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.) Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. 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

The book’s narrator is a socially-awkward geek-in-training who, with the help of three old ladies and one 11 year-old girl down the block, tries to escape the darkness around and within him. Gaiman has said that this is his most personal work.

这是一段人类即将遭逢并陷溺其中的宇宙历史；这是一场在时间和空间尺度上都无可抗拒的超级灾难。 地球生物圈能够诞生并存续，完全仰赖于某种精巧到不可思议的幸运，但这样的恩宠却又伴随着与生俱来的危难。 “年”是汉族神话里在除夕之夜为祸人间的凶兽。传说原本虚妄，但当某一天人类终于有能力凭借智慧观照自身的命运时，却赫然发现“天年”不仅真实存在而且早已显露峥嵘。那是真正的宿命，没有理由，无需解释。在绞索般步步进逼的“天年”面前，万物之灵的人类第一次发现自己成为了不可语冰的孱弱夏虫。 在这个七亿五千万年前肇始的故事里，与“天年”的对决从来没有过胜利者。 现在，轮到了我们……