Allreaders.com

The Warrior Prophet - The Prince of Nothing 2 Book Summary and Study Guide

Detailed plot synopsis reviews of The Warrior Prophet - The Prince of Nothing 2


The philosopher-monk Kellhus leads his army of crusaders deep into the territory of their rivals, the heathen Fanim, on a secret quest to find his missing father. The Warrior Prophet is the second book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing trilogy, and it continues the story of the super intelligent Kellhus, a philosopher monk known as a Dunyain. Kellhus is on a mission to reunite with his father, Moengus, another Dunyain monk who deserted his post and disappeared into the Holy City of Shimeh, currently overrun with a heathen people who subscribe to the religion of Fanimry. In order to reach Shimeh, Kellhus orchestrates his inclusion in a holy crusade being waged by the rival religious faction, the Inrithi.
Click here to see the rest of this review...


At the end of book 1, Kellhus joined the Inrithi march by lying about his own origins. He convinced the great Inrithi generals that he was a Prince from the distant city of Atrithau. This white lie earned Kellhus a place at the table with the other leaders of the holy war. He is joined on his mission by two other primary POV character: Drusas Achamian, an old sorcerer from a school of magic called The Mandate and Cnaiur urs Skiotha, a barbarian warrior from the Scylvendi tribe whose people were almost eradicated in a recent war with the Nansur Empire.

At the outset of the first Inrithi march into Fanim territory, Cnaiur is the de facto leader of the Inrithi army. He's prowess in battle wins him the support even of some imperial soldiers who have no great affinity for the Scylvendi. With Cnaiur at the helm, the Inrithi win their first major victory, conquering the Fanim country of Shigek.

The Mandate sorcerers send Achamian on a mission to an ancient library, long since isolated from the sorcery schools of the Inrithi lands. Now that Shigek is conquered, the path is clear for Achamian to investigate and report. At the library, Achamian is ambushed by rival sorcerers from the Scarlet Spires school. They hold him captive and isolate him from the Inrithi army.

Back in the Inrithi camp, Kellhus' main rival, the imperial heir Ikurei Conphas, digs into Kellhus' backstory and discovers that Kellhus is not a prince of Atrithau. The punishment for lying about one's caste among the Inrithi is death. Kellhus is nailed to a circumfix and hung from a tree to die. Kellhus survives longer on the circumfix than expected, and while he is hanging it is discovered that demonic servants of the evil No-God Mog-Pharau known as skin-spies are lurking in the Inrithi army's midst. Kellhus, due to his Dunyain training, is the only one who can see the skin-spies. The Inrithi release Kellhus from the circumfix and he takes one of the skin-spies captive.

Some of the Inrithi start to see Kellhus as a messianic figure at this point. A schism develops in the Inrithi host between the Orthodox Inrithi led by Conphas and the Zaudunyani Inrithi led by Kellhus. When Achamian finally manages to escape the Scarlet Spires, he returns to the Inrithi camp to find that Kellhus has taken Achamian's lover, Esmenet, to his bed. Despite being cuckolded, Achamian is still in awe of Kellhus' power and he agrees to begin teaching Kellhus Mandate sorcery.
Best part of story, including ending: Bakker does an excellent job depicting the senseless horror of war--specifically religious war. His images of rape and death are some of the most ghastly in the entire fantasy genre.

Best scene in story: Kellhus, outed as caste liar by Ikurei Conphas, is stripped of his rank in the Inrithi army and nailed to a wooden circumfix.

Opinion about the main character: Kellhus remains a fascinating character. His strength comes not so much from any magical power or great physical strength, but rather from his ability to manipulate those around him.

The review of this Book prepared by Zach Lisabeth a Level 3 Eurasian Jay scholar

Chapter Analysis of The Warrior Prophet - The Prince of Nothing 2

Click on a plot link to find similar books!

Plot & Themes

Composition of Book Descript. of chases or violence 50%planning/preparing, gather info, debate puzzles/motives 20%Feelings, relationships, character bio/development 20%Descript. of society, phenomena (tech), places 10% Tone of book    -   depressing/sad FANTASY or SCIENCE FICTION?    -   fantasy world/fantasy past Political power play    -   Yes Political plotlets    -   preventing/managing clash/war between govts/kingdoms Is this an adult or child's book?    -   Adult or Young Adult Book

Main Character

Identity:    -   Male Profession/status:    -   Prince/Nobleman/King Age:    -   20's-30's If magical mental powers:    -   can cast many different spells Really unusual traits?    -   Super genius

Writing Style

Accounts of torture and death?    -   very explicit references to deaths and torture scientific jargon? (SF only)    -   none/very little science jargon needed Sex in book?    -   Yes What kind of sex:    -   descript of kissing    -   descript of touching personal anatomy    -   licking    -   orgies    -   impregnation/reproduction    -   weird alien sex    -   main character impregnated against her will    -   society controls main character's sexing    -   major character becomes a sex slave    -   actual description of sex    -   lesbians!    -   description of breasts    -   descript. of private male anat.    -   descript. of non-breast female anat.    -   rape/molest (yeech!) How much dialogue?    -   roughly even amounts of descript and dialog

Books with storylines, themes & endings like The Warrior Prophet - The Prince of Nothing 2

R. Scott Bakker Books Note: the views expressed here are only those of the reviewer(s).
2 Ways to Search!
Or



Our Chief Librarian