Fans of R. Scott Bakkerâs The Second Apocalypse series slog on, book after book, chapter after chapter, one page to the next, seeking revelation. In Earwa, Bakker has crafted a world so dense and possessed with epochal mystery that readers find themselves consuming every morsel only to be twice as hungry for more Meat. Through his five Earwan novels thus far, Bakker has conceived and kindled the readerâs lust, patiently starving us on our journey, hoarding his greatest secrets. With The Great Ordeal, the penultimate book in The Aspect-Emperor series, Bakker begins to betray the final mysteries of his cosmos, feeding and goading readers more than in any of the preceding novels.The Great Ordeal follows the four story arcs continuing from the end of The White-Luck Warrior: Sorweel, Serwa, and Moenghus arrive at Ishterebinth, Achamian and Mimara wander the ruins of Ishual (and beyond), Esmenet strains to hold the fragments of family and empire together (Kelmomas plays in the dark), while Kellhus leads his Exalt-Generals, Proyas and Saubon, and his Great Ordeal onward to the ancient fortress of Dagliash. The novel reels from revelations about the Dunyain and Nonmen to the bloodletting in Momemn and the northern wastes. At the end of The Great Ordeal, all four arcs deliver the world to a state of havoc, savagery, and disaster, and the reader is left hanging on a precipice unlike any other in Bakkerâs series.The Great Ordeal marches not only further but also delves deeper into Earwaâs story. Unlike Tolkien, Bakker does not give us an epic with a Silmarillion to be published later. The Second Apocalypse, and The Great Ordeal in particular, unfold the current drama and the ancient mysteries as one. The darkness that comes before characters, factions, and whole civilizations begins to take shape and loom into sight.A distinct and surprising delight of The Great Ordeal is Bakkerâs use of specific, rhythmic, and lyrical stylings adapted for individual character POV. I had not expected Bakkerâs writing style to change in any new significant ways in the interim between 2011âs The White-Luck Warrior and The Great Ordeal, but I found myself rereading sections just to form the words in my mouth.New characters, new magic, new places, new heartbreak. Thaumazein, wonder, awe. For Plato it was the origin of all philosophy. For Shakespeare it was the spark of all human character. For Bakker it is the gasp of realization that the mindâs ignorance knows no bounds. We are doomed to stumble in the dark. âCould tragedy be a passion?â Yes. Scott Bakker proves itâwith a fury.I recommend this book by Bakker with more fervor than any other in the series. Page for page, this volume was a most haunting pleasure to read. Revelation and unforeseen revelation infect the reader and the characters both in substantial measure. Just as Bakker has hoarded his secrets over many books, The Great Ordeal itself seizes and then accelerates, disgorging dreadful truths by the end. My advice: put the book down after you finish chapter 11, call in sick before you start chapter 12, read straight through to the end.10/10 â This story is exactly what I want from the last-but-one book of an epic sequence.Finally, The Great Ordeal retells the age-old story of fateful human frailty. An inquiry for the reader and an inquisition for the characters.Do not wait. Get this book.This is what you have been waiting for.Descend.Consume.- Andy T a.k.a. Bakkerfans from Twitter and Facebook a.k.a. mrganondorf from www.second-apocalypse.com P.S. It is now evident to me that R. Scott Bakker is a liar. He pretends to shake out crumbs in an occasional interview or blog post, but reader be warned: his answers hide more than reveal. An unreliable author of unreliable charactersâheâs been manipulating us all along, holding back the flood that drowns: The Unholy Consult.