Although Rothfuss’ “The Name of the Wind” (2007) was published nearly 10 years ago, it’s taken me 9 of those years to hear about this work. Luckily, that leaves me with some catching up to do because this inaugural fantasy novel is both dynamic and aware of its place within the genre. If you’re a seasoned fantasy reader, this sometimes makes for predictable complications, but the pace is kept up so cunningly and the protagonist’s obstacles so numerous and intricately detailed, that this is easily forgiven.