Imagine an alternate universe filled with magic and demons, and kingdoms and everything in between. The Name of the Wind has all this and more. I loved the book, so a huge thank you to Haritha DH for gifting the book to me!
The blurb of the story attracted me right away. To be quite honest, I am a girl who loves to read about badass heroines. But every once in a while, heroes catch my eye too. The main character of the story, Kvothe, did just that. Kvothe — a legendary arcanist more commonly known as Kvothe The Bloodless — is not a typical hero you’d find in a story. He is a world-weary bartender who once used to be a legend. Tired of what was probably an exciting and famous lifestyle, Kvothe has retreated into a corner of civilization, changed his name to Kote and now runs the Waystone Inn. The tale is Kvothe’s own account of how that happened.
The author is so quirky to start the tale off with no backstory or context whatsoever. He has left it up to the reader to build up this imaginary universe and I love that it engages the reader like that. A famous storyteller named Chronicler has just reached the inn, looking for the infamous Kvothe. Kvothe who has left behind his past life is not happy to see Chronicler. He agrees to recount his experiences for Chronicler to pen down, but on the condition that he does it without any edits.
Kvothe then proceeds to weave a tale so extraordinary, it is difficult to believe the events actually happened. He describes his nomadic childhood, going about from town to town in a caravan entertaining people. He talks about his first mentor Abenthy who taught the basics of magic (called sympathy here). Kvothe struggles as he talks about how The Chandrian killed his family, leaving him destitute. As a boy, he was highly intelligent and resourceful which is how he secures an admission at the University to learn about the Arcane arts. Kvothe’s hidden motive is to take revenge against the Chandrian, the unknown demon enemy terrorizing people.
The book is just Kvothe recounting stories from his past, but he keeps us wanting to know more. The book is structured in such a way so as to seem like the conversation between Kvothe and the Chronicler has wound down as the day ended. The book ends on a cliffhanger of sorts, because though he mentions he was expelled from the University, he doesn’t say how. All that and more is to be revealed in the second book. Based on the first book, I am all too excited to dive into the sequel.
If you’re someone who is into YA fantasy, The Name of the Wind is something totally new in the genre. A must read for every fantasy lover!
