This last book felt a little dissatisfying (taken on it's own) but if you combine it with TGO and read both directly after one another it is a fantastic read.
Both would benefit from better editing IMHO.
Either Kellhus Tricked the Trickster and will aid humanity through the Outside or it will be a tale of human perseverance. And, i think the latter is much more probable.
Could well be both. It's by no means clear what Kellhus was up to, and whether he won or lost. Humanity is definitely up against it with the No-God on the loose - but we know it can be defeated.
Do remember, Bakker is a teacher and teachers like to teach.
I think we went to different schools, MSJ
I was loving the first half of the book, but as soon as the attack on the Ark begins, I was feeling a bit let down. I was expecting more of a look into the Ark and Golgotterath itself, more of what the stories and Akka's Dreams had made me envision. We didn't really get any of that; just a lot of fighting outside of it and a look into the Golden Room.
I felt the opposite. The first half dragged and dragged. But once the attack began things got much better. The equivalent some of the really great battle scenes from PON. It wasn't perfect though. I'd definitely have liked to see more inside the Ark, and what sort of things were going on there. Serwa and the dragon was fairly bizarre, in a way that jarred.
Also, High Cwol is a fucking awful name for anything
I think you're going to get this opinion from most people who aren't aware that a third series might be written (Just take a look at the Goodreads reviews- they read much like OP's post and don't seem to know there is a planned third series).
I think if Bakker were to come out and say, "Yes there will definitely be a third series", I would feel better about it. As it stands, I liked the book a lot, but I have very mixed feelings about the ending.
I'd always assumed the third series would get written
I've posted on this before and explained that I'm a huge fan of this series but I'm also disappointed in the ending. It's not so much the end goal of inverting the standard fantasy trope where the over-matched heroes find some miraculous way to save the world but rather the opaque narrative. I wanted to feel the full force of the world ending and the failure of what may have been the world's last best chance at survival but instead all I felt was a burning desire to read and reread the last chapter to figure out what the hell actually occurred. I've read it again and again and I still can't make heads or tails of it. And the real kicker is, neither can anyone else! Beyond strange theories and wild speculations, nobody can say with any degree of certainty just what happened, never mind discussing the why things happened the way they did.
I can't imagine Bakker's intention to wrap up this opus was to leave everyone completely confused but as his prose improved from book to book his narrative clarity got worse and worse. I've said it before and I'll say it again, the whole Aspect Emperor series after the Judging Eye could have benefited greatly from a strong editor.
This pretty much sums up my thoughts on the book. The points above narrative clarity and about the need for a strong editor are spot on.
Some of the plotlines have (for me) little sense without a continuation.
For example, Achamian&Mimara: what will be the point of travelling all through Earwa, endure Cil-Aujas, the Mop, a dragon, Ishual, etc, and then arrive to the Great Ordeal and don't use the fucking Judging Eye, share at most some pathetic words with Kellhus (sparing him useful information about Cnaiur, Ishual... and not really confronting him) and don't do a fucking thing in the great battle of their time???
We get day-to-day experience of a Nonman Erratic, we find out Ishual has been destroyed by the Consult, we get a POV from a Dunyain who is then exposed to the Judging Eye, and we get a baby pumped full of qirri in the womb, who may or may not be a receptacle for the soul of Kellhus. You're right about the reunion with Kellhus though
Not to mention all ensouled creatures across Earwa can perceive the No-God. Whatever his reasons, the Aspect-Emperor spoke true and wasn't warring across the wastes of Earwa against a myth.
Ahh, but your assuming its over and thats the only two options. As i said in other threads, Kellhus came to believe in humans. I think he tricked Ajokli, knowing Ajokli nature and there is textual evidence inthe books (see Cnauir and whirlwind). What if Kellhus is warring on the Outside to defeat the 100 and thus changing the nature of damnation, no big bad gods to munch on your souls. And, has faith that humanity can and will overcome the No-God. As CondYoke pointed out if the Gods can see all of time then if the world was ever shut, they couldnt see anything...ever. Meaning that somehow, someway humanity will defeat the No-God. Anyhow, your acting as if the story is complete and its not. There is still more to come.
And now they
believe. They should have no doubts whatsoever that the No-God is real and must be stopped. They may even start worshiping Kellhus as some kind of martyred god- which could possibly be part of his plan all along. There is definitely more story to be told.
I couldn't disagree more. The world ends so nothing matters? You could make the case that the events in the books matter precisely because they bring about the end of the world, but that is kind of beside the point. To me it wouldn't matter more if everyone ended up living happily ever after like in the Lord of the Rings. Its a fantasy world, its not real, it doesn't matter what happens to it either way. What matters is what happens to the person reading the books. To me it was an extremely interesting exploration of different philosophies as well as psychology, and it has definitely changed the way I think about things.
I'm pretty sure I've seen an interview with Bakker where he says he wanted to write about what it would be like to live in a world with an end point. I reckon is how that end point comes about that is important. If damnation is ended by butchering the population to such a degree that only 144,000 people are left alive, then I don't see that as a satisfactory resolution, and I'd suggest there may be other ways to achieve the same result that will come to light in the third series.
I agree about the philosophy and psychology. Educational, and in a generally entertaining and engaging way.
