Agreed. I doubt Kvothe even shows up on their radar at this point. Although I think he did ask for books talking about them the first time he was allowed into the archives but Lorren told him not to do that anymore because it made him seem like a child. But other than that, I can't think of anytime he mentions it. Even if they know he is alive they more than likely believe he is nothing more than a regular 15 year old, not the rising star at the university who wants them dead. In their minds how could a boy her hope to challenge them considering they have been around for thousands over years?

 

Maybe he's not a threat right at that point, but when he murders a guy so hard the the pavement he cracks can never be rebuilt, maybe the Chandrian want a non-public, subtle way to take him down. From what we know about the Chandrian, they're pretty distinctive. There are also other groups probably in the know about them, so there are doubtless other factors involved and when talking about Kvothe, he has connections to the Fae, and armies all over the place, so Denna seems like a clean, reliable option to get to him at any time.

 

The Chandrian can already get to anyone at any time, as evidenced by the slaughter of Kvothe's troupe. Also, they don't really seem to do the whole non-public, subtle thing. They just kinda show up and kill the shit out of any and all things that would spread information about them. Remember Trebon? And if they were interested in going entirely undetected, they would have killed Kvothe instead of just leaving. Cinder was the only one that moved to kill him, and it was heavily implied that that was only because he's kind-of a dick.

There isn't any reason for the Chandrian to be interested in Kvothe enough to care if he murders a noble or two. Maybe in the future he'll be a person of interest to them, but not yet, and that bit will probably be fairly early on in the next book. Even as great a job as Rothfuss has done dusting off cliches and makes them good again, I don't think he can pull off the 'big bad demon knowing that the helpless child would grow up to be a badass hero and keeps and eye on him appropriately' cliche, and I'll be severely disappointed if he tries.

Denna probably isn't working for them yet, and I doubt she will be in the future. Other bad guys, sure, but I just don't see why a group of arch-demons would bother with Denna... Unless, of course, Rothfuss is using the cliche of having the evil king or whoever trying to do away with the hero using the most roundabout plan imaginable. And given her general feelings about Kvothe, I don't think she'd knowingly act directly against him.

That said, I picked up on two things I hadn't before rereading the book:

1. The two guys that try to off Kvothe mention that a job in Anilin went badly. Anilin is where Denna said she was headed. It's a bit of a stretch, but the part of my mind that loves jumping to conclusions says that they were trying to kill Denna, hired by Ambrose who met her and was denied access. Ambrose says something to/implies something about Denna, and that's what pisses Kvothe off enough for the smiting. Thoughts?

2. I'm wondering what happened to the town Abenthy got off in. Given that the place is where Kvothe's dad sang the first bit of the song that got them killed, and is therefore probably the bit that attracted the Chandrian, I'm curious if it's still standing or not.

 

This book is amazing. I started reading it today and I'm eating it up like there's no tomorrow(232 pages so far and counting).

Edit: Really hard to avoid reading any spoiler when the page reloaded.
Edit2: page 442. I need to sleep.

 

Uh, it doesn't ever say how the Chandrian got anywhere, but its still a good point. Also, your wording. :facepalm Was denied access? Was that his dong denied access there? I just...what.

I acknowledge your points about Denna being kind of roundabout and unnecessary, but we do know that she's connected to them through her 'patron' and for me at least, she's too much of a femme fatale to not be used as some kind of villain. As you said, Rothfuss loves to refurbish old cliches and make them great again. I think Denna is going to be at least partially evil because of narrative law. There is no way the hero can actually end up with his lady in low fantasy. Kvothe's character means he won't give up, so something radical will have to make him give up and I'm betting on the Chandrian, purely for the poetry of it.

Also, this thread has made me re-read the book. Its good to be reminded how fucking awesome it really is.

 

We do? The guy's a bit suspicious, but we don't know anything about him.

...and the only way for them to not be together is if she's evil?

 

Well the patron mysteriously summons her to a place where, soon enough, a terrible disaster with blue fire and crumbling things abound. There is a connection, if not a solid one. I've heard that the patron (called Ash), may even be Cinder. Hehe.

And its not the only way for them not to be together but it is my personal theory based on a combination of her Femme Fatale character, her connections, her tendency to associate with dicks (Kvothe excepted) and the symmetry to it. Kvothe's love vs his hate.

Ill stop pushing the theory, but Ill at least ask you give it due thought.

 

If Rothfuss uses that idea I'll throw away the book in disgust.

Disregarding any other argument, my faith in Rothfuss not being a hack prevents me from agreeing with your theory.

 

I had assumed they would arrive the same way they left, though I will admit that it isn't necessarily true.

Yeah, my wording sucked. In my defense, I had been up nearly 24 hours at that point, and it was the fourth time I had had to re-type it. I probably went with 'denied acess' because I was working on computer issues.

Cinder seemed pretty up front, I'm getting the vibe that if he wants a kid dead he'll just off him. As a counter argument, I'll suggest that her patron wanted to know what the people had found but didn't want to be seen himself, and the Chandrian turning up were just a coincidence.

All I know for sure regarding Denna's future is that I'm going to be very annoyed if she dies in a dumb way.

 

Bast says "I've seen her." Not I saw her. The way it read seemed like she was still alive.

Even if she is dead, I personally believe the story about fighting a demon to get what he wants and having to fight an angel to keep it is about Denna. If that's the case I don't see her death being random, boring, or pointless.

 

Realizing the next book is not yet out was a really mood killer after I finished this one just now. No choice but to wait for March I guess, especially since I doubt I'll feel like reading anything after how I read this nonstop.

 

*twitch* Three years *twitch*

 

The wait is a bitch, but the book is released March 11. My birthday. YEEESSS!

 

You mean March 1, not your birthday.

 

It'll be arriving at my hick bookstore on March 11. I'm okay with waiting a span if it means I get it on the day.

Just finished my re-read. God is it good. Just a guess, but I don't think Kvothe will be thrown out of the university for a little while into the book. He still has more to do there.

 

I feel for you, Joe. I read it somewhere in 2009, I can barely imagine having to have wait more than 3 years >.>
I was almost surprised when I realized there was very little fanfiction for this, but them I facepalmed when I realized that despite his amazing worldbuilding, there wasn't much to go with in terms of plot.

 

I believe I read it about 2 months after the fucking thing came out. It didn't help that every time a new "Official Release Date" was announced, my school librarian told me about it.

So much rage. lol

 

Yeah, well, 2 more weeks. I ordered a signed hardcover. Don't really mind paying an extra $5 for charity and 10 for shipping. Hopefully I'll get it within a week of its release date.

 

Why would you call it amazing world building? If anything, thats the point Rothfuss is pretty weak at, everything about the plot, execution, details and prose is perfect but world building itself is something he does very little of, the book is just set in a pretty much generic fantasy middle age, and we don't get nearly any info about cultures or conflicts.

 

I actually disagree this. The world building is exactly what it should be for a story of this type. The reason it's so good is exactly because he doesn't start shoving facts about the world down your throat. If I was being interviewed for my life story, I wouldn't go on about how the world was drastically altered by World War II.

What has to be kept in mind is that the story is actually being told by the protagonist to other characters in the world. To broadly describe the worlds conflicts or cultures as an author narrative would undermine what's probably the best part of the story telling; exploring the world through the eyes of the protagonist.

To that end, Rothfuss uses smaller, subtler ways making the world feel like an actual place, rather than simply a setting for a story. An example would be the superstitions based on region. Depending on what area they come from, a character will regard some folk tales as ridiculous, while treating others as concrete facts to live your life by.

Small details like this are what really make the world feel alive.

So yes, we haven't seen much in terms the worlds history or cultures, but we also haven't really needed them. Why learn about a bunch of hobbits generic other race/culture/realm if it has nothing to do with the story until book five? Why blatantly stuff historical facts into the book to immerse the reader when the story is clearly character driven?

What I'm saying is that, to say his world building is 'weak' is just wrong. There's been many hints at much more depth than the 'generic fantasy setting,' those elements just haven't been introduced yet because they're not relevant.