The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Narrator: Nick Podehl
Length: 27 Hours 58 Minutes
Also by this author: The Name Of The Wind, The Slow Regard of Silent Things
Published by Penguin on March 27th 2007
Genres: Fiction, Fantasy, General
Pages: 736
Format: Audiobook
Source: Purchased
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The riveting first-person narrative of a young man who grows to be the most notorious magician his world has ever seen. From his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, to years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime- ridden city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic, The Name of the Wind is a masterpiece that transports readers into the body and mind of a wizard. It is a high-action novel written with a poet's hand, a powerful coming-of-age story of a magically gifted young man, told through his eyes: to read this book is to be the hero.
Retro Friday reviews are hosted by Angieville. Basically you review an older book on Friday.
I’ve come to discover that I like rereading books via audio. It’s a whole to way to experience worlds I’ve already inhabited. In preparation for The Wise Man’s Fear by Patrick Rothfuss, I spent one of my audible credits on The Name Of The Wind. I thought instead of re-capping The Name of The Wind, I’d point you to my review — the second one I ever wrote for Good Books & Good Wine.
The audiobook opens with the strumming of a string instrument, I think it’s a guitar, which feels very appropriate to the story, as it feels like tavern music. This is a great opening. It sets the mood perfectly, as the entirety of The Name Of The Wind is told in a tavern – the Waystone Inn. Plus, I think when it comes to audiobooks the opening music should fit the themes of the book, and this one does quite wonderfully.
Nick Podhel, the narrator of the audio version of The Name of The Wind does an excellent job voicing the large cast of characters. I thought he perfectly nailed Kvothe’s emotions. With Podhel’s expert narration, certain events in the book just slammed me all over again. Certain characters took on a new life, as I now have a voice to go with the words — such as Trapis, the guy who takes care of Kvothe and other street children in Tarbean, also although he doesn’t need it, Ambrose is a bit clearer to me. Podhel nailed pompous ass. ALSO he did different accents for different characters who aren’t from the commonwealth which adds a certain flavor that I appreciated. I love it when narrators do different voices for their characters and put in accents, so it really feels like the book is brought to life.
However, this is a very long audiobook and took me a month or two to get through. It’s about 28 hours long. Yet, while I was listening, I never felt the length to be a burden. I guess when you are transported to the world of the university and Imre, length becomes unimportant.
The Name of the Wind is an excellent audiobook put out by Brilliance Audio. I will definitely be looking into more books narrated by Nick Podhel in the future. Plus, if all of Brilliance’s audiobooks are of this quality, well they have a fan for life.
Disclosure: Purchased with my audible monthly credit.
Other Reviews of The Name Of The Wind by Patrick Rothfuss:
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weird. my friend was just telling me that i needed to read this book the other and lo and behold here is a review of it. what a crazy coincidence! it must mean i should read or listen to this book really soon. i like how he changed his voice for the different characters. i might look into investing into the audio version instead of the book. regardless, thanks for the review, i’ll have to bump it up my wishlist and get it soon.
You should listen to your friend and read The Name of the Wind as it is totally awesome. Plus, the audio version is fantastic.
I’ve found that my favourite way to reread books lately is also on audiobook. It’s a different experience and let’s you read in situations where you would otherwise be unable to.
I haven’t read this one at all yet though, so I’d have to start with the physical book.
I’m so with you on reading in situations where you would otherwise be unable to, like driving. There’s nothing more awesome than driving with an audiobook in the background, or for me, I tan and listen to audiobooks.