Some books are like taking a sunny walk in the park. You pull on your sneakers and your shades, ready to head out for a fine trip down the sunny side of life. Other books are more like a triathlon. The first miles are slow going due to the fact that you’re swimming through troubled waters. The bicycling part of the race was fun to begin with, but your ass hurts worse than hell by the time you’re supposed to run the last 200 km. The Warrior-Prophet is, like it’s predecessor, a hard and heavy novel to read, but when you cross the finish line you feel all the better for persevering.
I read The Darkness That Comes Before, book 1 of The Prince of Nothing trilogy, in January. It was actually my second attempt to read it, ’cause I tried a half year earlier and had to put it away. Too much philosophy and too slow going was what I told myself. However, my second attempt showed me that I had really been missing out – Scott Bakker writes Epic Fantasy with Brains and the series rightly deserved the stamp of a Modern Classic.
Without spoiling overly much of the plot, I can tell you this: The Holy War is finally on the march to cleanse Shimeh of the heathen Fanim. Anasurimbor Kellhus is slowly gathering followers, but the Consult lurks in the shadows… And the Second Apocalype draws near.
What was true about The Darkness That Comes Before is also true for The Warrior-Prophet. It’s not the most exciting book ever written, nor can I say that I like with the same passion that I do with other series. However, the philosophy that stomped me the first time around has become my prime reason for reading the series. Never have I read a series that has thought me so much or made me think more than The Prince of Nothing. R. Scott Bakker divides his time between writing fantasy and philosophy, all though he at times has trouble dividing between the two. The Warrior-Prophet is a true testimony to that statement and you should read it solely because of it as well.
The philosophy is my favorite thing about this series, the second thing I adore them for is the battle scenes. There are two of them in this book that are up there with the very best I’ve ever read. Bakker’s characters are fully fleshed out, but not one of them are especially likable. I have some trouble with his female depictions, but that is probably an effect caused by the amazing Kellhus, who is the main character in this tale and outshines all the other members of the cast.
In the end I thought this book was slightly less good than The Darkness That Comes Before. I gave book 1 a nice 8/10 and The Warrior-Prophet deserves a weak 8/10. The rationale for this is that I found Bakker’s characterization a little wanting in places and that the plot for this book wasn’t very surprising.
Now I wonder if I’ll read The Thousandfold Thought next, or wait the accustomed half year. I’m leaning towards the latter option…
One Comment
I’m sorry for the lack of in-depth reviewing that I would have liked to do with this book. I’m currently what you could call “indisposed” because a terrible summer cold… Being sick is really not all it’s cracked up to be