Half Book Review: The Name of the Wind

Okay, so I'm halfway through reading The Name of the Wind. And I've got to say, it is a gigantic let down. I mean, it's been touted as one of the best fantasy novels of the past 20 years. But I just - I don't - I don't hate it, but I don't like it either.

This novel is very much so a power fantasy. What is a power fantasy? It is a work of fiction where the protagonist can never fail, where they don't need to work hard, when they can do basically anything. And I hate it so much, the power fantasy genre/trope. But it's so well written. The author takes two large chunks of the story to explain why the MC is so damn OP. So they wrote portions where the MC grew up in a circus learning fencing, acting, the lute; pretty much anything a circus troupe could possibly know, he was taught. Then the equivalent of a wizard happened across their troupe and taught him (the MC) almost everything he knew, becoming book smart. And then the MC lived in a city full of outlaws where me became street smart.

But the author wrote it in such a convincing way, such a natural way, where you have to accept the events.

I didn't realize it was a power fantasy until fairly recently, because for about a third of it the MC was learning, so the author could explain away all the ways the MC was so smart and knew everything. Once he gets to wizard school the actual plot begins. It's just one uping people who are not only assholes, but assholes to everyone else. And it's like, okay, I see what you're doing, but are you serious?

I can understand the appeal, I really can. People always wish they said or did that thing back when. People hate the idea of people who think they can do whatever they want because they hold a high position. These are universal truths, but it seems so childish to me, to chase a fleeting feeling.

Has anyone read the rest of it? Does it get better? It's written very well and convincing, but the writer part of me just thinks everything was contrived so the author could create the near masturbatory scenarios. And I know I should feel the same as the MC, happy when he triumphs, but I can't stop seeing the scenarios for what they are.

Plot, I care too much about plot. I just need a book with a good plot or not a bad one. I think I am actually going to give up one this one. I love Stephen King, his novels' beginnings are slow but as are all novel beginnings. I'll trying out the Dark Tower series.