AISFP 118 – Patrick Rothfuss

Patrick Rothfuss, author of The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, tells us who he’d spend eternity with on a desert island, who’d win if he were to wrestle Brandon Sanderson, and why he’s tired of questions about his mighty beard. He also discusses the somewhat subversive nature of his work, and tells us a bit about what we can expect from the conclusion of book 3. All this, plus Dragon Age 2, love for John Scalzi, and a whole lot more in this 65-minute interview with the #1 NYT hardcover bestselling author.

This episode is brought to you by Heart of the Ronin, a novel by Travis Heermann. Ken’ishi is just 17 years old and an orphan after the mysterious death of his parents. He dreams of training with a master who will some day help him become a samurai. Traveling with Silver Crane, a sword that belonged to his father, and a dog, Akao, for a sidekick, Ken’ishi’s adventures begin after he murders a policeman and must flee. Just when he thinks he has escaped trouble, he saves Kazuko, the daughter of an influential lord, from a group of bandits. In return, he is asked to live in the lord’s house, where he falls in love with Kazuko. Forced to flee once again, Ken’ishi goes on a hunt to discover his past while fighting off warriors and demons, not to mention worrying about the bounty that’s on his head. Will he find out if his father really was a samurai or why the sword he wields seems to be infused with magic? Read the novel and listen to the podcast on Podiobooks.com.

Show Notes

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Comments

  1. Great interview! Totally inspiring! Big thanks to both of you.

    -Ivy

  2. Our pleasure, Ivy. Thanks for listening!

  3. Wonderful interview. I really enjoyed listening to it.

  4. It was an amazing interview, and an amazing book. Cannot look forward to the third book any more than I am already, and that is a huge understatement. But did the podcast cut off for anybody else at 57:00?

  5. Initials says

    Any chance you can fix the file so we can listen/download it? If not, is there anywhere else I can get it from?

  6. Shaun Farrell says

    Hi, everyone. We’re working on the server issue. This doesn’t happen often, and when it does happen it is usually resolved in about 24 hours. Keep checking back!

    Thanks,
    Shaun

  7. Yeoldeclog, it shouldn’t cut off at 57 minutes. Give it another shot.

    Thanks for listening, Simcha and everyone else!

  8. Jordan Goodson says

    Great interview,

    I am a little concerned though. His example for book 3, how it is going to be left ambiguous, or perhaps have two view points in the end which we will need to debate on for years to come.

    He is basically confirming there will not be your regular “ending”, if there is an ending at all.

    Any thoughts on this? I have looked on his blog as well and no one has touched on this from what I can see.

    Am I selfish for wanting an ending after a potential 8 years of waiting!?

  9. Shaun Farrell says

    Jordan, it’s hard for me, personally, to have a take because I haven’t read Patrick’s books yet. In general, though, I’d say “it depends.” If endings are slightly ambiguous but still satisfyingly, I’m happy. If the ending is definite but falls flat, like King’s Dark Tower series, than I’d prefer something less direct but more interesting. I know this doesn’t help because it’s not Rothfuss-specific, but those are my two cents.

    Or, one-in-a-half cents, maybe. . . .

  10. Jordan Goodson says

    You make a very valid point all the same Shaun.

    What gives me hope is that Patrick Rothfuss is also an avid reader. He has likely experienced the same lackluster/empty endings as we have. So I doubt he would have the Kingkiller Chronicles join their ranks.

    However, the narrative is a man talking about his life, and Pat approaches Kvothe’s (the main character) life with a realism I have rarely read. As we know life involves struggle, failures, but also growth and success. I am sure we will have sizable doses of both.

    All I can hope is our hero does not get defeated to often. And dare I say, the boy gets the girl?

    Either way I have faith in Patrick Rothfuss to delivery a finale to an exceptional tale. After all Wise Man’s Fear was worth the wait a 100 times over.

  11. Adam Morales says

    Great interview, like always. And I can relate to his reaction about the power of his beard. I am a believer of mustache cultivation, but at times I wonder if people truely feel as though I use this man-hair as a storage area.

    Keep up the great interviews, they are very inspiring.

    Adam

  12. I really enjoyed hearing this. I’m praying for more fans/readers to learn some civility
    and not accost authors in their daily rounds.

  13. good stuff. lot of respect for rothfuss, very funny interview.

Trackbacks

  1. […] I’ve somehow managed to interview three #1 NYT bestsellers over the last few months for the Adventures In Sci Fi Publishing podcast (where I’m also a co-host): Brandon Sanderson, Sherrilyn Kenyon, and, now, Patrick Rothfuss. […]

  2. […] a new interview. I had some caffeine before I did this one, so it’s a little livelier than some of my other […]

  3. […] have not read it, go get it now. No really — I’ll wait.) So when my sister told me that Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing had Rothfuss on their podcast, and that he talked about Dragon Age 2, of course I popped right on […]

  4. […] have not read it, go get it now. No really — I’ll wait.) So when my sister told me that Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing had Rothfuss on their podcast, and that he talked about Dragon Age 2, of course I popped right on […]

  5. […] guys over at Adventures in Sci-fi Publishing have just put up an interesting and lengthy audio interview with Patrick Rothfuss, whose second book, Wise Man’s Fear was recently published. This is the […]

  6. […] Audio: Patrick Rothfuss, Guy Gavriel Kay, Brandon Sanderson/Dan Wells/Howard Tayler (Writing Excuses), Tracy Hickman, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Michael A. Stackpole, David Farland/Dave Wolverton, Kristine Kathryn Rusch, Laura Resnick, Michael J Sullivan, Robin Sullivan, Daryl Gregory, Elizabeth C. Bunce. […]

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