Customer Reviews

Warrior Prophet

5 star:		(1)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I'm not sure what to say about this book. It is well written (consistently better than the first book in the series) with an excellent story and believable characters. However........The brutally explicit descriptions of the atrocities of war, coupled with the truly horrifying ending sequence in this book make it a very difficult read. Several times I found myself feeling somehow lessened just by reading it.

There are no heroes in this book. All of the different factions are equally monstrous in their own ways. Even the main "hero figure" will do anything (and I mean anything here people) to meet his own ends. There is rape, torture, degradation (all described in detail). I don't what else to say, so I'll just leave it at that.

This is the second book of the Prince of Nothing series. This one is a little easier to follow as all the main characters are together for the most part. Still it is a very dense read. There isn't as much back-story in this one, but what there is, is very intriguing (eg the 'inchoroi'). The main story still follows Achamian, but Kellhus features very prominently as well. Kellhus remains an enigmatic character, just what are his goals and motivations? He seems sympathetic but there are definite hints that not everything is what it seems. I enjoyed this very much and am looking forward to the next book. Finally a warning that the book is very graphic when it comes to violence- maybe not a good choice for those readers with a low tolerance for that kind of thing (the epilogue is especially unpleasant).

As I suggested in the title, this book does contain some excellent battle scenes, and fans of epic fantasy will enjoy this. However, it was sometimes difficult to follow which factions were fighting on which side.

Magic in this series is handled well, potent yet rare. There are a couple of magical "duels" which I thought played out well in the book.

Definately worth the read, but not quite up to the scale of Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series. Personally I enjoyed the first book of this series a little more.

I rarely rate anything 5/5 but this blew me away. I just finished Bakker's second volume of this soon-to-be trilogy and WOW. Yes, it is violent as the reviewer above mentions. But it's not fluff fantasy. This is literary fantasy, it's intelligent and brutal. It explores the human psyche as much as The Silence as Lambs may have, but rather on such an interpersonal level this spans the personal to the intersocial.

If you're quesy or more into the fantasy lite, perhaps skip this. If you're looking for real characters, real development, real horror, tragedy, love, and triumph, then dive into Bakker's world of Eärwa!