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Sadly, I already knew that Revelation was the Emperor when I went into this book. I don’t know how obvious is was. I loved the fact that the chair creaked every time the Emperor sat down. Let’s be honest they probably should have just shattered. I also liked the subtle hints that the Emperor was lighting the candles with his psychic powers.
It also mentions that the Emperor still kind of looks like Revelation even once he’s revealed himself, and Uriah even almost recognises Revelation when they first meet.
In ‘The Master of Mankind’ one of the Sisters of Silence (I think it’s Kaeria Casryn) sees the Emperor and, being a psychic blank, doesn’t see any of the glowing radiance or divine good looks that normal people see. She just sees a man. I like the idea that ‘Revelation’ is what the Emperor looks like, without the psychic aura shining off him.
We see a lot of the Emperor’s vanity in this book. Especially when Uriah asks him how he’s any different from any other crusader, and the Emperor simply replies, “I know I’m right.” I thought that was abit heavy handed but the rest of his displays of vanity were quite well done in my opinion.
But I guess we can cut him some slack. After all, how can you wield that much power for that long without letting it go to your head even alittle bit?
I feel sorry for Uriah. He’s not a great scholar or theologian. He’s just a man of faith. I think it’s intentionally ironic how he says that faith requires no proof, and yet his own faith is built upon literally seeing what he thought was the face of God and having his wounds healed. I thought it was very poignant how even after the Emperor has defeated all of Uriah’s arguments and proven that Uriah never actually saw the face of God, Uriah still holds onto his faith and chooses to die rather than to abandon it.
Uriah’s name comes from a character in the bible. King David sleeps with his wife and, after trying and failing to cover it up, David decides to put Uriah on the front lines and arranges for him to die in battle. I think it’s a fitting name for the character considering most of the Emperor’s arguments against religion involve supposedly Godly men performing atrocious acts.
One of my favourite aspects of this book are the glimpses into Terra’s history. I love the mention of ‘The Mariana Canyons’, a subtle reminder that, at this point, Terra has no oceans.
One gripe that I do have about this book though, is that damned clock. It’s supposed to chime only “when the last days of mankind’s existence were at hand.” Of course, the clock chimes at the end of the story as Uriah’s church is burning. And yet, twelve thousand years later, humanity is very much still alive. Sure, there’s something poetic about the supposed end of mankind coinciding with the errdication of religion on Terra, but still, the wording is very specific. “End of mankind’s existence.”
Anyway, that’s a minor shortcoming. I really enjoy this book every time I listen to it and I hope you enjoyed it too.
The Emperor Protects