With The Great Ordeal, R. Scott Bakker presents the penultimate volume of The Aspect-Emperor, a series that stands with the finest in the genre for its grandiose scope, rich detail, and thrilling story. As the Fanim war-drums echo ominously outside the city walls, Empress Anasurimbor Esmenet is consumed by a frantic search for her missing son, Kelmomas. Meanwhile, her husband's Great Ordeal marches relentlessly northward,...