Book · 2007
The Name of the Wind
by Patrick Rothfuss
A legendary hero narrates his own rise from orphaned street kid to feared arcanist over three days, except Rothfuss never wrote day three.
What does Reddit think of The Name of the Wind?
15666 mentions across a decade, and nearly all of it orbits one fact: there is no third book. r/Fantasy carries most of the discussion, and displayed excerpts explain the mood. One top comment (↑1504) says it's "past time for Rothfuss to just publicly admit" the third book isn't coming. Another (↑1067) just states "I stopped after the second book," flat, no explanation needed. The DNF comment (↑1018) adds "though that was against my will", the fans didn't quit, the trilogy did. A widely upvoted take (↑834) draws the GRRM comparison directly: Wheel of Time and A Song of Ice and Fire survive a reader dropping out after book three because there's closure somewhere in the middle. Kingkiller has none. r/suggestmeabook and r/booksuggestions rack up thousands of mentions with no sentiment attached at all, mostly the title getting typed into recommendation threads. Read the sample straight: still worth starting, increasingly hard to recommend finishing.
Community feedback & reader fit
Themes
- · Kingkiller Chronicles missing its third book for over a decade
- · The DNF-at-book-three complaint recurring across threads
- · The GRRM/Wheel of Time comparison on trilogy closure
- · Recommendation status eroding as the wait drags on
Common praise
- + Even the most frustrated top comment concedes fans loved the first two books before turning on Rothfuss over the wait (↑1504).
- + r/Fantasy still calls it recommended even while flagging how long the wait has gotten (↑987).
- + One reader admits no other book will recreate how it felt the first time, and blames their own changed life circumstances rather than the text (↑825).
Common criticism
- − Multiple top comments say flatly they stopped or DNF'd at book three, or rather, the book that never arrived (↑1067, ↑1018).
- − A top comment argues the series lacks the closure that lets readers drop Wheel of Time or ASoIaF without complaint (↑834).
- − One reader calls the still-unwritten third book "a whole lot of fucking nothing" (↑706).
- − A highly upvoted comment says it's "past time for Rothfuss to just publicly admit" he won't finish it (↑1504).
Who it's for
Start with the first book if you've never touched it, everyone still does. Stall out at the end of book two and you're in good company, r/Fantasy says so directly (↑1067). If an unfinished trilogy is a dealbreaker the way it is in the ASoIaF comparison (↑834), put this back on the shelf until book three actually exists, whenever or if that happens. Read it for the prose and the frame narrative, not for closure. Nobody in this data got closure.
Mentions over time
Top subreddits
- r/Fantasy 6,539
- r/suggestmeabook 5,449
- r/booksuggestions 3,181
- r/printSF 233
- r/YAlit 183
- r/RomanceBooks 66
- r/TrueLit 9
- r/horrorlit 6
Which Reddit comments matter for The Name of the Wind?
The most relevant excerpts across the subreddits where this book is mentioned — opinionated, argued takes first, then top-upvoted mentions. Click through to read the full thread.
“It's probably past time for Rothfuss to just publicly admit that he won't be finishing the book any time soon. It's clear that he's struggling with it, and even loyal fans of the first two books are beginning to turn against him. I seem to remember that when The Name of the Wind first released, th…
“The Kingkiller chronicles. I stopped after the second book.
“I DNF'ed Kingkiller Chronicles at book 3. Though that was against my will.
“Kingkiller is still recommended but I think after so long without book 3 it’s popularity has fallen greatly.
“I think the main problem with the series so far is the lack of a concluding sub-arc. You can have a long series, even an unfinished one, but recommend it if there is some closure at some point. You can recommend **Wheel of Time** or **ASoIaF** and people can drop out after Book 3 in both series if t…
“I can't recommend you a book which will make you feel like reading Name of the Wind again because your response depends a lot on your mental state and life conditions when you first read it, so even if you read the same book today it wouldn't feel the same because you are different, but maybe A Stra…
“Kingkiller. The third book is a whole lot of f****** nothing.
“Patrick Rothfuss will get to it as soon as he is done with the Kingkiller books.
“Yeah, her comments in that thread are frankly astonishing from a publisher. Entirely justified, and you can sense the utter frustration coming through, but wow. Daw has put a heck of a lot of resources into Kingkiller, and they've copped a lot of flack for the delays over the years. They've been…
“Still waiting on that sword hanging above the bar in Kingkiller that people keep glancing at meaningfully
“A Song of Ice and Fire. Love the books, but can't seem to finish the series. Same with the Kingkiller Chronicles.
“Some of your points honestly don’t make sense to me. It makes me question how closely you read the story. If you go into a story setting it up for failure then you are probably not going to enjoy it. Another thing I see is that people take the series too literally in some respects. A great example…
“The name of the wind was a a book I loved 10 years ago. I’ve since grown to a point that I don’t care if book 3 comes out because I already know I’m going to find the Kvothe insufferable on a reread.
“I read Name of the Wind and Wise Man's Fear when they came out. If they were standalone stories with a satisfying conclusion, I wouldn't mind there being no third book. But they're not. There's a framing story of Kvothe in the present day being a retired guy who's now a barkeeper, and supposedly h…
“Mark Lawrence, but I've never taken a weekend off for a book drop. I might when Rothfuss finally finishes Kingkiller though.
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.
Guides featuring The Name of the Wind
Ranked best-of lists and editorial guides where this book's tracked mentions place it.
The Name of the Wind — frequently asked
Is The Name of the Wind worth starting if the third book still isn't out?+
Yes, according to the displayed excerpts, with a big asterisk. r/Fantasy still calls the series recommended (↑987), and it remains a common starting point for new fantasy readers. But multiple top comments describe stopping or DNFing partway through (↑1067, ↑1018), and the reason given every time is the same: there's no book three to reach for.
Why do people DNF The Name of the Wind partway through the trilogy?+
Not because the writing gets worse, based on this sample, but because the story stops. One highly upvoted comment (↑1018) frames it as involuntary: "I DNF'ed Kingkiller Chronicles at book 3. Though that was against my will." Another commenter (↑1067) states it in four words with no further explanation needed.
Is The Name of the Wind still recommended on r/Fantasy?+
Yes, but with declining enthusiasm, per the top quotes. One comment (↑1504) says it's past time for Rothfuss to admit publicly that book three isn't coming, and a separate comment (↑987) puts the shift plainly: "still recommended" but with "popularity fallen greatly" from the long wait. Both sit on r/Fantasy, the subreddit carrying most of this book's discussion.
Does The Name of the Wind have the same unfinished-series problem as A Song of Ice and Fire?+
Reddit draws the comparison directly, and argues it's worse here. A top comment (↑834) says readers can drop A Song of Ice and Fire or Wheel of Time after book three because there's a real stopping point with some closure. The same comment argues The Name of the Wind's trilogy has no equivalent pause.