A Book Review: The Warrior Prophet by R. Scott Bakker (Prince of Northing #2)

"Most men would rather die in deception than live in uncertainty. "

     

   - R. Scott Bakker, The Warrior Prophet

In The Warrior Prophet, fantasy novelist and philosopher, R. Scott Bakker, continued his sprawling epic and exploring the consequences of certainty. This book has a holy war, fought in a fictional world rich with history, culture, and religion. Indeed, religion; for what else can symbolize certainty better than religion?

Synopsis:

The Holy War is marching to the city of Shimeh, but deceptions are threatening to tear down its massive ranks from within. Among the factions of the Holy War walks Anasurimbor Kellhus, a charismatic individual seeking to extend his dominion over the entire army. It appears, that Kellhus would either make, or break, the Holy War. On the outside, Kellhus is benevolent and preternaturally intelligent, but what is his true purpose? Is he the Warrior Prophet and the voice of the solitary god? Or is he a blasphemer?

My thoughts on this book:

I liked The Warrior Prophet more than TheDarkness That Comes Before. The previous book, The Darkness That Comes Before, was a difficult read, it had me puzzled over its strange character and location names. By the time I was reading The Warrior Prophet, however, I was more familiar with this fictional world and its people, and so I was able to appreciate the story better. Having said this, I think The Warrior Prophet would have been a stronger novel if it was shortened by 100 pages.

R. Scott Bakker wrote well in this book. Although I would say his characterization is better than his storytelling. In my opinion, sometimes Bakker dwelled too much into a character's thoughts, and it hampered the storytelling as well as bogging down the pace. On the other hand, Bakker's characterization was top notch. There were 4 major characters in this book; a sorcerer called Achmain, a barbarian chieftain called Cnaur, a prostitute called Esmi, and finally, Kellhus, the mysterious prophet. The story is built upon Kellhus and his deeds, but it was mostly narrated from the perspectives of Achmain, Cnau, and Emsi, and this is where the book became very interesting. Allow me to explain.

Almost every religion has holy scriptures, scriptures describing the ministerial lives and the teachings of its founder. This founder was usually charismatic and inhumanly intelligent (and wise). However, the scriptures were often written from the perspectives of the followers and the admirers of that founder, and not by the founder himself. Therefore, not only do we lack the complete information about the founder's entire life, but more importantly, how do we know, what were the founder's real thoughts and desires underneath his benevolent exteriors? In this regard, The Warrior Prophet provided an interesting thought experiment. As mentioned, this book is mostly narrated from the perspectives of three characters, and each of them represents a different view/take on Kellhus and who he was. Achmain was in awe of Kellhus' preternatural intelligence and abilities, Cnaur, who knew Kellhus the longest, saw him as a monster to be feared and hated, while Esmi admired Kellhus' benevolence. Meanwhile, Kellhus himself was more like a force of nature in this book. The narratives, and these characters' viewpoints, brought an an interesting dynamic and tension into their relationships. On the other hand, as readers, we are given an omniscient view of the story, and therefore we were handed the truth about Kellhus himself. It suffices to say, I found Kellhus a most fascinating character, but I also found his true purpose, and his moral centre, deeply disturbing.

Overall, Bakker's characters were tormented and flawed. There was authenticity in the way he depicted the human conditions. Bakker also did an excellent job at depicting every faction in the Holy War. No one was "good", but no one was "bad", each faction was simply doing, in accordance with their faiths, what they believed to be righteous.

The results of these "righteous" acts were horrible, and they also felt familiar, as if they are echoes from our own violent pasts. For example, one of the major scenes in this book was a city invasion, it was a massacre, and it was depicted in the form of a military report, blow-by-blow accounts, detached of emotions. However, this type of "fact-driven" narrative was curiously effective, it felt more brutal and terrifying despite its lack of embellishments. This book was about a Holy War, the city siege/massacre scenes in this book were disturbing, just like the Old Testament is disturbing (such as the Canaanite conquests). This is a very dark book, but it provokes its reader to think, not just about religion and beliefs, but more importantly, about certainty. The world of Earwa is much like our world, it is rich with history, culture, and religion. Yet, just like our world, Earwa is also full of deeply flawed people who did horrible and nasty things to each other, out of deeply and sincerely held beliefs.

This book reminds us of the importance of doubt - Doubt begets understanding, understanding begets compassion; it is the conviction that kills, hurts, and destroys. Sadly, a lot of people would choose certainty over doubt, even if the things they are certain about is a lie.

The Warrior Prophet is a very good fantasy novel. The book's storytelling may have some shortcomings, but its realistic and suffering characters will hook you into the story. The tone in this book is very dark, very grim, and it has a world inhibited by deeply flawed people. But it reminds us of our own violent history. It reminds us of why doubt is essential and certainty breeds tragedies. This book (series) may not be for everyone, but if you are a fantasy enthusiast, and you like to think about the human conditions, then I would highly recommend this trilogy to you, starting with the first book, The Darkness That Comes Before.

Stayed tune for my next post, where I will be reviewing the conclusion to Prince of Nothing Trilogy, titled, The Thousandfold Thought.