The story of Kvothe — infamous magic user, king-slayer, and...barkeep — has enthralled multiple generations of readers without reaching its end. Author Patrick Rothfuss has been vocal about his struggles to complete The Doors of Stone, the third and final full-length entry into his Kingkiller Chronicle series. The situation can’t help but remind fantasy enthusiasts of George R.R. Martin’s struggle to finish the purportedly penultimate entry in his A Song of Ice and Fire series: The Winds of Winter.
Still, there’s proof that Rothfuss has been working on The Doors of Stone. And in spite of it still lacking a release date, there is sound reason to be cautiously optimistic about it coming out before another 13 years have passed. That may have to be solace enough for Kingkiller fans for now.
At a time when fantasy authors like Brandon Sanderson are having huge success and new fantasy series are cropping up every day, Rothfuss can sometimes feel forgotten. That said, he has published some stories and novellas set in The Kingkiller Chronicle universe since the last mainline book, The Wise Man's Fear, came out in 2011. For context, that’s the year HBO’s Game of Thrones first premiered and the iPhone 4s was the hot new gadget taking the world by storm.
But it’s worth showing Pat some love. He writes some of the most beautiful prose you’ll read in any genre, so perfectly done it practically falls off the bone. And as we learn from Stapes — the Maer's manservant in The Wise Man’s Fear — a bone ring represents a blood debt owed to the holder.
So let’s travel back through time together and rank each Kingkiller book, novella and short story, even those that were published in esoteric anthologies in the mid-2010s. Keeping the lamp lit for Rothfuss and his long-awaited third book will be worth it. We all just have to believe.
1) The Name of the Wind (2007)
Even after all these years, there’s nothing like the original. In The Name of the Wind, Rothfuss absolutely crushes the introduction of his worldbuilding and magic system, endears us to a surprisingly large amount of characters, conveys the tragic backstory that sets Kvothe’s hero’s journey in motion, introduces us to the best academic fantasy setting since Harry Potter, and even manages to pack in a healthy amount of adventure outside the University, all through the diegetic conceit of Kvothe — now Kote the barkeeper — telling a story to the Chronicler years after the fact. There’s romance, suspense, tomfoolery, horror, and hard times, and it’s all capped off by a bright little twist that’s remarkable in its scope and impact on the narrative at large.
The magic trick that Rothfuss performs by jumping us back and forth in time — from the stunted Kote to the brilliant youngster that was Kvothe — will never get old. It signals the events that turned the bright-eyed kid into a legend and what brought about his meteoric fall, much of which we have yet to see.
The Name of the Wind marked one of the most exciting fantasy releases of all time back when it was published in 2007. To locate us in time again, the first iPhone came out in 2007, and Kanye released his third studio album, Graduation. And The Name of the Wind still won the year.
2) The Narrow Road Between Desires (2023)
Rothfuss has released multiple side stories and novellas about the characters within his Kingkiller world in between mainline novels. The Narrow Road Between Desires is one such novella.
The Narrow Road Between Desires is about our beloved, tortured Bast, Kvothe's loyal fae companion who helps him run the inn and tavern within the framing story of the main series, long after Kvothe's university days. This mini-story takes place in a brief but poignant moment when Bast reflects on his own desires, the complexities of his relationship with Kvothe, and his longing for the past. Its blend of introspection and adventure offers insights into Bast’s character while exploring universal themes like longing and a tortured soul’s search for meaning. Though Bast is a creature from another realm, Rothfuss’ writing is eye-wateringly human, and The Narrow Road Between Desires is a nearly perfect little story.
What’s maddening about this novella is that, while it was the first Kingkiller-related piece released in nearly 10 years, it doesn’t do anything to signal that The Doors of Stone will be out anytime soon. It’s some of Rothfuss’ best published writing, but it leaves so much to be desired in terms of length. That's something that only that last book will provide us hungry fans with. Still, The Narrow Road Between Desires accomplishes everything you could possibly want from a fantasy novella in a beloved series. Its treatment of Bast is one for the ages, and one that definitely imbues Kingkiller’s lore with a wealth of texture.
3) The Wise Man's Fear (2011)
This is the second full-length book in the series, and while some people think it’s superior to The Name of the Wind for its narrative breadth, I tend to disagree. Strongly.
For those of you who haven’t read it (which...I mean, sorry, but if that’s you, what exactly are you doing here?), it's the continuation of Kvothe’s journey into adulthood, replete with magic, intrigue, city life, and — yes, ahem — sex. The line between myth and reality becomes extremely thin in this iteration of the series, as Rothfuss spends what seems like hundreds of pages indulging himself with descriptions of Kvothe’s relationship with Felurian, the fae goddess of seduction, scented candles, and all things horny.
Okay, perhaps that was a little too glib a description, but it’s pretty spot-on if you have a look at the book, and no amount of court politics, Kvothe’s life in the big city of Severen, or even galavanting adventures in the wilderness complete with life-or-death stakes can redeem it for me.
Still, it earns its place in third due to it being one of the two full-length novels in the series. And one that does have a lot of fascinating elements in spite of it dragging during the fairy sex parts. Just for the record, I have nothing against fairy sex. It’s just that I could do with maybe 10-15 pages about it rather than 70-100.
4) The Slow Regard of Silent Things (2014)
Another novella, The Slow Regard of Silent Things follows Auri, a mysterious character who lives in the tunnels and forbidden areas underneath the University. Kvothe befriends Auri in The Name of the Wind when he suspects that someone is spying on him while he practices his lute in a forgotten courtyard. She’s a mere wisp of a thing, emaciated, with silver hair and a temperament as cautious as a feral cat with an injury. However, through music and bringing Auri scraps of food, Kvothe makes friends with her.
For many fans, Kvothe and Auri’s relationship is one of the highlights of Rothfuss’ story, so much so that they wished they could learn more about the strange girl who lives between the University’s buried rooms and viscera. In response, Rothfuss published The Slow Regard of Silent Things in 2014. Between its pages — which are almost as skinny as Auri herself, clocking in at only 31,755 words — we follow Auri through a day in her life, learning more about her thought processes and routines. It’s a fascinating look into a yet unexplored region of the Kingkiller world and a master class in character-building from Rothfuss.
Still, it leaves much to be desired as far as moving the plot of the series forward. Rothfuss acknowledges as much in his author’s note. He’s quite aware of what he’s doing, and the book shines as a little study on a mysterious individual who is cloistered from the broader world.
5) The Lightning Tree (2014)
This novella – or long short-story, depending on how you want to look at it — was published in Rogues, a 2014 anthology edited by none other than George R.R. Martin and Gardner Dozois. Another Bast-centric story, many believe The Narrow Road Between Desires involves a lightning-struck tree (hence the title), which serves as a symbolic catalyst for Bast's personal journey. While The Lightning Tree offers insight into Bast's character and his interactions with Kvothe, it also touches on themes of power, freedom, and the burden of history.
In a broader sense, The Lightning Tree provides a glimpse into the world outside Kvothe's narrative while deepening the mystery surrounding Bast's true nature. Still, it’s a shame the tale was published in a collection that has since gone out of print. It makes it seem like Rothfuss didn’t care as much about this getting included in the overarching lore of his series for all but its most die-hard fans. That’s what lands The Lightning Tree on the lower edge of this list.
Happily, Rothfuss expanded The Lightning Tree with The Narrow Road Between Desires, so you can still get the experience by picking that up.
6) "How Old Holly Came To Be" (2013)
This short story is a bit of an odd standalone. While still set in the Kingkiller world, it follows Holly, a member of the Adem people, who is introduced as a skilled and compassionate healer. She’s completely outside the scope of Kvothe’s main story. To drive this point home, “How Old Holly Came To Be” was published among a lot of other unrelated stories in the anthology Unfettered, edited by Shawn Speakman.
Still, the tale features Rothfuss’ patently gorgeous prose and more information about a niche crew of badasses from Kingkiller lore. Unfortunately, this just isn’t enough to vault it above the other works on this list.
One last word
While I hear a lot of shit being given to authors who take a long time to finish their stories, I’d like to remind readers to balance their frustration with a sense of gratitude. Writing, especially genre fiction writing, is an artform that is too often based on a sense of production rather than one of whimsical creativity, as say painting is.
While Patrick Rothfuss hasn’t finished his opus, he’s given us plenty of vehicles through which we can take our own personal tours of Temerant, going at whatever pace and level of detail we would like.
I personally don’t think Mr. Martin’s The Winds of Winter will ever come out while he is alive. However, I am cautiously optimistic that Rothfuss’ The Doors of Stone will, and, when it does, nerds everywhere will be partying on rooftops like the drunken bards of yore.
Until then, though, let’s give ol’ Pat some gratitude. To thank him for all the magical adventures and fairy sex he’s given us over the years. Because to create a world is one thing. To imbue it with human-feeling characters and make it a place we actually believe they live is entirely another. Weaving that kind of cloth takes time.
And, to be responsible readers, we have to meet a life’s work like this with patience and joy. In the meantime, we can always arbitrarily rate things!
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