Warning! May be spoilers. Proceed with caution. 
 There are so many reasons as to why this book is great. So many. 
 Let's start with the size. 722 pages might seem like a lot, but honestly, towards the end I was trying to slow down. I wanted to savor every last word and phrase. There's a quote from Inkheart by Cornelia Funke that goes something like this: "Some books should be tasted, some devoured, but only a few should be chewed and digested thoroughly." The Name of the Wind is definitely of the latter sort. I gnawed on it like my pitbull gnaws on a bone, but I just took longer. I simply did not want it to end. 
 Why? Why didn't you want it to end, oh brilliant Way? 
 Sit down and I shall tell you, my dears. I'll tell you exactly why. 
 We'll start with the beauty that is the English language. Or, to be more precise, Patrick Rothfuss's poetic grasp of it. More than once I read lines over, sometimes five to six times and smiled to myself or simply laughed at the humor or the enchanting charm. To put it simply, his words! His words! The way he strung them together... The way they sounded when I whispered them aloud to the wind... His control of his words is admirable to be put lightly and sometimes seemed to border on unreal. 
 The world. The important thing with fantasy is to create a world different from our own, but not so different that it's unbelievable. Rothfuss captured the balance perfectly. The world had elements of our own, it was relatable, but it was magical at the same time. The sympathy, the university, and the cultures. Oh, the people: the Chandrian, the Fae (whom we haven't seen much of but will, hopefully, get acquainted with in the next book.) Most impressionable were the Edema Ruh: this world's equivalent of gypsies and traveling performers. That first half of the book where you live with Ruh and see Kvothe's childhood... Well, it was heartwarming. His parents could easily have been one of my favorite aspects of the book. Their relationship was just so enchanting and sweet. I could have read about them for hours. 
 Ah, but if we are talking about people groups, before we should talk more specifically about the people themselves. As I've already said, Kvothe's parents were a favorite of mine, but there were other, even more endearing characters. Auri, for example, became an instant favorite. The gutter-snipe, possibly mad, but endearing little girl captured my heart completely, even if only there for a few scenes. 
 And, like most young ladies it would seem, I did have a, well, um, favorable view of Bast, to say the least. However, it was not Bast's charm that captured me (though it had a part,) but rather it was his loyalty to his Reshi and teacher. His admiration of Kvothe and the friendly care he provides for him touched me and all that he would do to see his Reshi happy once more made me smile. 
 Of course, I loved many of the smaller characters: Devi, Elodin (gotta love mad geniuses,) Sim, Wil, and at times (a very few) Fela and Denna. 
 This leads me to biggest seed of my discontent with this story. The women. They are all very well and done, especially Devi and Auri who I adore, but Denna and Fela... They irked me, more Denna. I'm sure she had quite the sob story, but her actions of playing with the young boys who fell for her were far from honorable. Poor Kvothe, to fall in love with such a cruel, cruel lady. Fela was slightly better, more so before the fire. 
 And then there is Kvothe... At first, he struck me as typical. Oh, look, another angsty, brilliant for his age, powerful, musical hero-boy. Haven't seen this one before. 
 He grew on me though and I like him now, though I hope to see him improve even more in the next book. At this point, I think he's a very good character, but the potential to be a positively stunning character is there. Don't mess it up, Rothfuss. Please, don't mess it. 
 All in all, I adored this book, I really did. Despite my peeves with the main characters, I enjoyed it so much that I'll give it a five out of five. Well done, Kingkiller, well done. 
 Now, I shall proceed to writhe in agony until the next book is in my hands. Augh, I want it!