The Wise Man's Fear/YMMV

Watch out! here there be SPOILERS!

Complete Monster: The Cthaeh is seen by the Fae as the most horrible creature in existance. The way Bast describes it fits the trope description to a T: It can see all possible futures perfectly and supposedly influences anyone who talks to it in a way that will ensure the most disastrous consequences for that person and the world at large. Bast attributes all negative things that have befallen Kvothe (including causing a war that ravages the entire world) to his brief chat with the creature. However, not all characters are convinced that its power is really that absolute.
Crowning Moment of Awesome:
- The bandit camp/outpost. Kvothe uses the dead body of a Bandit sentry as a mommet to kill several other Bandits, then uses a bow string and a six-piece sympathy link to sever the strings of five Bandit bows, followed by taking advantage of a storm to use sympathy to call down Lightning upon the bandit camp itself.
- Using the name of the wind to save Denna from what appears to be an asthma attack.
- Shutting down Felurian, either with the name of the wind or, as Elodin suggests, by calling her name.
High Octane Nightmare Fuel:
- Kvothe using the bandit's body as a Sympathy link to kill the others.
- Kvothe's cold-blooded murder of the fake Edemah Ruh clan. His reasons? Totally understandable, but damn. May also count as a Crowning Moment of Awesome.
- The Cthaeh: Looking into your future, then leading the conversation in such a way, that your life will result in the most disastrous outcome possible. Not just for you, but for everyone around you.
- The Plum Bomb. Just think about someone going around with absolutely no concept of right and wrong, and how much damage they could do when murder seems on par with stealing a pie.
Idiot Ball: For how intelligent he is, Kvothe can't come up with a good argument to prove that sexual intercourse causes pregnancy. This is partly due to his incomplete scientific knowledge. Also gets thrown into his hands whenever he is near Denna, looking for Denna, thinking about Denna, etc.
Mary Suetopia
- The Edema Ruh are the greatest performers in the world. They treat each other like family, with no petty rivalries or distrust between groups. They're always kind and generous to fellow travelers. And they never commit crimes. The rose-colored view of the Edema Ruh might be due to Kvothe's personal biases as a fiercely proud Ruh himself.
- The Adem, an entire society of warrior-philosophers. They're ruled by their elite mercenary schools, whose martial arts secrets are several orders of magnitude greater than any other society's. Even their lowliest, stupidest members look like superheroes compared to other people. Their leaders are selected purely on merit. They have absolutely no sexual inhibitions, yet also have absolutely no venereal disease. Their language is far more subtle and elegant than any other. They all have iron-clad composure. Their food is delicious. Their medicinal skill rivals the greatest academic institutions. They are technologically advanced. They live in great wealth and comfort, but without needless frills or vanity. They seem to lack crime, corruption and poverty. They do have a number of oddities, but they are all well defended: While their culture believes that women are basically better than men, they are a meritocracy, so their culture is basically evidence of this conclusion. They don't believe that men contribute to pregnancy, but even Kvothe cannot provide evidence to the contrary that they cannot refute with sound logic. They disapprove of music played in public, but only because they cherish it so much.
Plot Tumor: The interminable interlude of faerie sex. Someone counted the pages. 60.
Straw Man Has a Point: For all that Ambrose is exceedingly prejudiced against the Edema Ruh and abusing his influence to attack him, by the end of the book Kvothe has in fact 1. Robbed him, and 2. Committed an act of extreme malfeasance.
Tear Jerker: Kvothe crying about missing his mother in Auri's arms while he's under the influence of the plum bob.
Wacky Wayside Tribe: Kvothe spends a very long time visiting the Adem, a culture of free-love ninjas.