The Judging Eye by R Scott Bakker
The Judging Eye by R Scott Bakker
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Monday, 20, Apr 2009 09:30
Published by Orbit, out now, paperback, 433 pages, £12.99.
In a nutshell...
Well-written but nothing new.
What's it all about?
The Judging Eye is the first in the Aspect-Emperor series and hits the ground running - I had to double-check to make sure I hadn't started at the second volume. That does make things a little off-balance, as the story fills in some of the gaps as it goes along, rather than laying the groundwork in the opening chapter, but Bakker does a decent job of things.
Fantasy fans should find something to like within the 433 pages of text - and should remember to flick to the back for a double-page map of the empires discussed in the main story, which could help to put things into geographical context for the more visually minded. Indeed, newcomers to the series can find a rundown of the events they have missed which, for some reason, has also been placed at the back where it can easily be missed.
If further criticism were to be made, it could be aimed toward the fact that the story is the same one told in most fantasy novels; an evil emperor, brought to power through sorcery, epic battles and all the rest. On the plus side, however, Bakker's wordmanship is (in my opinion) far better polished than a certain Mr Tolkien.
Who's it by?
R Scott Bakker is a Canadian author, born in Ontario in 1967. While The Judging Eye is the first novel in the Aspect-Emperor series, readers who are planning to be in it for the long haul might want to check out its three predecessors which contribute towards the Prince of Nothing Series. These form what was originally conceived as a single book before being expanded into a trilogy by Bakker - and, to be fair to the author, likely hold some of the history that eluded me when I first embarked on reading The Judging Eye.
Bakker reputedly conceived the storyline for his 'trilogy' in the 1980s and spent two decades crafting the themes and characters that it would encompass. Upon writing the first novel, however, he found one volume would be insufficient - and wrote three. The Aspect-Emperor series is also expected to reach three instalments in length, while the as-yet unnamed third series could also increase from its anticipated two volumes to three.
As an example...
"He shook his head in slow deliberation. "The most important question you can ask any man, child, is the question of his origin. Only by knowing what a man has been can you hope to say what he will be."
Likelihood of becoming a Hollywood blockbuster
Let's wait and see how The Hobbit does - we may yet see interest in Tolkienesque fantasy tales renewed for the big screen, and Bakker's work would seem to be a strong contender.
What the others say
"As a continuation of The Prince of Nothing, The Judging Eye works superbly, although newer readers I think may be left a bit nonplussed by events." - The Wertzone
"The initial battle scene thrusts the reader straight into the action, but it is over as soon as it begins. Afterwards, things slow right down to a snail's pace." - Strange Horizons
So is it any good?
Let's break this down. The text itself is well crafted - Bakker certainly has a skill with words. As I've mentioned above, though, the story is the same one fantasy authors have been trotting out since Tolkien wrote The Two Towers. A brooding evil, sorcerous in nature, striding unopposed across a land that yearns for peace and beguiling people to follow his cause through apparently paranormal charisma. It's the basis for the entire genre, so to criticise too much on that count would be unfair, but it does make it hard to anticipate that the foe might not be vanquished. Could Bakker let his carefully crafted world fall into darkness? We shall see in future volumes.
Beyond that, there are just a few trespasses into normality that break the fourth wall of the Three Seas and the Kellian Empire, the worlds that The Judging Eye chronicles. A certain f-word is used on occasion which, while not an offence to my sensitivity, just seems a little normal, a little lazy when Bakker has gone to the trouble of renaming everything else - creatures, places, dates - with words removed from our world and unique to his. These strayings from an otherwise well forged path and the routine nature of the main theme of the novel knock a few points off of the final total, but The Judging Eye remains a worthy summer read on the beach or in the park.
6/10
Bob Bardsley