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Advance review of R. Scott Bakker's The Judging Eye


pat5150

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Yep, I've read it! :P

Scott sent me a file containing the last copy-edit of the manuscript, and he wanted me to be the first reviewer to get a crack at it. :D Many thanks to him for doing that!

Though it's spoiler-free, I elaborate on the principal storylines, so be forewarned if you don't wish to know anything in advance. Otherwise, feel free to have a look.

Oh and it's the shit, by the way!

Check the blog for the full review. :)

Patrick
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[quote name='pat5150' post='1575077' date='Nov 2 2008, 21.42']Yep, I've read it! :P

Scott sent me a file containing the last copy-edit of the manuscript, and he wanted me to be the first reviewer to get a crack at it. :D Many thanks to him for doing that!

Though it's spoiler-free, I elaborate on the principal storylines, so be forewarned if you don't wish to know anything in advance. Otherwise, feel free to have a look.

Oh and it's the shit, by the way!

Check the blog for the full review. :)

Patrick[/quote]

I hate you....not like in a "I hope you wake up with a knife in your chest" or some crazy chick holding your dick with a knife in her other hand...no, not hate like that, but more like....well I hate you, lets just leave it at that :P
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What Bigpop said with reference to hating you. You lucky bastard.

Nice review, and now I'm just more excited to read this book. One question: How well does Bakker integrate the philosophy aspect into the book? The philosophy is one of my favourite aspects of the Prince of Nothing, and I'm just hoping that he doesn't repeat the same mistakes he made in Neuropath, in which one character goes into speech after repetitive speech detailing what point Bakker is trying to make, no matter the context.
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Great review Pat.

No chance of me reading this without rereading the first 3 books, possibly twice, before picking this up. Reading the review, I don't know what's scarier, all those new names, relationships and factions or the fact this is the most newb-friendly book yet :P

Definitely looking forward to it though.
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I rather wouldn't like to see Cnaiur in next book. Both he and Achamian were in their forties in PoN. Twenty years has passed. A sorcerer in his sixties can still be formidable, but a barbarian warrior not so much.
I am very intrigued about this White Luck Warrior. He seems to be some very powerful figure opposed to Kellhus, and since his name is supposed to be the title of fifth book, he apparently has really important role to play.
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Sounds like the bomb. So the second book is titled [b]The White-Luck Warrior[/b]?

Pat, without askings for identity spoilers, can you say if that character is at least revealed and on stage in the first book?

Cult of Yatwer: According to the appendices this is The Goddess of Fertility, with a large number of impoverished followers.

Achamian trekking through the the northern wilds with that band sounds intriguing. The Publisher's weekly review up on their site reveals who that character is btw, for anyone who wants to know.

Sauglish is one of the four great ancient cities of the Aumris Valley, destroyed in the Apocalypse of 2147. This city used to be the intellectual capital of the Ancient North and was home to the first Gnostic schools of sorcery.

Kelmomas: Kellhus' and Esmenet's son. Named after Anasurimbor Celmomas no doubt, the foe of Golgotterath during the First Apocalypse. Also; [i]Celmomiam Prophecy[/i]: The prophecy that an Anasurimbor would return at the end of the world.

Sorweel, son of the dead king of Sakarpus: [i]Sakarpus [/i]is listed as:

City of the Ancient North, aside from Atrithau, the only city to survive in the North.

Pat,

Do we get to see some more of the Consult characters as well?

Also, do we visit Atrithau? That was a very intriguing place in the first trilogy, a city built on anarcane ground, where all forms of sorcery are negated.

Kellhus at the head of a vast army marching towards Golgotterath sounds fantastic. I do hope they see some action as well, outside of the Sranc?
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[quote name='Calibandar' post='1575232' date='Nov 3 2008, 04.53']Kellhus at the head of a vast army marching towards Golgotterath sounds fantastic. I do hope they see some action as well, outside of the Sranc?[/quote]

Yeah. I'm about 90 pages in now, and--
SPOILER: The Judging Eye
within the first 50 you see the sacking of a northern plains city athwart the path of the Great Ordeal.
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Cali: Can't say more, as I'm sworn to secrecy! There is enough meat in that review to keep you going for a little while! ;)

Azor Ahai: Please don't post spoilers, as Scott will probably go nuts about such things.

Patrick
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[quote name='pat5150' post='1575315' date='Nov 3 2008, 07.02']Cali: Can't say more, as I'm sworn to secrecy! There is enough meat in that review to keep you going for a little while! ;)

Azor Ahai: Please don't post spoilers, as Scott will probably go nuts about such things.

Patrick[/quote]


AGH! Must...avert...eyes...from spoiler boxes...

I'm glad concerning the news of pacing and internal/external action. Though I love PoN, the only parts that make re-reading a slog are some of the character reflections in the later two books, particularly whenever Esmenet/Akka start musing on Kellhus's preternatural abilities.

Like Cali, I immediately searched the glossary in TTT to find out about Sauglish. I wonder if Akka will reach Ishual by the completion of book one.....?

Pat, how would you say the novel increases the scope of the world? Somewhat or majorly? What sort of appendixes/maps came with the draft, if any?
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This was a Word computer file, so no maps were sent my way. There is a relatively short glossary (I don't think anything will ever beat the one at the end of TTT), and a very nice "What has gone before."

TJE does increase the scope of the world because the characters are traveling to places we haven't seen before. Also, given the fact that Kellhus conquered basically the entire world during the Unification Wars, the narrative elaborates on various locales and cultures. But the novel is just a big intro, so I expect that a lot more will be learned in the sequels.

Patrick
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Three questions:

- Is it confirmed that the US version (the one with the good cover) is coming out in January? The [url="http://www.overlookpress.com/book-detail.php?book_isbn=1-59020-169-8&last_url=author.php?author_code=661"]Overlook Press[/url] page lists it as Winter 09.

- Is this a trilogy or tetralogy? In the last interview I've read Bakker said he was splitting the series in four books instead of three.

- Since it's a Word file, what's the current wordcount Pat?
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[quote name='Gormenghast' post='1575530' date='Nov 3 2008, 10.07']Three questions:

- Is it confirmed that the US version (the one with the good cover) is coming out in January? The [url="http://www.overlookpress.com/book-detail.php?book_isbn=1-59020-169-8&last_url=author.php?author_code=661"]Overlook Press[/url] page lists it as Winter 09.[/quote]

An email I had from Overlook a few weeks ago did confirm the January release date.

Since they gave advanced copies away at WorldCon this weekend, I'm hoping mine is in the mail!
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[quote name='Gormenghast' post='1575530' date='Nov 3 2008, 10.07']Three questions:

- Since it's a Word file, what's the current wordcount Pat?[/quote]

mm, my next question. Is this more the size of Warrior Prophet (longest book) or The Thousandfold Thought (shortest) or in-between?
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[quote
>>TJE does increase the scope of the world because the characters are traveling to places we haven't seen before. Also, given the fact that Kellhus conquered basically the entire world during the Unification Wars, the narrative elaborates on various locales and cultures. But the novel is just a big intro, so I expect that a lot more will be learned in the sequels.<<


[/quote]

Spoiler, maybe, but does that include Zeum? Or is it more the Three Seas and outlying areas?
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