Everything Patrick Rothfuss Has Said About ‘The Doors of Stone’

Over the years, Patrick Rothfuss has spilled plenty of details about The Doors of Stone, the third novel in his beloved Kingkiller Chronicle series. Let’s take a look at all of the most interesting things he’s said. 

Patrick Rothfuss’ best-selling Kingkiller Chronicle begins starts with The Name of the Wind (2007), which follows Kvothe, a recluse innkeeper with a troubled, mystifying and tragic past. Over the course of the novel, he recounts his life and the myriad events that shaped him. And that just scratches the surface.

The Kingkiller series was continued a few years later with The Wise Man’s Fear (2011), which further continued Rothfuss’ masterful story. He went on to write a number of companion novels, including The Slow Regard of Silent Things (2014). His most recent addition to the Kingkiller universe was The Narrow Road Between Desires, which released in 2023.

The third and final novel in the Kingkiller trilogy, wrapping up Kvothe’s story, is The Doors of Stone. 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.

What do we know about The Doors of Stone so far?

When it comes to what we know about The Doors of Stone, pretty much every detail comes from what author Rothfuss has shared on his Twitch livestreams. Over the years, the author has raised incredible amounts of money for the charity Worldbuilders (which you can learn more about and donate to here). During these streams, which supported his fundraising efforts, Rothfuss has frequently discussed details about the long-awaited novel.

Perhaps most notably is the time he read out loud the full prologue to The Doors of Stone. Following the same motif of the other prologues in The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man’s Fear, the one-page opening takes place in the Waystone Inn, setting the scene and poetic tone for the entire story. The full prologue to the novel is as follows:

“It was still night in the middle of Newarre. The Waystone Inn lay in silence and it was a silence of three parts. The most obvious part was a vast echoing quiet made by things that were lacking. If the horizon had shown the slightest kiss of blue, the town would be stirring. There would be the crackle of kindling, the gentle murmur of water simmering for porridge or tea. The slow dewy hush of folk walking through the grass would have brushed the silence off the front steps of houses with the indifferent briskness of an old birch broom. If Newarre had been large enough to warrant watchmen, they would have trudged and grumbled the silence away like an unwelcome stranger. If there’d been music… but no of course there was no music. In fact there were none of these things, and so the silence remained.In the basement of the Waystone, there was the smell of coal smoke and seared iron. Everywhere was the evidence of hurried work, tools scattered, bottles left in disarray, a spill of acid hissed quietly to itself, having slopped over the edge of a wide stone bowl. Nearby the bricks of a tiny forge made small, sweet pinging noises as they cooled. These tiny forgotten noises added a furtive silence to a large echoing one. They bound it together like tiny stitches of bright brass thread. The low drumming counterpoint, a timbre beat behind a song.The third silence was not an easy thing to notice. If you listened long enough, you might begin to feel it in the chill copper of the Waystone’s locks turned tight to keep the night at bay. It lurked in the thick timbers of the door and nestled deep in the building’s gray foundation stones. And it was in the hands of the man who had designed the Inn as he slowly undressed himself beside a bare and narrow bed. The man had true red hair, red as flame. His eyes were dark and weary and he moved with the slow care of a man who is badly hurt, or tired, or old beyond his years. The Waystone was his just as the third silence was his. This was appropriate as it was the greatest silence of the three, holding the others inside itself. It was deep and wide as autumn’s ending. It was heavy as a great river smooth stone. It was the patient cut-flower sound of a man who is waiting to die.”

Rothfuss wants to continue writing in the Kingkiller world.

On numerous occasions, the author has cited that there’s a high possibility of further adventures in Temerant after The Doors of Stone had released.

In fact, there’s one story he’s been pondering for a while. “I have a cool idea for the story of a girl who lives in Modeg, she makes Gods. I’ve had the first line running around in my head for years,” he said.

He’s also keen on writing another story about fan-favorite character Auri, although don’t expect the title to be as simple as The Slow Regard of Silent Things 2. “No, it’ll never be called that,” he said. “I might write another story just about Auri though.”

When will we see The Doors of Stone?

The short answer to this question is we don’t know. I’m fully aware that answer doesn’t help at all — it’s the same answer you’d get if you asked me every year of the last decade. One slightly positive sign came from a quote earlier this year from esteemed fantasy scribe Brandon Sanderson, who 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.”

Many readers have given up hope on ever seeing it. But should the novel ever make its way into the hands of readers, it’ll undoubtedly be a success.