Fantasy fans are eagerly awaiting The Doors of Stone, the third book in Patrick Rothfuss Kingkiller Chronicle. But what happens after?
The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss is among the most beloved fantasy series in the world right now. But the last entry in the series, The Wise Man’s Fear, came out in 2011, meaning fans have been waiting nearly a decade for the third book, The Doors of Stone.
Rothfuss has given us a couple other works in the meantime. The novella The Slow Regard of Silent Things follows Auri, the mysterious girl who lives in a series of tunnels underneath the University where Kvothe learns to use magic. There’s also The Lightning Tree, a short story about Kvothe’s disciple Bast, and How Old Holly Came to Be, a poem about the world of Temerant.
But we still don’t know when The Doors of Stone is coming. And once it’s published, what then? Is that the end of The Kingkiller Chronicle or will Rothfuss continue to explore Temerant? The author talked a bit about that on a recent Twitch stream when a fan asked him if there would be a fourth book:
“Yes, there is going to be a book four,” Rothfuss said. “In a perfect world, I wanna write all sorts of stories in this world. I want to write more, everybody. I want to write more and I want to publish more. Those two things aren’t necessarily…connected but they are correlated. I’m happier when I write and I feel better when I’m publishing because I know that y’all want books from me and you all like living in that world. I like living in that world. I miss being able to be in it.”
So what could a fourth book involve? I suppose the obvious question is whether Kvothe will be involved, since all signs point to his story specifically ending with The Doors of Stone. But the world Rothfuss has created has interesting elements that could be explored with further stories. Could they take us back to the University? The Fae? Ademre? And I’m sure there will be even more unveiled in Book 3.
Rothfuss also answered a few other, more frivolous questions. For examples, what would he do if he were immortal and indestructible? “I would write books forever,” he said. “I could get so much done on an infinite timeline. I would feel free to put some things off, I could so so much revision.”
If you want to learn more about what’s in store for the future of The Kingkiller Chronicle, join Rothfuss on his Twitch live streams. Watch him play video games, sometimes with his kids, check out his awesome charity work with Worldbuilders, and maybe hear him drop some interesting Kingkiller tidbits!
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