Oh, I love this book. THIS is why I read fantasy, and what I read fantasy for: fabulous world-building, excellent characters, a gripping plot, and, above all, one of my favourite themes: underdog comes to new school, gets laughed at/bullied/etc, and proceeds to impresses the hell out of everyone (cf Potter, Harry; Octavian, Gaius; etc).He had me at the Chronicler's "Iron" when he notices what Bast is. I was favourably disposed towards this book anyway (because my awesome friend Jana had so highly recommened it) but at that moment, all the hair on the back of my head stood up and I found myself punching the air and shouting, Yes! Awesome! More of this magic! And more there was. The way magical abilities/worlds are portrayed and explained is a hugely important factor in how much I will like a book. The elementary alchemy Rothfuss uses is so believable that it made me want to try it out. Alas, I had no iron on me.
The whole idea of "the name of things" is utterly fascinating to me, and if I had a chance to go the University, I'd study under Elodin.
Read this book. It's marvellous stuff.