The Darkness That Comes Before

The Prince of Nothing, Book One

By: R. Scott Bakker

Narrated by: David DeVries

Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins

Publisher's summary

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 2,000 years past and 2,000 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.

©2003 R. Scott Bakker (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

My number one favorite series of all time.

I almost wish I had never read through this seven book series. Not because I didn’t enjoy it, but because every book I’ve read after has been a little paler than it would have been prior. In my personal opinion, Bakker is the gold standard of the grimdark genre. Inspired my many other books but fully and wholly it’s own world and story, nothing comes close to this for me. Going through it a third time and I’m still finding little bits and pieces that only make sense after having finished the whole, but don’t detract from the story at all without being on the second or third listen-through. The performance is also masterful, and I personally wish they kept this narrator for the last four books, but the other guy is good, too.

Strong worldbuilding, unlikeable characters

Would you try another book from R. Scott Bakker and/or David DeVries?

no

Any additional comments?

In the abstract, I appreciated what the author was doing here - he's clearly put a ton of thought into his world and his philosophy. The narrator I thought did a reasonable job with a (in my opinion unnecessarily large) cast of characters. That said, it felt a bit like having to suffer through a D&D campaign run by a medieval-studies major whose favorite movie was Idiocracy. The story came off as a smug dismissal of the value of anything but logic and probability. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given that premise, pretty much every character is unlikeable or incompetent within the world or both. By the end, I was kind of rooting for everyone to die. Unfortunately, if they do all die, you won't find out for another three books and I've put in my time, so I won't be finding out.

Further, the characterization of women in general and in the specific is appalling. If you're into the rape-ier bits of Song of Ice and Fire, then I guess you'll like this book but for me it was a punishment to get through. I made it to the end but once there, found myself wondering why I'd bothered.

Very heavy world-building

This book may be better suited to reading as a physical copy or eBook, as I found myself having a hard time following all the names of people and countries, even if they don’t end up being relevant. It is meant to lead to a rich world, but ends up just leading to reader asking themself “Who is that again? What country is it that cares about this?”

Great Book, Poor Reader

What didn’t you like about David DeVries’s performance?

Yes, this book is challenging, but Devries' reading complicates, rather than clarifies. Very little distinction between different characters' voices makes it easy to lose track of who is saying what. Choices on inflection make it sound like he himself has no idea what's going on. Paragraphs are picked up with no breaks, missing the fact that a new idea is starting.

I would often listen to a section two or three times before going to the text and finding it much easier to understand.

Any additional comments?

I'm really enjoying this story, but I'll have to somehow find the time to read the sequels without audio.

I never write reviews but I loved this

What made the experience of listening to The Darkness That Comes Before the most enjoyable?

This is a fully realized world. Great conflicts. Original characters.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Darkness That Comes Before?

Dark dark magicians.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I drive long distances and tend to listen in long blocks. I could easily listen for 6+ hrs

Too Fractured to Hold My Interest

While the author's prose was fine in terms of diction, the novel itself held little interest after the first few chapters. There was too much jumping around, often leaving some of the supporting characters demise undetermined. Also, there was many vague postulations about little known histories of past civilizations. Then there were lame philosophical metaphors professing of great portent that I found a bit unnerving.

Finally, the narrator's way of making seemingly every paragraph come across as something revealing and high importance was enough for me to decide to stop after less than an hour of listening.

Wonderful performance

I have read this series twice, yet the reading rendered it fresh to my ears. Excellent work.

Absolutely amazing, second read

If you could sum up The Darkness That Comes Before in three words, what would they be?

Unique epic fantasy.

What was one of the most memorable moments of The Darkness That Comes Before?

Nearly everything about the novel is memorable. There are some characters that fascinate me more than others, but even the ones I am less interested in remain gripping. The intellectual, moral, philosophical and political complexity of the story is amazing. I read it 5 years ago, read the whole series, in fact, and came back to this now. And it is still amazing.

What about David DeVries’s performance did you like?

I don't normally read epic fantasy, so am not accustomed to this many characters and wondered if the vast creativity and the suspense would translate into audio. DeVries' capacity to do a dozen different accents, and another half-dozen tones of voice, made this a really good audio book. That is not to say there are not a lot of complex names and geographies to keep in your head as you listen, but Bakker is writing to an intelligent audience.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Just loved it (again). And just bought the second in this series.

Confusing at first but worth the wait

Would you consider the audio edition of The Darkness That Comes Before to be better than the print version?

I think that the written version would be better for the first time encountering the series because the names, places, magics, and history can get confusing.

What did you like best about this story?

The build up to the holy war and the frustration I felt when Akka encountered the first Consult agent. I wanted to shake him.

What does David DeVries bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

Inflection and understanding

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

I would have loved to do so.

Exquisite World Building

Fantastic world building and great characters. The naming schemes are nuanced and take some getting used to. The magic is great but not explained well, yet. I assume we will find out more as the series unfolds. Overall a great story.