The Doors of Stone

The Doors of Stone
General information
Author(s)	Patrick Rothfuss
Country	United States
Language	English
Publication
Published by	DAW Books
Media type	Print (Prankit)
Chronology
Preceded by	The Wise Man's Fear
Followed by	—

The Doors of Stone is the proposed third and final novel in The Kingkiller Chronicle series by American author Patrick Rothfuss. A release date has not yet been announced.

Plot summary

The Doors of Stone will pick-up the story of Kvothe's life from where The Wise Man's Fear left off. It will cover the third and final day of the story as related to Chronicler, concluding "Kvothe's story" and the "arc" begun in The Name of the Wind. However, Rothfuss intends to create more works set in Temerant.

Background and publication

Shortly before the publication of the first novel The Name of the Wind, Rothfuss expressed in an interview that he had The Doors of Stone in mind as a tentative title for the third book. As he had already written the entire trilogy as a single story, he is now actively revising the content to ensure that it is satisfying as a standalone story for the third book.

In an FAQ in January 2017, Rothfuss confirmed that, despite his editor not originally being a fan of the title, book three would be named The Doors of Stone simply because it had, by "popular consensus" (i.e. Rothfuss referring to the book as such in interviews), become the de facto title; Rothfuss added that the editor was now "comfortable" with the title.

Rothfuss has said that The Doors of Stone will most likely be no longer than The Wise Man's Fear and guesses that it may even be a bit shorter.

Alpha manuscript of The Doors of Stone, in 2013.

At the end of February 2013, Rothfuss participated in the #ifihadglass contest by sharing a photo of the manuscript of The Doors of Stone and saying if he had a Google Glass he would use it to do research while revising the novel.

In May 2013, an illustrator of the publishing house had finished rough sketches of the cover art for the novel after working on it for three months. The editor then intended to ask Rothfuss for input on the sketches, but accidentally sent the request to blogger Patrick from Pat's Fantasy Hotlist. From the revealed e-mail conversation between the editor and blogger Patrick, it can be inferred that the color orange is present and a lute is depicted in the sketches of the cover art.

According to attendees of a reading in Portland at the end of October 2014, Rothfuss has said that the third book needs "about a year and some change" to be ready. At a reading in San Diego he clarified that at least a year is needed before the whole editing process begins. On 31 December 2014, Rothfuss tweeted that the novel would not be released in 2015.

Following the release of The Slow Regard of Silent Things, Rothfuss postponed work on The Tale of Laniel Young-Again to focus on The Doors of Stone, despite having completed the majority of the book.

In February 2015, Rothfuss spoke to Chilean newspaper El Mercurio, informing them that, while he was satisfied with several aspects of the book, others still needed work:

I already have written a whole draft and some parts are perfect. Other parts... not so much. There [are] some aspects that I have to fix in this book. It's not only a matter of writing a list of good scenes. It's a matter of getting all in the right order. To achieve the exact tension. There's more than 13 different [subplots] and I need to be sure that every single one of those gets the proper treatment, and that each one don't mess with each other. A lot of that is in the ending of the story. I want to give my readers a perfect book. They deserve it.

In February 2017, during a live Q&A on The Doors of Stone, Rothfuss said he thought the book was "better" than the 3.5 star rating he'd have given it in 2012, before qualifying that statement by saying he had just "dismantled a big piece" in order to rewrite and revise it. He added that he did not have a release date for the book "yet," but was working on it as hard as he could. Finally, he reaffirmed his doubt that the book's size would exceed that of The Wise Man's Fear's, saying it would likely, in fact, be slightly shorter.

During the same Q&A, Rothfuss again confirmed that The Doors of Stone would conclude the "arc" begun in The Name of the Wind, but that he would write further stories in the world of Temerant.

He also said that the writing of the third book was going better than that of The Wise Man's Fear, as he felt less pressured by the unusual success of The Name of the Wind.

In November 2017, at a signing of the 10th anniversary edition of The Name of the Wind in Vancouver, Rothfuss reportedly ruled-out 2018 as a release date, but indicated 2019 was a possibility.

In April 2020 during a livestream Q&A, Rothfuss confirmed that there was no publication date, refuting earlier rumors about a possible publication date of August 2020.

In July of 2020 it was revealed by Betsy Wollheim that Rothfuss had not been working on the book.

In December of 2021, Rothfuss read the prologue in a live stream in his Twitch channel.

Speculation

Several stone doors are referenced within the Chronicle, leaving the titular subject of the third installment unclear. A list of possibilities has been compiled below.

• In The Name of the Wind, there is direct mention of a configuration of greystones near Trebon (just before fire contact with the draccus) as a gate of stone
• In The Name of the Wind, Kvothe dreams of a doorway made of three Greystones (two standing with one laid horizontally).
• In The Wise Man's Fear, a text describes some people referring to "a pair of matched stone monoliths with a third across the top" as "the door-post."
• In The Name of the Wind, Skarpi states that the enemy in The Creation War was set beyond the doors of stone at the Blac of Drossen Tor.
• The mysterious four-plate door within the University's Archives is made of stone and covered with plates of copper.
• In The Wise Man's Fear, Felurian states that the shaper, Iax, who stole the moon is shut beyond the doors of stone.
• In The Wise Man's Fear, Bast swears upon the doors of stone.
• The Waystones, also called Greystones, Standing Stones, or Waystones, are portals that lead to the Fae, in some sense making them "doors" of stone.
• In The Name of the Wind, Kvothe tells us that he will encounter Abenthy again many years after his leaving, even when he is expelled from the University. It has been suggested that this meeting is somehow connected to the "doors of stone".
• The focusing technique taught to Kvothe is called the "Heart of Stone."

Spoilers for The Doors of Stone

Since The Wise Man's Fear's publication in 2011, Patrick Rothfuss has alluded to or outright confirmed story beats from The Doors of Stone.

The book will conclude the arc begun in The Name of the Wind. In an interview at the 2011 Worldcon, Rothfuss said that the book would involve "more travelling" and show how "Kvothe's life arrived to where he is now." The book will also relate how Kvothe and Bast meet.

In 2012, Rothfuss said that the meaning of the word El'the (a rank in the University) will be explained. In the same interview, he confirmed that Kvothe will be travelling to Renere, the capital of Vintas. He called it the "three-part city."

In response to the question, "How many places will there be in Book Three that we have never seen before?" during a Doors of Stone-related FAQ in February 2017, Rothfuss said, "More than three."

In December 2017, during a Twitch stream with illustrator Nate Taylor, Rothfuss said that Renere was "the three-part city" due to its three Prince Regents.