Patrick Rothfuss ’02 MA
DAW Books, 2014
A darling of the sci-fi/fantasy set, Pat Rothfuss has diverted from the long-awaited third part of his bestselling Kingkiller trilogy and, instead, taken the time to explore the story of lovely, lonely Auri, one of the secondary Kingkiller characters.
Warning his readers that this book may not be for them, not even for the most serious fans of his first two meaty novels The Name of the Wind and Wise Man’s Fear, Rothfuss nonetheless draws them in to this bittersweet tale of the fair-haired mysterious woman who lives in the Underthing, a warren of tunnels beneath a University where characters learn magic.
Rothfuss was inspired to explore this character in a new, lyrical, way. Where his other books are dense detail-rich tomes, this is a light, oddly sweet novella for readers to savor, whether or not they’re fans of his other books.