I read The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss last summer.

Then again this Fall. Then again this Winter. Who knows, maybe I’ll read it again this Spring, but I can be sure that this Summer I’ll be reading its sequel, The Wise Man’s Fear, which comes out in August.

The book.

A story within a story, The Name of the Wind is surprisingly one of the most realistic fantasy novels I’ve ever read. Kvothe, the protagonist and narrator for the majority of the story, starts out as just some bright kid born into a troupe of travelling actors who finds himself stumbling into tragedy and heroism alike. Caught in an intricate chain of events that lead him from happiness, to poverty, to the university, and eventually to earning the name “Kingkiller.” We meet Kvothe in the beginng as “Kote,” an older, tired version of a legend in hiding, keeping and tending to a bar in order to put his real identity behind him.

Just book one in a trilogy, The Name of the Wind, or The Kingkiller Chronicle: Day One covers one full day out of the three Kote claims it will take to tell his life’s story. Luckily for us, not only is Kvothe a legend with a fascinating past, but he knows how to tell a damn good story.

Careful to craft his story well, the reader feels as though The Name of the Wind is actually autobiographical, with Kvothe as the author and not merely just a narrator and character. The world he lives in has a deep history and culture, and even the fantastical elements of the story seem completely plausible. Magic of course plays a large part in the story as you would expect in any fantasy, but this magic, called “sympathy,” could be seen as more of a cross between chemistry, thermodynamics, and voodoo.

Rothfuss’ “Kingkiller Chronicle” has proved thus far to be an eloquent, intelligent telling of what may very well turn out to be a tragic hero’s tale. A little over two years after the first installment’s release, The Wise Man’s Fear is finally almost here.

Rothfuss will be in Norfolk this evening at Prince Books and in Virginia Beach on Saturday for readings/signings and took the time to answer a few questions.

You’ve said that entering Kvothe’s story as a short story was what got it noticed in the first place. Was that short story just a part of The Name of the Wind, or did it include parts from The Wise Man’s Fear and beyond?

It’s a fairly self-contained section from The Wise Man’s Fear. The story was published under the title “The Road to Levinishir.”

Where did this whole story start in your mind? With sympathy? With Kvothe? With the Edema Ruh?

The man.

It definitely started with Kvothe. I knew the story was going to hang on his character. I spent a lot of time working on his character, doing my best to make him real and appealing (hopefully) to the reader.

Truth is, the very first line of the story that I ever wrote was “My name is Kvothe.” It all began with that.

Speaking of the Ruh – you’ve studied most of the arts/sciences surrounding Kvothe (theatre, chemistry, etc.). Did you include those aspects in his life because you were familiar with them or did you study them because that’s where this story was taking both you and Kvothe?

That’s a good question. Unfortunately, it’s sort of a chicken-and-the-egg answer. A lot of those things I knew about before I started writing. But a few I went out of my way to research when I needed to broaden my knowledge for the story. Some I’d already studied, but I needed to research some details when it came time to write a specific section of the book.

You’ve said that you don’t play any instruments but some of the most heartbreaking, eloquent moments so far describe Kvothe’s playing. How were you able to get so completely into a musician’s mind?

The same way I get into anyone’s mind. As a writer, it’s my job to be able to get into people’s heads and write about things from a perspective different to my own. If I couldn’t do that, all I could do is write a novel about being me. I don’t think a lot of people would be interested in that novel.

Do you think that all artists, whether they are writers or musicians, feel the same desperation towards their talent that Kvothe does?

I think most of them feel that way every once in a while. A certain sort of artist feels that way a lot more. People like Dali and Van Gough, maybe Bukowski. I’m not really one of them, I try to be a little more mellow in pursuit of my craft.

We know that some serious tragedy is going to happen to Kvothe before the end of his story. Will The Wise Man’s Fear break our hearts?

I won’t lie to you. Parts of it might.

Will you be reading excerpts from TWMF at your upcoming signings?

Yeah. If people want to hear some, I read a little snippet. Nothing that will give away any major secrets. But just enough for a taste of what’s to come.

If you had to pick one word (which for the sake of this question, you do) to describe TWMF, what would it be?

Sexy.

Rothfuss will be reading Friday @ 6:30 @ Prince Books, 109 East Main Street in Norfolk. He will be reading Saturday @ 2 @ Books A Million, 3312 Princess Anne Road in VB. Here’s the Facebook link.