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I was never terribly bothered by the "he's amazingly good at a lot of things" situation that so bothers some people. If you read the back of the novel before you buy it, you basically know exactly what kind of story you're in for...It's the story of a legendary wizard, one of the most amazing historical figures in that world's history, so of course that's the kind of character he's going to be. I put myself in that sort of mindset before the book started and it never bothered me. That said, as some folk have pointed out, I think they added enough personality flaws and arrogance and such to make the character nicely rounded out. He's amazingly skilled, but his personality is highly flawed. It's a good middle ground.
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Nov 15, 2010 03:05
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greatZebu posted:I think the "he's incredibly talented at almost everything" aspect of the story is less problematic than the "all the antagonists are incompetent assholes" aspect. Kvothe seems pretty insufferable at times; surely he could have had some higher quality opposition than Ambrose and Hemme. True, though I think they laid the groundwork for that stuff at the very end of the book, if you remember what happens. I wish they'd done a little more foreshadowing as far as whoever the big enemy/ies turn out to be, but I figured this is just the first third of the story...We just haven't been introduced to the big antagonists yet.
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Nov 15, 2010 05:32
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Mahlertov Cocktail posted:
True, hah...Was very tired when I was writing that, and spaced it. That said, we see so little of them that I still feel we haven't really been introduced to what is going to be the main conflict.
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Nov 15, 2010 23:39
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But... the Chandrian? Haliax?
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pseudorandom name posted:Don't forget that he's burned out any magical ability he once had and is basically as helpless as the next guy against the monsters he's unleashed on the world. I never got this impression at all, nor do I remember reading it. Where'd you come up with it?
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Nov 19, 2010 04:08
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Huh, my impression was that "burned out and depressed" meant more in a life choices/midlife crisis kind of way. I never got he impression that he didn't have powers, just that he didn't really use them anymore, nor did he want to. He was content to be a washed up, crappy old innkeeper. I thought that was the main reason that Kvothe's servant guy was so irritated...Kvothe was still amazing, but it was basically completely wasted potential. Like an amazing artist working as a laborer or something, and having no desire to paint. As far as when the zombie thing shows up at the end, I just thought it was because whatever he tried to do failed. I thought it was more the nature of sympathy and of the creature that caused it to fail, not that Kvothe didn't have any power.
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Nov 19, 2010 06:50
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dyehead posted:Kvothe nodded and stepped through the doorway behind the bar. As soon as he was out of sight, Bast leaned close to Chronicler's ear. "Don't ask him about it," he hissed urgently. "Don't mention it at all." Not sure what that explains, but it could easily support either theory. Either that he can't do it, or it just failed. I guess we'll see.
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Nov 19, 2010 20:05
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anathenema posted:
I dunno, I think he goes through some pretty hard poo poo, especially at the beginning when he's homeless. I just think that the fact that it's being narrated by him in the future takes some of the danger and suspense out of it, as we know that no matter what happens, he's going to survive to become this badass wizard. If he'd written the same story as a third person at the time it was happening, I think it would have felt a lot less "easy" for his character.
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Nov 21, 2010 03:27
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Huh, I see your point. Though, I still enjoyed the book. Here's hoping book 2 is a hell of a lot more harsh.
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Nov 21, 2010 20:26
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SaviourX posted:And now that I've thought more on it (and this is endemic of SFF in the past decade or so, thanks Jordan!), book series nowadays break the cardinal storytelling rule of 'start your story as close to the end as reasonably possible'. To be honest, this is exactly why I read epic fantasy. As long as it's a well constructed, interesting world, I WANT to spend thousands and thousands of pages there. The Martins and the Eriksons and the Rothfuss's are the kinds of series that I can get lost in for a few months. I know the rule you're talking about works for some stuff, but epic fantasy is so much about insane worldbuilding as well as storytelling that I'm not sure it applies as much. Sci fi and fantasy are two very extreme settings as far as storytelling goes, as opposed to romance/crime novels/whatever. There are rules you need to establish that are just givens when you're reading something set in a more mundane place.
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Dec 2, 2010 18:27
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keiran_helcyan posted:
I completely agree that his unreasonable obsession with Denna is retarded. The parts where he has opportunities with someone else like the chick he saves, and then he's in a room with her and she's barely covered by a sheet and she has an incredible body...Yeah, any teenage boy would be like "noooo, must save myself for unattainable bitch?" gently caress that...He'd be going for it and consequences be damned. Aspects like that of Kvothe's personality put me off him way more than his super abilities at everything he tries. I found all of his other female friends far more interesting then Denna, and that's the real weakness of the book...If you want us to believe that Kvothe is insanely obsessed with this girl, you have to make us feel that way on some level, too. The part where they finally get close and cuddle, and they're so close to something happening, why did that scene feel bland to me? Oh, because I could give a poo poo about her. I found the aforementioned scene with whats her name in the sheet far more pulse racingly, hope this leads up to something interesting than I did the scenes with Denna in the forest. If you're going to throw in romance, at least make us give a poo poo about it.
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Dec 2, 2010 22:13
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Huh...It seems like he's addressing some of the things people in this thread are annoyed by. I'm excited.
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Dec 19, 2010 22:20
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Hughmoris posted:The next 1.5 months are going to be amazing. Joe Abercrombie comes out with his new book in February, followed up by Rothfuss. I can't wait! If you like Scotty Lynch, the next Locke Lamora book is in february, and there's also two new Malazan books this month/next month. Good early year!
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Jan 18, 2011 03:41
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reflir posted:I'll believe this when I see an actual copy in an actual book store. Good point, I guess I'm being optimistic. I've received three emails from Amazon in the last couple of weeks...Those "You might want these books!" emails, and all three have had Lamora 3 listed as coming out on Feb 17th. Here's hoping.
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Jan 20, 2011 20:29
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Eunabomber posted:Supposedly he has not even turned in a final manuscript, so keep hoping:( Where did you hear this? I've heard several times that he turned it in a long time ago. Also, if he hadn't even turned IN the final manuscript, I find it highly unlikely Amazon would be listing a release date about a month away. EDIT: Meh, internet information seems to back up it not being out anytime soon. Sigh. A Nice Boy fucked around with this message at 02:53 on Jan 21, 2011 |
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Jan 21, 2011 02:45
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Well, gently caress a duck.
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Jan 27, 2011 07:20
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I don't think Bast can disprove parts of Kvothe's story, especially the early parts, because Kvothe has never told anyone anything about it before, has he? I swear they mention that it's the first time he's ever told the story to anyone.
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Feb 24, 2011 18:52
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Hmm...I need to research this, because I thought at one point Bast even says that he really doesn't know poo poo about Kvothe's past except the same stories and legends that everyone knows about him.
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Feb 24, 2011 23:12
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I think I figured out why the Felurian/other sexual parts suck, in a way. It seriously seems like he hired Piers Anthony to write any scene having to do with sex. As I read those scenes, it was intense deja vu back to when I was reading Xanth and especially Apprentice Adept in high school. Hell, Felurian could be the loving unicorn chick Stile gets busy with in AA.
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Mar 15, 2011 00:31
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I wonder if this trilogy is just supposed to be about Kvothe's life so far, and he's thinking about writing another for events after the three days?
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Mar 24, 2011 06:40
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