As in The Name of the Wind, the preceding novel, this book follows a two-story structure. The frame story consists of Kvothe, his friend Bast, and a storyteller known as the Chronicler who is recording Kvothe's tale. In this book, as in the previous book, Bast is concerned that Kvothe has been very apathetic, and wants to shake him out of his apathy. In the previous book he tries to enlist the Chronicler's help in this by urging him to ask about Kvothe's exploits, but in this story he eventually tries to unleash soldiers on Kvothe's inn (where the storytelling is taking place) in an effort to invigorate him, which does not succeed.
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The "past story" narrative resumes where it left off - Kvothe's summoning of the wind in a fight with his rival Ambrove drew the attention of the Master Namer, with whom Kvothe now studies. Without a scholarship like he had last year, Kvothe is forced to borrow money from a moneylender named Devi to pay his university tuition.
Kvothe's rivalry with Ambrose continues in this novel. They begin to sabotage each other in various petty ways. When Kvothe has an interview for admissions in the next term at the university, Ambrose slips Kvothe a potion which will remove Kvothe's inhibitions and affect his behavior, leading Kvothe to postpone his interviews. Then Kvothe learns that Ambrose stole Denna's ring (Denna is the love interest of the series). When Kvothe tries to break into Ambrose's room to steal the ring back, he is forced to jump out the window because Ambrose returns earlier than he had anticipated. The wind-calling incident from the first novel, which broke Ambrose's arm, is still a problem in this book as well as Kvothe might be punished for it, as it is a serious offense.
Then Kvothe experiences sickness, and concludes that someone is performing a spell on him. The mystery of who this attacker is cannot be easily solved. It could be Devi the moneylender, who needs security against the loan and might take it from Kvothe's body in the form of blood. However, when Kvothe's tries to manipulate Devi into confessing that he has Kvothe's blood, he is unsuccessful and then realizes that it was Ambrose who stole Kvothe's blood. Kvothe destroys the vial of blood that Ambrose has by setting fire to Ambrose's room. However, Kvothe cannot savor this triumph for long as he is arrested by the church for the wind-summoning incident from the previous novel. Although Kvothe is eventually cleared of all charges, he realizes there is a lot of ill will towards him in Tarbean and he takes the advice to leave the university for a while.
Kvothe travels to the city of Severen and is hired as a musician (skills he learned from playing his lute in the first novel, and when he was part of his parents' traveling troupe of performers) by the nobleman Maer Alveron. He finds that the object of Maer Alveron's affections, Lady Meluan, hates the traveling troupe that Kvothe had been born into. Nevertheless, Kvothe helps Maer Alveron woo Lady Meluan by ghostwriting the Maer's love letters and poems, using Denna (Kvothe's own love) as inspiration. Meanwhile, Kvothe has also learned that Maer Alveron is slowly being poisoned by the arcanist, though the Maer is in ignorance of this. He gives Kvothe more authority, allowing Kvothe to hunt down bandits who steal the taxes from the Maer. Kvothe uses this opportunity to learn how to fight from the warriors that the Maer gives him.
Kvothe is then lured by a Fae woman, who intends to seduce him and kill him, and only manages to throw off her spell by accidentally saying her true name (which is the name of the wind). Kvothe convinces her to release him so that he can compose songs about her beauty and his love for her and the Fae agrees on the condition that he returns to her one day. As a parting gift the Fae gives him a cloak of shadow which she says will keep him safe. Kvothe then joins the warrior culture of the Adem, who first are furious that one of their own taught Kvothe their ways, but eventually accept Kvothe as their own after he passes their tests. He finally begins to return to Severen and Maer Alveron when he runs into a traveling troupe who claim to belong to the same order as his parents troupe - however, Kvothe finds out they are criminals (rapists and murderers) and poisons the troupers enough to weaken them so that he can kill them. He interrogates their leader before killing him and learns that they are imposters. When he returns to Severen, Kvothe falls out of favor with Maer Alveron (who has now married Lady Meluan) by revealing that he is of low birth and a member of the performing caste, and learning through his magic that the reason Meluan hates the traveling troupe performers is because she was once seduced by one. The Maer tells him to leave Severen in anger, but not before agreeing to pay Kvothe's university tuition and giving him permission to perform anywhere in the Maer's lands.
When Kvothe returns to the University he learns that he was believed dead. He begins earning money by selling a magical device of his invention that can protect the wearer from arrows and finally becomes financially independent. He also rekindles his romance with Denna by saving her life (Denna stops breathing and Kvothe calls the wind to save her), although Denna is resistant to becoming a romantic couple, even though Kvothe returns her ring to her. Meanwhile, Kvothe has become notorious - for his arrest and trial by the church, his adventures with the warriors, and his work in Severen. Some of the rumors about Kvothe are very exaggerated.
And so the second novel ends, with one more "day" of narration to go in the frame story and Bast and the Chronicler worried at Kvothe's continued apathy.
Best part of story, including ending:
I liked that the characters were more "grey" in this novel and very well realized.
Best scene in story:
I loved the interlude with the Fae woman. It was very classical fantasy, and very whimsical.
Opinion about the main character:
That he remains arrogant.
