Product Description

A score of years after he first walked into the histories of Men, Anasurimbor Kellhus rules all the Three Seas, the first true Aspect-Emperor in a thousand years. The masses worship him as a living god, though a few dare claim he's a walking demon. With Proyas and Saubon as his Exalt-Generals, he leads a holy war deep into the wastes of the Ancient North, intent on destroying Golgotterath and preventing the Second Apocalypse. His wife and consort, Esmenet, meanwhile, remains in Momemn, where she struggles to rule not only his vast empire, but their murderous children as well. And Achamian, who lives as a Wizard in embittered exile, undertakes a mad quest to uncover the origins of the Dunyain. But Achamian, of all people, should know that one must be very careful what one seeks ...

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #30934 in Books
• Published on: 2009-01-15
• Original language: English
• Binding: Paperback
• 448 pages

Review
'[R. Scott Bakker is a] class act like George R. R. Martin, or his fellow Canadians Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay. He gets right away from the 'downtrodden youth becoming king' aspect of epic fantasy in his very impressive first novel - THE DARKNESS THAT COMES BEFORE. No clunky analogy of medieval Europe here. Odd, fascinating characters in a world full of trouble and sorcery' '10 Authors to Watch' SFX

About the Author
R. Scott Bakker is a student of literature, history, philosophy and ancient languages. He divides his time between writing philosophy and fantasy, though he often has difficulty distinguishing between them. He lives in London, Ontario.

Customer Reviews

Bakker once again produces brilliance.
This is a brilliant book, every bit as good as the first trilogy. Now I have read many reviews that the first trilogy was to difficult to read or at time there was just to much Philosophy. Personally I thought the first three books were spot on but for those who didn't and read the series and are a bit nervous about starting this sequel, fear not The Judging Eye is a bit more mild in those regards.

This however doesn't take away how brilliant the start to this series is, the writing is amazing, I think the only author who bests Bakker with his writing skill is Erikson but the writing styles differ enough to set them apart. The story line has come along a great deal as one would expect based twenty years after the previous books, the main characters are all there plus some amazing new ones and thick and juicy plot lines for them.

I will give one warning however, if you have just noticed this novel here on Amazon and think it sounds great, DO NOT BUY! You really need to read the first trilogy to even Begin to understand The Judging Eye. If you're interested and you should be, I envy you. I would love to go back to when I read the first trilogy just experience the story for the first time again.

Enjoy! You're in for a hell of a ride.

Bakker continues the 'Prince of Nothing' series with this excellent follow-up
A most entertaining and welcome addition to Scott Bakker's 'Prince of Nothing' trilogy.

This book follows the independent tales of Kellhus and Drusus Achamain (Akka) in a period of time that follows Kellhus becoming the God-like, Aspect-Emperor. In addition, the book focuses some attention on Kellhus's wife Esmenet and, in what appears to be a major developing side story, their son, Kelmomas.

The book is extremely well written and easy to follow, with chapters alternating between the different characters stories. Chapters tend to end leaving you wishing for more and eager to get back to that particular tale.

I enjoyed this book much more that Bakker's trilogy ending 'The Thousandfold Thought', which seemed to me to contain a great deal of philosophical discussions that I personally found somewhat difficult to follow and understand. By comparison this novel was more 'story' and thus easier to understand and a joy to read.

In addition to a well written story with great characters the book features (as per all previous Bakker books) an excellent glossary of character names with a brief description of their roles. It also has a great map of the area involved. And last but not least there is a brief summary of the story of 'Prince of Nothing' trilogy so you won't be totally lost if you don't read the initial trilogy.

Conclusion:

Bakker is back; this is as fine a continuum as I could have hoped for to one of my favorite fantasy/adventure series. I can hardly wait for the next installment. Easily 5 Stars.

Ray Nicholson

Sadly disappointing
Being a fan of the Prince of Nothing series I was eagerly awaiting the continuation of the sprawling saga in the war against the No-God. This, however, has almost put me off. It lacks the intensity and verve of the first three novels. The newer characters (especially Mimara) seem forced and un-realistic - a huge departure from the vivid, fleshed out characters in The Prince of Nothing. Also, the book seems strangely riddled with plot holes - at least to someone who is familiar with the original series. An example being (fear not, this is no spoiler) the ability of Kellus's children to read faces. In the Prince of Nothing it was explained how Kellus trained his ability by studying the stretched skinned faces of muscle, watching the variation on muscle combinations and what they signified. Here it is something that is mystically just passed on through his genes. Perhaps a small point, but it annoyed me and seems to be indicative of the general reduction in consistency and quality.

While the novel does have good points - the final few chapters are breath-taking and Cleric is a great addition - it saddens me that I found the story suddenly so implausible and such hard work, something I would have never thought would happen during the Prince of Nothing series. I will probably read the next book, but only if I pass by it in a store, I certainly will not be going out of my way