Rocket Boys by Homer Hickam Jr. (3.5 stars)

This autobiographical book was the inspiration for the movie October Sky (an anagram of Rocket Boys): a story of a kid growing up in a West Virginian mining town who beats the odds to pursue his dream of becoming a rocket engineer. The pictures of life in Coalwood were well-drawn, but I felt disconnected from most of the characters. This surprised me since it is written as a novel, rather than a completely historical account. I found myself liking Quentin a whole lot more than Sonny - not only did he have pretty much all the brains, he often provided the drive and motivation.

I enjoyed reading this book, but I can't think of much to praise or criticise, and it isn't a story that will stick with me for a long time. One reviewer mentioned this book is one of those rare breeds where the movie is better than the book. I'll have to check out the movie and see if I agree.

3.5 stars.

The Wise Man's Fear by Patrick Rothfuss (5 stars)

This is the second in the Kingkiller Chronicles, sequel to The Name of The Wind, which was one of the best books I read last year.  I was keen to read this and see how Rothfuss would follow his impressive debut.

The book continues to lay out the life of Kvothe, our ridiculously over-talented protagonist, through his adventures at the university and thankfully, in this book, breaking the Harry Potter mold to venture out into the real world for some adventure.  Kvothe certainly adds to his real-world experience: gaining favour in a royal court, leading a band of mercenaries, and training with the Adem super-ninjas. 

The sections of the book where he lives with Felurian and the Adem felt a bit like obligatory "skilling up" in a computer game.  Those sections seemed to be about "+10 experience with women" and "+10 combat skills", getting Kvothe ready for book three.  At least they were entertaining training montages.

In the first book I loved Elodin, but I think his character sucked in this one.  His "classes" were supposed to be ridiculous, but I found some of the comments and humour better suited to college jocks than to Elodin's eccentric and mysterious academic character:

Uresh.  Your next assignment is to have sex.  If you do not know how to do this, see me after class.

At times Rothfuss used some bizarre time compression, like his description of the entire boat trip from the university:

In brief, there was a storm, piracy, treachery, and shipwreck, although not in that order.  It also goes without saying that I did a great many things, some heroic, some ill-advised, some clever and audacious.

Sounds to me like his editor told him to take out an unnecessary plot line, but he didn't want to completely remove it.  And this was only one of a number of times that Kvothe loses absolutely all of his possessions except his extremely expensive lute which somehow miraculously survives each time.

Another character incongruity that bothered me was after Kvothe left the Adem he seemed to throw out all the psychological lessons they taught him and turn into a bloodthirsty arsehole.  Within a few pages he was killing a whole heap of people and saying things like:

And if you ever do anything to either of them, I'll know.  I will come here, and kill you, and leave your body hanging in a tree.

Oh, and I haven't read such ridiculous sexual tension as when Kvothe and Denna are bathing in the stream near Imre since the Twilight series.

Having said all that, I really did like this book, and it was pretty much impossible to put down.  The world Rothfuss has created is fascinating.  The branches of magic: sympathy, sygaldry, naming etc. are well presented, and semi-scientific.  I love the Chandrian, so dark, myseterious, and powerful that even speaking their true names can be a death sentence. 

Now for some spoliers and plot guessing.  I suspect that Bredon is an Amyr - he is too involved in the story to not show up again.  He may also turn out to be Mister Ash - Denna's patron, or her patron could be one of the Chandrian.  I think there are also more surprises coming about Bast, and I'm sure Kvothe's little Adem training friend will save his life at least once.

Update: I originally gave this 4.5, but decided I was being too harsh. 5 stars!