Excellent book is about all I can say of it, if I go for brevity. I can't quite tell if it is going to be a tragedy or have a properly heroic and happy ending. More alarmingly, I can't tell which I want it to have more. On the one hand, the tragic ending it seems to be leading up to would certainly be powerful, moving, and memorable. On the other hand, it might be one of the few books that makes me cry, or at the very least feel quite thoroughly depressed for some length of time.

On the other hand, something heroic and happy to at least some degree would be a relief and a joy to read, but sort of feel like cheapening the whole thing. I'm not certain Tolkien was entirely right when he said that writing of happy times leads to nothing but boredom, considering how much I enjoy reading the happy portions of this book and Name of the Wind, just to name a few. However, he was right in the sense that such happy times, while enjoyable to read, do not make for a meaningful or moving story.

All that aside (brevity especially), I think Rothfuss's writing is excellent. Part of the section with Felurian and Kvothe, where they speak in some form of prose? That's beautifully written. I can only comment on such obvious sections, I'm no critic of literature. Normally I'm content with writing that would no doubt be called "mundane". The writing of WoT seems fine to me, same for Malazan, and I've seen both called plenty of uncharitable things. So I can only really comment based on comparisons, and Rothfuss's writing seems to be miles ahead of many other authors, and this book further strengthens that opinion.

As for his story itself, I think it is still excellent as well. I read a post regarding this further down the board, with the author complaining at the lack of progress in the story, the overabundance of "drama" surrounding Denna, etc. This things did not bother me in the slightest. In fact, I am not certain they are issues at all. Denna's story and character are central to Kvothe, so it is fitting that they take up a large portion of his memoir, and I see nothing wrong with that. As for the story's progress, it seems to have made quite a bit, actually. Certainly Kvothe is only a few years older, so he has quite a way to go before he catches up to the modern day Kvothe, but he has clearly crossed the boundary between above average, even "legendary" student and an almost full-fledged worldly hero.

This is a great success of Rothfuss' I believe. He showed us every step of Kvothe's journey, and though he does not seem to change too much in his own opinion, or in that of the reader, when he suddenly returns to his normal setting the changes in him become obvious. This very natural progression and growth seems like exactly the course the tale should take. As for the external story, taking place in the current time and which didn't seem to progress at all... What can be expected of that? Only a day has passed, after all, so anything more happening would be stretching the realms of possibility. And even then, some progress has actually been made. Kvothe has laughed, he hummed, he fought! And most importantly, he began doing the Ketan at the end, showing that perhaps he isn't quite as ready to die (for whatever reason he is dying, or intent to die) as he seems.

And finally, though I suppose it could be seen as some stretches of the book were too long, or uneventful, such as the time Kvothe spent in Vintas with Denna, or the third of the book spent at the University, or even the last hundred pages at the University again... None of these things felt slow, or plodding, or pointless. Some parts may have been uneventful, in the grand scheme of events, but they fit the story, they charted Kvothe's progress, and they made the world of the story come to life. Most importantly of all, they were enjoyable to read, as the entire book was, from cover to cover.