If you haven’t read the firs two books of The Kingkiller Chronicle by Patrick Rothfuss (and you loved A Song of Ice and Fire) then you are missing out on what is surely to join the ranks as one of the best fantasy trilogies of our time. And following the way of “Game of Thrones,” The Kingkiller Chronicle are heading to television. Deadline announced that 20th Century Fox has officially optioned the television rights of the incomplete trilogy to develop and ongoing series.
The Kingkiller Chronicle so far as only released the first two novels, “The Name of the Wind” and “The Wise Man’s Fear.” Rothfuss and speculated that the third and final novel will be released sometime in 2014. The story follows Kvothe, a famed adventurer, fighter, and musician. The novels are presented as older Kvothe recounting his story to Devan Lochees (known as Chronicler) in the form of a memoir and thusly the novels are divided in two streams: the present where he is telling his story in the main room of his inn under his new identity as Kote, and Kvothe’s past and the truth behind all the stories that surround him. The present-day interludes are in the third person from the perspective of multiple characters, while the story of Kvothe’s life is told entirely in the first person from his own perspective. The series also contains many metafictional stories-within-stories from varying perspectives, most of which are recounted by Kvothe, having been heard from other characters in his past.
The series will begin with “The Name of the Wind” and is planned to follow through all the books. There is no word yet on how they plan to adapt the novels or if they will be incorporating other aspects of Rothfuss’ writing involving the world that the novels take place.
Television seems the way to go when adapting long-term fantasy novels. It results in longer hours with the ability to better adapt the story without having to streamline much as opposed to adapting for a movie. Both the already released novels are PACKED with story. So much happens that you could literally make a movie out of every section of the novel. Not to mention that because the novels are already written with a built-in framing device, the overall structure would lend itself well to a series rather than just a few movies.
However, there are a few concerns. Will the series have the production value as “Game of Thrones” does? Kvothe travels around the world to places that vary drastically from one another. This needs to be handled carefully and fully fledged out on-screen as Rothfuss does in print. Another concern involves the unreliable narrator that is Kvothe. We have to take what he says as face value and therefore much of the narration involves his inner thoughts and feelings and reflections on what was happening as he recounts his life. This will be a delicate process to adapt for a primarily visual medium.
One bright spot on the horizon is the involvement of the author. Rothfuss has repeatedly said he would not sell the rights unless he was confident they would do the novels justice. He has already turned down several offers in the past. If he finally accepted this one, it is reasonable to assume the adaptation would be at least somewhat the vision that Rothfuss has. Hopefully this also means he will serve on the series in some way or another.
Eric Heisserer is currently attached to adapt the series while serving as executive producer. The network that the adaptation will be appearing has not yet been announced.