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3.72 AVERAGE
3.72 AVERAGE
Excellent book. On par with early Black Company in subject matter but written like a Wolfe story with George Martin characters
challenging
dark
mysterious
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I did it! I finished it. Let me tell you, it was a tough road. I tripped all over the first two percent - and almost called the whole thing off before I really even got started. I strongly disliked the writing there.
It lightens its conceits after that, enough to make it bearable in short bursts. But push too far and skimming becomes requisite.
Come on, Brad, I said to myself. You're robbing yourself of context and style by skimming. Unfortunately that doesn't turn out to be true.
The problem, I think, is that it has such trouble getting to the point. It's a list of proper nouns, similar in composition, thrown at the page to see which stick where to give the veneer of complexity. That, and people whining internally. Incessantly.
The characters were unlikable. Plainly, they were irritating. Which can be fine, assuming they're interesting. In bulk, they were not.
It wastes your time with endless repetition, to the point where there are pages you could read a single sentence from and take enough from it to skip the rest.
It's not all bad. By about 78% I got into it a bit. The idea of reading the next one even crept up on me. But by 78%... Is that just Stockholm syndrome? Can you get that from a book?
I feel bad about this. I don't think I've ever written a review this harsh. It wasn't bad. I've read worse. Many times. It's a book. It's a story. It's not a particularly good or interesting one, I can't recommend it, but it did manage to coax a strong reaction from me. That's saying something in its favour, right?
I can't remember a book annoying me this much since The DaVinci Code, or Game of Thrones. People love those books. Maybe that puts it in good company, just not for me.
P.S. R. Scott Bakker, if you somehow happen upon this review, don't feel bad. You can obviously write. What you've done is an achievement and you should be proud of it. I respect what you've accomplished. It's just not for me.
It lightens its conceits after that, enough to make it bearable in short bursts. But push too far and skimming becomes requisite.
Come on, Brad, I said to myself. You're robbing yourself of context and style by skimming. Unfortunately that doesn't turn out to be true.
The problem, I think, is that it has such trouble getting to the point. It's a list of proper nouns, similar in composition, thrown at the page to see which stick where to give the veneer of complexity. That, and people whining internally. Incessantly.
The characters were unlikable. Plainly, they were irritating. Which can be fine, assuming they're interesting. In bulk, they were not.
It wastes your time with endless repetition, to the point where there are pages you could read a single sentence from and take enough from it to skip the rest.
It's not all bad. By about 78% I got into it a bit. The idea of reading the next one even crept up on me. But by 78%... Is that just Stockholm syndrome? Can you get that from a book?
I feel bad about this. I don't think I've ever written a review this harsh. It wasn't bad. I've read worse. Many times. It's a book. It's a story. It's not a particularly good or interesting one, I can't recommend it, but it did manage to coax a strong reaction from me. That's saying something in its favour, right?
I can't remember a book annoying me this much since The DaVinci Code, or Game of Thrones. People love those books. Maybe that puts it in good company, just not for me.
P.S. R. Scott Bakker, if you somehow happen upon this review, don't feel bad. You can obviously write. What you've done is an achievement and you should be proud of it. I respect what you've accomplished. It's just not for me.
5 stars
I'm in love with this book......
Two years ago if somebody had said I would've liked this book, I would've laughed at his face but now....... I'm here.
This book follows some doomed characters, nations and factions to a Holy War in which guys on top doesn't even know the ones who pull the string, it's one of the most EPIC things I've ever read.
This book does not pull any punches, the character's are all morally grey, but on the darker side, our characters don't have sympathy in the face of war, they kill be it a woman, baby or a old man. They don't remorse over people they kill they don't feel disheartended or ashamed because they beat a woman, they are all triffles to them. If your looking for a book with females that kick ass, your looking in the wrong place, here women fight with all they have to survive that unforgiving world but still they can't perservere.
Like the men are morally grey characters the women are all harlots, and it's not some glorious life as some novels potrays it to be, there life is miserable as it gets.
This book is a dark book , but unlike the so called Grimdark books we see on mainstream this doesn't come of as edgy but quite the opposite actually, it's more grounded at least for me. The way Bakker weaves the tale through the turmoil and the inner monologue is just mesmerizing. What I found utterly capturing in the book is that the inhumane thing FEEL inhuman, utterly it's like your seeing something uncomprehendable through the pages it's mesmerizing truly and utterly.The magic system is unlike any other I've read, It's mysterious and yet so original and feels like magic
One of my favorite things in the novel is the characters, there so distinct and unlike others I've read especially Kellhus our protagonist, he's one of my favorite protagonist already, the political manuevaring in the book is top notch stuff, I liked it more than GRRM to tell the truth.
If it is only after that we understand what has come before, then we understand nothing. Thus we shall define the soul as follows: that which precedes everything.
I'm in love with this book......
Two years ago if somebody had said I would've liked this book, I would've laughed at his face but now....... I'm here.
This book follows some doomed characters, nations and factions to a Holy War in which guys on top doesn't even know the ones who pull the string, it's one of the most EPIC things I've ever read.
More often than not, one knew the skittering course a leaf would take through the terrace groves. More often than not, one knew what another would say before he spoke. To grasp what came before was to know what would come after. And to know what would come after was the beauty that stilled
This book does not pull any punches, the character's are all morally grey, but on the darker side, our characters don't have sympathy in the face of war, they kill be it a woman, baby or a old man. They don't remorse over people they kill they don't feel disheartended or ashamed because they beat a woman, they are all triffles to them. If your looking for a book with females that kick ass, your looking in the wrong place, here women fight with all they have to survive that unforgiving world but still they can't perservere.
Like the men are morally grey characters the women are all harlots, and it's not some glorious life as some novels potrays it to be, there life is miserable as it gets.
If we are nothing more than our thoughts and passions, and if our thoughts and passions are nothing more than movements of our souls, then we are nothing more than those who move us.
This book is a dark book , but unlike the so called Grimdark books we see on mainstream this doesn't come of as edgy but quite the opposite actually, it's more grounded at least for me. The way Bakker weaves the tale through the turmoil and the inner monologue is just mesmerizing. What I found utterly capturing in the book is that the inhumane thing FEEL inhuman, utterly it's like your seeing something uncomprehendable through the pages it's mesmerizing truly and utterly.The magic system is unlike any other I've read, It's mysterious and yet so original and feels like magic
Release from anguish can be purchased only through more anguish.
One of my favorite things in the novel is the characters, there so distinct and unlike others I've read especially Kellhus our protagonist, he's one of my favorite protagonist already, the political manuevaring in the book is top notch stuff, I liked it more than GRRM to tell the truth.
Most fantasy books suck. Most (fill-in-the-blank genre) books suck. This is an exception.
Don't get me wrong. It's still pop lit. But the characters are rich and, even better, morally ambiguous.
Scott Bakker's background in philosophy seeps through in a way that doesn't smack you in the face. That is, not glaringly. The philosophic musings are fresh and quite integral to the story.
The fantasy world is not over the top. There are non-human entities, but they are almost unmentioned. There are supernatural entities, but they are left mysterious. Magic is formidable, but it graces very few pages.
This is a drama, first and foremost, about human relationships, cloaked in fantasy trappings.
Don't get me wrong. It's still pop lit. But the characters are rich and, even better, morally ambiguous.
Scott Bakker's background in philosophy seeps through in a way that doesn't smack you in the face. That is, not glaringly. The philosophic musings are fresh and quite integral to the story.
The fantasy world is not over the top. There are non-human entities, but they are almost unmentioned. There are supernatural entities, but they are left mysterious. Magic is formidable, but it graces very few pages.
This is a drama, first and foremost, about human relationships, cloaked in fantasy trappings.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
2024 reread: it’s interesting going through this again knowing for sure what happens, rather than have a bit more than a feeling about what Bakker is doing, but still being along for the ride regardless of the kind of violence that takes place. Especially to women. But, thankfully, that is the actual point of the world and the antagonist. The “dark” in the fantasy is, essentially misogyny. It’s rightfully hard to read, and it permeates the world, is made manifest, quite slowly.
If there’s one flaw of these first three, it’s that they really feel like one novel, cut up to three. There is a resolution in each, but it really feels like the first book is all build up, and lots of the second, too. The soft world building doesn’t inundate the reader with how different the world is. And it is really different. From evocative, alternate words for most esoteric things, certainly the fantastical, it is a slow descent. So much so, I would say that not all that much actually happens, in terms of plot beats. But it’s immersive and, if you can extend some good faith while you enjoy it, there’s not really anything like it out there. People will say Read Malazan. I tried. The first book was boring—the opposite of what I got out of this, all the way through. It immediately has me pick up the next up. Even as it builds a sense of dread in the reader as to what may be happening. And he pulls it off twice. Once at the end of this trilogy, and again at the end of the whole series.
I really enjoyed this even though I found it to be quite dense around 150-250 pages in. It jumps around to different factions, which is always interesting, but it is a lot to remember sometimes. The nice thing about listening to audio book was the pacing the reader took. Because it was slower than reading it was easier to digest, I think.
It doesn’t read like typical fantasy, which I can’t usually get through. I like the prose, which don’t overstay their welcome but paint evocative details. The world is interesting, the characters complex. There are definitely no “heroes”. The only thing that stood out was sometimes the writing was a litttle cringe when it turned its eye to women in regards to characterizing other male characters, which is pretty eye roll worthy and tropey. Otherwise it was very novel for me and I will definitely continue on to the next book as well.
If there’s one flaw of these first three, it’s that they really feel like one novel, cut up to three. There is a resolution in each, but it really feels like the first book is all build up, and lots of the second, too. The soft world building doesn’t inundate the reader with how different the world is. And it is really different. From evocative, alternate words for most esoteric things, certainly the fantastical, it is a slow descent. So much so, I would say that not all that much actually happens, in terms of plot beats. But it’s immersive and, if you can extend some good faith while you enjoy it, there’s not really anything like it out there. People will say Read Malazan. I tried. The first book was boring—the opposite of what I got out of this, all the way through. It immediately has me pick up the next up. Even as it builds a sense of dread in the reader as to what may be happening. And he pulls it off twice. Once at the end of this trilogy, and again at the end of the whole series.
I really enjoyed this even though I found it to be quite dense around 150-250 pages in. It jumps around to different factions, which is always interesting, but it is a lot to remember sometimes. The nice thing about listening to audio book was the pacing the reader took. Because it was slower than reading it was easier to digest, I think.
It doesn’t read like typical fantasy, which I can’t usually get through. I like the prose, which don’t overstay their welcome but paint evocative details. The world is interesting, the characters complex. There are definitely no “heroes”. The only thing that stood out was sometimes the writing was a litttle cringe when it turned its eye to women in regards to characterizing other male characters, which is pretty eye roll worthy and tropey. Otherwise it was very novel for me and I will definitely continue on to the next book as well.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is now my favorite first book of any series. Bakker is a genius with how he writes, his prose is beautiful and the way he writes his characters is soo wonderfully done. I loved how he shows us each of the povs from the perspective of others and it made me understand the characters a lot more.
The world building is among my favorites and I'm just in the first book. The world just doesn't feel like anything l've ever read and it has soo much depth to it and we've barely scratched the surface. Another thing is the politicking. It's some of the best l've seen across all media.
The book is a tier above grim dark. With Abercrombie for example there's some light to it but this is just bleak.
I can't wait to continue this series I can feel that it will among the best things I will ever read
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes