Curious Strength

The realization that the next two chapters of The White-Luck Warrior are set in the same place was astounding. Bakker numbers his chapters, dresses them up with quotations from his world's scriptures, thinkers, and philosophers, and labels them with their geographic area. So, having two consecutive chapters in the same place, though it's been slow otherwise, really highlighted the movement of the two groups that each chapter follows.

The first of these two treats with Achamian, Mimara, and the Skin Eaters as they rush on toward Golgotterath with the aid of the Nonman Cleric's Qirri. This substance is an opiate of sorts, though rather than make them drowsy it's been mostly replacing food for the last chunk of their slog. However, as Mimara continues to meet with the skin-spy who was Soma, she starts to question what the Qirri is.

Spurred on by the sight of a straggler, the Stone Hag Koll who has not had any Qirri but keeps up all the same, she eventually breaks down and asks Cleric what the Qirri is. It's revealed to be ash from a funeral pyre. Though why such a substance should have any sort of power isn't really explained.

Perhaps it's because it's the dust of a Nonman, or perhaps because it's one from before the birth of history. The individual's named, but it's a name that means nothing to me, and at most might be a call back to the first trilogy. Though for the single sentence that Bakker dwells on this revelation, if it is a call back it's probably a truly obscure one.

As always, Bakker's imagery is evocative, though I find myself wondering if it's varied enough to sustain such a long piece work as The White Luck Warrior. There's still a lot of dust (even if it is a plain), and there are a lot of coals as well. This chapter (nine) was a curious look into addiction, however. And that is always interesting. Especially since taking such a tack with this part of his story Bakker asks more questions than he answers.