The Kingkiller Chronicle

The Kingkiller Chronicle tells the life story of a man named Kvothe. In the present day, Kvothe is a rural innkeeper, living under a pseudonym. In the past, he was a wandering trouper and musician who grew to be a notorious arcanist (or wizard), known as the infamous "Kingkiller".

The series is framed as the transcription of his three-day-long oral autobiography, where he "trouped, traveled, loved, lost, trusted and was betrayed". Present-day "interludes" concern his life as an innkeeper, with each present day depicted in a separate book.

The series is a secondary world fantasy; the setting is named Temerant. It has its own magic system, mixing alchemy, sympathetic magic, sygaldry (a form of runic magic combined with medieval engineering), and naming (a type of magic that allows the user to command the classical elements and objects), plus others.

The Kingkiller Chronicle is intended to be a trilogy. The books are set in a fictional world referred to as the Four Corners in-universe;[3] the world's official name, Temerant, was revealed in 2014.[4]

Rothfuss began writing the series in 1994,[5] under the working title The Song of Flame and Thunder; the name was changed because he disliked it, as well as to avoid confusion with the George R. R. Martin series A Song of Ice and Fire.[6] The first draft of the trilogy was completed in 2000,[7] a draft he described as "a hot mess".[5]

In 2002, Rothfuss entered and won a Writers of the Future contest, which led him to a workshop with author Tim Powers.[8] This eventually led him to meeting his agent, who helped Rothfuss revise the first third of the story—now entitled The Name of the Wind—and sold it to DAW,[9] which published the book in March 2007.

Despite promises that the second and third books in the trilogy would follow on an annual schedule,[10] revisions to the second book, including work to bring in the frame narrative and introduce characters that weren't in the original draft, caused delays.[11][12][13] The Wise Man's Fear was released in 2011, topping the New York Times bestseller list.[14]

The Doors of Stone is unreleased as of 2023,[15] a point of contention online.[16] Rothfuss has said that the book would "conclude Kvothe's story", closing off the current arc,[17] but that further stories in the world of Temerant would be forthcoming.[18] He also said that the book presented challenges different from The Wise Man's Fear's.[19] In 2020, Rothfuss's publisher and editor Elizabeth Wollheim expressed frustration with the delay, stating she had not read "a word" of the book nine years on.[20]

In 2021, Rothfuss apologized for the long delay in releasing The Doors of Stone, citing issues in his personal life and his mental health as reasons.[21][22][23]

The Kingkiller Chronicle is a projected trilogy:

• The Name of the Wind (2007)
• The Wise Man's Fear (2011)
• The Doors of Stone (forthcoming)[24]

The series has received critical acclaim. George R. R. Martin called The Wise Man's Fear his favourite fantasy novel of 2011, and said he wished he had written it.[46] Authors such as Brandon Sanderson,[47] Ursula K. Le Guin, Robin Hobb, Tad Williams, Anne McCaffrey,[48] and Michael Chabon[49] have expressed their admiration for the series. Lin-Manuel Miranda credited the books for inspiring a song in his show Hamilton, as well as a story beat in the Walt Disney film Moana.[50]

The Wise Man's Fear topped The New York Times bestseller list,[14] and the spin-off novella The Slow Regard of Silent Things spent a month on the same before dropping to the extended list.[51]

Although fandom on the series has remained relatively small, there are several sites dedicated to fanfiction and fan art. A reason given that there is so little fan fiction is because of the unique style and tone, as well as the amount of time that Rothfuss gives to his writing. Rothfuss himself has spoken positively of fan fiction, saying that he's looked forward to it, and that "when people start writing fan fiction about your stuff, it shows that your writing has attained a level of popularity".[52]

• The Kingkiller Chronicle series listing at the Internet Speculative Fiction Database
• The Kingkiller Chronicle at the Internet Book List
• Patrick Rothfuss' web site
• "Knackerman" song, from lyrics Rothfuss had written for The Name of the Wind. Performed by Vi Hart, per the request of Rothfuss as part of an event for Rothfuss' Worldbuilders charity.