Nordling here.
A story lost in all the activity and geek joy of San Diego Comic Con caught my eye this morning - Hollywood Reporter is reporting that Patrick Rothfuss's novel THE NAME OF THE WIND has gotten the interests of the studios, with MGM, Lionsgate, Warner Brothers and possibly more studios like Fox and Universal dueling it out over the rights to the trilogy THE KINGKILLER CHRONICLES.
That's a lot of interest for this fantasy series, and it's well-deserved - Patrick Rothfuss's books are fun reads, full of action and great characters, and the hero Kvothe, traveling performer turned beggar turned musician turned most powerful wizard in the land, is one of my favorite fantasy characters in recent years. The story (at least so far, there have been two books in the series, plus a book about one of the minor characters and various short stories) is mostly about how myth, legend, and reality never quite meet, and how the passion of youth can be tempered and forged into either great good or great evil. Comparisons to GAME OF THRONES are probably not unheard of, but while A SONG OF ICE AND FIRE has many characters, spanning the entire planet, THE KINGKILLER CHRONICLES (at least so far) are a bit more intimate, concentrating on one character's story. It's also, for lack of a better word, not as "grimdark".
Rothfuss had the rights returned after 20th Century Fox Television allowed them to lapse, and is currently shopping to studios for a movie deal. If they do become films, I hope that whoever casts Kvothe finds someone with a bit of personality and humor as opposed to whoever the kids are interested in these days. It's a role that requires a bit of heavy lifting from whoever gets the part, and not just a pretty face. Although the series is presented as a trilogy, having finished the second one, it feels like there is a lot more story to tell than one book may be able to sustain. It's an excellent series, and fantasy fans have rightfully sung its praises.
There's a deep bench when it comes to fantasy novel adaptations; some fantastic books are out there that would be wonderful to see adapted - Scott Lynch's GENTLEMEN BASTARDS series comes to mind, as well as Brandon Sanderson's novels or Naomi Novik's TEMERAIRE series. With the success of LORD OF THE RINGS and GAME OF THRONES, Hollywood may be paying more attention to these terrific books, and that's always a good thing.
Nordling, out.
