There has been much angst among the sci-fi/fantasy community about stalled series like George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice and Fire and Scott Lynch’s Gentleman Bastard Sequence. Some fans have given up on those series, while others have taken more destructive measures. Some small portion have begun to harass these authors, prompting Neil Gaiman to write about entitlement issues.
Patrick Rothfuss has faced similar issues. Since the 2013 release of the second book in his Kingkiller Chronicle, The Wise Man’s Fear, fans have taken to social media to demand that Rothfuss spend more time on finishing his series. This often has an inverse effect, however: In a YouTube video, Rothfuss spoke about the need to focus on the positive fans, rather than the negative. He has also been open about how his personal life and mental health have affected the progress of book three.
However, despite the doubt of both his fans and his own editor, it’s clear that Rothfuss has not given up on The Doors of Stone. It’s equally clear that Rothfuss has not been idle with his time. His nonprofit Worldbuilders has raised more than $10 million for charities like Heifer International, which seeks to end hunger and poverty.
Authors like Jim Butcher and S.L. Huang have joined forces with Rothfuss and his Worldbuilders, which offers literary rewards to those who donate. One such reward was a hint at what’s to come in the Kingkiller Chronicle. On his blog, Rothfuss wrote that the prologue is a “tease. A paltry page. It’s barely a bite. A meager morsel for those whose hearts are hungry for a story.”
Fortunately the prologue did not seem meager to his fans, who met his challenge and earned their reward. Here, then, is Rothfuss narrating an early draft of The Doors of Stone’s prologue.
Patrick Rothfuss Reading The Doors of Stone Prologue
Featured photo: Patrick Rothfuss / YouTube
