The Darkness That Comes Before

The Prince of Nothing, Book One

By: R. Scott Bakker

Narrated by: David DeVries

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.

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.