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17 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Sigmund Freud the Sorcerer!, September 14, 2006
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
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26 of 34 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
about as good as modern fantasy gets, December 25, 2006
This was an amazing book, beautifully written, full of original fantasy and incredible depth. Kellhus, the descendant of an ancient line of forgotten kings, is called to the holy city of Shimeh by his father, for mysterious reasons. They are both of the Dunyain, an order of supremely logical monks who are trained to silence all their emotions; they have no real magic, but training has given them some neat abilities, including incredible skills as warriors, the capacity of reading men's minds by the nuances of their tones of voice/facial expressions, and calculating the future by means of a probability trance. They can manipulate others so easily that it's sometimes referred to as possession.
Although Kellhus is the first real protagonist of the novel, he disappears for most of the book after his relatively brief introduction. Mainly we follow the doings of Achamian, a spy and a sorcerer who is searching for signs of the Consult, the evil force responsible for the apocalypse two-thousand years before. Most fantasy writing has the *feel* of some particular culture or time period (e.g. medieval, prehistoric, Asian, Western, etc.). This book feels Middle Eastern and a little Asian, and is reminiscent of both the Bible (Old and New Testament) and the Crusades; a new prophet is inciting a Holy War to reclaim the holy city of Shimeh while in the background, Achamian begins realizing that the second Apocalypse may already be unfolding.
Like a lot of epic fantasy, this book has a huge number of names and made up words. There are tons of characters (historical and present), different peoples, tribes, kingdoms and schools. It makes the world seem more majestic, but some might find it tiring. The events detailed are big rather than small; this isn't the tale of a single man's quest for greatness or self knowledge or anything like that. It's a fun read, but it isn't really a light or an easy read. It's also not a *flashy* fantasy book; there's much more plotting and intrigue here than real magic. Those who like fantasy books that focus on some central character gradually coming into his/her powers from an early age might not find it to their tastes. In the realm of epic fantasy, however, it's superb.
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dense, dark fantasy, March 11, 2006
Simply, this is a good book. Vast new world, peopled with complex and different characters. Very dark and gritty. As the other reviews have said, it does throw you right in the mix. The author could give more smooth introductions to the multi-faceted histories and characters, and I would have liked a fuller exploration of some aspects merely glossed over, ie more about the magical systems and backgrounds. They are covered, but he makes you wait for it. Good if you don't like to be pampered, but sometimes it feels a little unweildy. I'll get the next one, however, and will probably hit the ground running. It's nice to get another fantasy series that's not a romance novel with swords.
This is a post script to my review. After reading the next two books, I can say this is the best fantasy series around. I wish I could bump up my rating to full stars. Yes, the intro is tough, but bracing and builds character.
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