the wise man's fear

Since finishing The Name of the Wind, I've been looking forward to the release of its sequel with great anticipation.

And so when I heard that The Wise Man's Fear is out in the market, I quickly went to hunt for it in Borders and was disappointed they had none in store. I was referred to their online store that promised delivery within 24hours and I placed my order without any hesitation.

Only after the purchase was confirmed did I receive notification that the book will only be shipped in two weeks' time because they didn't have stock in country. Like WTF? And so the impatient me went and bought one in Kinokuniya a few days later when the wait proved to be too agonising.

So ya, I have two copies of The Wise Man's Fear, one of which is completely new and not read by anyone. Who wants the book?

The sequel was a monster 60% bigger than the first book at almost 1000 pages. Even though it was still a good read, I got really turned off by how draggy the later half of the book. I ended the book rather disappointed there wasn't much progress in this sequel in revealing how Kvothe got to his current situation nor in answering so many of the questions surrounding so many key characters that arose from the first book and wondering how the hell Rothfuss is going to cover all these in the next book which is supposedly the last of this trilogy.

I will end off this entry with extracts of two sections that I'm particularly fond of before I continue to read while waiting for book three the many very interesting discussion threads at this forum that never fail to amaze me how these people can have the time and energy to read, re-read, re-re-read and study this Kingkiller Chronicle to provide such detailed and indepth analysis.


"So yes. It had flaws, but what does that matter when it comes to matters of the heart? We love what we love. Reason does not enter into it. In many ways, unwise love is the truest love. Anyone can love a thing because. That's as easy as putting a penny in your pocket. But to love something despite. To know the flaws and love them too. That is rare and pure and perfect."


"... There are secrets of the mouth and secrets of the heart.

Most secrets are secrets of the mouth. Gossip shared and small scandals whispered. These secrets long to be let loose upon the world. A secret of the mouth is like a stone in your boot. At first you're barely aware of it. Then it grows irritating, then intolerable. Secrets of the mouth grow larger the longer you keep them, swelling until they press against your lips. They fight to be free.

Secrets of the heart are different. They are private and painful, and we want nothing more than to hide them from the world. They do not swell and press against the mouth. They live in the heart, and the longer they are kept, the heavier they become.

... Any fool will spit out poison, he says, but we hoard these painful treasures. We swallow hard against them every day, forcing them deep inside us. There they sit, growing heavier, festering. Given enough time, they cannot help but crush the heart that holds them."