As I write this, the Narrow Road Between Desires has been published for six days. Not quite a week.
I can’t remember if I’ve talked about it on the blog recently, but the first week of sales for a book are pretty important. It’s sort of similar to how people mention how much money the opening weekend of a movie made: it’s an easy metric that quantifies the movie’s success. It doesn’t indicate how *good* the movie is, mind you. But even so… there’s an implication…
Luckily, publishing isn’t nearly so tied to just a couple days worth of numbers as a metric for success. But even so, the first couple weeks of sales *do* determine if you hit various bestseller lists. Those things, in turn, make a difference in terms of who pays attention to your book, who reviews it, how many copies bookstores order moving into the holidays, etc.
Of course, I don’t know what my numbers actually *are* at this point. But I’m guessing they’re… okay? I’m hoping they’re okay.
The sort of numbers I do have access to are… the same numbers you do. Numbers of reviews. Star ratings on various websites. Stuff like that. And while I don’t obsess over those things the way I *used* to do… I’m only human, so of course I look.
As I mentioned on the blog last week, before Narrow Road was even published, it had more than a hundred one-star reviews which led to it having a stunning 2.1 star rating.
And yeah, that might seem bad at first. But once you realize the *lowest* you can rate a book is one star…. it actually means it’s not a five-star system. It’s more like it’s a four-star system, and the book had a 1.1 star rating…
Which, among other things, shows that math very rarely helps you feel better about people being pissy.
I’ll admit, I wandered back to goodreads a few times over the last week. Much the same way it’s hard to stop touching a bruise once you know it’s there… Imagine my delight when I saw that on the day of publication, about a 150 people who had actually *read* the book left reviews, which brought things up to about 3 stars….
Which made me feel better, until I realized that put Narrow Road slightly *below* TekWar by William Shatner.
And here’s the thing. I’m not throwing shade here. I only read TekWar once, back in the day. And Shatner’s a better actor than I am. But contrariwise, I’d hope that I’m a better writer than him. And if nothing else, I’d hope that my *fourth* book would at least rank a little bit above his first…
Still as Oot says when he’s trying to build something in MineCraft: “Comparators are the thieves of joy.” I know better that to hang my happiness on plaudits from the hoi polloi…
Fast forward to today though, when I wandered over to look at Narrow Road on goodreads I saw this…
And I have to say, that feels a little better. Not only that it’s almost up at 4 stars, which is nice, but that over a thousand of y’all have taken the time to read and rate the book even though it’s only been out for about six days…
What’s more, that puts it slightly *above* Slow Regard in terms of stars. (Which is a better sort of comparison to engage in.) If Narrow Road turned out as well as Slow Regard, well… then I’m pretty happy.
So… yeah. Thanks. Thanks to all of you who have been picking up the book, or leaving reviews, or telling your friends. I really appreciate it.
In other news, check out this hotness:
These got released in the UK about a week or two ago, and I’ve been too tangled up in one thing and another to post up pictures of them yet. But honestly? They look gorgeous…
Check out those endpapers, y’all…
And they’re different in the The Wise Man’s Fear:
I haven’t managed to get my grubby little hands on one yet, but I’m hoping it won’t be too long…
And speaking of different covers…
(I stole this off instagram, because the purple suede makes me feel like a fancy prince.)
I always love seeing the foreign covers of my books, and this one I love even more than usual. It’s not just because it’s my baby, and I love it no matter what. (It’s a little that.)
The real reason I love this cover extra much is because Nate Taylor did this art. (Remember him? The guy who did the illustrations?) What’s more, I kinda helped him…
But that, as they say, is another story, and I’ve got to get to bed…
Take care of yourselves, everyone.
pat
62 Comments
Those who want to throw a paddy always go out of their way to leave a bitter comment or one star review out of spite. I hope the Narrow Road will show how outnumbered this lot actually is by the more pleasant and mature readers. And to the spiteful ones I say, neener, neener.
I was so delighted when I got my copy of the Narrow Road and it didn’t disappoint. Such a beautiful, magical read. Just like Oot and Cutie, we all love a good wolf story.
Also, I ordered the Emporium editions yesterday and was about to tag you on Gollancz’s Twitter, these editions deserve more attention! Hats off to Micaela Alcaino.
As an Irish person. I’m going to assume you don’t know that throw a paddy is a very offensive derogatory term.
It’s offensive origin comes from the English stealing Irish land and calling us Paddys over us being upset that our land was being stolen and pillaged and their refusal to grant us our independence. It’s an extremely outdated expression.
Hopefully this is a chance to bring some awareness to that expression.
I wasn’t aware of this, I’ve lived in England for a while and picked it up from the native speakers as it’s being used quite frequently here – my most sincere apologies, definitely didn’t mean to be offensive. Thank you for letting me know as it’ll help me avoid any faux pas in the future!
ahh i haven’t read narrow road yet because i have no money to my name at the moment but i am SO excited to once we have some cash. i’m so glad people are righting the ship on goodreads. i’m not surprised you anxiously check the reviews lol. hopefully for now it will be more a source of affirmation than of stress.
Mr. Rothfuss,
I hope I am not saying anything you don’t know, but the most natural way to interpret the number of 1 star reviews before the Narrow Road came out is as a silly, childish protest by fans who LOVE your work. Almost surely these children, or children at heart, simply want to read the Doors of Stone, and have decided the appropriate way to express their disappointment in not being able to read that book is to give your latest work bad reviews. This is, of course, counterproductive, cruel, and frankly stupid, but it does not reflect on you or your work in anyway, other than as a sign you have a passionate fan base. And if you are at all tempted to view their disappointment as caused by you, I will simply remind you of the Neil Gaiman aphorism (adapted slightly) “You are not their bitch.” You are an author who many readers (including me) respect, admire, and enjoy reading. I very much enjoyed reading The Narrow Road (more even than the Lightening tree, but honestly less than the Gillian Flynn piece from Rogues which may have made me laugh harder than anything I have ever read, but each to their our own taste), and definitely more than I enjoyed Slow Regard, which I also enjoyed greatly. Like the children who attacked you online, I would love to read the Doors of Stone. I would love to read whatever you write after that. In fact, I would like you to write me a new novel every two weeks. If this isn’t possible, I will need to find a way to manage my disappointment. My disappointment is not your fault, and my ability to manage it, or not, has nothing to do with you. If my inability to manage my disappoint causes you any distress, I am sorry, and I must find a way to do better. You should enjoy writing really good stories. Anything else is my problem, not yours.
This comment, right here. Long paragraph, but absolutely worth the read.
I wish there was a way to like comments, because this one is spot on.
Perfectly put.
Love the new book!
Pat,
Also a simple math calculation. As of right now there are 1756 reviews, with an average of 3.94 stars. If, as you suggest, the first 200 (entered before anyone read it) had an average 2.1, then the average for the last 1556 reviews (since it came out) is 4.18 stars. I think that is probably pretty good.
Please know this-
When my family and I moved to a different part of the state my nephew was 11 years old. We were good pals. When we moved back a few years later he was 15 and it was really hard to find common ground for me, a stay-at-home mom, and him, an angsty dungeons and dragons playing teen, to stand on. BUT we both loved Kingkiller. So thank you for providing a world we both knew and loved. We have spent a lot of time talking theories, religion, music, and magic. The road to Newarre was also the road back to my nephew.
And I CAN’T WAIT to read Narrow Road. It should be arriving today.
I’ve got those fancy books on order. Don’t know when they’ll ship but I’m exited! I very much enjoyed the new novella and was glad to hear Rupert Degas perform. The twitch stream was awesome.
I even teared up a bit when Degas said nice things about Pat and seeing it affect him.
I’m so happy for you Pat, to get this out and see the fires of excitement and positivity rekindled in you in an area that can often be… not that.
I’m tempted to try and read slow regard to my daughter now after what you wrote at the end of TNRBD :)
Congratulations on the successful launch! I hope the warm reception has shown that your real fans aren’t angry spiteful trolls, but rather just people excited about the art you create! Your work means so much to a lot of people and I personally can’t wait to read whatever the future has in store for you.
I’ve spent some time every day since release to report any 1 star reviews that actually have reviews written that don’t actually mention the content of the book. I do this (often) randomly for a lot of books I read- but for you I made a special point of doing it, because I want you see how we (the fans) really feel about it.
And now look at you, only like .200 away as having the same score as Assassin’s Apprentice, which along with Name of the Wind are are in my top 3 fantasy books of all time :)
Heck yeah Nick, me too :)
Yay! I am happy that the rating is going up. I am not sure if you use StoryGraph, but I just checked and it has a 4.36 there, only 78 reviews so far. I haven’t check out Goodreads in a hot minute, but on SG you can rate 0 stars, and .25 increments. Also, “Loveable Characters” was a 94%. I haven’t read the reviews, since I’ve not finished it quite yet.
And… Those UK versions… Are almost as sexy as the Bast calendar.
When people do that to you it bothers me more than when people leave their grocery carts in the middle of the parking lot instead of putting it back like a decent human being.
Which is like, a lot.
Pat,
I’ve yet to review Narrow Road on Goodreads (truthfully I’m less a reviewer than I am an avid devourer of books) but I look forward to typing a glowing one tomorrow while playing passenger princess. It’s an understatement to say I like this book. I’ve already bought two copies! And seeing that UK copy… well… perhaps two will become three. Three is a good number to have. One to hold close, to become well-worn with many re-reads, to cherish like an old friend. Another to live on my mobile devices, easily at-hand when I need to pull up a quote or share a passage with my friends. Finally, a copy to lend out with the hope (but not expectation) it will one day find its way back to my bookshelves. Narrow Road is the exact sort of book I give out freely to others, the kind that makes itself at home in my heart and stays with me long after I’ve put it down. In a way reading this book felt like coming home. It felt right. Back when this story was known as The Lightning Tree and only lived on my phone, I often regretted not having a physical copy. I read it not only to myself but out loud to my partner. I loved it dearly. And now expanded, altered, transformed, I find I love it even more. I love getting to spend a day with Bast in Newarre. I love how we get a moment outside of the framed narrative to see Kote as nothing more than Kote the innkeeper. You’ve made a beautiful thing alongside Nate Taylor. I’m sorry for those who only see this story as “What Pat made instead of DOS”. They are missing out on a truly special novella. Thank you for going back to TLT, giving it some extra attention and bringing it to more of your fans. It’s a story I hope many come to love the way I do.
With much gratitude,
Lauren “Lo” Peebles
Yeah, people leaving the 1 star review before the the book released are simply protesting the length of time for Doors of Stone to come out and the lack of that promised chapter related to the stretch goal from a while back. Taken by itself, it’s a pretty shitty thing to do, but it seems it was the only actionable thing to get your attention. Don’t sweat it. We all think you are a great writer, and we all love your books a whole lot. I would wager a blog post addressing the missing chapter and any form of update on DOS would probably go a very long way with your fan base. Keep up the good work. At the end of the day your books bring a lot of people a lot of joy.
Pat, just a quick note to tell you how much happy it has brought me to click the little icon in my browser shortcut bar – something I have done pretty much every day for many, many years – and see a series of new posts from you pop up. This in NO way is meant to give you any feelings of guilt for the those periods where you choose to communicate with your fans in other ways, it is simply to let you know I much I enjoy and appreciate it when you do choose to share something here. The blog is how I first “met” you and so holds a special place for me. You have written many times about the agony you can put yourself through trying to craft the perfect blog post and hence your tendency to only do so when something truly momentous has occurred (or people need goats). But for my part at least, I can say that I’ll enjoy that little dopamine “ooh, Pat has posted something” hit when I click that little icon regardless of whether you have come forth with a Swiftian masterwork of wit or simply a “hey everybody, let me tell you about my shitty and/or amazing day” coffee fueled stream-of-consciousness rant. So, Pat, good to hear from you again so frequently, please go easy on yourself, and please don’t be a stranger. I’ll keep clicking that icon and be happy with what you feel you can give.
The TekWar mention made me laugh out loud. Gracious.
Hi, Pat. Love what you do and I’m elated that the book is doing so well. Positive thoughts to you and your kids. The world is crazy. If you can put a little good into it makes all of us feel better.
I need to proofread.
*If you can put a little good into it, it makes all of us feel better.
Damn my ADD.
Thank you as always!
With those beautiful editions from Gollancz not shipping to the US via their website… Is there any plan in the future to have special editions from the US equivalent? Or have these editions available in the US via Worldbuilders? Would love to see it.
Love,
A very jealous fan and pretty book collector
StoryGraph is smaller, but the reviews are all people who have read the books! 4.35 stars on there (out of 81 reviews)
I’d love to know what book I should start with, and what topics you write about. Get me started!
These do have interesting covers, which is not a good way to judge a book, ever. I usually flip open the cover for the upgrade tale. But in this case, I haven’t the pleasure of doing so. So I will apply to you, good sir, for the inside skinny, please.
Many thanks,
Aislínge
Dear Pat,
I have not read The Narrow Road Between Desires yet, but am extremely excited to do so. I cannot wait to read more of Bast’s story.
Also, I don’t know if you would even read these comments, but I wanted to personally thank you for everything you’ve created. Your books, and Kvothe’s struggles in particular, helped me get through the sudden loss of my father. Being able to have such a beautiful, mysterious world to get lost in has been a blessing for me.
Thank you again, and a happy Thanksgiving to you and your family.
Hi Pat, I just bought your book two days ago. So excited, I was jumping around Pike Place Market like a little kid. (I’m 51.) My fellow vendors were like: “What’s with this guy?” lol. Anyway, I just loved the book and I wanted to wish you the best of health and happiness this holiday season.
Much love, Marc Fendel, Seattle
In the depths of a quiet part of the furthest corner of England, a most unremarkable middle-aged woman sat reading during a quiet nightshift in a dark office.
She got to the the centre pages of a wonderful book and felt the heaviest feeling of soon finishing a book she wasn’t ready to finish.
It’s been a fair while since I’ve felt like that and the illustrations are absolutely perfect.
I love this story & the Authors Note at the end & message to your kids made this cold, old, granite heart soften more than it should & my eyes just a little watery.
‘Spose I should probably go to write a review then…
GREEN VITRIOL
My truest wish: two English tomes, well-dressed,
Of Marc Simonetti’s art, each face blessed.
If naught should unfold, invest foreign guise,
For in French/Portuguese, fare quests rise.
To crack the spine and learn unbinding’s grace,
On sympathy’s pact—might She feel displaced?
No gloating green, with vitriol’s hue cruel,
Nor gall of iron within ink shall fool.
The wound’s remedy, a task yet unbound,
A weapon’s salve, or powder deftly found.
Upon the bracing, implement in hand,
With care and craft, spells unwritten, unplanned.
Alas, my mind of such schemes, crestfallen—
One’s jocular beheading wrests, dawning.
As foreign titles cloak versions en-sleeved,
The cherished art, in my keen eyes, is freed.
And as desire spins thread from dark spool,
My notion of inquiry mends, retooled.
It, as turns of scen’ry beg shy Moon’s help,
So recovers two new Days from the shelf.
I accidentally bought 2 copies. And I’m so glad. I loved it. I thought that it was beautifully written and the illustrations are also lovely.
I’ve got the Australian hard cover editions. They’re beautiful.
I wish I could get my hands on those lovely Kingkiller Editions, but they’re probably $$ and if not, postage to Australia will be something ridiculously stupid, probably twice as much as the books cost :(
I suppose that I must just admire these from afar.
When I clicked on the Gollancz editions, it said they didn’t ship to the US… I was not pleased. They’re beautiful, though
Thank you Pat for sending signed copies to the UK! I bought three! One for my sister who introduced me to your wonderful books, and one for m bestie who I introduced to your amazing books! And one for me! I gave my sister her copy yesterday so now I can start reading! I’m certain it will be fantastic! ❤️🌟🏴
P.s. my bestie has an incredible Welsh accent sometimes I get her to read me bits so the accent adds to your wonderful lyrical words ❤️
Thank you your writing is a gift. (And the artwork is stunning Nate!)
My birthday is soon, so I can’t wait to be gifted your book. :D :D
I don’t care how long it takes you to write doors of stone, as long as you can write it in a way you want it and feel good about it. I mean I can’t wait to read it but I’m a patient person. Good things need time. If I’m 80 and will read it then, it was worth the waiting. Thank you for your art!
I have this beautiful version of Narrow Road, I love it so much!
I also bought the Audible (Rupert Degas version) and although I prefer the voices used in The Lightning Tree, it’s still a masterpiece.
The ONLY thing I did notice on my first read/listen is that on page 127 it says “bakers boy” when referring to who Bast got the green stone from – when in this book you changed Brann to be a girl at the beginning :)
Otherwise absolutely love it! Thank you.
Any idea why these special editions aren’t available to ship to the US? I’d love an opportunity to purchase someday, regardless of shipping costs! BTW – my daughter is named Auri 🥰
Pat,
Thank you for sharing your stories with us. The world is a better place because of them.
I think a porch thief got my copy because the USPS “delivered it” but I had to work late and it wasn’t there when I got home. :(
Time to go check the same local bookstore I ordered through to see if I can get another copy, and I hope the thief is a fan of yours!
This is just an interesting fact. Maybe it adds some perspective.
Pats published works already amount to more words than Shakespeares complete lifetime works.
You can look it up if you like. But it’s true anway :)
Do you have a good place to send/post typos or apparent errors we find? (I know the math error in NotW drove you crazy, but it had to feel better to have it fixed for later editions, right?)
The Lightning Tree was a great short story.
The Narrow Road Between Desires is a really, really excellent novella.
Fine details that are not necessary to is excellence but are nonetheless appreciated:
* I love that the title is iambic to match The Slow Regard of Silent Things.
* I love how often Bast’s speech contains rhymes (often hidden a bit, stretched across multiple paragraphs of his dialogue, and internal rather than at line ends) in his normal conversation, and I love how the rhyming becomes more obvious/pronounced/closer together when he gets more passionate/serious/dramatic.
* Kostrel’s awesome. He’s probably not going to get in as much trouble as Kvothe did, but he has way too much skill at seeing truth, and he’s going to get in a lot of trouble.
All the work you did tearing it down to the studs and rebuilding was worth it. All the changes were improvements.
what math error? the one involving the dates from pawning Rhetoric and Logic at the Broken Binder to his acceptance to the Arcanum? or is there a different error I didn’t catch despite rereading the book periodically?
I also know of a typo when telling Denna about the wild oat (“it’s” instead of “its”), the new currency appendix not including the Modegan Strehlaum, the new maps saying “Haeth” instead of “Haert” (and the general inconsistency in the series between “Cershaen” and “Khershaen”), and of course Ambrose not being subject to any laws of man, including old man Kvothe’s law to only refer to characters by their description until young Kvothe learns their name within the story.
is there anything else you can add?
Probably this, which has since been fix’d: https://www.reddit.com/r/KingkillerChronicle/comments/2nehzm/did_anyone_else_do_the_math_problem_during
The vast majority of people reading your writing over the years love it. They read your books multiple times, tell their friends and family and coworkers to be part of Temerant and its wondrous inhabitants. Sadly, the people that believe they are entitled to the conclusion of Kingkiller Chronicles when they want it and on their terms and believe you take pleasure in denying it are responsible for the low scores. This is when you need to be reminded that the greatest reward you can give us is your work, on your terms. Because the ones that matter are living for the moments when we are in a quiet room reading your books and smiling. That’s why we love all of our favorite authors and why we love you.
mr rothfuss it is so so important to me that you know all the cool kids, all the truly enlightened beautiful intelligent sexy and kind readers of the world, are on storygraph !!! not goodreads !!!! and it has 4.34 stars there !! and all the written reviews are sweet and true ! <3
I wouldn’t give the reviews much truck. You’re basically confirming to people who are using them to lash out over book 3 and the chapter that this gets to you.
I’ve found that people tend to fall into one of two groups when reading Rothfuss books. “What the heck is this, where is the plot?” and “yes, yesssss, this appeals to me.” There are lots of books with the usual three-act story structure, love triangles, conflict, and so on. If this isn’t your thing, you have PLENTY of other options.
Some of the one-star reviews were irrational hate because they wanted Doors released instead. (Dinner isn’t ready so you’re annoyed to get a snack??) I get it, I do, but it’s easy to lose time when wandering with the Fae and the Old Gods. Buy the bard a drink and enjoy the fire, traveler.
I’m very glad the rating in goodreads is closer to 4 stars, I’m sure the book would be >4 if trolls were not trolling around. I honestly can’t wait to read the book in February, when it’s going to be released in Spanish ♥️✨.
Several years ago, I stopped buying physical books and have since only been reading eBooks. It’s simply more practical. Even though I miss the nostalgic feeling of holding a book in my hands from time to time. But for this book, I just HAD to buy the real thing. Mainly because of the beautiful illustrations that I knew from The Slow Regard of Silent Things, but also to have it in my bookshelf.
It was an incredibly good feeling to hold a the book in my hands (that isn’t technical literature) and just immerse myself in the story.
Luckily, we get the UK version here in Germany. I like the cover much better.
Thank you for the wonderful book and best regards.
I wasn’t aware of this, I’ve lived in England for a while and picked it up from the native speakers as it’s being used quite frequently here – my most sincere apologies, definitely didn’t mean to be offensive. Thank you for letting me know as it’ll help me avoid any faux pas in the future!
A wonderful addition to the canon, Thank You. 3π/10
The people feel entitled to receive art on their terms are the ones least likely to appreciate it.
Blimey, that’s an amazing way of putting it. You’ve summed up so much of the Internet.
About a year and a half ago, I picked up The Name of The Wind at a friend’s house, while I was recovering from surgery and it changed my life. I have since bought physical copies of each published book, and this one is no different. However, as I am in South Africa, I am still waiting for my newest book to arrive and I can with absolute certainty say I am beyond excited to read it. Of course, The Doors of Stone is my truest “Desire” when it comes to reading, this novel will suffice until the time is right…
It saddens me that people, whom clearly love these books, are having such a hard time articulating their frustrations, and have punished what I am sure is a glorious contribution to the Chronicles…
As it stands, my book is due to arrive on the 12th of December, and I am besides myself with excitement…
Thank you, Mr Rothfuss, for the wonder you have brought to my life, and countless others. You are an absolute LEGEND!! Let no-one tell you otherwise…
Thank you. I had read The Lightning Tree, but when I read The Narrow Road Between Desires I wept cathartically. This story cuts right to the core of struggles I think many people can empathize with but don’t have the words to explain. I needed this story; thank you for reworking it and for your afterword, it was also very touching.
Listening to the audio book, and just had to pop in to thank you for your lovely description of Bast cooling off at the pool. Suddenly, i feel a bit… Thirsty 😉
It’s been a few minutes since i read The Lightning Tree, so it’s like getting a brand new story ❤️
The Narrow Road Between Desires is yet another beautiful book about wonderful characters that I dearly love. Thank you for this deeper glimpse into Bast. <3
“Bows and dresses don’t matter much,” he said. “She decided she’s a girl, so she’s a girl.” THIS makes my trans heart so happy. Love you pat. Hope no one gets too mad at that comment lol
Incredible book! I love these little additions. Far from just a little more character development, you open into a whole new world defined by the quarks and lived reality of each character. Impeccably written and oddly insightful. And I do mean oddly. This an A slow regard for silent things, are absolutely perfect editions!!
Hi Pat, it’s taken me a while to find where I can leave a message. I’m currently drinking tea, lying in a cosy bed camping in the very beautiful Otway Eanges in Victoria Oz. An exquisite lateral summers dawn sun is breaking thru the rainforest, a family of Kookaburras are sqwarking happily to one another and I am lost in your latest offering. You are a wonderful writer. Your world making etc always apparent… but it’s your immense sensitivity to context and and human (and fae) vulnerabilities that is so exquisite. Kind, tender, quick, deeply engaging. 5 out of 5 for me.
I’m not the good reads reviewing type but given the context of your blog I did want to let you know that I Truly loved Narrow Road. It’s possibly my favorite fae short story? Some of that likely has do to with how much I appreciate Bast as a character allready, but that concept of a “good wolf” is so well deployed here, and that has always been one my favorite aspects of the Faen. I cannot adjust the good read math from this corner of the internet but let it be known that it has 5 stars in my personal ledger.
Take down my post, but hopefully you see them and you realize you’re doing your fans wrong if you had any decency, you would take the other books down for sale until you finish it. Instead, you’re creating more fans only to hang them out to dry. If you can’t come up with a way to finish the story asked for help but stop selling books to people who are expecting an into the story and not getting it.