There is a game Kvothe learns called Tak. You can actually buy this, but I have seen quite a few hand made versions which are pretty cool.

Here is the game on amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cheapass-Games-239CAG-Tak-Beautiful/dp/B01LFA7QFK

This echoes my exact thought. I have total faith that BC could act his ass off as Bast, but that doesn't change the fact that he looks all wrong compared to the picture in my head. I think Ian Somerholder would be a much better fit.

I wholeheartedly applaud and agree with your mission to encourage and draw attention to positive attitudes towards Rothfuss on this sub. I also have young children and am so looking forward to share this series with them someday. I think even more than entertaining and all of the lovely things you said about the books, this story is a tribute to, and affirmation of, how we tell stories to one another in a fundamental, world defining way. Even when we don’t realize it, we are listening to, telling and retelling stories, which shape what we believe about ourselves and which guide how we relate to one another.

Rothfuss recently said in a podcast (at 25:45) : “ultimately, what makes dungeons and dragons excellent isn’t the fact that everybody plays wizards and you run around and there are elves and magic and gold and treasure and dragons. That’s not what makes D&D cool. What it is is that you’re getting together with human beings and you’re engaging in one of the primordial human experiences, which is to say, that you are working together to create story. And that’s what human beings do. We live in story, we create story, and we consume story. It’s the thing we do more than any other thing....”

I think this is his heart behind Kingkiller Chronicle, as well, and I know I still have so much more to depth to explore in my own story-living, creating and consuming, that I, personally, am content to wait and explore the depth of what he has already published. I hope for more, but the well of Story that is Temerant is far from dry, and always manages to quench a thirst I forgot I had, whenever I return to the books for a drink.

Dude, Martin released a new book like.. two weeks ago; and even if you want to quibble with that he also, technically, wrote some episodes for the HBO show.

This is an idea that goes back a long time. One of my favorite examples from modern fantasy is Le Guin's Wizard of Earthsea.

But it actually goes back to ancient times. Here is a very interesting discussion about it.

How about this? Nine bucks on amazon prime.

And THIS pipes pendant for $10 on amazon prime!

anyone else need costume help? I'm in mad search engine mode!

Are people upset I wrote "something like MS Paint"? It just seemed easier to reference something every version of windows has come with for the past 33 years for somebody that "really know nothing about that sort of thing" because they probably know about Paint.

I'm not even advocating for MS Paint, I said something like that. Should we be advocating for Pinta? Then they have to install a new program and it's dependencies just to resize and change format when they most likely have tools already available. What if they don't know how to install a new program or don't have an admin account to be able to?

And if all of that is too complicated there is that awesome web tool that is drag and drop to just convert the format. It doesn't even have ads and makes a high quality JPG.

I'm just trying to help people on the internet and try to make it as easy as possible for them.

u/Ryvell, I don't take that as a criticism at all. In fact, I struggled with the decision myself. I have the audiobooks on in the car on a fairly regular basis, but she only hears bits and pieces whenever she's in the car. I've fast forwarded through some of those scenes in the past, so I asked my wife and we talked about it. My daughter is pretty frank and logical about stuff. Even though she's still very much almost 11, she has very to-the-point discussions with my wife about exactly - exactly - how a babies come about. We're not much of an online family, meaning tablet/computer use isn't part of daily life, but she still has access to the internet whenever she likes through her tablet. So we don't shield her from much, but at the same time we make sure that if she has any questions, she is free to come to us with anything, and so far she does. She comes up with some good ones that require a "Honey! Can you come here and help me with this one?" response :) Around her age I was stealing my dad's copy of Pissing in the Snow (https://tinyurl.com/ydgfuhem) and clandestinely reading in my room, while she has more access to anything she wants at her fingertips than I ever did as a kid, should she want.

Abercrombie's books, The First Law Series for example, is a little too violent/graphic quite yet. Martin's stuff, etc.

Besides, Rothfuss's erotic scenes are pretty light.

I like the idea of Heart of Stone.

I recommend reading into and practicing the ways of stoicism. It's like Heart of Stone but permanent, in every thing you do. I recommend Meditations by Marcus Aurelius.

Master Ash is much more likely to be Cinder though, considering all the evidences. Should have, at least, mentioned this, since it's a more common theory than Bredon.

Most believe the surviving city is Tinue (Tinusa). A letter Denna sent to Kvothe was addressed to Belenay, so the University could be built over Belen's ruins.

Kvothe isn't referred as Kvothe poet-killer, his sword is (minor correction).

Other theories:

Kvothe became a Chandrian by killing Cinder, and Folly is Cinder's sword. The possessed mercenary in NotW asked "te rhintae?" to Kote in the frame, and rhinta is the Adem word for Chandrian. Similar words also appear for Cthaeh's tree (rhinna) and the text in front of the Archives (rhinata).

Denna's Yllish knots is a form of magic.

1. You can read about the cards on the Kickstarter page: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1460165270/the-name-of-the-wind-playing-cards

2. Bast is a vivid Android supporter who has Dr. Dre, so he can't be seen liking anything that sounds like Beats.

Up through the second round of betas of WMF, the series was called "The Song of the Broken Tree" before it was renamed "The Kingkiller Chronicle". (source)

Even earlier in the writing process the book/series was called "The Song of Flame and Thunder" (source)

But I suppose that was changed because it was too similar to GRRM's "A Song of Ice and Fire"

So all three of the meanings of Maedre have at one time been associated with the name of the series prior to it being changed to The Kingkiller Chronicle.

That probably isn't coincidence.

Here is an audio sample for the Nick Podehl version, if you look around, maybe there is one for Rupert Degas, too.

Edit: Rupert Degas

This book will be released in October, and it's a 176-page book that tells a side story set in the world of Kvothe, starring Auri, as Pat explained in this blog post.

Some people were upset because they were expecting The Doors of Stone to be release this year instead, and anything else may be perceived as a distraction.

I personally think this book will be awesome and I'm really looking forward to reading it, but I guess I am a tad sad that I won't get to read about Kvothe's story until, hopefully, next year.

On a plus note, Blood Song book 2 is to be released tomorrow! There's never been a better time to be alive.

What's sad to me is that as methodical as PR is we're only going to see a handful of books from him in his lifetime. Maybe that's not a bad thing, but to paraphrase Stephen King from his On Writing book, "If you've got a talent for writing, then write."

No, there is another short story called "How old Holly came to be" It just has very little to do with Kvothe's story and is more obscure. It can be found in the short story collection called Unfettered And also online in some places.

I was, indeed, calling SRoST a "Novella."

Here the collector edition :

Chronique du Tueur de Roi, T1 : Le Nom du vent (Collector) https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07TJKCCRJ/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_H0lbGbWCF9BK4

And the super collector edition :

Chronique du Tueur de Roi, T1 : Le Nom du vent (Super Collector) https://www.amazon.fr/dp/B07YMFX4X4/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_SZlbGbZGTQ8T0?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1

The super collector has only 1000 copies ( I have the number 409)

The link below takes you to the amazon page where I am selling it. I am in no way trying to spam this here. That's not what this is about. I just don't have a personal web page or anything like that to link you to for it.

I'm not gonna lie to you, either, and say I think its as good as Rothfuss. I do think I did a good job of it, but I don't have Rothfuss's talent for particularly colorful prose.

And, if you are looking to buy it (again, not trying to tell you to), there will be a much cheaper e-book version out sometime in the next few days when amazon's servers get their act together.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521491941/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1497385325&sr=8-9&keywords=solah

It is on Amazon. Here's the share link from the page.

The Name of the Wind: 10th Anniversary Deluxe Edition (Kingkiller Chronicle) https://www.amazon.com/dp/0756413710/ref=cm_sw_r_other_apa_0gZIzb5MYNK7P

Feel free to shoot me a message if you have any questions: I made a bunch of mistakes my first few times brewing and would be happy to help. Also, if you have a homebrew store near you, I highly recommend getting an airlock. They're a dime a dozen, cheaper than a pack of balloons, and will make for a much more reliable brew than plastic balloons will.

They're also $6 for 2 on amazon, but you could honestly find them even cheaper at a homebrew shop near you. https://www.amazon.com/Twin-Bubble-Airlock-Carboy-Bung/dp/B07DC4TSLK/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1529364327&sr=8-2&keywords=airlock+homebrew

They're different styles of writer. I wrote an FAQ on Pat's writing method. It'll help you out.

But, just for comparison's sake:

• Stephen King writes novels, shoves them in a closet for six weeks, revises, gives them to his wife, and writes a third draft; in On Writing, he refers to this as "Closed" and "Open door" writing. Then he and his editor go over the book

• George RR Martin writes chapters, often exploring the narrative to see where it's going. This means a shitton of content ends-up being cut (for example, [A Dance with Dragons](/s "the original draft of ADWD had a scene where Tyrion talks to a leader of the Grey Men that he cut out because it painted the story into a corner")).

• Anthony Burgess would revise chapters, but loathed going through the whole book to streamline all of it

> Which is listed as "a synonym" to a watchman. This means "watcher" can have the same meaning as "watchman". Which means, in turn, a specific job and therefore can be used without further elaboration. Right?

No. Strictly speaking, the website you cited is giving examples of how "watcher" could be used, not listing synonyms.

> Definition of watcher

> : one that watches: such as

> a : one that sits up or continues awake at night

> b : watchman

> c (1) : one that keeps watch beside a dead person (2) : one that attends a sick person at night

> d : a person who closely follows or observes someone or something a Supreme Court watcher —often used in combination celebrity-watchers

> e : a representative of a party or candidate who is stationed at the polls on an election day to watch the conduct of officials and voters

https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/watcher

Strictly speaking, the "such as" demonstrates that the website is listing ways in which "watcher" could be used--examples, not synonyms.

But, even if "watchman" was a synonym of "watcher", that doesn't mean that using the term "watcher" implies "watchman" outside the appropriate context, without additional elaboration.

Likewise, take the word "nice" for example. Here are its synonyms: http://www.thesaurus.com/browse/nice They include "cordial", "gentle", "polite", and "kindly".

That doesn't mean that you could substitute any of those synonyms in the sentence---"you look very nice today! I love your outfit." The phrasing does not imply that the person/their outfit looks "cordial", "gentle", "polite", or "kindly"----regardless of the fact they are synonyms. They don't fit the phrasing and context.

Likewise, "you are as a good as a watcher, Haliax"---does not imply its referencing the term "watchman". It doesn't imply a reference to anything. Because it does not specify anything being watched.

Well, Rothfuss has always been supportive of smaller companies looking to work together with him on projects outside of his fiction: that is to say, works that derive from, but do not necessarily impact on, KKC. Projects like Pairs and playing cards, for instance.

However, he's also stated several times that he actively avoids fan communities that speculate on the future of the series: communities like this subreddit, for instance. He does not want to read a fan theory that someone has and go, "goddamnit, that's so much better than what I had in mind" and have to either rework what he's written so far or live with that regret forever.

I never noticed this before. but the description of his power is interesting. >It lay on him like a great weight, like a vise of iron.

this description also perfectly describes Lanre's haubergeon.

>He came alone, wearing his silver sword and haubergeon of black iron scales. His armor fit him closely as a second skin of shadow. He had wrought if from the carcass of the beast he had killed at Drossen Tor.

The interesting choice of words here, "like and iron vise".

The symbolism of a medieval knight's haubergeon is that it is a fortress against vice.

so the description of his new found power also matches the description of the skin of the beast that killed him.

https://www.audible.com/pd/Sci-Fi-Fantasy/The-Name-of-the-Wind-Audiobook/B002UZMLXM?qid=1532775651&sr=sr_1_1&ref=a_search_c3_lProduct_1_1&pf_rd_p=e81b7c27-6880-467a-b5a7-13cef5d729fe&pf_rd_r=T60QA5864Z4FSBB0363X&

From lists of what fallacies exist it's kind of hard to pinpoint what fallacies Pat has called what, but I think it might be "Bandwagoning" e.g. "Everyone does this thing, so it must be the right thing to do" or "Everyone does this thing, so you should too"

https://www.slideshare.net/kidkhaos7/9-logical-fallacies

The idea of incantations fascinates me. Pat has stated before that the 1999 computer game, Planescape:Torment, was one of his all-time favorites. If you aren't familiar with the premise, the main character cannot die and does not remember why. The goal of the game is to figure it out, or to remember. Throughout the game you will come across people who were wronged or righted by previous incantations of yourself that you have forgotten.

Many, including myself, are so fond of this game that they set a Kickstarter record to fund a spiritual sequel (the original IP was not available). One of the stretch goals became a companion character written by Patrick.

It's a long shot, but what if some of the ideas from the original Torment game are central to the KKC?

https://www.ancestry.com/name-origin?surname=schimmelpfennig

German: nickname for a miser who lets his pennies become moldy, from schimmeln ‘to become moldy, mildewy’ (Middle High German schimel ‘mildew’) + Pfennig ‘penny’ (Middle High German phenninc).

Source: Dictionary of American Family Names ©2013, Oxford University Press

Something like this could work well for firelight and then just a solid blue for sympathy lamps. I don't know how much LED experience you have but there are some good tutorials on youtube. There is also some bad ones so be aware.

I suggest you also find the short story "The Lighting Tree", about Bast - it's found in a compendium of short stories called "Rogues". https://www.amazon.com/Rogues-George-R-Martin/dp/0345537262

Since you mentioned The Lightning Tree might not be worth it since it so short in a huge collection but the paperback is literally 2 pounds, I just added it with a shipment from amazon I was piling up. Price surprised me.

Link to Amazon

You might be able to get the Degas version through Amazon? https://www.amazon.com/Name-Wind-Kingkiller-Chronicle-Book/dp/B007HI3HUI/

In my view if you can get hold of it, it's worth it. It's true that he pronounces quite a few things differently to how Pat does, though I enjoy the alternatives.

I no longer think "breath of Iax" is correct. We have haliax connected with Salitos.

Hal/Hali means salt in Greek. Sali means salt in Latin.

According to the Skarpii story, Haliax said I sow salt because the choice is between weeds and nothing.

Meluan said she would rather salt her fields than destroy the box.

Kvothe said that whatever is inside the Lackless box was "something smaller than a saltbox."

Google salt and alchemy and you find things like this

So while sowing salt has implications of killing fields, it has a very different occult symbolism: representing a lot of things (see link) . It's too much to go into but symbolically sewing salt is a good thing. This idea got way off topic so I will break it out into a separate post.

It isn't stated for certain one way or another, but if Selitos (one of the four most powerful namers of his generation) can't kill him, if he can't kill himself, and if he clearly can't die of old age... well, we don't actually know, but if he's not literally immortal, he's quite close.

More important than all that, what we do know is that Lanre wanted to die. He tried to commit suicide. If he knew something or someone out there (be it the Amyr, the angels, whatever else) could do him in, he could essentially suicide-by-cop. Why hasn't he? Either he changed his mind and now has another goal instead of his death (possible), the other powers out there refuse to kill him (possible), or the other powers out there can't kill him (possible). Or a combination thereof.

But yeah, we just don't know enough to say one way or another. This is the page with the related passage. You are right, technically he's not immortal, but if he can't stay dead... similar enough in my mind.

Lackey followed up in the Quora thread saying: >I was referring to this: https://www.amazon.com/Slow-Regard-of-Silent-Things-audiobook/dp/B00MOWXE1E/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1AG8HWGNNM8CD&keywords=rothfuss+kingkiller+chronicles+book+3&qid=1660713692&sprefix=rothfuss%2Caps%2C83&sr=8-1

>It is a third book in the trilogy. It’s just not the one you wanted, I presume.

Though it seems weird to say "it is at the editor and has a release date" when talking about a book that came out almost 8 years ago, so who knows

This a offical book being published by TOR in August. I should have posted the cover as it’s quite good. Amazon

I just searched for it on audible.co.uk and found it, but then again I also seem to be able to find it on audible.com

>my proposition was not that there is an organization called "Watchers"

So there is a group of angels (or all angels) you suggest to call "watchers". Ok, same difference to me.

> there is nothing inherent in the definition of watcher that relates to "being good".

Being as good as somebody (at something) doesn't imply one is a "good person". It implies that one is as skilled (in something) as somebody, or close to somebody in terms of something. Again, this is a very basic idiom, isn't it? http://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/as+good+as

Namely, in this phrase Cinder says that Haliax is as skilled in watching him, as a "professional" watcher. Because Haliax was watching Cinder's actions at that moment very closely, and Haliax has immediately noticed that Cinder was indulging in useless talk and spilling some info ("...entirely wrong sort of songs").

I am not a native English speaker, so please correct me if I'm wrong here.

>We don't know what a "watcher" is as a category.

Well, we kinda do: https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/watcher. Is d) version good enough?

>To be clear, in the first book, during the actual scene where Kvothe meets the Chandrian which includes when Cinder says "as good as a watcher", "singers" is indeed lowercase.

Hmmm. Yep, uppercase in WMF35, lowercase in Notw 16. Weird...

edited for typos and clarity

The Arthurian legend isn't the origin of Grammarie, it just happens to borrow the idea in some versions. IIRC, Grammarye is supposed to be either where Avalon is or where Merlin is from. As you can see, I don't remember much of that aspect, either. Etymonoline helpfully gives the original meanings of "grammar" and traces its movement through the occult to its variant "glamour."

I find it quite likely that Rothfuss is aware of this etymology and is using it deliberately, as there are other tie-ins to the real world, particularly to UK history and the Celtic languages. For example, Denner resin/laudanum/sweet-eaters comes from the 18th century Opium (recently introduced from China)/laudanum/opium-eaters. "Sithe" clearly comes from the daoine sìth of Scottish and Irish mythology (in Irish, aos sì--Where Robert Jordan took Aes Sedai from). There's also words that look Welsh by their spelling and words like "Maer" that seems to come from "Maor"--basically "great" in Scottish Gaelic and formerly used as a title much as "Maer" is.

Abe Books can give you a good idea of most books' values:

http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/SearchResults?an=patrick+rothfuss&bi=h&bx=off&ds=30&fe=on&recentlyadded=all&sortby=20&sts=t&tn=wise+man%27s+fear

Unsigned US first editions seem to be priced at around $75; the UK first editions for around 50 pounds. Signed first editions look to be about double that.

Have you read 'The Blade Itself'? I'm reading the second book and am thrilled - it's more fastpaced and a bit more fantasy-themed than ASOIAF, but has the same complex characters and a compelling world with a lot of history. I'm not sure why I'm ranting, except that I'm really enjoying it, and I had a lot of ASOIAF-hangovers and never thought I'd find something to equal it. And this might be even better... So maybe you'll like it to!

It's good, I had these kind of problems with my first posts as well!

Don't make my mistake

Here are some tricks:

the reddit enhancement suite is very useful plugin because, between many things, it lets you have a preview of your posts!

If you don't like plugins (I was skeptycal at first, but trust me it works really well) you can check these formatting tricks.

This way the posts will look

• nice
• clean
• and so on.

I really enjoyed reading your post. Makes me want to reread the books trying to consider Denna as the main character, many things could be discovered.

Cheers!

yep, I was able to find all of the older episodes on castbox:

​

https://castbox.fm/episode/Unintended-Consequences-id431972-id98893524?utm\_source=website&utm\_medium=dlink&utm\_campaign=web\_share&utm\_content=Unintended%20Consequences-CastBox\_FM

I picked up the Farseer trilogy by chance on my Kindle and allthough things are slowing down A LOT in the second book, I'm quite enjoying it. Care to explain what the sequel trilogy is? I really found no mention of it and the closest I found was: http://www.shelfari.com/series/Realm-Of-The-Elderlings

I believe apparate is correct.

"To appear (magically); to teleport to or from a place."

AKA: the mysteriously appear.

Quoyan Hayel, the Questioning Hall

https://www.lingq.com/sv/lesson/69-630741/

ctrl f for this chunk, begins the scene with elodin:

> I'd come to this particular courtyard because the wind moved oddly here. I'd only noticed it after the autumn leaves began to fall.

Hello, I do illustration, design, cartooning and digital painting. Also, I've done tattoo designs before. I've posted some KKC art here also.

You can check my galleries (I mainly post on instagram) here. .

Have a nice day!

Actually this one. It’s when the main character arrives at a location, just a bit zoomed out. book cover

You might really like The Dark is Rising by Susan Cooper! They're really a fun read with interesting magic and a pretty engrossing approach to characters. I really, highly recommend this book. It will be a super easy read since it's written for kids, but I think you'll find it satisfying.

GoodReads

Amazon

Yes, amazon has a free Kindel program for PC and Mac. Here's a link for their download: https://www.amazon.com/Amazon-Digital-Services-LLC-Download/dp/B00UB76290

I've used the PC version and while it wouldn't be my first choice for reading it's excellent for searching through books.

Just order it online from Amazon?

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tak-Beautiful-Game-University-English/dp/B078RYBYH4/ref=sr_1_1?keywords=tak&qid=1564745423&s=gateway&sr=8-1

A friend of mine recently wrote a fantasy book that has was definitely influenced by WoT. I would't be recommending it if I didn't actually enjoy it (if anything I was extra critical when reading and was pleasantly surprised). Anyway its super cheap ($3 for a 700 page ebook), so if you're looking for something, give it try!

https://www.amazon.com/Bladesorrow-Agarsfar-Saga-Book-1-ebook/dp/B0892RCR2V

I stumbled across a book from an "indie" writer on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Shepherds-Wolf-M-Andrew-Reid-ebook/dp/B00GDH2G24

I don't think the premise/description does the book justice, but if you like fantasy with "higher meaning" then give this a shot.

The main problem with the book is the ending: it's a HUGE cliffhanger with no sequel in sight. But the world building, characters and development, everything is great.

Did a quick search and found this: https://www.amazon.com/Magnetic-Natural-Picture-Artwork-Decoration/dp/B06ZZ2BM8K/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1542370074&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=wooden+magnetic+hanger&dpPl=1&dpID=41dZNDJruAL&ref=plSrch

Check Amazon.uk https://www.amazon.co.uk/Wise-Mans-Fear-Kingkiller-Chronicle/dp/1473223725/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1539169867&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=the+wise+man%27s+fear+hardcover&dpPl=1&dpID=514c%2B9nS4WL&re...

Tinfoil theories are not the problem.

True namers use copper foil.

Yeah. I read On Writing. It really helped me out to put in perspective just what it takes to be a writer. I try and stay true to the four to six hours a day rule, but it's not a magic bullet. Sometimes I manage it and my writing is still shit. I like to think that Pat feels the same way.

Thanks! And I'm happy to post the links here.

The first is the novel, and the second is a collection of short stories. (Hopefully, my book 2 should be out sometime late next year or early the year after. I self-publish so I don't have someone giving me a schedule, but I try to schedule myself.)

Also, sorry for the links being to amazon, but when you self-publish, you work with what you've got.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521491941

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521493383

Yup. Hell, I added a character to my book in EARLY and it threw everything for a loop. Two other characters had major shifts in their character arc AND an entire subplot was added. That's without accounting for characters that I added late and how they've already added complexity to my sequel.

(Below is the link to the book. I'd have linked to it somewhere other than amazon, but I self-published and so that's the link I've got.)

https://www.amazon.com/dp/1521491941

A fairly recent edition of The Last Unicorn by Peter S. Beagle has this endorsement on the cover, which might perhaps carry some weight with members of this sub:

> The Last Unicorn is the best book I have ever read. You need to read it. If you've already read it, you need to read it again." --Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Wise Man's Fear

https://www.amazon.com/Last-Unicorn-Peter-S-Beagle/dp/0451450523/

Tamsin and The Inkeeper's Song are also very good.

Some other books by other authors that I'd recommend are Little, Big by John Crowley, Cloud Atlas by David Mitchel, Lincoln's Dreams by Connie Willis, and Till We Have Faces by C.S. Lewis.

Roger Zelazny - The Chronicles of Amber

You can either get the Great Book of Amber (books 1-10) https://www.amazon.ca/Great-book-Amber-Roger-Zelazny/dp/0380809060

or just start with Nine Princes in Amber http://www.amazon.com/Nine-Princes-Amber-Roger-Zelazny/dp/1935138197

I really enjoyed Joe Ambercrombie's First Law series. The combat in it is great, the characters had a lot of depth, and while he's not quite as subtle is Rothfuss or GRRM (a number of major plot points are fairly easily predicted if you've been paying attention, though some more were quite a surprise) I really liked it.

The best part: the series is completely finished and released.

For manic escapades, Miles Vorkosigan stands shoulder to shoulder with Kvothe. It's sf rather than fantasy though. Pretty much all the books are stand alone, and you could technically start anywhere, but I suggest you start with <em>The Warrior's Aprentice</em> or <em>Shards of Honor</em>.

Warrior's Apprentice is the first book actually about Miles, while Shards of Honor is about his parents, mostly his mom. I realize that these are labeled as books four and two in the series, but they're numbered chronologically by the publisher, rather than in written order or by the author's recommendation. The "first" book, Falling Free should probably be read after Labyrinth, wherever it falls in order. If you start with the Warrior's Apprentice, you can go back and read Shards and its sequel, Barrayar whenever.

The Book of Flying - Keith Miller. -fantasy/storytelling 7-8/10

Very much a "story", like a fable kind of. Pretty short, not epic, but I like the feel of it. It has new ideas I've not seen anywhere else. In a city where winged people exist, a man is born without wings and has to live with the normal humans. He decides to go exploring to find some wings. http://www.amazon.com/The-Book-Flying-Keith-Miller/dp/1594480664

You might also like Weeks' other series, the Night Angel Trilogy. Same critiques though, and on top of that, it feels more immature and "gritty for the sake of grit" at times.

How's about some Australian Fantasy?

• The Second Son Trilogy, Jennifer Fallon
• 8/10
• Fantasy/Political intrigue...
• I devoured this series, it gets you in quickly with some great character development that you can't help but fall in love with.
• Amazon