The Unholy Consult: The Aspect-Emperor

The close to the Aspect-Emperor series is upon us. The Second of the three series that makes up the greater Second Apocalypse series. Act Two is over, and what a powerful part it was. The Great Ordeal must deal with the consequences of eating Srancs as they make the final march to Golgotterath to save the world, led by Proyas. Achamian and Mimara race to join the Holy War so the Judging Eye may finally gaze on the Aspect-Emperor himself, Anasûrimbor Kellhus. The fate of the world hangs in the balance, resting on the shoulders of one man. But is he truly the prophet he claims to be that will save the world, or will he doom it and side with the Unholy Consult itself, trading the fate of all for freedom from Damnation. For Bakker fans who've followed the books since the Prince of Nothing, this is the moment we've been waiting for. What will the Dûnyain do when he reaches Golgotterath and stares into the Inverse Fire. Will he betray the world to save himself or to embrace the Logos? Will he agree with the Consult's plan to close the world from the gods and end damnation by exterminating life. This book is tense and visceral. It hurtles you forward towards the climax with breathless anticipation. The characters we've followed for seven books collide together at the end. Reunions, betrayals, and more abound. Bakker keeps you on the toes. I've never read a Fantasy series where you felt the world could actual end. Where you truly feared that the man destined to save it would ultimately be its destroyer. Bakker must be praised for bringing about this dark and powerful tale and leaves you breathless for more. (And there is more coming, confirmed by the author that he's already working on the third series). While the ending is shocking and leaves you wanting more, there is so much to this book to digest, to mull over, and ponder as we wait for more. Once again, Bakker reminds us why he's one of the best writing fantasy today.

Some minor spoilers ahead: I recently finished this book, 7th in a series which was rumored to be 9-10 books altogether. My first thought is how I never encountered these books before because they are pure gold. I've always loved grimdark books since reading the tribulations of Thomas Covenant nearly 4 decades ago, and always pined for a philosophical bent like Stephen R. Donaldson had. Bakker's style is unique, but definitely slanting hard towards grimdark, if anything he's established a completely new level. By grimdark I don't only mean graphic, but I also take it to mean it's not black and white, it's not a knight in shining armor versus an evil monstrosity. The subtly and shades of grey Bakker paints are unbelievable, you will find yourself vacillating between periods of love, hate, disgust, bewilderment, and at times self-association with all of the major characters. You will get to know the main characters in the most complete fashion, knowing their inner thoughts and what deep, dark demons drive their dark souls. I've read many reviews on here, and many of the chief complaints seem to be with Bakker's philosophical views and how much text is given to that. Personally I find this absolutely incredible and something that regularly focuses the view onto yourself, not enough (any?) books really have this. Yes it's wordy, yes it's very very heavy reading, you will feel tired going through it all, sometimes as much as going through a philosophy textbook. But it's really all worth it because it just pushes you to understand the complexity of life, especially life in Bakker's universe. You will feel like you are wading through thick mud with weighted shoes, but each step will be that much more satisfying. What's interesting is that after reading Bakker, any other author I read feels almost too easy, as if they are not really observing everything they should be observing. In any regard I feel this book is for the more introspective among readers, nothing wrong with other Sanderson or King type readers, I highly enjoy those authors as well. But Bakker challenges you to deeply ponder some of life's meanings, and some may not be up to that task. Now for specifics on this last book (MINOR SPOILERS AHEAD), I was somewhat disappointed because it seems a devolution of his prior writing. The philosophy got way out of hand and became more and more esoteric, until at times it resembled the ramblings of a madman. The writing was still beautiful, poetic, and stunning, but Bakker just seemed to eschew the story for philosophical ramblings much more often than in previous books. All the books need very careful attention or the reader will invariably get lost, but in particular this last book even with the most careful attention, re-reading, and pondering still left me quite lost at many points. I don't only blame Bakker but also his editor and beta readers for not pushing for his writing to be more clear. But I also wonder if Bakker did this intentionally to create more of a sense of horror befitting the ending, a sense of not fully knowing just why those bad things happened to the characters and you the reader and that utter loss of control. Bakker also has a penchant for building up characters then killing them off, get ready to go through dozens (honestly it could be hundreds, I'm not sure) of characters which are built up and then killed off, sometimes in the sum of a chapter, other times in the sum of a few pages, and often in a couple of paragraphs. I didn't particularly mind this as it does add to the weightiness of the subject matter, but in the last 4 books he did this with a beloved main character and basically wasted the entire point of this main character, I ended up feeling there was really no need for this character which over four books I grew to intimately know inside and out. I will leave it up to you to figure out who this character was, but it will be quite clear halfway through the last book. Finally the ending of the last book, and of the entire series (unless you believe rumors that he is working on another 2-3 books) was extremely grimdark, let's just leave it at that. As much as I hated the ending, it wasn't because of the writing, Bakker is entitled to finish his story any way he darn chooses. I won't go into detail more to avoid spoilers, just don't expect hugs and kisses during a victorious reunion of heroes. I'm almost tempted to say he pulled a Game of Thrones, hmm... To sum it up I am quite bewildered that Bakker and his incredible writing style, plot, world building, prose, and philosophy have not made him as much of a classic as Tolkien, Abercrombie, Donaldson, etc. To read rumors that he is struggling to find a publisher for a third series just boggles my mind, I'll gladly pre-pay 10 years in advance for the hope of more Bakker. These books are outright amazing, if you have the knee high boots and leg muscles to wade through them you must take the challenge without hesitation.

While I have thoroughly enjoyed this series from Bakker, there definitely are long stretches of tedious, self-indulgence in the book. I'd also thought this was going to be the true finale of his work in this world, but it is not and now we will have to wait for another trilogy to resolve. Bakker's world-building is incredible and his characters deeply drawn. However, his writing is frequently so esoteric and ambiguous that sometimes it's impossible to determine what actually *happened* in certain passages. I guess this is deliberate a lot of the time, but it's annoying. It's also a challenge to keep track of most of the more minor characters, as Bakker's naming/language conventions are so removed from English names. Considering the world was so deliberately designed to mirror European and Middle Eastern Earth, it's a bit baffling he is so averse to more familiar-sounding names. But overall, this has been one of the most compelling and rewarding fantasy series I've ever read. Bakker's sophisticated writing puts 99% of all other Fantasy writers to shame, and makes it hard to pick up other series without viewing the writing as weak. This is Epic Fantasy as literature, not mere escapist entertainment. Bakker crafts vivid set pieces with unforgettable imagery. For example, one character's journey into the darkest depths of a mountain city is positively Dante-esque in evoking a terrifying, hellish pit.

In the end there are too many unfinished story lines and too many unexplained events. Also 40%of the book turns out to be an appendix so the story is suddenly over.

Brutal (en todos los sentidos) conclusión de la tetralogía del Emperador-Aspecto. Obra de una épica oscura, tenebrosa, terrible. La sensación de WTF que se te queda al final está sumamente lograda. Espectacular, tanto que procedo a digerirlo con una inmediata nueva relectura. Ahora viene la larga espera hasta la conclusión real de la historia en la ya anunciada serie "The No-God". A ver si por fin alguna editorial española se anima a publicar esta serie, para mí muy superior a los últimos libros de G.R.R. Martin.

Its phenomenal - as breathlessly epic and disturbing as all previous books in the sequence. Frankly there's very little I or anyone can say that wouldn't spoil the experience of reading the book, and finally getting inside the walls of Golgotterath. Bakker's writing has become more baroque as the years have passed - with the philosophical, scriptural quality of the text reaching its most refined point yet in this book. I loved it, but it makes for a challenging read, and I can't say I fully understood the detailed nuances of philosophy or metaphysics of the story - but I'm not sure I was supposed to: For me, the writing style, 'conditioned ground,' the 'absolute,' the nature of the hundred gods, etc, etc, work mainly to add great and terrifying verisimilitude and intensity to the reading experience. And as with the others it is incredibly intense - unlike any other book I've ever read really. Most of the book draws the central characters back to the titanic battle on the steps of Golgotterath, before plunging headlong into the chaos of the fight - and it concludes with a devastating series of twists, as well as a stunning final sequence.

I kept reading this book because I had read all the other books in the series and wanted to find out the ending. I wish I hadn't bothered. If you are really interested in religious philosophy and long-winded disgusting descriptive passages, and have an obsession for phalluses, then this book might interest you. Personally, I think this could be the worst book I have ever read. After a while, it just became repetitious, boring, confusing and a really hard slog to finish. I was surprised, but sadly grateful when it finished at 66% read. What's the deal with that? Maybe the author got sick of it too.

Simply the best epic fantasy ever written. This is the finale (or maybe not) in what is a series of seven books. (well, two series actually) If you like a quick read or skipping ahead to get to the good parts, this series isn't for you. Everything that is written ultimately builds the main story. There is no world-building filler that you can ignore or dead-end plot lines common to other fantasy series. These books are made to be read thoughtfully and carefully. I've read the series four times and still learned new things the last time through. (Mainly because I assumed I could skip stuff the first couple times) The characters are exquisitely revealed. The events have 8000 years of history behind them, and you actually get to see how that history ties in to present events. Do yourself a favor and start with The Darkness That Comes Before. Give it a chance. Take your time. Well worth the challenge.