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.

Too many characters with multiple names

I wanted to like it. There are just too many strange names and terms for an audiobook. Perhaps printed where I could stop and look up characters or concepts would have helped. I kept getting lost and couldn't gain more than a broad understanding of what was going on. The details were obscured by the foreignness of the setting.

An all time favorite

The series definitely has its issues, first and foremost how uncomfortable the cultural situation is in the three seas and beyond. Pre-to-just-slightly-post-Medieval in most of the worst ways.

On the other hand, I’m very fond of the way magic is handled, the way faith and the history of the world is rich and detailed, and of the light philosophy heavily salting the meat of the text, which is just layers and layers of political and religious conflict and subterfuge, broken up by the mysteries of the Dunyain, the reality of the gods and demons, and the unholy consult.

Beasts of burden and philosophy

4.5/5

I have heard much about R. Scott Bakker; many stating he's an undisputed genius that will make rethink your entire life to overblown darkness and disparity for shock value wrapped in overly purple prose. For me, while not a 'fun' read, it certainly has depth and is something that makes one want to become enveloped in the world and apply philosophical debates with yourself on life's meaning or nature vs. nurture.

The plot is intricate, allowing for various kingfoms/empires to be enraptured and manipulated into engaging into a holy war. Allmin the background there's Eldritch horror that awaits to bring about the apocalypse. The second, in fact :p

This works for me since it echoes real life atrocities (that are still performed in these 'civilised' times), mesmerizing conversation and dialog about philosophy, deep world building, drags of supernatural horror, warfare, and some of the best political maneuvering as my beloved A Song of Ice and Fire. The characters are all fascinating...but not necessarily likeable save for a couple. They are well-wrought characters, have no doubt but some you are not going to be rooting for. This is really the only qualms I have with the book and it's a 'me' thing. Furthermore there is loads of sexual violence and women are defining treated as meat within the book which will make you squirm. However, I feel this was all done with specific purpose (see men are at their base, depraved-- the author's thoughts, not mine) and it accomplishes what it sets out.

If you're looking for a comment on how humanity is inherently base or evil...look no further. It's a very well-done portrait of the human experience as a car wreck. I'll be continuing because this was thought provoking and gave me much to ponder on, both for and against. I think that's the point

Good Dark Fantasy

I really liked the depth with which Bakker built this very dark and very interesting world but I wasn't a huge fan of all the political intrigue and the way that women were reduced to demeaning roles. the only two main female characters are used for sex, one willing and one unwilling. That's it. The audio performance was really good. Overall, I'd give it 3.5 stars (rounding up to four).

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?”

A hidden gen

Unbelievable book. A classic that more should read and enjoy. Great narration too, all good.

Read if you like books that make you think

Any additional comments?

It starts off slow and confusing but give it a while and it's a great read.

compelling story heavy on references

Bakkers at time disturbing story is full of historical and philosophical touchstones. enjoy finding them