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Re: You do realize that that is a device, right? James Send a noteboard - 04/09/2009 12:10:10 AM
1) Kvothe, who was the most uber of mary sues I have ever read. Though many people like to point out that he is meant to be this way, it still stands.


Kvothe is telling a story, his own story, and he is a storyteller/entertainer by training, at least in part. There is a marked difference between what we know of Kvothe based on his own telling, and in some of those momentary cracks we've seen between the narration.

Rothfuss seems to be playing around with a not completely reliable narrator but expanding that by giving the occasional external context to that narrator. Rothfuss seems to have Kvothe telling a somewhat idealized version of his past, with hints that things are missing from the telling. Where Rothfuss takes this, or if he puts it to further use, will be how we'll have to judge the work, I think.


Well, as I had it tacked on to the end of my first point, which you quoted... Yes, I am well aware of this and to me, it doesn't matter at all. Yes, the hints provide us with the basis that things will change, but I am not looking at what may be, I am looking at the now. The first book presents a Mary Sue, that the author intends for the character to appear this way though the use of an unreliable narrator doesn't change this. I can look to the future, but I am the sort that judges a book on its own merits, not on the merits of the books that precede or succeed it. The next novel could well shatter the notion that he is a Mary Sue and improve the series, but that still wouldn't change how I felt about the first novel.
"It's a strange world. Let's keep it that way."
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The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfuss Bryce - 03/09/2009 12:19:58 AM 1365 Views
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Can do nossy - 04/09/2009 06:04:31 PM 974 Views
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ok, I'm finally excited enough. It's been hammered into my head 5 times. I love... wotrafonia Deadsy - 03/09/2009 02:17:22 AM 863 Views
Second best book I've read all year. LightsongTheBold - 03/09/2009 02:34:18 AM 1171 Views
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Shun the non-believer...shuuuuuuuuuuuuuuunnnnn....n Bryce - 03/09/2009 02:38:10 AM 934 Views
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*snickers immaturely* *NM* Deadsy - 03/09/2009 02:44:14 AM 433 Views
Shut it, you. *NM* Craig - 03/09/2009 03:04:03 AM 439 Views
*Three Musketeers childishly* Bryce - 03/09/2009 03:13:30 AM 896 Views
~Gets it two minutes later~ *NM* Tashmere - 03/09/2009 04:30:21 AM 392 Views
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~smacks the back of Deadsy's head while smiling sweetly~ Tashmere - 03/09/2009 04:29:30 AM 815 Views
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~shuns!~ Craig - 03/09/2009 04:32:37 AM 856 Views
Dumb question Gher - 03/09/2009 03:36:35 AM 873 Views
It's a book about smurfs *NM* Bryce - 03/09/2009 03:52:32 AM 815 Views
Re: Dumb question Craig - 03/09/2009 04:34:46 AM 934 Views
That was a much better way to word my quesion Craig. Thank you for handling that maturely unlike Tashmere - 03/09/2009 04:35:38 AM 1054 Views
Of course I'm mature. Deadsy is just a doody-head. Craig - 03/09/2009 05:15:57 AM 1024 Views
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That was me. In disguise. Craig - 03/09/2009 05:35:15 AM 821 Views
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Sleep's totally optional. Jayhawk - 04/09/2009 03:42:40 PM 810 Views
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Dare to be different! Craig - 03/09/2009 04:31:41 AM 906 Views
Mary Sue? Could you give me a clue here? Tashmere - 03/09/2009 04:40:29 AM 910 Views
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Good grief...that site would be enough to give any author anxiety attacks. Tashmere - 03/09/2009 05:37:35 AM 904 Views
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He's a consummate storyteller. Jayhawk - 03/09/2009 05:08:42 PM 827 Views
You do realize that that is a device, right? Jacob - 03/09/2009 04:35:05 PM 832 Views
You said what I was trying to say when I said it will improve Bryce - 03/09/2009 05:56:27 PM 1095 Views
Re: You do realize that that is a device, right? James - 04/09/2009 12:10:10 AM 861 Views
I'm with you there. *NM* jh - 03/09/2009 06:54:51 AM 339 Views
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Yuck. *NM* Joker - 03/09/2009 10:39:52 PM 411 Views
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