The Name of the Wind
The Name of the Wind by Patrick Rothfussby Patrick Rothfuss
Shares rank 11 of 41 fantasy novels by recommenders
Praised for its prose and writing, though some find the plot less impressive and the series is unfinished.
Praised for its prose and writing, though some find the plot less impressive and the series is unfinished.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 3 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: not recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 3 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, not met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Praised prose and writing
“people praising the prose of The Name of the Wind but being less impressed with its plot”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” “Way better writing and stories than DCC”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?” Stories judged better than DCC
“Way better writing and stories than DCC”
Comment from 30 Sep 2026 in “Ask HN: What are you reading?”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Plot less impressive than prose
“people praising the prose of The Name of the Wind but being less impressed with its plot”
Comment from 23 Aug 2026 in “To become a better writer, read as much as you can” Series unfinished
“With reservations, I'd recommend: Patrick Rothfuss (unfinished)”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Maybe the Default Settings Are Too High”
Other fantasy novels people recommend
The four most recommended other fantasy novels, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Lord of the Ringsby J.R.R. Tolkien | 66 | 11 | 86% | 12 | 15 yrs5 owners | Approved |
| The Hobbitby J.R.R. Tolkien | 49 | 13 | 79% | 9 | — | Approved |
| Dungeon Crawler Carlby Matt Dinniman | 48 | 6 | 89% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| Harry Potter and the Methods of Rationalityby Eliezer Yudkowsky | 19 | 17 | 53% | 7 | — | — |
| The Name of the Windby Patrick RothfussThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 3 | — | — |
What people said
3 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“Way better writing and stories than DCC”
“people praising the prose of The Name of the Wind but being less impressed with its plot”
“With reservations, I'd recommend: Patrick Rothfuss (unfinished)”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.