Fantasy legend Brandon Sanderson (Mistborn, The Stormlight Archive) has defended The Kingkiller Chronicle author Patrick Rothfuss over the long and gruelling wait for The Doors of Stone.
Patrick Rothfuss has come under a lot of slander from readers over the last few years over the ginormous wait for The Doors of Stone — the final and conclusive novel in his Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy. To put the delay into perspective, fans have now been waiting well over a decade to see how the story wraps up, with many losing faith in ever seeing the crucial, conclusive novel. The situation is very similar to George R.R. Martin’s lengthy delay writing The Winds of Winter.
The second novel in the trilogy, The Wise Man’s Fear, was released way back in 2011. The novel was a big one, clocking in at just under 350,000 words. In the story, many fans have theorised that Rothfuss may have created too many strands in the plot, leading to potential plot-holes (not least with the Cthaeh). Wrapping every loose end up in a way that satisfies fans is an incredibly complex jigsaw.
Rothfuss hasn’t been as vocal about his progress in recent months, but in his older Twitch live-streams, he used to share plenty of small details about The Doors of Stone. Back in 2021, Rothfuss read aloud the prologue to the threequel. It wasn’t much, naturally, considering the prologue is very similar to the first two novels, but it was a step in the right direction. Moreover, he’s still somewhat actively writing in the Kingkiller world, having released novella The Narrow Road Between Desires in 2023.
Currently, no release date for The Doors of Stone is in sight. You can learn more about the current status of the book here.
Fantasy legend Brandon Sanderson defends Patrick Rothfuss
Rothfuss has no shortage of defenders in the industry. Not least legendary fantasy author Brandon Sanderson — a writer some people have suggested should complete the series on behalf of Rothfuss. Sanderson is no stranger to writing enormous fantasy novels; he’s one of the most potent and consistent writers in the sector.
In a recent statement, Sanderson revealed that he believes Rothfuss will eventually publish book 3. He mentions Rothfuss’s seminal work in reference to how he believes the trilogy will end — in the style of a Greek tragedy. Read what he said below:
“I’m on record saying multiple times saying I think this is the structure that Pat Rothfuss is going to use when he’s writing The Name Of The Wind trilogy, if we ever get the third one, which I think we will. I know Pat. No one wants that book to get done more than him, I believe I’ve said that one before, but I believe this is a classic Greek tragedy.”
It remains to be seen whether Rothfuss publishes The Doors of Stone. I truly hope so. However, don’t fall for those pesky Amazon placeholder release dates. When Patrick Rothfuss announces the release of The Doors of Stone, fans across the internet will widely celebrate and highlight it!
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