The astounding must-read first title in the bestselling Kingkiller chronicles. 'The best epic fantasy I read last year... He's bloody good, this Rothfuss guy'-George R. R. Martin

'I have stolen princesses back from sleeping barrow kings. I have spent the night with Felurian and left with both my sanity and my life. I tread paths by moonlight that others fear to speak of during day. I have talked to Gods, loved women, and written songs that make the minstrels weep. My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me' So begins the tale of Kvothe - currently known as Kote, the unassuming innkeeper - from his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, through his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-riddled city, to his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a difficult and dangerous school of magic. In these pages you will come to know Kvothe the notorious magician, the accomplished thief, the masterful musician, the dragon-slayer, the legend-hunter, the lover, the thief and the infamous assassin. "Patrick Rothfuss' debut is set in an unnamed but fully realised fantasy world, and his characters are detailed and convincing."