Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss is an American writer and fantasy novelist, most notably recognized for his contributions to the genre of epic fantasy. His debut novel, The Name of the Wind, was met with critical acclaim and its two sequels, The Wise Man’s Fear and The Doors of Stone, have made Rothfuss an iconic figure in the fantasy novel scene. His work has earned him numerous awards such as the Mythopoeic Award and The Quill Award, as well as being named one of the greatest living fantasy writers by HuffPost.

Rothfuss was born on June 6th, 1973 in Madison, Wisconsin and was raised in the small town of Stevens Point. Rothfuss’ early academic pursuits centered around chemistry and theoretical mathematics, earning a degree in both at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point. With an ambition to publish a novel before the age of 30, Rothfuss wrote The Name of the Wind while managing a bar and restaurant. Upon its publication in 2007, it was met with immediate success and major accolades, resulting in the sequel The Wise Man’s Fear a couple of years later.

Both The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear center around the foundation of the cast of characters featured in his novels, a young innkeeper named Kvothe and his remarkable adventures. The stories focus on Kvothe’s journey from a boy fleeing from misfortune to a student learning magic in a prestigious university. In the Name of the Wind, Kvothe relaying the past events of his life to a chronicler, while The Wise Man’s Fear follows Kvothe’s dreams of glory in between his studies of magic. Rothfuss’ world is rounded out by an abundance of interesting characters, comprehensive world building and vivid settings.

Much of Rothfuss’ works have yet to be adapted for film, though discussions of it have been around since The Name of the Wind first came out. Rothfuss is heavily involved in the charitable efforts of Worldbuilders, a non-profit he founded to support Heifer International, a charity aiming to end poverty, hunger, and illiteracy. He was awarded the eProvider of the Year award from Heifer in 2018.

In the 2010s, Rothfuss began to become heavily invested in video games and game design. Rothfuss worked on the video game adaptation of The Name of the Wind with the game studio GOG and eventually returned to writing, publishing books such as The Adventures of the Princess and Sir *Punctuation* as well as To Green Angel Tower, an illustrated novella.

Rothfuss and his works may be intimidating at first glance to those new to fantasy literature and going through a debut novel such as The Name of the Wind will certainly be an adventure, but Rothfuss and his captivating tales will be well worth it. The breadth and richness of his world combined with the intricate actions of his characters creates a journey that is truly remarkable and can leave you wanting more. With the release of his latest novel, The Doors of Stone, hopefully arriving soon, there is no better time to become familiar with the works of this undeniably talented author.