Book 3 in The Kingkiller Chronicle series, titled The Doors of Stone, is coming, it is just a matter of when.
Written by American author Patrick Rothfuss, the Kingkiller novels take readers on an adventure in an original fantasy world, following an adventurer and musician named Kvothe.
The first two books (The Name of the Wind and The Wise Man's Fear) were released in 2007 and 2011, respectively. It has been more than a decade since the last book in the series hit store shelves.
Will The Doors of Stone Ever Release?
Despite having been revealed more than a decade ago (being first described before the publication of The Wise Man's Fear in 2011), no publication date has been set for The Doors of Stone.
The release plan for the third book has long been a topic of conversation among fans, as readers eagerly await news on the next chapter in the Kingkiller story.
In a 2014 interview with Christopher Paolini, The Doors of Time author Patrick Rothfuss revealed he thought he had about "a year" left of writing on the project to get it right:
"My writing energy is going toward working on Book 3. There is no publication date. Believe me, if there was a pub date I would share it with everyone. It still has alot of work before it is perfect. And here is what I told the people that showed up to my Portland event, because somebody asked, 'When's Book 3?' And I am like, 'Okay, that is a fair question.' And I said, 'It is going to take me at least a year to make the book everything that I want it to be.'"
He added that he cannot get the book perfect "really fast" and does not want to rush the process:
"When I said, 'At least a year,' I heard this [mumbling] from the audiences. And I said, 'Think of it this way, who remembers watching the first 'Matrix' movie?' And everyone was like, 'Oh, I remember. It was awesome.' And I go, 'Who remembers the last 'Matrix' movie?' And every one is kind of like, 'Oh yeah...' And I go, 'Do you want me to take another year and get this shit absolutely right?' I want to get this absolutely perfect. I want this to be a book so good that it will break your heart and last for a thousand years. And I cannot do that really fast."
This "at least a year" plan would ultimately not come to fruition, as Rothfuss encountered some trouble while writing.
In a 2017 blog post (via Player.One) from the fantasy author, he admitted that progress was not going as well as planned.
He said, "The writing isn’t going well" and that he was in the middle of "[taking] it apart:"
"The writing isn't going well. Not everything functions in a straight line. I took it apart… the entire manifold has been disassembled and it’s been sitting next to it. Is there a publication date for the third book? 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."
Things would get even worse for fans when, in 2020, Rothfuss' editor, Betsy Wollheim, speculated the author had not "written anything for six years" and that she had "never seen a word of book three" (per Newsweek).
This came as the author told fans on Reddit that if he did not care about the book, "[they] would have it by now."
In 2021, Rothfuss revealed the book's prologue, doing a public reading of the first chapter on YouTube. This was the first indication that real progress had been made on The Doors of Stone, but it was still unclear if/when it would ever be released.
Rothfuss then noted he intended to release another chapter of the book; however, those plans have yet to materialize.
As of writing, it is unclear when The Doors of Stone will be released due to multiple delays and Rothfuss' sense of perfectionism.
What Will Happen in The Doors of Stone?
For better or worse, fans have some idea of where The Doors of Stone will go from a story perspective.
Book 3 in The Kingkiller Chronicle series is supposedly set to close out the story of the main character, Kvothe.
The book will, according to Rothfuss, largely take place at the University, a prominent location from the first two books, following Kvothe as he takes on his greatest adventure yet.
In a live stream on Twitch (via Winter Is Coming), Rothfuss said the book will see Kvothe as a "mess psychologically."
This will see the series' protagonist return to the realm of the Fae as he seeks mental refuge, getting tied back up with all sorts of colorful personalities on his adventures.
Are There Other Kingkiller Books I Can Read?
While fans wait for The Doors of Stone to be released, there (luckily) are a few other Kingkiller books to tide them over.
Of course, the first two novels in Patrick Rothfuss' fantasy series are there to read and reread, but a couple of other options are out there for those looking for more.
Two other full-length novels set in the Kingkiller Chronicle universe have been released over the last decade.
Rothfuss released The Slow Regard of Silent Things in 2014, a companion tale to the mainline Kingkiller trilogy. The book tells the story of an adventurer named Auri who goes searching in the tunnels beneath the famed University location from Rothfuss' other books.
The second companion novella, The Narrow Road Between Desires, was published in 2023. This book, also written by Rothfuss, focused on the character of Bast, the dashing assistant to Kvothe from the mainline books.
Two short stories set in the universe have been released as well, titled Unfettered and Rogue.
The Doors of Time still has no public release date.
