Synopses & Reviews
The Darkness That Comes Before, R. Scott Bakker's magnificent debut, drew thunderous acclaim from reviewers and fellow fantasy authors, such as Steven Erikson and Kevin J. Anderson. Readers were invited into a darkly threatening, thrillingly imaginative universe as fully realized as that of any in modern fantasy and introduced to one of the genre's great characters: the powerful warrior-philosopher Anasûrimbor Kelhus, on whom the fate of a violently apocalyptic Holy War rests. Bakker's follow up to
The Darkness That Comes Before,
The Warrior Prophet enticed readers further into the richly imagined world of myth, violence, and sorcery.
With the ultimate battle drawing near, Anasûrimbor Kelhus closed in on the elusive goal of reuniting with his father, mastering the ancient arts he will need to prepare himself for the encounter. Will Kelhus be able to rise to claim his role within the ascendancy, or will he be overtaken by his enemies both within and without? Will he reach the ancient city of Shimeh and reunite with his father? Upon the apocalypse, will there be survivors left to write the history of the Holy War? The startling and far-reaching answers to these questions, left hanging at the conclusion of The Warrior Prophet, are brought into thrilling focus in The Thousandfold Thought, the conclusion to the Prince of Nothing series. Casting into question all the action that has taken place before, twisting readers' intuitions in unforeseen directions, remolding the fantasy genre to broaden the scope of intricacy and meaning, R. Scott Bakker has once again written a fantasy novel that defies all expectations and rewards the reader with an experience unlike any to be had in the canon of fantasy literature.
Review
"The end result makes for one of the most freakishly unputdownable conclusions to a fantasy trilogy I've read in a long time. A wildly uneven, overreaching, full-of-itself, and often just plain messy epic The Prince of Nothing may well be. But it's a worthy experience all the same..." SFReviews.net
Review
"Here, in The Thousandfold Thought, [Bakker] delivers on the promise of [his earlier] two volumes and has completed what is likely one of, if not the defining Epic saga of this generation." SFFWorld.com
Review
"The Thousandfold Thought, like its predecessors, is the work of a masterful storyteller....[T]he masterful conclusion to a trilogy of the highest order. I can only hope that Mr. Bakker will soon create more worlds for us to discover." Richard Marcus, BlogCritics.org
Synopsis
Only Shimeh remains.
The Padirajah has been slain, and the heathen Fanim have fled in disarray. One final march will bring the Holy War to the City of the Latter Prophet. But so very much has changed...
Using godlike insight and ruthless deceit, Anasûrimbor Kellhus has conquered the hearts of all, including the harlot Esmenet, who now shares his bed. Only the barbarian, Cnaiür, and the sorcerer, Achamian, continue to hazard doubts. But where Cnaiür topples ever deeper into madness and wanton violence, Achamian is compelled to yield the secrets of the Gnosis. Not only must he protect the man who stole his wife, he must teach the most powerful sorcery known to the greatest intellect ever to walk the earth. Behind false smiles, the agents of the No-God watch with malice and trepidation.
The final reckoning is at hand. Faceless assassins will strike in the dead of night. Kings and emperors will fall. The sorcerous Schools will be unleashed. And Anasûrimbor Kellhus will at last confront his father. If Kellhus could subvert an entire holy war within a year, what has Moënghus accomplished in thirty? What is the meaning of his Thousandfold Thought?
About the Author
R. Scott Bakker was born February 2nd, 1967 in Simcoe, Ontario, Canada.
The son of a tobacco share-cropper, he spent his youth either exploring the wooded bluffs of Lake Erie's north shore or working in hot summer fields. In 1986 he left the countryside to attend the University of Western Ontario, where he graduated top of his class in English Language and Literature. After completing a two-year MA in Theory and Criticism, he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, to pursue a Ph.D. in philosophy at Vanderbilt University. In the winter of 2000, he moved back to London, Ontario, to complete his dissertation, which is entitled Truth and Context. He lives there still with his fiancee (and partner of twelve years), Sharron, and their cat, Scully.
Initially, writing had only been his hobby, a way to relax and yet be productive when his studies threatened to overwhelm him. At the urging of a friend in Nashville, however, he sent The Darkness that Comes Before to a literary agent in New York, who soon sold the book to Penguin, Canada. When his Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council Fellowship ran out, Scott found himself writing fiction full-time, and hopes, as all new writers do, that he will never need look back.