内容简介

From Publishers Weekly

Starred Review. The originality of Rothfuss's outstanding debut fantasy, the first of a trilogy, lies less in its unnamed imaginary world than in its precise execution. Kvothe ("pronounced nearly the same as 'Quothe' "), the hero and villain of a thousand tales who's presumed dead, lives as the simple proprietor of the Waystone Inn under an assumed name. Prompted by a biographer called Chronicler who realizes his true identity, Kvothe starts to tell his life story. From his upbringing as an actor in his family's traveling troupe of magicians, jugglers and jesters, the Edema Ruh, to feral child on the streets of the vast port city of Tarbean, then his education at "the University," Kvothe is driven by twin imperatives—his desire to learn the higher magic of naming and his need to discover as much as possible about the Chandrian, the demons of legend who murdered his family. As absorbing on a second reading as it is on the first, this is the type of assured, rich first novel most writers can only dream of producing. The fantasy world has a new star. (Apr.)

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From Booklist

Travelers to the village where Kote runs an inn are rare, but those who've shown up lately have brought bad news. A sort of demonic spider attacks a local, and then Kote rescues a wandering scholar, bringing him to the inn to recover. The man recognizes Kote as the legendary hero Kvothe and begs him to reveal the reality behind all the legends. Most of the novel is Kvothe's autobiography, that of a young genius growing up in a troupe of elite traveling players, tutored by an old arcanist, until marauders (mere marauders?) destroyed it, after which he made his way to the great university and petitioned for admission. Rothfuss skillfully handles the change of Kvothe's voice from child to youth to student, and the voice of the mature Kvothe in retrospective interjections. Hints of further adventures are strewn about in this series opener, whose one problem lies in its naturally slow, unfortunately sometimes draggy pacing. Not exactly a page-turner, but fanciers of long, intricate plots will be pleased. Frieda Murray

Copyright © American Library Association. All rights reserved

作者简介

美国近年来表现最亮眼的新锐奇幻小说家。他出生于威斯康辛，大学足足念了九年，先念了化学工程后来又转念心理学，最后才以英国文学学士毕业。但在他广泛选修哲学、中世纪史、东方戏剧学、人类学、社会学等课程之中，《风之名》的雏形已逐渐形成。

《风之名》最初想要出版时却处处碰壁，直到 他将作品的部分改编成短篇参赛并获奖，让罗斯福斯有机会可以参加一个在洛杉矶举办的写作班。在写作班中他认识了著名科幻作家凯文?安德森，安德森则将自己的经纪人介绍给罗斯福斯认识；而擅长挖掘新锐小说家的美国经纪人麦特?拜勒（Matt Bialer）读到他的《风之名》初稿后，惊艳于他将奇幻和文学元素巧妙融合，立刻签下他，且不负众望推他跻身畅销的奇幻新锐作家。美国著名出版人伊丽莎白?魏赫姆（Betsy Wollheim）也夸赞：《风之名》是她在三十年的编辑生涯中看到过的最棒的处女作，罗斯福斯应该...

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精彩摘录

　　也许我们头脑最厉害之处，就体现在处理痛苦的能力上。古典思想理论里说，人的头脑里有四扇门，所有人都根据需要在这四扇门间来回穿行。　　第一扇是睡梦之门。睡眠是我们躲避世界和痛苦的地方。睡眠可以用来标志时间，让我们与伤害我们的事物之间拉开距离。人受伤后往往会昏迷不醒。同样的，听到痛苦的消息时，人也经常会晕过去。这是头脑用来保护自己的方式之一：踏入第一扇门。　　第二扇是遗忘之门。有些伤口深得无法愈合，或者无法很快愈合。许多记忆本身就太过痛苦，根本没有愈合的可能。“时间愈合一切伤口”的说法是错误的。时间能愈合大部分伤口，而剩下治不了的则被藏在这第二扇门后。　　第三扇是疯狂之门。有事头脑受到的创伤实在太过严重，不得不将其藏在疯狂之后。这看起来好像毫无益处，但却是很有帮助的。有时候现实中除却痛苦别无他物，为了躲避这种痛苦，头脑就必须舍弃现实。　　最后一扇是死亡之门。那是最后的对策。死后就没有任何东西能够伤害我们了，至少大家都这么说。

——引自第113页

Thedaywefretaboutthefutureisthedayweleaveourchildhoodbehind.

——引自章节：PuzzlePiecesFitting