A co-worker loaned me this book (all three in the series, actually) by Canadian R. Scott Bakker, and the first thing I noticed, aside from the fact that it was so complex that I would definitely need to consult the glossary in the back of the book, was how similar it was to Frank Herbert’s Dune. The writing is dense, with the same blend of philosophy, mysticism, dream-like attention to detail, and brief flashes of internal dialogue. This is the first volume in an epic fantasy trilogy called The Prince of Nothing. Bakker’s world confounds any attempt to find analogs to our own. There are elements in many of the societies and religions that could come from ancient Rome, Sumeria, or Islam, but seen through alien eyes and combined with entirely fictional elements in such a way that it’s impossible to predict how they (the “real world” bits) will behave in the context of the novel. I have been surprised at nearly every turn, and I love it.
The blurbs on the cover of this book compare it to the likes of Steven Erikson and Guy Gavriel Kay. I can’t comment on Erikson (I’ve never read any of his work), but I can tell you that Bakker far outstrips Kay in both depth and complexity. Doubt is the prime mover in this book. Characters doubt their memories, their abilities, their senses and their faith. They doubt the loyalties of those around them, the lessons of history and the very nature of the societies they live in. This mountain of doubt has the potential to overwhelm the reader and deny the concrete physicality of Bakker’s world, but it actually does exactly the opposite. All the doubt reinforces the grit; even without any direct referents to real-world societies or events, the intrigue and political machinations, the constant anxiety of the characters only makes this world seem more like our own.
Hey, I’m all caught up! Next: The Warrior-Prophet, by R. Scott Bakker.
