Finally! We have a date for Patrick Rothfuss’s next book set in the world of the Kingkiller Chronicle!!! Oh, hang on, you thought we meant ‘that one’? Sorry, no, we meant the Novella he spoke about in Reddit’s Ask Me Anything a few months ago. It will be published by DAW Books on November 4, 2014 and will be called The Slow Regard of Silent Things.
Here’s what we’ve been told about it by the publishers:
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.
Amazon shines a bit more light too:
A companion novella to Patrick Rothfuss’ bestselling Kingkiller Chronicle novels, The Slow Regard of Silent Things shares an enchanting new perspective on the Four Corners realm.
Renowned as a bastion of knowledge, the University draws the brightest minds to unravel the mysteries of enlightened sciences, such as artificing and alchemy. Yet deep below its bustling halls lies a complex web of abandoned rooms and ancient passageways. In the heart of this cavernous maze is a young woman named Auri, who calls this Underthing her home.
Formerly a student at the University, Auri now spends her days tending to the world around her. She knows that some mysteries are better settled and safe. No longer fooled by the sharp rationality so trusted by those above her, Auri sees beyond the surface of things, into subtle dangers and hidden names.
At once joyous and haunting, The Slow Regard of Silent Things is a richly atmospheric and lyrical tale, featuring one of the most beloved characters from Rothfuss’ acclaimed fantasy series.
Sadly, many comments on the announcement haven’t been overly positive. A significant number of fans seem to be getting impatient with Rothfuss choosing to work on separate, backward & lateral side projects rather than pressing forward with the story… However, I’m more sympathetic and would like to think that this is Rothfuss’s way of working out certain parts of the third. I remember reading that he added Auri into the book after he’d finished the draft of the trilogy in 2000 – so maybe this book shows his need to get his head around her character’s backstory to enrich the third book, for example.
The announcement of this novella means that we are now only waiting for one date of the three novellas that Rothfuss promised readers in his Ask Me Anything on Reddit (one focusing on Auri, one focusing on Bast and another on Laniel – an adventurer who the Kvothe thinks is the best person who ever lived). The blurb confirms this is the Auri one and the Bast one will feature in George R.R. Martin & Fardner Dozois’s Rogues anthology due out in June.
And, although a release date hasn’t been announced yet, you can listen to Rothfuss read the first 10 minutes or so of The Tale of Laniel Young Again here too, so it’s obviously not too far from done:
Personally, I’m excited about all of these projects and none more so than The Slow Regard of Silent Things. It is pretty big at 176 pages and DAW books are promising that it will be a ‘beautiful package’, so I’m expecting some nice artwork. No news as to whether it will be available in the UK yet, but I’m fairly certain Gollancz will be looking to bring it over (they’ve recently done some nice Novella work with authors such as Sarah Pinborough).
