Book · 2007
The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
An orphaned actor's son claws his way toward becoming a legend by the University's fire-and-sympathy magic — a story stuck at book two for over a decade.
What does Reddit think of The Name of the Wind?
r/Fantasy owns this conversation — 989 of 1889 mentions against 667 in r/suggestmeabook and 233 in r/printSF — and the sub's running joke is the wait. "Patrick Rothfuss will get to it as soon as he is done with the Kingkiller books" (↑670) reads less like a joke than a diagnosis; a nearby comment (↑375) notes an editor "basically confirmed we realistically may never see book 3," and says the goodwill is still draining out of an unfinished trilogy. The prose gets credited even by critics. The protagonist doesn't: one top comment (↑426) says Kvothe never resonated as someone worth rooting for, and an unpopular-opinions thread that opens "let's start things off spicy" (↑385) drops this alongside The Fifth Season as overrated. Mentions have fallen every year since 2019's 444, down to 179 in 2025 — cooling, not dead, book three or not.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · unfinished trilogy fatigue
- · unreliable frame narrative
- · prose vs. plot
- · Kvothe as insufferable protagonist
Common praise
- + It still gets ranked near the top of r/Fantasy discussions despite the delay — high enough that one commenter expresses surprise given how much goodwill has drained (↑375).
- + Every "book drop" joke in the threads assumes readers still show up for Rothfuss specifically, weekend-off jokes and all (↑430).
Common criticism
- − One top comment says Kvothe never once reads as a protagonist worth rooting for or watching grow (↑426).
- − A "start things off spicy" unpopular-opinions thread lumps it in with The Fifth Season as overrated (↑385).
- − Commenters treat the missing book three less as anticipation than as a confirmed dead end, citing the editor's own admission (↑375).
- − The joke that Rothfuss "will get to it" once he finishes Kingkiller has calcified into resignation, not excitement (↑670).
Who it's for
Come for the prose, not the promise of resolution — the trilogy has been stuck at two books long enough that r/Fantasy jokes about it as settled fact (↑670). If unreliable, self-aggrandizing narrators annoy you, know that the top complaint (↑426) is that Kvothe never earns the myth he's building around himself. Prose stylists and fans of frame narratives get more out of this than plot-forward readers, who should expect r/printSF's 233 mentions to skew toward complaints about pacing rather than raves.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
Which Reddit comments matter for The Name of the Wind?
Top-upvoted quotes across the subreddits where this book is mentioned. Click through to read the full thread.
“Patrick Rothfuss will get to it as soon as he is done with the Kingkiller books.
“The Kingkiller Chronicle
“Kingkiller Chronicles would probably be better received if there was a book 3
“Sanderson is a widely prolific author, but character work is NOT the reason why. His characters are above-average interesting, but nothing more. What he excels at is plot-driven narratives (in opposition to character-driven narratives). As others have said, one great author for character work is J…
“Mark Lawrence, but I've never taken a weekend off for a book drop. I might when Rothfuss finally finishes Kingkiller though.
“Okay, honestly? The Name of the Wind. Yeah. Idk Kvothe just did NOT resonate with me as a likeable protagonist at all, or even a protagonist who I’d like to see grow as a character.
“Let's start things off spicy: The Fifth Season The Name of the Wind
“I'm actually slightly surprised to see Kingkiller placed as high as it is - it feels like Rothfuss has been losing goodwill, especially since his editor basically confirmed that we realistically may never see book 3.
Convinced? Pick up The Name of the Wind
Readers also mention
All books like The Name of the Wind →Books that share discussion threads with The Name of the Wind — counted from the comments, not curated.
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Gardens of the Moon
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The Way of Kings
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A suicidal bridge slave assigned to the war camp's deadliest crew starts hearing storms answer when he gives orders.
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A street thief gets recruited into a heist crew plotting to overthrow a god-emperor who has ruled unchallenged for a thousand years.
The Lord of the Rings
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The Name of the Wind — frequently asked
Will The Name of the Wind ever get a sequel finished?+
Doubtful, at least on any predictable timeline. r/Fantasy commenters point out that Rothfuss's own editor "basically confirmed we realistically may never see book 3" (↑375), and the joke that he'll finish "as soon as he is done with the Kingkiller books" (↑670) has been running long enough to stop being funny. Mentions of the series have dropped from 444 in 2019 to 179 in 2025 as the wait drags on.
Is Kvothe an unlikeable protagonist in The Name of the Wind?+
Plenty of readers think so. The top-voted take in the sample (↑426) says Kvothe never resonated as someone worth watching grow and doesn't read as likeable at all. It's one of the more common complaints in r/Fantasy threads about the book, even among people who otherwise rate the prose.
Is The Name of the Wind overrated?+
Depends who you ask. An unpopular-opinions thread (↑385) opens by naming it alongside The Fifth Season as overrated, and another comment (↑375) notes surprise it still ranks as high as it does given the goodwill Rothfuss has burned through. But it still draws 1889 mentions across three tracked subs, more than almost anything else in the sample.
Should I start The Name of the Wind if I hate cliffhangers?+
No. This is arguably the worst series in the sample to start for that reason — book three has no announced date, and r/Fantasy has stopped treating its arrival as a given (↑375). Go in expecting an incomplete story, not a trilogy.