The Warrior-Prophet

_The Warrior-Prophet_, the second volume of R. Scott Bakker's _The Prince of Nothing_ trilogy, brings his complex characters closer to their goals and ramps up the tension in their conflicts. Yet ethereal philosophical concepts and inner monologue still dominate this erudite epic fantasy in place of clear motives and discrete actions.

As the novel opens, the Holy War, the great multi-national crusade of believers, begins its march into the desert territories of its hated heathen enemy. The events of the previous novel, _The Darkness That Comes Before..._, have finally brought all the main characters together in the stream of camp followers--the sorcerer Achamian, the prostitute Esmenet, the barbarian Cnaiur, and the awe-inspiring monk Kellhus.

In the interactions of these disparate characters marching together, Bakker's prose comes alive. All of the characters are beset with dire internal conflicts, the hangover from their actions in the previous book, and they each attack their quandaries in the most philosophical of ways. Bakker's unique talent lies in making these ethereal intellectual concepts real through vivid imagery. He has a doctorate in philosophy, presumably the source of his knowledge of philosophical ideas, but his prose also reads as though he is a great teacher, rendering intangible concepts into understandable images. His internal monologues consistently lock onto the perfect visual analogy to illustrate exactly how these ideas make the characters feel, and how they should make the reader feel.

The characters' overall motives still seem weakly underpinned. Kellhus wants to find his father, but no concrete reasons are given why. Cnaiur also wants to find Kellhus's father because of some slight the man gave him decades ago, which feels both unmotivated and incredibly fortuitous. Achamian's goals are the most clear--to investigate his sorcery school's ages-old enemy who may cause an apocalypse--but it's never certain why he must follow the Holy War to do that.

Yet if the reader can accept these overall motivations, every one of Bakker's philosophical conflicts makes perfect sense. In this way, _The Warrior-Prophet_ far exceeds _The Darkness That Comes Before..._. That previous novel was mostly ponderous set-up, moving characters into physical proximity, establishing their identities, and laying out the details of Bakker's numbingly complex world. Yet this second novel is the comfort these characters bring to one another and the pain when their secrets are threatened. Part of the key to this synergy is having the entire group of main characters together, interacting with each of the others--a confluence Bakker could not achieve in the previous book.

The one potentially fatal flaw in this philosophical, internal monologue-dominated approach is that the characters perhaps spend too much time in their own heads and not enough interacting with the tactile world around them. The crusade marches through ancient lands and fights great battles, all skillfully summarized in distant omniscient passages. But the majority of the battles in this novel are fought inside the characters' heads. Even with Bakker's command of rendering the vague into vividness, he still faces a huge challenge when so many of his scenes contain almost all internal thoughts or memories and only a few actual events. The reader, especially in speculative fiction, needs concrete images to ground them in any fantastical setting. The more narrative time spent inside characters' heads rather than in their world, the less grounded the reader becomes. It is a testament to Bakker's command of philosophy and elucidating narration that he can sustain a novel so dominated by internal monologue. But even skillful portrayal of the ethereal cannot fully sate the reader's need for the tangible, the real.

The climax of _The Warrior-Prophet_ finally bursts through that preponderance of internal monologue into a series of gripping events. Achamian's sorcerous allegiances collide with fervent ambition, and Kellhus's drive to dominate the crusader army clashes with religious zeal. Although this climax is seeded with obscurity and unresolved plot threads, presumably to fuel the final book of the trilogy, it does cast aside the gossamer feel left from the reliance on internal monologue. However, the increasing horror of these events and the brutality of the conditions make the victory of the climax a Pyrrhic one for the reader.

Bakker has certainly built a unique epic fantasy, where internal conflict dominates instead of external, and deft analogies render erudite concepts into vivid images. _The Warrior-Prophet_ hones that style to greater precision than the previous novel, and it leaves the characters seemingly poised to tackle their lingering external conflicts in the next book. Although, given Bakker's proclivity for internal philosophical struggle, their paths to conquer their external conflicts may lie within their own minds.

Other Reviews of works by R. Scott Bakker

The Thousandfold Thought - Jan 28, 2006

The Darkness that Comes Before - Aug 1, 2005

Interview with R. Scott Bakker

On the Spot at Fantasybookspot: R. Scott Bakker - May 30, 2005