The Warrior-Prophet

The Prince of Nothing, Book Two

By: R. Scott Bakker

Narrated by: David DeVries

Length: 23 hrs and 34 mins

Publisher's Summary

Book Two of The Prince of Nothing series finds the Holy War continuing its inexorable march southward. But the suspicion begins to dawn that the real threat comes not from the infidel but from within....

Steering souls through the subtleties of word and expression, Kellhus strives to extend his dominion over the Men of the Tusk. The sorcerer Achamian and his lover, Esmenet, submit entirely, only to have their faith - and their love - tested in unimaginable ways. Meanwhile, the warrior Cnaiur falls ever deeper into madness. Convinced that Kellhus will betray their pact to murder his father, Cnaiur turns to the agents of the Second Apocalypse and strikes an infernal bargain.

The Holy War stands on a knife edge. If all is not to be lost, the great powers of the world will have to choose between their most desperate desires and the end of the world. Between hatred and hope. Between Anasurimbor Kellhus and the second apocalypse.

©2004 R. Scott Bakker (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

Critic Reviews

"[A] daringly unconventional series in the Tolkien mold." ( Publishers Weekly)

Complete waste of time

I’ve listened to many, many fantasy books but dark fantasy is my favorite sub genre.
This book is pure convoluted drivel. The first book is the worst book I’ve ever read/listened to but I trudged through it because some say they loved it so I kept waiting for it to get better but It never came close. I listened to the second because some say it gets better but it doesn’t. He throws out what seems like hundreds of random names of characters, people, and places that are impossible to remember and just takes even more away from the book. I could go on and on about how much I detest this series but I’m not gonna waste one more second on this garbage.

best fantasy prose and story ever

amazing. 3rd time listening , narrator is amazing and this is my favorite audible book ever.

better than the first one

I didnt finish The Darkness That Comes Before until my second attempt. I was lost most of the time, overwhelmed by all the names, and not clear where the main conflict would emerge. But I made it to the end and began to enjoy myself in the last 20%, so I bought this sequel.

I was not disappointed. While the exposition was still excessive, and the beginning was still slow, there is some phenomenal conflict, plot, and world-building that takes place here. It was the best damn story I've heard in years, and I found myself turning this on instead of watching TV (most of my listening occurs in the car, so for audible to intrude on my TV time is a big deal).

Bakker's strong suits are his ability to write battle scenes (better than GRRM, IMHO), especially when it comes to use of combat magic, and his ability to generally conceive of esoteric horrors in a magical setting. Definitely spending my next audible credit on the sequel.

a gripping in entertaining dark story

an incredibly enjoyable and sometimes depressing story. extremely well written and even more extraordinarily narrated

Devries improves as a narrator vs 1st performance

The Conditioned are one of the most interesting fantasy novel "monk classes"I have come across in recent memory

beautifully written, and performed to perfection

I loved this book, the prose is absolutely fantastic and the story is amazing. I also have to say that the narrator is just perfect and performed with such gusto that I was mesmerized. Amazing ! Can’t recommend it enough.

A Good follow up to a Phenomenal beginning.

Not quite as good as the first but what middle chapter is? Still a great listen the last 5 hours or so have the action and intensity that I wish more of this book had. But it's building to something. I can't wait to start book 3.

A Heading is Required

The author has all of the best and worst traits of Stephen King or George R R Martin, and takes them to the next level. I would pass this series up in favor of Erikson's Malazan Book of the Fallen series. That said, I don't usually hesitate to put a book series down, but this one is good enough to finish.

Above average

good voicing, interesting take on fantasy, a little too heavy on sex and descrptive metaphors, a little light on female characters who don't exist to have sex. vivid world.

evocative premise

the psychological and philosophical premise of this book is the most interesting thing about it. the author spend some time developing the characters, a lot of time developing them, two-thirds of the book is internal dialogue, way too much internal dialogue.

dark epic fantasy

this is still very much a fantasy version of the crusades but it is really well executed and with a lot of depth and details allowing it to be its own thing. Its interesting to have a protagonist whose motivations may not be aligned with the world's interests or at best may coincidentally save it. the narrator gives the characters distinct voices and is able to deliver fictional historical quotes with believable authority