Book Review: The Thousandfold Thought

The Thousandfold Thought is the third and final book in R. Scott Bakker's The Prince of Nothing series (The Darkness That Comes Before and The Warrior-Prophet are books 1 and 2.). Two important prefaces should be remembered regarding by thoughts on this book: 1.) It is a book of great complexity which I have only read once; 2.) Bakker plans two more series in this world, thus plot holes might not necessarily be plot holes, etc.

My thoughts on finishing The Thousandfold Thought were: "Well, I'm glad that's over. Now I can go to bed." Not exactly what I'd anticipated since I regarded the first two books of The Prince of Nothing over George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire.

The first noticeable problem with the book was that it felt very rushed. While I got a feeling for the people (all returned from the previous books), I never got a feeling for the places. That the Holy War was going to leave said place in a few pages was not exactly helpful. Since part of the charm of fantasy books is their unique environs, this lack of empathy for the land is a serious flaw in Bakker's otherwise powerful writing. Another problem with this neglect for the landscape is that the battles, since they are very realistically told, are dependent upon the topography of their locations. The battle in front of Caraskand from The Warrior Prophet was easy enough to understand, since the protagonists had spent a great deal of time there already. The same cannot be said for the fight for Shimeh. It is taxing to learn the rather complex lay of the land so that you can then apply it to complex tactical maneuvers all in a single chapter. The end felt even more rushed than the rest of the book. The Mathainet plotline was somewhat implausibly tied up in a section of a chapter, Achamian's battle with the Ciphrang was enigmatic to the extreme (Bakker actually clears this up on his website. Why he should have to clear it up is beyond me.), and finally the resolution to the battle before Shimeh comes completely out of the blue.

Bakker's metaphysics also gave me some fits, though all my problems could very easily be cleared up in his forthcoming books. The reason for the Consult's seemingly pointless urge for destruction is finally revealed, and it's a pretty good one, though I'm annoyed by the whole "Cycle of Souls" concept.* The problem as I see it is that the Inchoroi are not from Earwa, proving that there was at least one sentient species apart from those on Earwa. If the Inchoroi are the last of their kind and there are no other soul-bearing species in the universe, then I can see the point of their plan. If this is not the case, then I don't see how it could succeed. Why should physical proximity have anything to do with the Outside? Doesn't that take away from the power of the Outside? Making it, in fact, not the Outside but rather Some Other Place? My second problem with Bakker's metaphysics is that he neglects them almost entirely for the for first two books for no reason that I can see. Facts, such as the reasoning behind the Consult, come as surprises when they shouldn't really be surprises since all the main characters were aware of them from or near the beginning. Bakker is extremely intelligent. I'm sure he has an explanation for my nitpicking of his metaphysics, but he did leave his system open to questioning. Had he introduced the depths of his system in the first two books, these problems would be non-existent.

Another problem with the book was the overwhelming darkness. Bakker has made his book so "realistic" that his plot becomes predictable. The sequence with the two orphans from the Thousand Temples. As soon as their situation was revealed, it became perfectly obvious that one, if not both, would get to see the Shriah and then be captured by slavers. Bakker needs to mix in a few happy plotlines just to keep the reader the honest.

What's good about the book? Well, what was good about the last books. The world is dazzlingly complex, while the historical parallels are interesting rather than overbearing. I enjoy the hints of the previous Apocalypse the most. Unfortunately, these positive attributes can't counteract what is the Bakker's biggest failing: The Thousandfold Thought suffers from "Matrix Syndrome," in that the revealed grand conspiracy can't quite match the expectations aroused by the previous installments. I don't want to draw the comparison too far. After all, I did not once experience the urge to shoot myself while reading The Thousandfold Thought (a frequent occurrence during The Matrix: Revolutions). Still, it cannot be denied that The Thousandfold Thought was disappointing and nowhere near the fitting end for a fantasy series with a lot of potential. I would only advise reading The Thousandfold Thought if you were a big enough fan of the prior books that you demand to know what happened to the characters.



*I tend to view this as the height of modern arrogance: the gods are dependent on our worship for power. Doesn't that make them not inherently worthy of worship? Is this really a modern disease, or does it have ancient roots? One would think I would know this kind of fact, but one would, in fact, be wrong.