11:06:58 PM
nathan - I'll have to look them up at home, but the things that come to mind in Dune are the introductory "quotes" at the beginning of each chapter from Bene Gesserit texts, and the attempts to appear deeply profound. For LOTR I'm just thinking of some of the times when the thee and thou stuff goes over the top. But I don't want to hammer the books - as I say, I love them both.
Posted by: tom s. at Dec 19, 2007 10:34:14 AM
You could do much better: try Ursula le Guin's Earthsea trilogy if you haven't already.
Posted by: Jake at Dec 19, 2007 11:20:35 AM
TC,
You are spot on with this recommendation. I bought this book in April and read it pretty quickly. I had not been a fantasy reader up to that point - the writings of the Inklings and the Rowlings excepted - but I enjoyed "The Name of the Wind" so much that I have embraced the genre if for no other reason than to learn of Patrick Rothfuss's influences. I've probably read another 15-20 fantasy/sci-fi books this year - including many of the genres' most popular - and would rank NotW above them. A few observations:
1. The central character is equal parts genius, rogue, orphan and bard. Rothfuss shows not only the current state of the character, but the history of events that shaped him.
2. The magic system posited is grounded in the physical world and seems, for lack of a better word, hard. Magical characters in other series (Harry Potter, Wheel of Time, Tolkien's Elves) generally are born with their abilities - NotW's characters acquire them through considerable study and practice. Education is not a simple afterthought.
3. NotW's proto-industrial world has a real, functioning economy. Items have tangible value and the scarcity of money is of concern to the protagonist.
4. The villains of the story are both mysterious and positively malevolent. Discovering who they are is as important to the story as the hero's quest to defeat them.
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