The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, Book 1) [Paperback]

R. Scott Bakker (Author)

Book Description

Release date: May 31, 2005 | Series: The Prince of Nothing, Book 1

Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth-its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals-the kind of all-embracing universe Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in the epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and Dune. It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus-part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence-from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Many centuries ago, the world was nearly destroyed by the dark wizards of the Consult, and the High King's family was wiped out--or so it seemed. Then from the wild, uncharted north comes a mysterious and extraordinarily powerful philosopher-warrior, Anasurimbor Kellhus, descendant of the ancient High Kings. But the return of the king's bloodline is little cause for rejoicing. For Kellhus's appearance may signal the overthrow of empires, the destruction of the sorcerous schools, the return of the Consult demons--and the end of the world.

The Darkness that Comes Before is a strong, impressive, deeply imagined debut novel. However, this first book of an epic fantasy series is not accessible; it reads like a later volume of a complicated ongoing series. Author R. Scott Bakker has created a world that is very different from J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle Earth, yet in depth of development comes closer than most high-fantasy worlds. In addition to providing five appendices, Bakker attempts to make his complex world clear to readers by filling the prologue and opening chapters with the names of characters, gods, cities, tribes, nations, religions, factions, and sorcerous schools. For many readers, this approach will have the opposite effect of clarity. It's like demonstrating snowflake structure with a blizzard. --Cynthia Ward --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Publishers Weekly

Canadian author Bakker's impressive, challenging debut, the first of a trilogy, should please those weary of formulaic epic fantasy. Bakker's utterly foreign world, Eärwa, is as complex as that of Tolkien, to whom he is, arguably, a worthier successor than such established names as David Eddings and Stephen Donaldson. Bakker creates an extraordinary cast of nationalities and races involved in an enormous holy war set off by an unseen prophet, Maithanet. (Appendices help keep the history and personalities straight.) He casually drops for half the story an increasingly important character, Anasûrimbor Kellhus (aka "the Prince of Nothing"), who finally returns without a breath of exposition. The amiable and wise sorcerer spy Drusas Achamian binds the myriad narrative threads together. Drusas's love for Esmenet, a too-experienced prostitute, provides some tenderness amid the abundant slaughter. In the book's most harrowing scene, which fans of gentler fantasy will find too graphic, Esmenet is raped by a creature who, despite its human appearance, is likely demonic. If this ambitious novel lacks the beauty of Tolkien as well as the sense of pure evil that suffused Middle-earth with genuine terror, its willingness to take chances and avoid the usual genre clichés should win many discriminating readers.
Copyright © Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Overlook TP; First Edition edition (May 31, 2005)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1585676772
• ISBN-13: 978-1585676774
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 6.4 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (177 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #559,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

26 of 27 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars A Vast Ocean For Those Learning to Swim July 13, 2008

By Del Mar

Format:Paperback

Bakker's fantasy series was years in the making which is apparent to anyone who manages to read through the (currently) 3 novels in the series. With the exception of the prologue, the reader is thrown mind-first into a the largely realized world of Eärwa where factions, theories, philosophies, histories and dogma abound.

Bakker does not treat his reader delicately. Very little in the book is simplified or overexplained. Those looking for a book with introductions and pages of explorative narration would best turn elsewhere; Eärwa is on the verge of an Apocalypse, it has no time to accommodate the reader.

Bakker himself has admitted the book is almost meant to be twice read and that if he could do things differently, he would have offered more chapters for the reader to associate themselves with Kellhus, the central figure the trilogy revolves around.

Despite the complexity and shadows thrown long across the narrative, Bakker is a deft hand at bringing personal feelings and drama through the mouths and minds of his characters.

If you're willing to check the appendix and maps on occasion, you'll find yourself quickly immersed in this wild and wondrous world.

61 of 71 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars unassuming start, solid foundation for later books September 1, 2004

By B. Capossere TOP 1000 REVIEWERVINE™ VOICE

Format:Hardcover

The Darkness that Comes Before is the beginning of yet another epic fantasy. It stands out a bit with its more gritty feel, its lack of frequent overt magic, the relative lack of supernatural creatures, and its more full use of religion and philosophy. Those with some awareness of history will also see clear parallels (though not necessarily in one on one fashion) to the Crusades, another nice twist. Like many of the more ambitious works in the genre, there are a plethora of characters and places with the book's narrative shifting back and forth between them and there is a grand sense of time, with events from thousands of years ago playing out in the present.

Darkness shares with some of those other works the same highlights and lowlights. The plot is complex enough to remain stimulating throughout and the shift in point-of-view offer up a more interesting story while allowing more in-depth characterization. Bakker handles the narrative shifts smoothly and has a good sense of when it's time to leave one character for another. The characters are also nicely balanced in terms of interest so that there is no drop-off for the reader as we move along. The same is true, mostly, for the various storylines, though some are more compelling and better paced than others.

The negatives, while not outweighing the positives, are a noticeable drag however. Because the book must recount history over the course of several thousand years and set up the reader for the coming conflict, there is a lot of exposition that must be handed out. It is rarely done in clumsy or uninteresting fashion (a few places here and there), but so much information does slow the book now and then. The number of characters also sometimes serves to dilute their individual impact.... If they are well-balanced in terms of none are truly uninteresting, they are also well-balanced in that none, so far, really stand out. The sorcerer Achamiam is the best drawn and so far carries the best potential, but even he is not really forcefully compelling. The good thing though is that Bakker has truly laid some good character groundwork so the potential is obviously there.

Darkness therefore is a solid if not particularly inspiring introduction to the series. It didn't sweep me along; it didn't make me frantic to try and get a jump on the second book, as has happened with other series where I'll pay extra shipping or even go international to get hold of the next work. But it did hold my interest throughout and left me with enough interest to keep reading. And it is different enough from so much of the formulaic fantasy that is out there that the difference alone makes for a more pleasurable read. My guess is now that the foundation has been so neatly laid out in all sorts of ways--plot, character, history, politics, religions, etc.--the next book will move along more speedily and will offer up more intense and compelling scenes. Not a rave review, not a "you've just gotta read this" review, but a solid "this is good intelligent fantasy that breaks out a bit from all the other stuff and has potential to become even better" recommendation. Read more ›

55 of 66 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Sigmund Freud the Sorcerer! September 14, 2006

By Nick Alimonos

Format:Paperback

Freud the Sorcerer: My Review of The Darkness that Comes Before by Scott Bakker.

Plot: The story of The Darkness that Comes Before is not easily summed up. There are many factions both political and religious, and many characters including princes, mages, warriors and a prostitute, all of whom get wrapped up in the preparations of a Crusades-like Holy War to capture the holy city of Shimeh. Comparisons between the actual Crusades and the attempt to capture Jerusalem are hard to ignore, although Bakker doesn't seem to be making any allegorical statements; rather, he uses history as a reference and blueprint, including mention of the Holy Shriah, who could be compared to the Pope. Meanwhile, there is a "barbarian" named Cnair Urs Skiotha who becomes the last of the Utemot tribe after he is betrayed in battle, and he decides to seek revenge on the man he feels responsible, the father of a mysterious wanderer named Kellhus, who, through powers of psychological observation and a philosophy that "what comes before determines what comes after" (apparently this guy never heard of Jean Paul Sartre), can manipulate people's thoughts and passions to benefit his own purposes.

Pros:

Scott Bakker proves himself a master of the English language and writes in a superb, poetic style that is never overbearing or pretentious. His style relies on short sentences that never become too convoluted or distracting, and some quite brilliant and original uses of metaphor. I found myself enjoying many of his descriptive passages, though infrequent, and his battle scenes are fast-paced and thrilling (I only wished there were more of these). The plot is interesting overall; keeps you guessing and avoids many overused clichés....

Cons:

I may be a bit prejudiced reviewing this kind of book, since I tend to prefer the more "fantastical" type of fantasy. There were times when I just wished something crazy would happen just to throw me off guard, but The Darkness that Comes Before reads a lot like a pseudo-history. You could easily read whole chapters without finding an inkling of the fantastic. I do enjoy reading history, but when I pick up a fantasy book I expect certain elements of the story to be, well, fantastic. If you are the type of reader that enjoys the more realistic, nearly real-world type fantasy, than this one is for you.

I was also a bit annoyed by the pacing of the story. I am a big fan of the media-res technique and use it often in my own writing, but Bakker relies too heavily on this technique. If a plot normally progresses from A to D, Bakker will tell you all about B, while hinting at what happened at A and C, then move onto D while going into greater depth about B. It's a little disorientating.

My biggest gripe, however, is that the entire book seems to happen inside the character's heads. The perspective shifts from character to character, many of whom we don't know very well or don't care much about, and then huge passages become devoted to their thoughts. The dialogue is clever and unpredictable, but I don't need a commentary on every single line spoken. It's almost like watching a movie for the first time with the audio-commentary on. Sometimes I just wanted to read the dialogue and make my own assumptions.

This is one of those books serves as a setup to a sequel. I believe that books need to stand on their own merit, so I was a bit disappointed to find myself with many unanswered questions.

Overall Assessment:

Overall, I felt this was an accomplished debut novel by newcomer Scott Bakker, and I think the author has a lot to offer the genre. I just hope that in the future, he focuses more on story and a bit less on character.

Nick Alimonos

Author of The Dark Age of Enya

Please visit: http://emmaxis.com Read more ›

28 of 33 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Epic fantasy of the year! June 9, 2003

By Ian Kell

Format:Paperback

Wow, there's something in the water up in Canada, and US publishers are really missing out. Good thing for the Internet! Manitoban Steven Erikson, still without distribution in the states, has established himself as the penultimate epic fantasy writer of the day (except for maybe G.R.R. Martin). Now along comes 'The Darkness that Comes Before, an unequivocal stellar debut by Ontario native R. Scott Bakker.

All of the usual superlatives apply. Simply put, TDTCB is incredible, and any fan of epic or high fantasy should already have it on order. Bakker is an expert craftsman...his world is rich and believable, the characters godlike, and the plot constantly engaging and in motion. Toss in the requisite humor, flawed leads, sex and betrayal, and a true gem emerges from the fantasy morass.

Brief plot summary annotated from the book sleeve: Two thousand years have passed since Mog-Pharau, the No-God, last walked among Men. Now the Shriah of the Thousand Temples has declared Holy War, and untold thousands gather, determined to wrest Shimeh, the Holy City of the Latter Prophet, from the hands of their heathen kin. Among them, one man stands apart, a man who uses redemption to deceive, and passion to elevate and enslave... Anasurimbor Kellhus. Two couples, a barbarian chieftain and his concubine, a sorcerer and his harlot lover, share his trials and tribulations, each compelled by what they think they see: the possibility vengeance, the promise of redemption, the threat of apocalypse, or the hope of escape. As the violent fortunes of the Holy War transform Kellhus into an all-conquering prophet, they finally begin to ask: What is he really?

References have been made to Tolkein, but this novel is far more postmodern and machiavellian than LoTR. Bakker has more in common with Erikson, Stephen R.... Donaldson, Martin or early Robert Jordan. There are multiple threads and disparate points of view (hence 'epic'), but as the book progresses they are wound tighter and tighter until the gripping conclusion.

Don't be misled by self-admitted Marxist reviewers.... Modern philosophies don't easily translate to fantasy novels (witness Goodkind's terrible slide), and Bakker himself wrote a great short article on sffworld.com about the current role of the fantasy genre in modern life (Why Fantasy and Why Now?). Bakker may come across as an educated, intelligent writer, but more importantly, he's a talented one. Avoid this debut at your own peril. Read more ›