The Ocean at the End of the Lane

It might be strange to start out a review of a book by one author by talking about another, but I've done it before, and it looks like that's what I'm about to do again. It involves Patrick Rothfuss, a writer whose name I know due to my readerly friends telling me I should read his stuff. I don't take recommendations lightly; if I have one readerly friend telling me I need to read Patrick Rothfuss, I pay attention, but when I have several readerly friends telling me I need to read Patrick Rothfuss, then know I need to read Patrick Rothfuss. I just haven't. Not yet.

That will change today, thanks to his wonderful review of The Ocean at the End of the Lane. It's a perfect summation of the book without giving anything away, which is the perfect way to approach this book. I knew the book was coming out, and bought it without doing any research (it was Neil Gaiman; it was a foregone conclusion that I would buy and read it), and when I got home, I tucked the dustjacket into a cabinet so I wouldn't be tempted to know anything about the story before I began reading. This is how it should be. A story should be a journey toward the discovery of truth, without any cumbersome spoilers that are just there to make you want to start that journey in the first place.

That being said, I'm not going to spoil anything for you, because you should just read this book. Even if you haven't read Neil Gaiman before, you should read this book. Current fans will love it; new fans will be amazed at what they find.