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The Unholy Consult is the fourth and final novel in the Aspect-Emperor series and the seventh in The Second Apocalypse cycle. The book was published on July 25, 2016 in the US.[1]

R. Scott Bakker finished the final manuscript and delivered it to his publishers in January of 2015.[2] Originally, The Unholy Consult was intended to be the third and final novel in the Aspect-Emperor trilogy, however, due to the manuscripts length the book was split into two volumes—the first being The Great Ordeal and the second The Unholy Consult.

As well as the text of the novel, the book also contains a second "Encyclopedic Glossary", an updated and expanded version of the glossary published as part of The Thousandfold Thought. The book also included two short stories, The False Sun and The Four Revelations of Cinial’jin, in this volume renamed simply as Four Revelations.

Publisher’s Summary[]

In this much anticipated, shattering conclusion to The Aspect-Emperor books, praised for their “sweeping epic scale and detailed historical world-building” (Grimdark Magazine), R. Scott Bakker delivers the series’ feverishly harrowing and long-awaited finish to a story cycle that has stretched across seven books in two series.

In The Unholy Consult, the Men of the Great Ordeal have been abandoned by Anasûrimbor Kellhus, and the grand crusade has devolved into cannibalism and chaos. When Exalt-General Proyas, with Prince-Imperial Kayûtas at his side, attempts to gain control of the lost Men and continue their march to Golgotterath, it rapidly becomes clear that the lost Lord-and-Prophet is not so easily shaken from the mission.

When Sorweel, Believer-King of Sakarpus, and Serwa, daughter of the Aspect-Emperor, join the Great Ordeal they discover that the Shortest Path is not always the most obvious, or the safest. Souls, morality, and relationships are called into question when no one can be trusted, and the price for their sins is greater than they imagined

Front matter[]

Dedication[]

To Chris Lotts
For floating from the same string

Acknowledgements[]

What a journey it has been. Each life is a caravan, and the same could be said of every book as well. Now, seven volumes in, the journey has become nothing if not migratory, a project turning on a great many people in countless ways. My family, of course, makes the whole thing possible. Sharron and Ruby are my binary star system—the reason for life on my planet. I need to thank my Agent, Chris Lotts, along with everyone who makes him possible. I need to thank Tracy Carns, Michael Mah, and the crews at Overlook and Orbit. My beta readers, Mike Hillcoat, Zach Rice, Andy Tressler, Jason Deem, Ken Thorpe, Bryan Bakker, and Roger Eichorn deserve special mention, as does Mike Roy. I want to thank everyone who participates at the Second Apocalypse forum and at Three Pound Brain.

I would also like to give a shout-out to all those who have joined this mad trek, all my fellow scalpers on the Slog. This series is unlikely in so many ways that only you, ultimately, could make it possible. An epic fantasy series with a companion piece in The Journal of Consciousness Studies! That would be some crazy shit, as the saying goes. I have to thank you, gentle reader, for suffering this old Schoolman for a span, and listening to his apocalyptic tales, both real and imagined.

Maps[]

Plot Summary[]

Table of contents
Chapter 1 Chapter 2
Chapter 3 Chapter 4
Chapter 5 Chapter 6
Chapter 7 Chapter 8
Chapter 9 Chapter 10
Chapter 11 Chapter 12
Chapter 13 Chapter 14
Chapter 15 Chapter 16
Chapter 17 Chapter 18
Chapter 19 Chapter 20

Fictional seduction,
On a black snow sky.
Sadness kills the superman,
Even fathers cry

Black Sabbath, “Spiral Architect”



Have you ever in your life commanded the morning, And caused the dawn to know its place, That it might take hold of the ends of the earth, And the wicked be shaken out of it?

Job 38:12-3 



(Information needed)

Trivia[]

For R. Scott Bakker himself this book marks the conclusion of a "33-year narrative obsession", along with the "20-year theoretical goal with the publication" of his essay: "On Alien Philosophy" in the The Journal of Consciousness Studies.[3]

Cover gallery[]

External links[]

Notes and References[]

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