The Prince of Nothing Trilogy by R. Scott Bakker | Spoiler-Free Series Review 

The whole Second Apocalypse series made me feel very stupid at times. There were some sentences/paragraphs (more so in the second series) that I just could not wrap my head around, because the author seems to be on a different level intellectually than I am. Despite that I felt that I absolutely needed to get through this series. It hooked me and wouldn't let me go. A series I absolutely know I will reread at some point. Probably my favorite thing I read last year.

And you know what the best part is? It's just the prologue to the main event...

What a great review mate. This was probably the review that resonated most with how I feel about these books. You mentioned things I often think of and I do not see mentioned often. How almost every turn of events, was even better, more interesting than what I expected. That lasted for me up to the last paragraph of the last book, the Unholy Consult, and made the whole experience so uniquely great. Also I agree so much with your take on the characters. So often people say Bakker writes good characters but I hated them all etc etc. I felt the exact opposite. Their tribulations and ups and downs were so greatly written, so realistic, thus relatable, that I could not stop myself from caring for them. The fact that they are grown up people. For example, the love story you said. It was so sad. Very rarely I have read such a well written, realistic relationship in the genre. Another example, Cnaiur. So many authors write the trope of the savage warrior. Almost like a caricature. Bakker took such a deep dive into it, making Cnaiur such a complex, tragic, violent person trapped between his upbringing and desires. Filtered through his great cunning and philosophical introspections. Incredible characters. As you said, this story will not leave you. Since I first read the last book of the two series I have never stopped thinking of these characters, the events that happened, their implications, and the themes that Bakker experiments with. It is such a captivating tale both in content and execution. I really hope you go on with the Aspect Emperor. Bakker is totally uncompromising on his vision and goes there in depths never ventured before in the genre. I like Aspect Emperor even more than the Prince of Nothing, though in my mind its all about a long overseries, The Second Apocalypse. Each of the seven books is unique and terrific in its own way. All full of incredible acts, characters and writing. As you said, my kindle versions have hundreds of highlights. Bakker has a gripping prose. His selection of words and the economy of how he writes is at times beautiful and lyrical and suddenly punching in the gut. He has an uncanny skill in distilling the abstract emotions of a scene with a few select words. Once again, a great video. You have a very eloquent way of expressing your opinions. Cant wait for you Aspect Emperor videos

Great review! This video really captures the enthusiasm I felt after reading the trilogy. Kellhus, Achamian, Cnaiur, Esmenet, and Conphas were characters whose arcs I ate up. I had such a visceral experience while in their povs. Bakker writes with such lyrical intensity. I read Dune when I was 12 and spent almost 26 years trying to find a series that would blow my mind like that one did with its world building and thematic explorations. The Second Apocalypse captured my imagination in a way like that again. When I read Tolkien, Herbert, and Jordan as an early teen, I used to obsesse over their worlds created and think about them constantly, but have never had that feeling reading fantasy as an adult, until Bakker. I loved PoN but Aspect-Emperor hit even harder for me. I read through The Great Ordeal and The Unholy Consult as a man possessed and still think about them all the time a few years after the fact. I loved how the series progresses more and more into the territory of horror and trippy mind f*ckery. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I look forward to your next uploads.

So glad this series is getting more hype 🙌

It sounds to me like this series will appeal to folks who not only enjoy fantasy genre, but also horror and literary fiction -- being the fact that it's dark and bleak, and loaded with themes. I bought these on Kindle recently, and I'm hoping to at least start the series sometime within the next couple months. But this was a great review, and as I've said before, your enthusiasm is catching

If you loved PON trilogy that much you are going to be blown away by the Aspect Emperor series. Prince of Nothing is just the prelims to the main event. 😂 I finished it in Nov of 22 and I promise not a day has gone by where I have not thought about it in some way.

This is the only series that I can call grimdark. It covers about every trigger warning that there is. That being said, his writing is both beautiful and horrific. He has an uncanny economy if words that can be breathtaking when he completely changes gears in a single sentence. Regarding names and numbers, this is done in the style of Homer that included a lot of lists and repetition - death came swiring down for example. But you cannot come away from these books unaffected. And this series is essentially a prologue for Aspect Emperor where Bakker goes to 11 on the darkness scale.

Love seeing the enthusiastic review! I can’t wait to try this one

Truth Shines

This is on the tbr for me this year

This was such a wonderful, comprehensive review I wish I was half as articulate when discussing books. You have really made me want to read Dark Fantasy again. Your closing remarks, with regards to how dark and bleak this series is has me seriously intrigued. Great Review!

These are far and away my favorite books! Great to see so much love for them. I'll look forward to your thoughts on Aspect-Emperor as well. Cheers!

Your enthusiasm about this series has made buy the first book… wish me luck!

Since seeing Joanna talk about this I've been so interested in starting this trilogy. I love how thorough you can be while also being spoiler free, it's so inspiring and something I always struggle with.

The worldbuilding of this series, the names the peoples the cities, has such a weight to it, such a gravitas.

I read these years ago. I have not really found anything that resembles this work. Now, English is not my first language and sometimes I get lost in translation when he spins the tale in a more philosophical of political sense and got me rereading parts of every book. Time to reread it, especially since I need to read the next three books still

Awesome, Alex 🙏 excited for you to get to Aspect Emperor

Great review! I inch closer and closer from wanting to pick this up to "must" pick this up!

Thanks for this overview Alex! I’m eventually going to get to this series.

Fantastic review man! Very articulate and successful in piquing interest while remaining spoiler free. I have yet to do a review on my channel yet because I’m trying to figure out how to convey my thoughts in a spoiler free way. This seems like a great read and I will be picking this up someday for sure!

Alex, first off, well put-together, thought-out review. I read the first book of this series in January and I'm not sure if it's because I was also doing a reread of The First Law at the same time, or what but I think my experience of tDtCB got muted and maybe too heavy of a read at that time. This put the rest of the series on a soft DNF. That being said, on paper, I should love this book. This is the type of grimdark I tend to (morbidly) enjoy and want to give this a much better shot. I plan to reread the first later this year, something I don't normally do. I'm quite sure it will be a whole new experience. Thanks again for the wrap up. Cheers!

Awesome review, Alex! I agree about the readability of Bakker's prose, the impact of the character work, and intricate worldbuilding. I also gave up tracking all those factions, especially in book 3. I'm guessing Bakker was going more for a historical-atmospheric effect than plot connections with those scenes. I'm so glad you loved the trilogy, and I look forward to reading and discussing Aspect Emperor with you!

Absolutely fantastic series review, Alex! You are SO good at conveying your thoughts on stories, I just love how you talk about books! Very happy for you that this was such a profound and impactful reading experience! I keep thinking that this won't be the series for me (bc of the dark content and bc it just sounds too... intellectual? for me, lol), but then I see you or Johanna or Zara or Jimmy gush about it and it makes me sooo curious. Maybe I should just go in with an open mind and give it a shot, there's always the option of DNFing if it doesn't gel with me. Loved hearing all of your thoughts, thanks so much for sharing!

Sweet Senjus!!! You my friend have just dropped such an excellent, introspective, eloquent and comprehensive review on one of my absolute favorite series of all time........NON SPOILER no less!!! I just started a channel and your style is something I am going strive to emulate.....you did such a good job man. Bravo.

Great review man! You are definitely one of my favorite booktubers. I am definitely going to read this trilogy. Have you read the Manifest Delusions trilogy by Michael Fletcher? Wondering if this is that dark? If you havent read it yet, do you plan to? Would love to hear your thoughts on that trilogy as well. You should have so many more subscribers...Take care!

Which editions of these are the newest and easiest to get in a matching set that will also match aspect emperor? I'm having a terrible time trying to find them matching. Some have the faces in the circles, and some have the horizontal image across the front. Thanks for any help.

Will it work as an audiobook? Opinions?

Great review, makes me want to re-read. Do you know when you're continuing? Really is one big series as opposed to two separate ones imo

I'm going to be honest and say that when I hear a fantasy book is built on "themes and philosophy," that's a huge red flag for me. Without a modern understanding of science, which fantasy can't give. Most philosophy is just intellectual materbation. This is why sci-fi works better if that's your interest. I don't care what you have to say about human nature if you're frequently ignorant of the forces that shaped it. There are concepts you can explore from philosophy in fantasy worlds. But too often, it's way outside the scope of the genre.

Still too scurred.

How tall are you