the archives
dusted off in read-only
dusted off in read-only
This is perhaps neither here nor there, but when mention of the 11 chorae in carapace comes up, I can't help but think of this particular pattern of 11: [img:2jpkyp22]http://www.kch42.dial.pipex.com/images/TreeOfLife_bwNames.gif[/img:2jpkyp22] I mean, not that dragging in the Kabbalah really helps simplify anything. ~rl view post
Very interesting -- I need to make sure and bone up on all of that before I do my first re-read of the trilogy. By the way, I've found the following Kabbalah text very easy to read and quite insightful. The graphic design/presentation is excellent, presenting everything with a combination of straight-forward language and excellent visuals. http://www.amazon.com/Total-Kabbalah-Br ... 0811861376 One of the great things about Bakker's books has been how they force me to reevaluate the way I look at my self and the universe. This is just one more example of it. ~rl view post
So I'm about 100 pages in to "Newuropath" and I'm a little shocked -- in this day and age -- to see there's not even just a basic website up for www.semanticapocalypse.com. At any rate, I'm really enjoying the book thus far. I'll be sure to post full thoughts once I'm finished. But so far, reading this book on a crowded train really makes one question humanity. ~rl view post
This is what I wrote on Goodreads about it: As far as psycho thrillers go, I feel like I grew out of the genre years ago, but I picked this up because I had faith that Bakker would deliver something worthwhile. After all, this is the man who gave me "The Prince of Nothing" trilogy. While "Neuropath" isn't near as compelling and awe-inspiring as those three books, it's certainly well-written and throughly thought provoking. A lot of it follows typical, well-worn patterns in the genre -- a little "Silence of the...more As far as psycho thrillers go, I feel like I grew out of the genre years ago, but I picked this up because I had faith that Bakker would deliver something worthwhile. After all, this is the man who gave me "The Prince of Nothing" trilogy. While "Neuropath" isn't near as compelling and awe-inspiring as those three books, it's certainly well-written and throughly thought provoking. A lot of it follows typical, well-worn patterns in the genre -- a little "Silence of the Lambs," a little "Seven." But then Bakker sets the tale around 30 years in the future, in an age wrecked by poor environmental policies, a pornography-eroded culture and a post-war-on-terror police state. The core of the book? A mild sci-fi take on cutting -edge neuroscience and psychology. And, of course, Bakker spreads his own philosophical ponderings throughout. The heart of the novel deals with the nature -- and perhaps the illusion -- of human consciousness. The neurological content in the book really floored me at times, made me ponder self (as well as the faces on MARTA) in an entirely new and unsettling light. Bakker says that with this book he set out to write a psycho thriller that was both viscerally and intellectually disturbing -- he certainly delivers on the later. view post
[quote="ErebusRed":38ruaibv]Just my ideas - feel free to complain or add your own! Akka - Mel Gibson Esme - Monica Belluci Proyas - Rufus Sewell (born to play this part!) Cnaiur - Gerald Butler Conphas - Colin Farrell (ala 'Alexander') Sarcellus - Jonathan Rhys Meyers Kellhus - Travis Fimmel Xinemus - Oliver Reed (yes I know he's dead - but still...)[/quote:38ruaibv] I totally pictured Rufas Sewell as Proyas throughout the series as well! Amazing. ~rl view post
So I saw "Perfume: The Story of a Murderer" last night. This is the first time I've seen a film and seriously thought about "The Darkness that Comes Before." as a film. "Perfume" really captures the grotesque, the beautiful and the magical so well. I'm not saying it's a perfect fit, but its as good a match as I've seen. ~rl view post
Wow, the U.S. edition may be taking its time getting to book stores, but it sure has better art. Plus no hokey slogan at the bottom: [img:1yg2781f]http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/41xI4R0ZscL._SS500_.jpg[/img:1yg2781f] view post
Brian Herbert will eventually get around to covering what happened in those missing 20 years. ~rl view post
Yeah, I really don't have any desire to see Cnaiur in the next book -- though I have faith in Bakker to do something worthwhile with him if its part of the grander plan. His ending in the darkness was perfect. ~rl view post
I've seen some stuff on Deviant Art but, luckily, these books have thus far been spared the artistic raping that most fantasy gets. But I seem to remember some guy having a fairly cool-looking concept for a skin spy. ~rl view post
! http://www.theconsult.com/ view post
I've come to believe there may be no finer casting for Achamian than Paul Giamatti. ~rl view post
So I'm re-reading the trilogy in anticipation of TJE and I find myself wondering at what point the Consult managed to replace Simas with a sorcerous skin spy. Naturally, there's the reveal that Simas is hardly the kindly old codger that Achamian imagines, but is he already a skinspy at that point in TDTCB as well? And if he is, what is he pushing for exactly in this section? One is led to believe that the Mandate has certainly been infiltrated at that point, given the deaths of informants, but have they gone so far as to replace simas at that point? ~rl view post
Bale could indeed make an excellent Kellhus. I've Netflixed the John Adams series from HBO and I greatly look forward to geeking out over the Giamatti/Sewell interactions with this thread in mind. ~rl view post
Early Consult designs for the skin spy called for its spinal column to glow bright red during sex, but they eventually decided this was just too fucking stupid. 
~rl
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I'm considering referencing this analogy (the one both Kellhus and Moengus use on Cniur) in an article and I was curious if anyone had seen its like in some other work? I'm not that well versed in the works of the great philosophers, so I have no idea if Bakker borrowed it from a specific sources or not. ~rl view post
I was particularly shaken and disturbed by Kellhus' vision ofa future where the consult parades former kings around with one eye gouged out, naked save their own rotting hands that hang from a collar about their necks. JESUS, Bakker! ~rl EDIT: Exact quote: "I see kings with one eye gouged, naked save for the collars from which their severed hands swing." view post
Hey, do you still have this art up anywhere? I was telling a friend about it who is new to the books and wanted to direct him to your work. ~rl view post
Just found this bit, which I hadn't run across elsewhere -- do we know anything else about this one? "Shin has also acquired the rights to The Disciple of the Dog by R Scott Bakker. Bakker previously wrote the Prince of Nothing trilogy and this thriller will is due out in May 2010. [b:dqx77npl]The title is about a private investigator who doesn't forget anything, ever[/b:dqx77npl]." http://www.thebookseller.com/news/74207 ... anada.html ~rl view post
I got mine from Amazon UK when it first came out. You should be able to order it new or used from someone by this point. ~rl view post
Hey guys,
After ruminating on "Neuropath" for about a year, I finally wrote a blog for HowStuffWorks.com about the semantic apocalypse. It's not an in-depth discussion or anything, but it's spawning some interesting comments from readers. One neuroscientist has chimed in, as have a few people on the relationship between Bakker's apocalypse and what Buddhists call enlightenment. If anyone here wants to contribute, here's the link:
[url:2e20j5v4]http://blogs.howstuffworks.com/2009/07/29/welcome-to-the-semantic-apocalypse/[/url:2e20j5v4]
I've actually tried to contact Bakker through Overlook to try and see if we can wrangle an interview with him about various sciencey issues, but I haven't heard anything back yet. I imagine he's knee-deep in crafting the rest of the Great Ordeal right now, so I suppose he's fine where he is.
Anyway, please forgive the shill, but this is where all the Bakker fans are and I know a number of you guys are heavy into philosophy.
~rl
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