Gambling According To A Harlot

'So many men, [the harlot] had found, harboured a void of some kind, a place accountable only to other men. Then the real seduction would begin.
"Tell me," she sometimes purred, "what have you seen that makes you more... more than other men?" Most found the question amusing. Others were perplexed, annoyed, indifferent, or even outraged. A rare handful, Achamian among them, found it fascinating.  But every one of them answered. Men needed to be more. This was why, she had decided, so many of them gambled: they sought coint, certainly, but they also yearned for a demonstration, a sign that the world, the Gods, the future--someone--had somehow set them apart.'

The Darkness That Comes Before, by R. Scott Bakker

The book, first in a trilogy, is quite philosophical through and through, though that may have to do with the fact that the author studied philosophy.

Though it starts off somewhat (at least in terms of action), it has managed to somehow implant its barbed hook in me and reeled me in not just with its interesting thoughts on human actions and interractions, but also with its events of epic proportions.

I definitely recommend the book, but only to those who find pondering over the intricacies of the human mind interesting.