Here's the new US cover art for the trade paperback edition of R. Scott Bakker's The White-Luck Warrior from the Overlook Press. For more information about this title: Canada, USA, Europe.
Here's the blurb:
The dazzling second book in Bakker's "exquisitely intelligent and beautifully written" (Steven Erikson) saga.
Praised by readers and critics around the world, R. Scott Bakker has become one of the most celebrated voices in fantasy fiction. The Aspect-Emperor trilogy follows on from the acclaimed Prince of Nothing saga, and The White-Luck Warrior is the chilling second book in the new series. Ruler Anasurimbor Kellhus and his Great Ordeal march ever farther into the Ancient North, as his consort Esmenet finds herself at war. Exiled wizard Achamian, meanwhile, leads his own ragtag mission to the legendary ruins of Sauglish. Into this tumult walks the White-Luck Warrior, assassin and messiah both . . . In this ambitious volume, Bakker delves even further into his richly imagined universe of myth, violence, and sorcery.
11 commentaires:
For those who've not read this, I'll say Bakker is one of the few writers in SFF that in my experience are truly striving for the mark of literature.
The prose style reaches new heights, and there is an examination of addiction in here that is very well done.
I think I've become one of the more vocal critics of some of Bakker's ideas/texts, but hopefully that lends weight to my belief in how good this is.
I have issues with some parts as I have trouble understanding some of the narrative choices, but I can't help but feel this is a *necessary* book for SFF readers.
-Sciborg2 aka Saajan Patel
Enjoyed reading through this, very good stuff, thankyou .
Bakker's quickly become my favorite SFF writer.
This is a far better cover than the hardback - which was kind of a mess.
Too bad no zombie dragon features though...
This series of Bakker's paperback editions by Overlook Press is amongst the finest, most well designed in all of Science Fiction & Fantasy.
So far above the usual kitsch!
Hmm... love the series, agree with what Sciborg said (Bakker=genius), but have to wonder: is that cover just a screenshot from the Total War video game series? I mean, it's cool, I like it -really I do- but something about it makes me wonder.
Earwa: Total War
I heard Bakker's idea for the cover was just to put "Herp derp women suck" in a huge font, but Overlook talked him out of it. You know, cos he's the biggest sexist in the history of mankind and all.
Not sexist. Sexy. He calls it "problematizing gender" and I call it "sexy-making" because, lo, it is sexy.
But I joke. Really, Bakker's books are sexist like "Breaking Bad" is pro drug. In both cases, people who would make such an assertion are simply missing the point.
"But I joke. Really, Bakker's books are sexist like "Breaking Bad" is pro drug. In both cases, people who would make such an assertion are simply missing the point."
I think there are levels/skins in this debate. There's the first level, that depiction is itself problematic. For some, the narrative confirms, rather than confronts, sexism.
Then there's the level I think Bakker was aiming for, the twisting of expectation, the questions about sexism in Scripture, in modernity, the negative reaction we have when we associate a woman with sex.
Then there's the next level, where I think a lot of people are coming from - that Bakker didn't do as good a job as he thinks he did, that he didn't think through the implications of everything he did.
I think he was partially successful, and unlike a lot of detractors I think what he has to say overall is important despite whatever flaws/fails I see in the novels.
E for Effort for some of it, and A for Excellence for a good chunk as well.
-Sciborg2 aka Saajan
Bakker is the argumentative sort. Honestly, I imagine he is just getting his jollies (and being gleefully subversive) by tweaking feminists on his blog. As a theme in the books the sexuality seems secondary to me.
I think his real desire is to illustrate the human tendency to "game ambiguities" as he's riffed, ad nauseum, on his blog. That's why the end of this series is going to be such a blast.
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