I actually picked this up on another “gee this sounds good” whim. I was not disappointed.
Our main character is named Kvothe (pronounced like Quoth). He lives in a small town and manages an Inn. One day, Kvothe (who is in hiding and is actually a famous Kingkiller) saves a man from certain death from creatures that resemble large spiders.
The gentleman, simply named the Chronicler, realizes that Kvothe is actually the famous Kingkiller Kote. The Chronicler begs Kote to share his story and so, Kote (Kvothe) agrees to share his life story and tells the Chronicler it will take three days to complete. (Mr.Rothfuss planned this to be a trilogy, as of yet, the third book has not been released)
Kvothe begins his story during his childhood. He lives in a world called Temerant. Where much like Earth there are continents and within those continents are places divided and where people live their day to day lives. Kvothe and his family are members of the Edema Ruh. Travelling performers who play the lute, act out plays, sing songs, and make merry.
One day young Kvothe witnesses a man harness the wind to drive off some village policemen who have been harassing him. When this gentleman, who calls himself Abenthy, joins Kvothe’s troupe, Kvothe begs to learn the science behind sympathy, the art of binding one thing to another.
One day as Kvothe is playing in the woods, his family is overtaken and murdered by the Chandrian. Left alive but very alone, Kvothe must learn to survive on his own. And he does. But barely. One day, three years after his family was slaughtered, Kvothe hears someone telling a story about a hero named Lanre who was the leader of the Chandrian.
Our story continues as Kvothe enters a University specifically for its archives. As with other Fantasy novels, I was able to envision many of the scenes taking place, even the heartbreak of the young Kvothe as he discovered his family and realized he was all alone.