The White-Luck Warrior

The Aspect Emperor, Book 2

By: R. Scott Bakker

Narrated by: Kevin Orton

Critically acclaimed author R. Scott Bakker has received widespread praise for his colorful characters and action-packed plotting. In this sequel to The Judging Eye, Anasûrimbor Kellhus, the first true aspect-emperor in a thousand years, continues his trek into the Ancient North. Meanwhile, the exiled wizard Achamian leads a mission to the legendary Sauglish ruins. Tensions mount when the White-Luck Warrior, assassin and messiah both, arrives, bringing violence in his wake.©2011 R. Scott Bakker (P)2012 Recorded Books

great book, uneven narration.

I love this series, but the uneven narration and inability of the reader to keep names straight was jarring.

Outstanding content and performance but for mature

Fantastic story. Complex and engaging world, characters, and plot. Some content definitely not suitable for younger readers

Better than the Last

This is what I had hoped The Judging Eye was going to be. R. Scott Bakker is not known for writing “accessible” stories, and this is dense as ever. However, the payoff is well worth it. Where The Judging Eye feels like a long walk for a short glass of water, this feels like an epic journey that ends with a dragons hoard of a reward.

A great book and continuation of the story.

All of Bakker's work is enjoyable in my opinion and this book is no exception. The veils are being lifted from the more mysterious characters and the feelings of dread that Ive been having since first reading The Darkness That Comes Before are being realized. This series is a bit of a slog emotionally but is richly written and well worth the emotions that it conjures. The attention to detail and description of the distant and sometimes dead world of Earwa is so well done that I can easily picture it and find myself there. Top notch writing.
The performance of this audiobook is also wonderful and has given me goosebumps on many occasions over the last few weeks. The narrator fits the tone of the story perfectly.

Bakker Doesn't Disappoint

Bakker might be the most original author, and this book further proves it. Some great stand-out moments, and twists and turns of expectations keep you invested for every word written.

Anyone who enjoyed Prince of Nothing and The Judging Eye is REQUIRED to read this very worthy sequel.

The narrator isn't bad but it breaks the potential for this 4-book series with the fact that he has 3 voices: man, woman, child; instead of attempting unique voices for every (or at least the main POV characters) all sound identical.

Worst audible experience ever!

The Narrator did a great job with total shlock. The story of the empress and her sons are bearable but the empreses daughter her standalone story was unbearable not the bones of the narative but the actual writing was droning and BORING and DEPRESSING OVERLY DRAMATIC. It took everything in me to keep listening. The first book was okay the second for christ sake dont waste the credits, cash, or your time. You are worth more than this. RUN!

I think Kevin Orton needs to learn phonics.

What did you love best about The White-Luck Warrior?

This is a continuation of a fascinating story. I definitely recommend reading it.

What did you like best about this story?

Honestly, I like that I have no idea if there's a "good," as in good vs. evil, character.

What aspect of Kevin Orton’s performance would you have changed?

My biggest gripe with the performance is Mr. Orton's apparent inability to figure out what words should sound like and his obnoxious knack for changing or leaving out words. This, combined with a lack of editing. Seriously, who produced this? Isn't it someone's job to make sure the narrator actually reads what's on the page?

I'll give you a comparison: in The Warrior Prophet, there's a typo in the book in Chapter 13. Mr. Bakker accidentally wrote "...to see HIS hand drift deep between Dûnyain thighs..." instead of "...to see HER hand drift deep between Dûnyain thighs..." In context, this is clearly an error. I have a pretty old copy of the audio book, and I hope Audible has fixed this, but David DeVries pauses and says, "I'm going to provide you an alternate because I don't think that's right. I think it should be 'her hand.'"

That's a narrator who actually cares about the text! (I won't say anything about the producer/editor who should never have let that note into the release version of the audio book.) Kevin Orton CHANGES the text CONSTANTLY! (I know this because I enjoy reading along with audio books.) And, if he doesn't change the text, it's a crap shoot if he'll actually pronounce any remotely uncommon word correctly!

Oh, and he's pretty bad at differentiating characters too. Luckily, he has a pretty nice voice.




I'll throw in a quick funny from The Great Ordeal since I didn't buy it from Audible and therefore cannot review it on here: Mr. Orton, "glutinous" is pronounced glü-tə-nəs, not glə-tə-nəs. Glutinous =/= Gluttonous. Glutinous is an adjective meaning "having the quality of glue." Gluttonous is an adjective meaning "given to gluttony (eating too much)." Oh, and prostrate =/= prostate; that "r" makes a huge difference.

Oh, and in the recording for The Great Ordeal, almost every name gets pronounced differently than in The White-Luck Warrior (or the other four books), so be prepared to be annoyed when you finish this one and move on.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

I don't think I cried, but it's a pretty extreme book.

Any additional comments?

Is there any chance David DeVries can rerecord the three Aspect Emperor books before The Unholy Consult gets published? He is so much more talented than Kevin Orton, and he seems to actually respect the text.