The Drawing of the Three and The Wise Man's Fear

I've been lazy about getting around to writing these, but since my last post, I've read three books. I'll write a full-length review for the one I read most recently, since it is fresh in my mind. Here are my short-length impressions of the other two:

The Drawing of the Three by Stephen King continues where The Gunslinger left off, and this time we follow Roland Deschain as he takes three portals to different times in our Earth, in order to learn about the three cards mentioned in prophecy: The Prisoner, The Lady of Shadows, and Death. New characters are introduced, including Eddie Dean, a man involved in the smuggling and use of drugs, and Odetta Holmes, a kind young woman relegated to a wheelchair by an accident in her past, who is not exactly as she initially seems.

This book is an improvement over The Gunslinger, in pace and characterization, and I managed to tear through most of this book at breakneck speed. However, in my opinion, the most exciting part of the book came in the first half, and slowed down after that point, not picking up very much even towards the climax. So while greatly improved over The Gunslinger, I can't give this book an "Awesome" rating, and must relegate it to a tier below.

Rating: Good

Next we have The Wise Man's Fear, by Patrick Rothfuss. I absolutely loved the first in his trilogy, The Name of the Wind (which has not been reviewed by me as of this post), and was hoping for a similar impact from this second installment. That didn't exactly happen, alas.

The Wise Man's Fear continues Kvothe's story at the University, but circumstances some ways through the book force Kvothe to take a break from his education there, and he goes on a side adventure, first to Vintas, a land with ancient noble lines, then to the Fae, led there by the legendary Felurian, then to Ademre, where the greatest mercenaries come from.

I liked this book. But didn't love. I came to dislike a few of the characters that I didn't originally, namely Denna, the subject of Kvothe's endless infatuation, and Kvothe himself (I hated Bast from the start). Their decisions, their feelings, it all seemed forced somehow—put into the book just to drive things out of whack, instead of being the result of a natural progression. Romance doesn't seem to be Mr. Rothfuss' strong suit. On the positive side, Kvothe's time in Ademre was extremely fun to read. On the neutral (unside?), Kvothe gets a lot of (completely unromantic) sweet ass (positive if you like that kind of thing, negative if you don't).

Here's to hoping Mr. Rothfuss can end his trilogy with a bang, instead of a fizzle.

Rating: Good