DAW Books has just announced a November 4, 2014 publication date for The Slow Regard of Silent Things, a new novella set in the world of Patrick Rothfuss’ Kingkiller Chronicle fantasy series!
According to the announcement:
The Slow Regard of Silent Things is set at The University, where the brightest minds work to unravel the mysteries of enlightened sciences, such as artificing and alchemy. Auri, a former student (and a secondary but influential character from Rothfuss’s earlier novels) now lives alone beneath the sprawling campus in a maze of ancient and abandoned passageways. There in The Underthing, she feels her powers and learns to see the truths that science—and her former classmates—have overlooked.
This announcement lines up with revelations from Rothfuss’ Reddit AMA in January 2014, which detailed a new novella focused on Bast, as well as two others in progress involving Auri and Laniel Young-Again.
The Bast-centric story “The Lightning Tree” will debut in Rogues, the new fantasy anthology out from George R. R. Martin and Gardner Dozois on June 17th. The Slow Regard of Silent Things will be a standalone release from DAW Books and will debut in hardcover for $18.95.
So this means Auri doesn’t die in Day Three?
Well that’s something. :-)
Sounds like it’s probably a prequel – I wouldn’t assume anything.
I gave a longer description on the reread SS 21:208 a little bit before this went up.
According to the last piece of news on Tor.com,
http://www.tor.com/blogs/2014/01/patrick-rothfuss-ama, this Auri story is a prequel. Then he’s set to write another prequel(about Laniel Young-Again). And only then the third day (Doors of Stone). This GRRM method of writing prequels before finishing the series is becoming more and more popular.
Ryanmano@@.-@
That’s interpretive license on “Stubby’s” part, not what he actually announced in the AMA or the public or online appearances where he’s talked about it. The story’s “centered on Auri,” but there’s been no confirmation of an origin story.
I posted a longish bit about the how and why of these two novellas elsewhere.* The TL:DR is that DoS probably would have taken even longer without them.
*http://www.reddit.com/r/Fantasy/comments/21m319/the_slow_regard_of_silent_things_by_patrick/cgef2n8
I’ve seen this photo of Rothfuss quite a few times, but I still find it hilarious that there’s a novel called “Sister Time” on the shelf behind him. I assume the author was going for “The Sister whose name is Time”, but I keep reading it as “It’s time for sister!” It sounds like a bad anime title. XD
I want Rothfuss to swear that he *had* to write this story to get it out of his head before continuing with the third novel.
GRRM may not be our bitch, but we are his customers.
Comparing writing a novel with delivering products to customers is patently ridiculous, tudzax1. You should check that sense of entitlement.
Looking forward to this! Rothfuss is welcome to take as much time as he wants on Doors of Stone; having more stories to tide us over is an added bonus.
…the patient, cut-flower silence of a fan who is waiting for Day 3.
~lakesidey
That silence is going to be broken by my exited gibbering… what I would give to read this now
Id rather hed been working on the third novel instead!There I said I said it !Hate me!
wubbster, I wub you.
I’d also rather have the third book, this is getting ridiculous
Indeed.Its like hes working on so many projects other than the one he should be working on-thats book 3.
I’m just happy to get more story from Pat. After all, Patrick Rothfuss is not our bitch…
:-p
To steal from Oscar Wilde: there is only thing worse than fans pestering these authors for more books, and that is no one pestering them for more books.
Frustricipation: The action of being frustrated by the anticipation of something that is not liable to appear anytime soon.
Honestly, given Rothfuss’ level of attention to prose style, he can take as long as he dang well wants. I’ll wait the amount of time it takes for the best possible Book 3. It’s not like there will ever be another one.
I agree with Zed. Rothfuss’ writing is art, and you can’t rush art. But he’s spreading himself too thin.
Every single side project that be begins also adds to my suspicion that I won’t enjoy the final book. The book will be brilliant, I’m sure, but he’s trying to get everything else done before he concludes it. It’s like he knows that his ending will upset a lot of fans, and he won’t have their attention after this.
I would actually guess that Pat is using these “side” projects as both exploration and fuel for getting to D3. If you read things that writers write about their writing, a common theme is that they often get tired of the current work. It starts looking bad and doubts creep in. Turning their attention to something else and then returning to the main work can have a very refreshing effect. Much like a palate cleanser between courses in a long banquet.
I don’t think he’s my bitch, but I think these authors that set up these book series with a ton of dangling plot threads have a responsibility to their readers to finish their stories.
I don’t think anyone has the right to tell him how the story should end, but I think producing an ending is a responsibility that readers can be frustrated by them not fulfilling.
Robert Jordan stopped writing and started making outlines and notes so his story could be finished for his readers that had been with him for years. That to me is the ultimate dedication to fans that made your series popular in the first place. I think some current series writers (mainly GRRM, 3 years for Rothfuss right now for a final book isn’t terrible, though it is frustrating) could learn something from him about the importance of finishing your work for your readers.
Well its something. Looks like Winds of Winter will beat out Doors of Stone after all. I really think Pat’s publisher is a bit of a bitch. I mean didnt he already write the whole series years ago? Why even say that if its not true? At least Rothfuss is a much younger guy than GRRM. That guys health and pace of writing scares the hell outta me.
lordnoga@24:Pat’s publisher really doesn’t have anything to do with the delay. I’m sure as soon as he is satisfied they will be happy to publish it quickly.
Pat had a draft of the whole series. A draft is much different than a finished product.
Can’t wait to read some new material from Rothfuss!
I’m excitedly disappointed. I’ll read your book, I’ll bet I’ll enjoy it, I’m curious about those people and enjoyed their characters. I like Pat, he seems like one of the most awesomest of dudes. But from that honest place in my heart that I tend to pull my words from. Finish the f&%king story bro.
Am I the only one who has noticed that Rothfuss seems to work on everything except the Doors of Stone? He’s constantly talking about how he’s super busy making decks of cards, and World Builders for a few months every year, and writing for a video game, and doing anthologies, and it just never ends. Everything. But. Book Three.
And as soon as you so much as ask, “Can you give us an update about when to expect book three?” two things happen.
1) He whines about how he doesn’t like people pressuring him. It’s not like we’re pressuring him, though. We just want an update more than twice a year. And we have every right to be irritated that you’re over committing yourself to the wrong projects, Pat.
2) His cult-like fan base will immediately decend upon you in a frothing rage. “Shut the hell up! Stop pressuring him! It will be ready when he says it is!” Whatever. His core fanbase seems to have a Mass Stockholm Syndrome. The idea that Rothfuss is some sort of demigod who graces his with his words is absurd. He is a man who writes stories and, as the consumers of his stories, we have a right to ask when he’ll finish his commitment. You say he doesn’t owe us anything? Well I’m pretty sure he signed a contract with his publisher that says he does.
The worst part about Rothfuss and his (lack of) work, though, is that it isn’t even that good. It is the most beautifully written book about nothing that you’ll ever read. The romantic tension between Kvothe and Denna is entirely unbelievable, and both of his books can be summarized with, “Emo kid has money problems.”
I’d recommend other authors to read, but I don’t want to name drop them in such a negative sounding post.
@28:If Rothfuss’ work isn’t that good then why be worried about it coming out in a timely fashion?
PR’s contract with his publisher is between him and the publisher and doesn’t really have anything to do with we readers. You can (of course) ask when the next book is out and he is free not to say anything.
If we’re a cult then I want to know where our robes and sacrificial daggers are. I must have missed the memo. Although, I have seen Pat throw pieces of candy to the audience.
I’ve seen an author (Phillip Pullman) who was rushed by his agent make a very crappy conclusion (amber glass) to a trilogy that started very well (golden compass in his dark materials trilogy). So I don’t think it’s a good idea to rush authors anymore. Just relax and read other stuff. A book is done when it’s done. A late book is late for sometime. A rushed bad book is bad for all time.
Still, it’s interesting that authors are deciding to write prequels instead of concluding their series first. It’s like GRRM syndrome spreading.
This new book is fantastic news. It a little something while you wait for the real thing. If you follow the “statistics” of his releases of the 2 other books there should be nothing before 2015. The name of the wind was released 2007 and the wise mans fear was released 2011. Thats 4 years in between. So I think we have to guard us with alittle more patience. and just be thrilled thats theres is a little treat in between.
@Ryamano
And then sometimes, you give the author all the time in the world (GRRM) and you still end up with ‘A Feast for Crows’.
My name is Kvothe. You may have heard of me
Perhaps, the name would seem to give rise to the ringing a distant sounding bell, but its been so long. The recollection is no more than a hollow echo bereft of shape, form and meaning. It is a name with naught but the power of token indifference.
Allow me to regail your memory and …..
Nah, save your breath. The world is filled with many books, many authors and many stories. I learned the lesson of patience from Master Lorren. If i am to wait until early 2016 for the opportunity to pay $20 for book 3 then I may as well wait until late 2016 and pay $5 for a seondary market copy.
i think the tv deal is the hold up.the third book will be released when the show premires
More BULLSPIT !!!
A little dissappointed that I paid nearly $20 for a sub 200 page book that I could probably finish in less than a day. $20 is usually reserved for a full novel….was so excited that I didn’t read the fine print I guess. Hope this influx of cash helps motivate the powers behind the story.
Didn’t Jordan write his “A New Spring” prequel before GRRM wrote his first prequel?
{Looks it up}
… Actually it turns out they both released their first prequels at the same time. Jordan just died before he could release the rest of his prequels. In any case, I’d call it equally Jordan’s as much as GRRM’s prequel fad!
@36: On his blog, Rothfuss said something along the lines of he was worried this book would piss off some readers. It was so different than Day 1&2.
@37: Not sure if it’s a “thing” with prequels or his publisher and him deciding that they should release something. And Auri is who he focused on.
At JordanCon 2014, I learned a lot more about his writing style. The man has written Day 3 about 60 times, with around 300 edits. As he has said he’s “not well and probably needs help.” So I’m not sure at what point he will accept that what he’s written is “good enough” or “perfect.”
Screw Novellas
finish the trilogy!!
I liked the novella for its insights into Auri’s unusual approach to life and her thoughts on him (never named in the story). Beautifully written. I’d love to know if anyone picked up any “spoilers” from the story because I didn’t learn anything that advanced the ball in the principal books.
BT – Rothfuss has an intro and an afterwards explaining his relatively complicated feelings about the book and his concern that some readers will really hate it. But… he and his editors figured that many would love it so they decided to go ahead.
I enjoyed it quite a bit. I don’t think there were spoilers, per se, but I think there is insight to be had along the nature of Namers vs Shapers.
Exactly what/who Auri is and what happened to her and when are things I am pondering.
She had a subtle reference to wanting to avoid Haven – isn’t that the University “mental institution”? I thought that supported concept that she was a student who broke down.
Still trying to figure out what she did to make the candle – Alchemy? Shaping? Something else?
Just a couple of thoughts…
It’s fairly clear that she was raped at some point in the past. (I think this may have implications that I’ll have to look up.) She also thinks of the “years” that she’s been caring for the Underthing, in a tone that rang in my ears as a rather long time… To the tune of decades, not just two or three, anyway.
I’ll probably have to read it two or three more times to sort out the naming/shaping references. Pretty sure the candle was Alchemy – that “tenth of a tenth” business.
Wetlandernw & RobMRobM:
Spoiler warning (Since this is not specifically a spoiler thread):
I agree with WetlanderNW that the indications are there that Auri underwent a traumatic event (likely rape but it could be some other physical assault). She also has deep aversions towards the Rookery but it isn’t clear if she was taken there or just knows it would be a bad place for her.
Auri’s time frame is really interesting. She thinks about Master Mandrag in what seems to be as a teacher and so that would put her events sometime during his life. On the other hand, she thinks of the lab behind the door as once having belonged to her and since it is in the Underthing, that would seem to put that ownership into the past. On the other other hand, the room could have been sealed more recently.
The candle started as alchemy, but I think that she used a kind of shaping when she got rushed for time. It seems pretty clear that she Knows the Names of things at a deep level and is averse to changing them against their nature so I would guess she used shaping to enhance the process but not to force the process. I think this is showing us a deep insight into what the issues of the Creation war would have been. For real Namers who can see the true nature of things, changing that nature is an abhorrent act essentially a rape of the object (and this relates to Auri’s trauma in that someone at the very least tried to force her against her nature). The Shaper side seems to see things differently or didn’t care.
Spoiler warning, though it’s basically in line with Wetlandernw and stevenhalter:
I agree that the oblique reference is almost certainly to rape, and that while Auri must have been a student in some sense during Mandrag’s lifetime, her level of knowledge of the Underthing, her apparent comprehension of the issues behind the Creation War, etc. argue against her really just being a “crazy student” in her teens or twenties, the way she appears. So, bear with me:
Is it possible that Auri’s name used to be Geisa? I have suspected for a long time that she might be the “angel” that Kvothe will kill, which would align with her being one of the Amyr in the supernatural sense implied by Skarpi’s story, and her declaration that Kvothe is her Ciridae. Geisa was from Belen (and the more detailed description of the Underthing in this story makes it sound more than ever like an ancient city that has experienced subsidence, not just the piping) and according to Skarpi joined the Amyr and left humanity behind because she was the first rape victim in history.
*Geisa joined the Amyr.
@stevenhalter
I think that there is the implication that Auri shaped the workbench and the tools in Boundary, which is why she is so reluctant to use them as she feels bad to have shaped things to her desire.
@Kah-thurak:I think that the workshop was Auri’s before the trauma and that Auri was changed and so she no longer fits the room.
Can some advise where is the textual hint implying that Auri was assaulted somehow? I don’t remember seeing that.
Other thoughts/questions
It also surprised me how attracted she was to Kvothe – she kept reminding herself not to linger on improper thoughts.
There was the case in mid book that she hears music but K isn’t there when she goes up. Does that tie to something in the principal books? I haven’t cross checked.
The section that comes closest to outright saying is towards the end of “The Graceful Way to Move”:
—
I was also somewhat surprised at Auri’s thought towards Kvothe.
@50 Ah, now I see.
@stevenhalter
That would raise the question who would have furnished a well equipped (and still funtional) lab, perfectly suited to Auri, deep in the underbelly of the university, and why noone would go there anymore.
Auri states that the room was hers and she no longer fits it:
Why she used to have a lab deep in the Underthing (that she names Boundary) is an excellent question. Does its placement indicate that it has been there a very long time (along with Auri)? Does its name indicate it is right on the edge of being in the University and not the Underthing or is the name a reference to where/what Auri is/can do? Or both?
SPOILER WARNING
Wetlandernw, stevenhalter, and mutantalbinocrocodile, I wanna offer an alternative to the Auri-as-victim scenario. That was my first thought, too, and I was honestly kind of disappointed that he’d travel such a well worn path and reinforce that particular story.
In discussion with a couple other folks, I came to suspect something else. Auri’s modus operandi seems to revolve around non-interference – being small and hiden and quiet – as though she finds exerting her own will upon the world for her own desires to be wrong.
With that in mind, take a look at the paragraph stevenhalter quoted with the paragraph before it. She’s talking about Fulcrum, but it also provides additional context for the “wrist pinned” bit.
Seems entirely possible that Auri wasn’t the victim, but the aggressor. Seems to make more sense with her apparent regret and/or fear about wanting.
I’m putting my thoughts about TSRoST together in a blog called The Larkin Ledgers. It’s spoilery and a bit utidy as of yet. Third post went up recently.
thistlepong@55:That could be. I suspect there are lots of burried things in this text.
Thistlepong – nice site! Looking forward to additional insights based on your slow regard of the book.
As nice, simple means to avoid any pestering about release date/progress of book 3 I refer Mr Rothfuss to Brandon Sanderson’s website and the progress bars in the top right hand corner of the screen. Perfect.
At the risk of being churlish I also refer Mr Rothfuss to the rate at which Mr Sanderson releases books: essentially one a year, if not more. Sanderson’s “Way of Kings” word count: 387,000. “Wise Mans Fear” word count: 399,000 (reference below).
I understand needing a break, I understand getting cabin fever, I understand wanting to do something else for a while. I also understand that Pat is, as many have said, “not our bitch” and if he wants to wait then that is his right, as it would be if he decided not to write book 3 at all. But equally he is currently treading a fine line between having me on tenterhooks and having me give up on the series out of pure frustration.
http://fantasy-faction.com/forum/fantasy-book-discussion/word-counts-of-epic-fantasy-novels/