R. Scott Bakker, The Warrior Prophet | Worlds of Speculative Fiction (lecture 51)

We have restarted the Worlds of Speculative Fiction lecture/discussion series in a new online monthly format. Each session will have a roughly 90-minute video, which will be premiered (allowing chat interaction between viewers and myself). Then immediately following that, we will have a Zoom videoconferencing session, where we'll continue the discussion.

This session focuses on the fantasy writer, R. Scott Bakker, and on the second book of his Prince of Nothing Trilogy, The Warrior Prophet. We discuss some of the reviews and Bakker's responses, the narrative universe of his stories, and several philosophical themes of that second book. In the next session, we will discuss the third book in that series

Authors we have covered in the series so far are J.R..R. Tolkein, A.E. Van Vogt, C.S. Lewis, Isaac Asimov, Frank Herbert, Roger Zelazny, Ursula K. Leguin, Michael Moorcock, Philip K. Dick, Mervyn Peake, George R.R. Martin, Philip Jose Farmer, Madeline L'Engle, Douglas Adams, Anne McCaffrey, Orson Scott Card, Iain Banks, H.P. Lovecraft, William Gibson, C.L. Moore, Octavia Butler, Jorge Luis Borges, Fritz Leiber, Robert Heinlein, L. Sprague de Camp, Andre Norton, Arthur Clarke, Robert Howard, Gene Wolfe, C. J. Cherryh, Jack Vance, Edgar Allan Poe, G.K. Chesterton, Lewis Carroll, Tanith Lee, Gordon Dickson, August Derleth, Karl Edward Wagner, Aldous Huxley, Bram Stoker, Mary Shelley, China Mieville, Walter Miller, Cordwainer Smith, Liu Cixin, R. Scott Bakker, Stanislaw Lem, Neal Stephenson's, Philip Pullman, Olaf Stapledon, Veronica Roth, J.G. Ballard, Dan Simmons, Andrzej Sapkowski, Kim Stanley Robinson, N. K. Jemisin, Terry Pratchett, and Steven Erickson

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#Philosophy #Worldbuilding #SpeculativeFiction #Literature #Analysis #Books

[samuraijim]

great breakdown of one of the most important works of literature of our time

[qaztim]

Love your analysis very deep yet simple to grasp at.
I'm currently in the end chapters of the thousandfold thought and a lot of what you said about Kellus made some parts of his actions clearer.
I always saw him as a mixture of Griffith(berzerk), Paul (dune) and the snake/Satan from the garden of Eden. His charisma, otherworldly aura and ""humanity"" make him one of the most compelling characters I have read in a book. He is always making me question his actions, and I'm actually terrified of him when he does something "good".
After finishing the third book I really want to go back and reread the first trilogy so I can appreciate it fully.
Also, Esmonet is best girl and her and Akamiens relationship carry a lot of the trilogy due to how compelling both of their arcs are and how they mirror each other.(Esmonet being reborn/healed as a new person, finally getting rid of the shackles that bound her to her old life and Akamien losing everyone and everything he held dear just to have a chance in the apocalypse.)

[VinnyMickeyRickeyDickeyEddy]

I hope critics someday realize that not everyone needs to rewrite the same book over and over! I think it’s great he wrote such a unique, and often gross, series. I read thru twice!

[anekarice]

Loving these break-downs, Gregory. As someone who has never studied literary theory (or philosophy) beyond GCSE level, but has had a lifetime of being exposed to fantasy literature and mainstream fantasy reviews, I find your talks extremely interesting.

I really appreciate your analysis of the response to the work as being as important/interesting as the analysis of the work itself.

Fascinating stuff, thanks for doing this.

[qwertyovan]

It is awesome to relive these realizations that happened during reading of the book. I’m currently reading the Great Ordeal, oh boy what twists there are!

[willreznicek]

Sweet Seja! I really liked where the discussions were going in the last episode. Great stuff.

[jaredbrady]

It annoys me that people perceive Esermet as 'weak'. She's one of most courageous in the series!