The Name of the Wind

By Patrick Rothfuss

Hmm, it's been a while since I last wrote on of these hasn't it? The problem with big bulky Fantasy epics is that they take an age to read, they need some digestion before I'm in a position to say anything worthwhile about them and unless I'm rigorous about getting something up, it's easy to slip out of the habit.
Still. Name of the Wind. Part one of a trilogy, won some awards I'm not in a position to look up right now, subject of a frankly premature re-read series on Tor.com and generally well received. Good book, even if it took me a while to really engage with it.
Our hero is the greatest magician of his age, long since retired, now an innkeeper, hiding from his enemies and his past self. Clearly a well known hero, since all the villagers tell stories about his exploits, without ever realising that he's pulling them a pint. Into this comes the greatest biographer of his age, looking for the tale that will reveal the lost truths of the mighty Kvothe, and over three days the story of his life will be told.
The first day tells of his childhood life as a travelling minstrel, until his family are killed by a demon with a particular downer on folk music, after which he survives as a street urchin, then a university student and budding hero, ultimately slaying a drug addled dragon.
Stockly formulaic as that sounds, there's a bleak depth to the world that raises it above the common herd. It's implied that the rather cozy world of student life with occasional draconic interludes has been destroyed, with waves of demons (apparently indifferent to folk music) overrunning the country. So far it is unclear how, presumably to be revealed in the unpublished third volume.
Must admit though, it fits generic lit-fic plot number one perfectly: old man remembers past loves, victories and betrayals. Hopefully the next will stretch it a bit.