#The Narrow Road Between Desires

[starling-illu]

Barrel. Barley.

Stone and stave.

Wind and water.

Misbehave.

[bookcub]

The Narrow Road Between Desire by Patrick Rothfuss comes out in November, which will center on Bast.

[realdonkeykong]

I think the funniest result of Patrick Rothfuss taking so long between books is that, since enough time has passed between books 2 and 3 of Kingkiller that social progress (and his knowledge thereof) has made several strides forward, the current latest release (a spinoff about Bast) has unintentionally canonized the town of Newarre as a haven for Queer people in a world where otherwise, there is one gay relationship between two very minor characters. Kvothe fully went into hiding and chose to live in Gayville, Temerant and we love him for that

[logarithmicpanda]

The Narrow Road Between Desires (Patrick Rothfuss)

I was a bit lukewarm about this tbh but lbr I'm in too deep, of course I was gonna read it

I don't remember Lightning Tree all that well, but this definitely adds a lot

There isn't that much story, but it's Rothfuss, ambiance and worldbuilding are more of the point

There's a whole system of divination that wasn't touched in the main books

The illustrations are gorgeous and joyous

A lot of my issues with Lightning Tree were addressed

The book is surprisingly queer! Pan Bast! Trans rep and rights!

The treatment of abuse and how it is a cycle that can be broken made me cry

Also the author's note made me cry

I'm excited to reread this! And kkc! And find connections and stuff!

9/10

[cherry-oppa]

oh my god hi canonically bisexual bast!!!!!

i mean i feel like i already knew this but hi fucking hello!!!!!

[kvothes]

patrick rothfuss said i am not giving you book three but i WILL make bast a lil gay. as a treat

[kevin-sedai]

If someone ever said "You are as lovely as the moon" to me, I would just melt🥺

[incorrect-kkc-theories]

The Ritual that Bast does at the Lightning Tree before answering questions and dolling out favours links him (unbeknownst to himself or any other Fae) to the Cthaeh.

Granting him a touch of knowledge and insight, along with an extra helping of malice, and allowing the Cthaeh to influence him subtely but directly.

Think about it:

Fae at a Tree, Answers Questions, all Fae magic is either illusion or making something more of itself. So since no illusion occurred, and the most powerful Fae that answers Questions by a tree is the Cthaeh, to make the situation a greater version of itself, it must be more Cthaeh like.

[jswatson]

reading "the narrow road between desires" not knowing what i was getting into

good for patrick rothfuss for taking a break from writing a 5000 page long book and instead writing some fantasy erotica from time to time

[incorrectkingkillerquotes]

in case people are behind on book news, the narrow road between desires is out today! so you can now read it, should you feel the urge.

ive already read it and will be reblogging my full review sometime this week on here.

[dandelions-and-white-wolves]

Okay on a scale of one to ten how wrong would it be for me to go to Barnes and Nobel, plop my ass down and read the entirety of The Narrow Road Between Desires

[bookcub]

Book Review: The Narrow Road Between Desires by Patrick Rothfuss

I'm not gonna lie, I was worried I would not enjoy this book. I read The Lighting Tree about 7 or so years ago and never revisited it as it left a bad taste in my mouth and made me dislike Bast. So even though this was an updated and expanded version, I was very worried. Nevertheless, I knew I would regret not buying this book and I am so glad I did.

This was pretty fun. And one of my main concerns was updated in this version (I think). That was the lack of consent and the aspect of voyeurism by Bast specifically. From what I recall, there was no specific addressing consent of Emberlee in The Lighting Tree and Rothfuss does directly address it here. It still feels very male gaze-y but there was more awareness around the subject, so it did not greatly impact my enjoyment.

I was over the moon at Bast being confirmed as bisexual (and polyamorous???) as well as the inclusion of trans people in Temerent. They were small moments but they felt very significant, considering current events.

The chapter art was amazing, although I found the full pages to be less my style. They were by no means bad but do not bring me the joy the art from Slow Regard does.

As always, I'm sure this will serve rereading well as there are a lot of details I am sure I missed. I also am curious to reread the original and see what was changed. . .. And Pat's writing is so intricate and beautiful that I always love seeing what callbacks I can find to other moments.

My favorite part, however, was the second to last scene when Bast and Rike are talking. It was really beautiful to me, a call back to the start of the story and to the end of The Name of the Wind. I teared up and thought it was thoughtful and lovely and powerful.

This is absolutely worth picking up if you are a fan of the series, especially if you are a fan of Bast. 4/5 stars for me and I had a blast reading this! I liked Bast a lot more after this updated story!

[gollancz]

THIS IS NOT A DRILL

NOVEMBER 14TH 2023

BRAND NEW ROTHFUSS

THE NARROW ROAD BETWEEN BROKEN DESIRES

It's real. It's happening. In six months you will be able to hold in your hands a brand new novella by Rothfuss himself.

Pre-order from Waterstones now:

[logarithmicpanda]

The Narrow Road Between Desires VS The Lightning Tree

I reread both simultaneously to be able to have a more objective opinion on them.

TL;DR the new version of the story adds, on top of the illustrations, several additional scenes and some very welcome revisions. It is a kinder, queerer, and more magical version of the same story. For me it is definitely worth the read!

Spoilers below:

First let's crunch the raw numbers. Based on the audiobook version TLT has an estimated 27,807 words and TNRBD is at 71,760 words, so almost three times at long. The sections in TLT are arranged a bit differently than in TNRBD but I will use them to do a more detailed breakdown below:

TLT:

Morning: The Narrow Road (29p)

TNRBD:

Dawn: Artistry (6p) Morning: Embril (18p) Mid morning: The Narrow Road (40p) Mid-day: Birds (8p)

Total: 72 pages

The same events are covered, but TNRBD expends on Bast and Kote's characterization. I think the story takes place before NOTW btw, because Bast looks intrigued when Kostrel jokingly tells him to write a book if he knows so much. I think that was was made Bast try to have Kote write his memoirs himself, a while before Chronicler ever sets foot in the Waystone Inn.

The order in which Bast does his turns around the tree changes, the breaking way first, then the making way. I'm not sure yet how I interpret that lol.

One of the boys is changed to a girl, and the first secret she gives about a man sleeping with someone who is not his wife implies that it might be an open relationship in this version (everyone knows, including the wife).

A girl named Gretta in TLT is now Grett, and explicitly referred to using they/them.

New divination system introduced, with things called Embrils that Bast uses kinda like runes, to do tosses

Instead of a shepherdess, Bast charms a shepherd (Bi!Bast for the win) who very cutely embroiders stuff on Bast's pants while mending them

The bargain with Kostrel is more complex, touches on Fae magic and debts, and Bast gets tricked into accepting the gift of a penance coin...

When Kostrel asks Bast to describe Emberlee's breast to him, Bast says he will only do it if she gives her permission

When Bast takes his bath, both men and women are watching (in both versions, he very well knows they are there)

---

TLT:

Afternoon: Birds and Bees (32p)

TNRBD:

Mid-day: Birds (continued, 16p) Noon: Obligation (17p) Afternoon: Still (33p) Moonrise: Sweetness (11p) Evening: riddles (7p)

Total: 84 pages

I had forgotten, but TLT already had bits of queerness, namely the little girl who saw "mama kiss the maid", and when Bast goes watch Emberlee bathe, it is strongly implied she was among the women watching him earlier. In TNRBD, that is expended upon.

When the little girl wants to know if her kitten is a boy or a girl, there's this quote that I really liked: Bast would rather tell the bigger truth than the smaller one anyway. "Bows and dresses don't matter much," he said. "She decided she's a girl, so she's a girl."

The girl is also smarter in this version

Rike has a hold on Bast because of the penance coin, so there's a bit of additional plot around that

Rike's sister is named earlier instead of being an afterthought

Bast does some magic on Rike to get rid of his obligation

The description of the still is longer, and the alcohol has a different flavor (no opinion on that but some people might theorize about it lol)

There's a second Embril throw, and Kostrel admits Emberlee told him where she bathed expressly so Bast could find her

Bast, Emberlee, Kholi and Dax (the shepherd) seem to be a polycule and everyone knows haha

Grett is mentioned again, along with "harthan tea" which I assume is fantasy HRT xD

---

TLT:

Evening: Lessons (17p)

TNRBD:

Sunset: lies (17p) Twilight: carrots (1p) Night: demons (15p) Midnight: lessons (11p)

Total: 44 pages

The conclusion to the story has a long additional scene and a few more changes

Instead of Martin punching a tinker because he was assaulting a young girl, he punches the tinker because he had pushed down Old Cob

A scene where Rike washes his face and Bast notices the bruises he has from his father beating him have been moved later in TNRBD

There's a prediction from the Embrils that gets realized here, and the way the narration speaks of Bast and his desires impacting the world feel very reminiscent of TSROST, I wonder if Auri is using Grammarie? Is it just another name for Shaping?

Longer description that empathizes that Bast beat the shit out of Rike's father

There's an entirely new scene of Bast talking to Rike and helping him heal from his terror of becoming an abuser like his dad

I particularly liked that last bit, the story was always a commentary on the cycle of abuse, but this version makes it clear it can be broken. Overall, as I said in the intro, TNRBD is a lot kinder as a story. And meaner towards abusive fathers which is always a plus for me lmao. Bast is made very explicitly queer, as are some of the side characters, and the women are better treated as a whole, with more emphasis on consent. I have to say, in both versions Bast offers to take Kote to where Emberlee bathes, and there's no mention of her agreeing to that, so eh.

But I really appreciate the changes that have been made, and the extra magic. Plus the illustrations are lovely as the moon. I'm even more excited about Doors of Stone now (who knew it was possible lol) because I feel like Pat has grown a lot as a writer since WMF :D

[tinkerbitch69]

Reading The Narrow Road Between Desires and not only do trans people canonically exist in the kingkiller chronicle now but also apparently transfemmes get their hrt by drinking a special kind of tea!

God, I wanna live in temerant 🥺

[kvothes]

i honestly was not expecting to be as affected as i was by the presence of kvothe in the narrow road. even though he’s hardly there and is very pointedly never named, neither as kvothe or kote. but ohhh my god my special boy i’m chin in hands kicking my feet like hiii