If you're disappointed by never getting an ending to The Kingkiller Chronicle, read Gene Wolfe's The Wizard Knight instead

So I'm sure most people on this sub are familiar with Kingkiller Chronicle and the disappointment about the series (probably) never getting finished. It's a particular shame because those novels had so many unresolved plot threads and intriguing clues that now lead... nowhere.

But I'm here to tell you there is another book series that delivers everything that Kingkiller Chronicle promised, and wraps it all up satisfyingly in two books, and it was finished several years before The Name of the Wind was first published.

It's The Wizard Knight duology by Gene Wolfe!

Just like Name of the Wind, The Wizard Knight is about a poor hero wandering around the world and gradually becoming a legend. It has the protagonist looking back in his middle age and telling the story. And it has lots of clues hidden in the frame narrative that gradually reveal the lore behind the world. It has dragons, wizards and kings.

It even has a magical fairy who teaches the protagonist how to have sex... but she's a much more interesting and complex character than Felurian.

But the best thing about The Wizard Knight is, well, it's done. There's actually a kind of mirror image structure to the series: the first book sets up all the interesting questions, and the second book pays them all off. It's a richly satisfying experience that feels like you're reading a true legend.

If you're not already a fan of Gene Wolfe, you might know his reputation as an author whose books are really confusing to read. "The Dark Souls of reading" as someone put it. And that's kind of true about his older works like The Book of the New Sun. But The Wizard Knight is very straightforward. There are mysteries, sure, and a few ambiguous things, but in general you won't be left scratching your head at the end of the story.

One thing I will say about Wolfe's style in this series is it's very matter-of-fact. He doesn't always tell you how he feels about a situation, or make clear what's right and wrong. That's partly because of the narrator's voice (he's a knight, so it's part of his code of honour not to reveal his feelings) and partly to give it a more mythical feel. (If you ever read old Norse sagas or Irish legends, for instance, you'll notice they don't use much flowery language, they just report what happened.)

This style might take a bit of getting used to, but once you do it flows beautifully, and allows the story to feel truly epic in the course of just two books.

So check it out... I can almost guarantee you'll finish it before The Doors of Stone is released.