There are lots of books were the protagonist is ultra-human. Whether it be Heinlein's Uber Mensch or Doyle's "Sherlock Holmes", the classical Achilles, or a Manga vampire-like creature, literature (good and bad) is full of them. What really separates the Good books and Bad books that have such people is whether the protagonist pulls a solution out of his rear end, or whether we've been methodically led to each achievement, ready and primed for him/her to do their 'stuff'.

Kvothe's story, in Rothfuss' "Name of the Wind", falls into the latter category. Kvothe is a character that can do many things well, but none of them can come as a surprise or as unbelievable if you've been paying the least bit of attention to the story. Rothfuss brilliantly prepares the reader to understand how each feat was achieved. And honestly, it's been a long while since I have read a book that was so well conceived and derived. It is simply brilliantly micro-managed.

Now, some of you might be looking at the book size and thing 'egads' that's a lot of words. Let me tell you that the book is a quick read. I mean, I'm as slow as molasses when it comes to words per minute, and I finished it in a few days.

The story is told as a memoir, but the book doesn't start at that point. It starts in it's own 'present' and then for it's own reasons goes into the flashback. When I first read the 'present' chapter I was somewhat discouraged, and thought that in all likelihood, what I had in my hands was an average sort of book. But that was not the case. So if you find yourself in a similar frame of mind, do continue on.

Talking Points:::
Excellent World Building
Very Good Writing
Excellent Plotting
Interesting characters
One of THE Best Books I've read this year