Patrick Rothfuss shared details about the upcoming Book 3 in his Kingkiller Chronicle trilogy, Doors of Stone, via a Twitch livestream on Friday. The Q&A was prompted by Rothfuss’ annual Worldbuilders charity drive as an incentive for hitting a $2 million donation tier.
During the Q&A Rothfuss hit upon a number of topics, not all having to do with Book 3 of the Kingkiller Chronicle, including his huge crush on Neil Gaiman, how to evaluate love, Dune sequels (“What do I have to do to get you people off my dick about Dune!” he said, pantomiming Frank Herbert) and what Goodreads ratings have to do with our current domestic political disasters. But he also touched on exactly what you want to know: what’s the Kingkiller Chronicle Book 3 release date?
You’re not going to like the answer.
“Is there a publication date for the third book?” Rothfuss said. “The answer — the obvious, obvious goddamn answer — is ‘No.’ Because if there was a publication date for Book 3 I would have written this ebullient glowing blog post about it… and shared that information with you guys so you’d be happy.”
That’s pretty definitive.
“I have not done those things, so you know there is no pub date for Book 3. Believe me, I would share it if I had it.”
But Rothfuss did offer some consolation, offering future books and series set in Temerant beyond the trilogy-capping Book 3. “Will Book 3 be the last of the series? Yes and no. I should just be a dick and leave it at that.”
He left it at that and changed the subject, though returned to it several minutes later. “Book 3 closes this arc of story. Book 3 will not be the final book set in this world. Big distinction there. It always really broke my heart when you read a book set in a world… and then the author is like, ‘welp, see ya.’”
Beyond that, details about Book 3 were scant, as Rothfuss was careful to avoid spoilers. He did say it would include many new locations, “more than three.”
He also commented on the anticipated length, claiming it won’t be longer than Kingkiller Chronicle Book 2, The Wise Man’s Fear, which clocks in at over 1100 pages in its mass market paperback form. This may be surprising if you’re familiar with The Kingkiller Chronicle and just how much of Kvothe’s story is seemingly left to tell (he hasn’t even killed a king yet!).
Rothfuss makes it clear that he’s still deep in the revision process on Book 3 and wasn’t sure himself when it’d all fit together properly. “Not everything functions in a straight line,” he said, comparing it to a car under repair. “I took it apart… the entire manifold has been disassembled and it’s been sitting next to it.”
It might still be a while before we’re reading Doors of Stone, Book 3 of his Kingkiller Chronicle. "Describe Book 3 in one word?" Rothfuss said, reading aloud a question. "'Soon'... and then I’ll follow that up with the Aslan quote, 'I call all times soon.'"
