The Warrior Prophet: The Prince of Nothing, Book Two

By R. Scott Bakker

More information to be announced soon on this forthcoming title from Penguin USA.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Penguin Group
• Release date: Sep 2, 2008
• ISBN: 9781590203873

Reviews for The Warrior Prophet

[renbedell · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

The 2nd book in the Prince of Nothing series continues where the first book left off and continues the Holy War and the internal strife of all the characters introduced. The book is very much a characterization book with the plot serving as a vehicle. The characters are great, deep, complex, and meaningful. There is a lot of growth and changes that happen throughout the book. The plot carries on slowly, but that is never really a problem. Even though it is the second book in the world, R. Scott Bakker still introduces new concepts and world building in a similar way as the first book, by just throwing it at you. So far the series is complex story that sucks you in.

[vinjii-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

This is a series that probably has to be read twice. Bakker does not hold your hand as he throws names, civilisations, cultures, religions and magic at you until you feel like it's just a tiny bit too much. At least, that's how this series makes me feel so far. I'm really enjoying the world building and the cast of characters, but I already know I will re-read this one day and hopefully manage to dig deeper and understand more.I enjoyed the first book a lot and thought it was worth putting in the work, reading it slowly, referring to the glossary often. Amazing world building, thought experiments and a great cast of characters made it a treat. A difficult one, but still a treat. This sequel is a bit more predictable and linear. All of what happens is expected and there are no surprises.It's possible that once I've read the third book and see how the series comes together, I might change my rating.

[lucky2loki · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Bakker continues his epic fantasy filled with astonishingly reflective characters, many of whom can somehow spend half a page on introspection between every other line of dialogue without it ever feeling anything but gripping and exciting to read. The titular ice-cold logician monk continues to both chill and impress me, the tortured wandering sorcerer breaks my heart over and over, the brilliant barbarian chieftain's internal war of pride and self-loathing reaches new heights, and the political machinations are both believable and complex while (somehow) never really taking up all that much space in the narrative. Meanwhile, the Holy War that is the framework of it all marches on, horrifically brutal and genuine in its depiction. I've no idea how the final volume could possibly deliver on the promise of this, which somehow takes every great element in the first novel and builds them to new staggering levels, but I'm really looking forward to finding out.

[drardavis · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

Although everyone should be dead by now, based on the numbers, The Holy War continues. Surprisingly, despite the almost overwhelming details of the sub-characters and the explicit descriptions of the brutal acts of the combatants, Bakker seem to put you directly into the midst of the steady march to Shimeh. The trek across the desert almost made me thirsty. The special access Bakker gives the reader to the extraordinary deeds of the main characters, rips you out of the tedium and terror, and floats you like a sorcerer looking down on what is really happening. Still really good!

[cecrow · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I liked the first book, first novel hiccups aside, and there's enough action and intrigue in this second one to keep the pages turning - it's a good story. I wish I better knew the philosophy field because apparently he's converted some key concepts into narrative here. The writing has a few minor missteps but flows nicely, there's magic, epic battles, plenty of blood being spilled, etc. It's a tasty epic fantasy confection - but there's two ugly cockroaches perched on top. I'm going to finish the trilogy because all the rest of it is that good. I just have to keep sighing or wincing once in a while. The first problem is its central character. Kellhus prompts a contrast with Paul Muad'dib of the Dune series. Where Paul rose almost by accident as a messiah figure and agonizes over it, Kellhus casually becomes the Warrior-Prophet as an elaborate means to a simple end. Paul's is the deeper story, since it doesn't appear that Kellhus does much in the way of personal suffering or soul-searching. He is a perfect character who succeeds at everything and weilds supreme confidence, which introduces a wide variety of problems: he is utterly boring to read about, impossible to relate to, morally ambiguous, and easily subverts every other character he encounters whom we care about. If he's destined to be the series' hero, it's a significant problem that he comes across less like Isaiah and more like an emotionless Charles Manson.The other problem is the women. In fact there are no women in this story, only sexual objects with the label applied. There's not a literate one among them, none with any power, and they're unremittingly abused in gratuitous language (when was the last time you heard a woman "chirp" in pain?) Virtually no man has a wife, daughter, sister or even a mother who is mentioned, discounting one character who had an incestuous relationship with his. The slandering occurs as often in the narrative as in the dialogue. I'll confess I'm too frequently oblivious to how fairly women are portrayed in the fiction I read, but once you perceive the distastefulness here (and it's made extremely hard to miss), you can't get it out of your mouth.

[lopicake-1 · Rating: 3 out of 5 stars]

I'm really getting irritated by the characters. Am I the only one who actually wants to see Kellhus fail? At first he seemed like a cool engima but the more he preaches and preaches the more Mary-Sue he becomes. But I get that, that's the point. To everyone else he is like a Prophet. I can say I dislike him because I'm on the outside. But another thing is the women in these books. I'm so glad Serwe died, she was a complete and total idiot and tool. Everytime it switched to her view point it was just Kellhus, Kellhus, Kellhus. And then Esmenet started to do it too! It went from Akka, Akka, I'm a whore, to Kellhus, I'm a whore, Kellhus, I'm not a whore, Kellhus blah blah blah. These women have no other role than to be sex toys for the men in this series. Ugh. I'm so ticked off and yet I still want to finish this series.

Really the only ones I'm rooting for are Proyas and Cnaiur. (Except will Cnaiur stop obsessing over Serwe? I'm mean really? Is beauty the only f-ing thing that's important for a woman? Ugh.)

[stillatim · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

I loved the first book in the series, but it turns out that what I liked was the world-painting aspects of the thing: learning about the people, the characters, the history of the world Bakker made up. The story's good, but for the first half of this volume I was a bit bored. The problem is simple: it's not just hard to write interesting battle scenes, it's absolutely impossible. "Names, names, weapon-nouns, violence-verbs, adjectives, blood, dead." Repeat four or five times, and I'm asleep by the second. Add to that a real over-dose of proper nouns in general, and I thought I might give up.
Thankfully, I learned to skim over that crap and get to the good stuff- sorcery, skullduggery, pure evil, character and plot. Kellhus is nicely developed, as is the Scylvendi. There are shocks in store for Achamian. Humanity's general aptitude for stupidity, in-fighting and self-destruction is on full display. The references to the First Crusade are a little lighter, but still noticeable and fun. The story is great, although it's not all that well told- far too much of the aforementioned battle-nonsense gets in the way of the secret and not so secret clashes of sorcerous schools and devil worshiping products of that video game where you build new life forms. Can't wait to find out what happens in volume 3.

[drfp_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

*** Spoilers contained in this review ***The Warrior Prophet is certainly a slight step down from its predecessor, The Darkness That Comes Before. Having said that, the writing is still a definite notch above your average fantasy series and most of what made TDTCB so great is still in evidence here. If you liked the first book you will still find a great deal to like in this one. Hence, the four stars good rating. Having said that, I do think this book is slightly less impressive than what came before and I'll outline why.The main reason, for me, is the realigned structure of the cast. The twitchy, slightly maniacal Emperor Xerius and his grasping, ageing mother feature for a scant few pages, and the brilliant, narcissistic Conphas is relegated to something of a bit part player this time. These interesting and well written characters were a big part of the previous novel and their relegation to much smaller roles hurts TWP as what fills their gap is a disappointment.In their stead we get a lot more philosophy from Kellhus, which just about stays bearable, and a whole load of rather nauseating love from Serwë and Esmi directed towards the Warrior Prophet. Cnaiür still features prominently but is mostly neutered and this is perhaps the biggest problem with the novel. With Cnaiür essentially broken Kellhus has no rival and his character suddenly becomes quite boring - a Gary Sue who for 90% of the novel who can do wrong and wraps everyone around his finger. This problem is compounded by the fact that I'm not even sure if, as a reader, I'm supposed to cheer Kellhus getting his way, be appalled by it, or view it as a necessary evil. Achamian is the only one I wanted to root for and in a novel much more dominated by Kellhus that's an issue.Of course, some of these changes might be necessary for what happens in the future. Esmenet seems as if she will be more than just a fawning piece of eye candy like Serwë and perhaps Cnaiür needs to be broken down before he can emerge as something stronger. I hope these developments bear some fruit but am a little worried that might not be the case.Bakker's switch from Machiavellian court politics to war is another move that doesn't work terribly well. His battle scene descriptions are perfectly all right but they're not up there with the best of them and much time is spent in Iliad like roll calls of names, families and places we're not familiar with. The book's final battle outside Caraskand is a monumental anti-climax too. Just when you think Cnaiür has a great plan to break the siege Bakker falls back on "unconquerable belief" to win against all the odds. Of course there's something to be said for that in battle but here, in a novel, and under the circumstances provided it seems a feeble way out of the trap.My last major gripe with TWP compared to TDTCB is how much more predictable it feels. The shifting court politics made anything seem possible back in the first book. Yet here it felt inevitable that the Holy War was going to win and march on. Naturally we expect the protagonists to win in the end but never during this novel was I convinced that Holy War might not make it. There was a disappointing sense of expectation that, yes, of course they were going to win and couldn't they hurry up to Shimeh because that's where the story will get interesting again. Although I must be fair and state that given Achamian writes The Compendium of the First Holy War (which is often quoted at the start of chapters) he surely survives this campaign and Bakker did at least make me wonder in uncertainty about his fate.As I said right at the start I do think this is still a very good book and worth four stars. It has more obvious faults than TDTCB but I still raced through its 600 pages in just a few days. Hopefully The Thousandfold Thought corrects some of the criticisms I made here and the Second Apocalypse series will get back to be great rather than just good.

[awoods187 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

A little slow to begin with. It took me a while before I really cared about any of the characters.

[blue_istari · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Although just as readable as the first book in the series, The Warrior-Prophet feels to veer more sharply between philosophical musings and battle scenes with little between. It also paints an incredibly depressing view of both the main characters and human nature in general. Strong writing and a complex plot lift the novel above many of the cliches of epic fantasy and make it a book worth reading, but don't expect to feel uplifted by the time you reach the end.

[pstotts_2 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

There weren’t enough superlatives to describe the brilliance of R. Scott Bakker’s first volume in “The Prince of Nothing” trilogy, “The Darkness That Comes Before”. After such an astounding debut, I wondered if the second volume could match the intellectual depth and overall intensity of the first book. Well, “The Warrior-Prophet” more than lives up to the lofty standards set by the previous book, providing one of my favorite fantasy reading experiences ever.Reading Bakker’s work is like being deliciously overwhelmed, caught in a stunning sea of nuances and detail that boggles the mind. It is akin to gazing at a great painting and finding yourself lost in the minute details for hours on end. It is the rare work where I find after finishing a paragraph, I pause to reflect on what I have read, digesting the various ideas and philosophical insights in the book. In that regard, “The Warrior-Prophet” requires active thinking when reading, coaxing the reader to confront and discuss these ideas Bakker presents, an aspect I greatly enjoyed.The Holy War started by Maithanet, the Shriah of the Thousand Temples, continues its march southward to the sacred city of Shimeh. Immense and bloody battles ensue throughout the course of the book between the invading Inrithi factions and the heathen Fanim. Anasûrimbor Kellhus, a mysterious Prince, gradually asserts a greater influence on the Holy War by offering indispensable counsel to the Great Names administrating the war. Furthermore, Kellhus’ remarkably godlike actions and manner begin to transform him in the eyes of the Inrithi from a minor outlying figure into a larger-than-life prophet. But not everyone is pleased with Kellhus’ seemingly divine transformation and the power it brings him.Drusas Achamian is a Mandate sorcerer traveling in company with Kellhus and their two consorts, Esmenet and Serwë. Tortured by apocalyptic dreams that he believes are prophetic, Achamian is convinced that Kellhus is necessary to the success of the Holy War and must be helped. But in assisting Kellhus, Drusas may have to sacrifice everything he has.Bakker crafts a dark and profound tale filled with magnificent battles, glorious world-building, and an immense depth to his characters unseen in fantasy. Kellhus, who is unbelievably godlike in his abilities, is stunning. His penetrating intellect and manipulation of the other characters would come off as ludicrous in the hands of a lesser writer. But with Bakker, Kellhus is a dominating success. The world-building is incredibly deep and innovative with a tremendously imagined historical background. There are some twists and turns, but the plot is mainly straightforward, concentrating on the massive battles of the Holy War. And it is in these war scenes that Bakker does some of his best work, presenting fantastically descriptive and bloody battles that rank up there with some of the best in fantasy. Last Word:“The Warrior-Prophet” is a stunner of a novel, a dark, delicious and deeply engaging masterpiece featuring an incredible amount of depth and painstaking detail. R. Scott Bakker’s “The Prince of Nothing” series is not just stupendous, it is becoming monumental.

[clong_818048 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

This is an ambitious book, one that is at times riveting and yet at other times frustrating. It has a dark tone, gritty and frequently ugly. Bakker has a dazzling inventiveness that reminds me of one of my favorite authors, Steven Erikson. The world building is impressive; Bakker seems to be pulling location after location, character after character, culture after of culture, political faction after political faction, out of a hat, and yet each feels interesting, unique, and apt. And Bakker describes these people, places and things in concise (despite this book's heft) and very effective descriptive language. The battle scenes have a wonderful immediacy, bringing to mind a ride on an emotional roller coaster of terror, exhaustion, confusion, and elation in turns. The male lead characters, Kellhus, Achamian, and Cnaiur are intriguing and complex. They each have a bit of the tragic Greek hero in them. Kellhus is again a very ambitious character, one who becomes less sympathetic as the book progresses (indeed at times he almost becomes a bit of a caricature). And yet I found myself confident that he still has a chance for redemption. Bakker also does a nice job of building a large cast of colorful characters within the conflicting factions of the Holy War. The female characters are less convincing. Serwe gets less focus here than she did in the first book, and when she does appear she seems to be little more than a symbol of woman as sexual object and/or dupe of man. Esmi also gets less screen time in this book. I found her character the least compelling of the main POVs in the first book, and if anything I found Esmi's actions to be less and less convincing as this book went along, leaving me with little empathy for her as it ends. My biggest frustration with the book has to do with military strategy and tactics. Victory seems to be determined purely by where the author wants the plot to go. These are contests of will as opposed to contests of training, intelligence, leadership, logistics, communications, reconnaissance, etc. Generals seem to forget that they (or the other side) have sorcerers available much of the time, until it’s time for the battle scene to conclude cataclysmically. It made absolutely no sense strategically for the Fanim to fight the turning battle of part 2 of the book in the location and manner that they did. And Kellhus’ role in this same battle felt like something out of a comic book. Still, this is an intriguing book. I’ll definitely be moving on to book 3.

[selfnoise · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

Shares most of the strengths of the first novel, while moving with a slightly more self-assured pace and tone. Good conceptual grounding and an interesting world. Great battle scenes and political intrigue, as well as a unique and interesting central character. Marred by an all-too-common interest in sexual sadism and degradation of women, whom the author cannot be bothered to write except as sobbing caricatures. Excellent fantasy as entertainment, but still trumped by edgier, more sophisticated work.