The Kingkiller Chronicle Books in Order: How to read Patrick Rothfuss’s heroic fantasy series?

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“He’s bloody good, this Rothfuss guy.” — George R. R. Martin

What is The Kingkiller Chronicle series about?

The Kingkiller Chronicle is an award-winning fantasy series by American writer Patrick Rothfuss. Presented as an autobiography, it recounts the story of Kvothe, a renowned musician, scholar, and adventurer now living pseudonymously as a rural innkeeper

The plot is divided into two different timelines: the present, in which Kvothe tells the story of his life to a man known as the Chronicler in the Waystone Inn, and Kvothe’s past, which makes up the majority of the first two books.

The present-day interludes are in the third person from the perspective of multiple characters, while the story of Kvothe’s life is told entirely in the first person from his own perspective.

How to Read The Kingkiller Chronicle Books in Order?

I. The Kingkiller Chronicle in Chronological Order

  

1. How Old Holly Came to Be – Short story published in the anthology Unfettered. Takes place centuries before The Name of the Wind. Told from the perspective of a tree.
2. The Lightning Tree – Published in the anthology Rogues. Takes place a month before The Name of The Wind and relate a day in Bast’s life in Newarre.
3. The Name of the Wind – The tale of the magically gifted young man named Kvothe who grows to be the most notorious wizard his world has ever seen. The intimate narrative of his childhood in a troupe of traveling players, his years spent as a near-feral orphan in a crime-ridden city, his daringly brazen yet successful bid to enter a legendary school of magic.
4. The Wise Man’s Fear – Kvothe searches for answers, attempting to uncover the truth about the mysterious Amyr, the Chandrian, and the death of his parents. Along the way, Kvothe is put on trial by the legendary Adem mercenaries, forced to reclaim the honor of his family, and travels into the Fae realm.
5. The Slow Regard of Silent Things –  Focuses on Auri and her life in The Underthing. It covers seven days during which she is waiting for a visit from Kvothe, and takes place between chapters four and eleven The Wise Man’s Fear.
6. The Doors of Stone – The Third and final novel in the Kingkiller Chronicle serie. A release date has not yet been revealed.

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II. The Kingkiller Chronicle in Publication Order

1. The Name of the Wind
2. The Wise Man’s Fear
3. How Old Holly Came To Be
4. The Lightning Tree
5. The Slow Regard of Silent Things
6. The Narrow Road Between Desires
7. The Doors of Stone

 

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