The Name of the Wind
core novel 2007 The Kingkiller Chronicle
Record
| First published | 2007 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.52 (1,118,904 ratings, collected 2026-09-11) |
| Page count | 662 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780756404079 |
| First-edition date | 2007-03-27 |
| First-edition publisher | DAW Books |
| First-edition country | US |
Synopsis
The first book of The Kingkiller Chronicle opens in the Waystone Inn, in the quiet village of Newarre, where the innkeeper Kote lives with his assistant Bast. When a traveling scribe known as Chronicler arrives, the innkeeper reveals himself to be Kvothe, a legendary figure of disputed reputation, rumored to have killed a king, and agrees to recount his own life story over three days. His account begins in childhood among the Edema Ruh, a troupe of travelling performers led by his parents, where a wandering arcanist named Abenthy teaches him the magic called sympathy. The sudden loss of his family, connected to his father's song about the mythical Chandrian, leaves Kvothe alone. After years of poverty on the streets of Tarbean, he enrolls at the University to study magic, seeking answers about the Chandrian while meeting the musician Denna and the wealthy student Ambrose Jakis.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Kingkiller Chronicle
- Series: The Kingkiller Chronicle core; position 1 of 2 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Patrick Rothfuss
Awards (verified)
- Quill Award (Science Fiction/Fantasy/Horror), 2007: won
- Alex Award (YALSA), 2008: won
Notes
- Day 1. Quill Award 2007; Alex Award 2008.
- From the series record (The Kingkiller Chronicle): Day 3 (The Doors of Stone) unreleased, no announced date as of Aug 2026; documented milestones: editor's 2020 'not a word' statement, author's 2021 public apology.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Kingkiller Chronicle: position 1 of 2: next The Wise Man's Fear (2011)
Sources
← The Kingkiller Chronicle dossier · All universes
Part of the Library. Fields without an identified source are omitted, never guessed.