Book One - The Darkness that Comes Before - The Prince of Nothing

Had to write a review of this astounding book simply to help boost the rating of a book that should in no way receive one star ratings. Understand this is a review of a very intelligent "dark" fantasy book so Harry Potter, hack and slash, romp through the forest, high fantasy boy becomes a hero fans know this is a path far from the shelves of your librairy.

Ten years of planning and this work is now released for us to enjoy. It is a setting that reminds me of the crusades and takes into account all the pillaging, rape, war, murder, political trickery, the influence of the church both good and bad, backstabbing, corruption and spies that were so prominant in those times. Through Bakker's amazing prose you get a in your face account of this world, and with it a feeling that this world, so richly realized, that it could possibly be an actual time in history. Every aspect is so richly detailed it becomes almost painted in your mind, societies unwoven and understood, and characters that are not so one sided drawn to be removed of flaws and classified as good or evil. You get a real fantasy that takes you to another place, but does not take out humanity with the fiction.

This is where the seas will part at like and dislike for this book. At times this book is so real it is shocking and grasps more at our own personality flaws and gives us a look at how these interfere with everyday life through the characters in the story. It also takes into account the evil in our world and brings to vivid life some disturbing scenes in the book that is not for "shock" factor, but for more realization of the world that Bakker has created. However, these are not negatives in the book I feel they bring a certain grit to the world that gives you something relational to sink your teeth into.

Finally, the characters in the book are well drawn and well thought out. They remain consistent to the society they come from which is refreshing to see considering so many authors today make fantastic things happen from a character that would never do such things. Each main character is not perfect, has real everyday issues and has highs and lows throughout the book we as the reader experience. These experiences give us feeling for these characters which just draws you in and does not let go. Which makes you stay up well into the night turning pages and absorbing this beautifully drawn world and its inhabitants.

I can go on and on and it will not do this book justice. My language, description and praise for this book can in no way compare to the brilliance of the author of this book. Do not listen to the bad reviews this wasn't their type book. If you want the best completed work to date and you can handle an intelligent walk through a dark intriguing world this book comes highly recommended.

This series is the best fantasy written in the past ten years. Actually, this may be the best fantasy series ever, or at least the best since Lord of the Rings spawned that endless stream of unoriginal copies that have dotted the bookshelves for the past 40 years. It is certainly the most original fantasy series I've read in ages and is nothing like LOTR or basically anything else you've ever read.

This is not a book for those who are looking for a light-hearted, poorly written romp in a magical world. This is not a "coming of age" story about a young man or woman who goes on a series of adventures, quests, whatever, and defeats a bad guy or two and lives happily ever after. This is a book about adults, with adult themes and with adult characters, who do very adult things. It's not racy or pornographic, so don't get me wrong, but this not a book that I would recommend to a young teen trying to get a handle on the next "Harry Potter". In fact, this book is completely on the opposite spectrum from the Potter novels.

This is a warning about this book. It takes some time to get the feel for it. You really have to read the first 200 pages to really understand what's going on. The author litters the tale with names, places, characters, and a history which leaves you a bit baffled at times. You have to keep thinking while you read it as it constantly introduces new themes, new philosophies and new literary strategies as it weaves its way through the story of an impending Holy War (think Crusade), which various political and religous factions are using for their own peculiar ends. It is difficult to really describe the story line, the book jacket does not do it justice. It has to be read to be experienced.

I can totally understand why some of the reviewers here did not find this tale interesting. It can be rather intense and rather philosophical at times. You can literally pick up this book and turn to any page at random and read something that will make you stop and think for a few moments. Some people may want more bloodletting or action. The action does picks up quite nicely in the second book, however and the third one wraps it all up nicely. But in the end, if you're a huge fan of Jordan, Goodkind, or even Martin, this may not be the best book for you. For one thing, the story actually ends, which I know is not something with which fans of those authors have much experience, but the story also makes you think. Constantly. It's quite an accomplishment and I am very glad to have read it. It will definitely hold a place in my little world as one of the finest books I've ever read.

I look forward to reading more of Mr. Bakker in the years to come.

The Darkness that Comes Before is like nothing else we've read in some time. It is daring, deeply steeped in philosophy, and goes well beyond any current fantasy book on the market. The closest parallel is some of the best moment of The Chronicles of Thomas Covenant. But where Donaldson's Chronicles were obsessed with epistemology and the reality of an alternate world, Bakker's Earwa is much more vicious and visceral because no one doubts the reality of what is happening. It is a book of ethics and people attempting to find a course in an ethical struggle where peoples and nations will suffer and die given any particular choice. An excellent book, we believe that it has the potential to catch fire in the fantasy genre and perhaps push it out of the adolescence of some of its principle works and towards more meaningful prose. It also shares some heritage with Dune in that it deals greatly with political maneuverings, religion, and oppressed peoples. This is the kind of book that-if people can get over the magic-would find a mainstream audience if they can be convinced to pick it up.

WHO SHOULD READ

As we mentioned, fans of political and pseudo-religious fiction such as Dune will find this a very compelling, very interesting, and very exciting novel. There are other novels that attempt to do this but there really is nothing better on the market right now. It is an adult novel and probably not something for readers under the age of roughly fifteen. This is an excellent novel to give to people who think fantasy is nothing more than Harry Potter. This is a book that celebrates ethical conflict and examines it with unflinching ideas cast against atrocities.

WHO SHOULD PASS

There are some other adult novels on the market that are not separate worlds and would mean a bit more to people who like to stay grounded in Earth. For example, Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell is such a novel that takes an historical stance with magic. Similarly, there are several excellent historical fantasies on the market such as Stephen Lawhead's Byzantium, Steven Pressfield's Last of the the stores and The Gates of Fire, and perhaps The Years of Rice and Salt by Kim Stanley Robinson. For people who like these novels and would rather stay away from world-building, no matter how good, they should look to these authors and avoid Bakker. People who are really fanatics about religion probably should read this book but will probably be highly irritated with a great deal of it. If you are incapable of dealing with your own religion objectively-that is, if you're one of those people Proyas announces as submitting to your truth in order to have all doubts conquered-then you will really, really, hate The Darkness that Comes Before.

READ THE ENTIRE REVIEW AT INCHOATUS.COM

Insightful and massive, unique in its ability to characterize, the Prince if Nothing trilogy starts here with a protagonist that one is not entirely trustful of, another main character to be at aid of, and a third to just feel sadness for. While this book isn’t as in depth the next five that would follow it, Bakker’s path set for the apparent hero Anasurimbor Kelley’s is a must-read for anyone who’s tired of Tolkien copycats.

This line of dialog from Chapter Twelve perfectly sums up R. Scott Bakker's debut novel, "The Darkness That Comes Before."

Bakker's knowledge of philosophy and ancient languages gives his epic fantasy a unique flavor. His world exudes a harsh authenticity, imbued with feudal politics and religious fervor. Competing factions of sorcerers debate philosophical quandaries. Character and place names stumble with accent marks like diaereses and circumflexes.

The novel begins with the emergence of the eerily manipulative Kellhus. Then it shifts to the sorcerer Achamian and bogs down with interior monologues. The plot finally awakens when Kellhus returns, after a 300 page absence, and the main characters converge on the Holy War. The political machinations reach a crescendo and an ancient evil resurfaces. Bakker seems caught between depicting a non-human evil, like most fantasy, or focusing on the evil that humans can visit upon each other, like George R. R. Martin. He ends up doing both. The non-human evil is frighteningly portrayed, but it makes so few appearances that the human conflicts steal most of the attention.

"Darkness" mixes three major struggles -- Kellhus searching for his father, Achamian and the Mandate hunting for the ancient evil, and the political machinations surrounding the Holy War. Any two of these could have anchored the plot, but the inclusion of all three leaves the novel jumbled. The narrative spends most of its time inside the characters' heads, winding through philosophical discourses. Once the major conflicts have been established, the repeated discourses feel like ponderous doubletalk. In the descriptive passages, Bakker's prose drips with lyricism. At many moments of tension, it crumbles into awkward sentence fragments. The philosophical tone, the poetic language, and the political conflicts combine to give the novel an erudite feel that borders on snobbish.

Bakker aims high with "Darkness," a novel of complex language, intrigue, and plot. However, he lets the complexities overwhelm the plot and characters. The best popular fiction contains deep levels, but also provides an easy entry point for readers who don't want to delve into the complexities. Bakker plunges straight into deep waters, which will leave most readers sputtering on the surface.

'The Darkness That Comes Before' is the first novel in the 'Prince of Nothing' series. As usual with first books in this type of epic fantasy, there is a lot of history and introductions to people and places with strange names. Bakker has done a very good job world building, and a good job explaining the relationships between various nations and factions. Basically he has taken the idea of the Crusades and transferred them to a fantasy setting. Overlaying this is hints that an ancient evil, once responsible for an apocalypse thousands of years ago, is returning and may in fact be manipulating current events. All in all a lot of work for the reader but also lot of fun. This is how I like my fantasy; solid back story, plenty of intrigue, action, sorcery and magic, and ancient evils.

High fantasy is the Rodney Dangerfield of literary genres, where tentative stabs at seriousness tend to result in self-inflicted wounds. Such, alas, is the case with Canadian author R Scott Bakker. The quest for artistic respectability through moral ambiguity and "realistic" writing reaches its zenith (or nadir) in his "Prince of Nothing" trilogy. Part alternate history, party weighty meditation on the nature of free will, the book's airy ideas are nearly asphyxiated by a setting not merely "gritty", but downright squalid.

The book's realism is mostly borrowed, having been lifted directly from the annals of medieval history. The main story arc reads like a palimpsest of a text on the First Crusade: The Shriah (Pope) declares a Holy War (Crusade) against the herectical Fanim (Muslims) who occupy the holy city of Shimeh (Jerusalem). Even minor events like the People's Crusade find their parallel in the book.

In a nod to the cliches of the genre, there is also a shadowy bunch of black hats with the unlikely corporatist name of "the Consult" (I picture them not slaughtering innocents, but boring them to death with business buzzwords and endless PowerPoint presentations), out to destroy the world by resurrecting their "No-God".

If that ambition sounds like something out of Nietzsche, it's no mistake. Mr Bakker holds a Ph D in philosophy, and the central figure in his tale is the Nietzschean super-man Anasurimbor Kellhus, who plans to control the Holy War for his own ends. Kellhus possesses a kind of Spock-like emotional detachment and intellect, and in Mr Bakker's worldview, this enables him to manipulate those around him, since their actions are guided not by free will, but by ingrained habit, culture and emotion.

To his credit, Mr Bakker is able to insert these ideas into the plot without reducing the novel to a Socratic dialogue. Sadly, Mr Bakker's writing style detracts from this complex message. He brings the trend towards greater realism full circle, presenting us a world that is so relentlessly bleak, it is utterly unbelievable. Battle scenes wallow in gore, like a Frank Miller comic without the distracting pictures. There is also a distasteful obession with sexual degradation -- the two major female characters are both prostitutes, and the agents of the evil Consult are fixated on the subject. The other main characters are almost uniformly unsympathetic; Kellhus is repellently cold, calculating and manipulative; his barbarian companion Cnaiur, savage, bestial and nihilistic, a pseudo-Scythian with Gnostic tendencies ("The world is a lie," he claims, and you know, he's right--it's a complete fiction).

Another distraction is Mr Bakker's indulgence in that worst of high-fantasy vices -- silly names. I've never seen an author quite so in love with the dieresis. He confettis the page with dotted vowels, pausing only to slap a cricumflex on the odd "u" or two.

"The Darkness that Comes Before" and the rest of the series deserve respect, if only for the depth of research and the complexity of its theme. However, the presentation is so unpleasant, it is unlikely to get it.

Bakker's debut novel, "The Darkness That Comes Before," is one of the most challenging fantasy novels one can pick up. Not only has Bakker created a completely foreign alternate world as his setting (replete with thousand-year history, new religions, complex names, and byzantine political intrigues), he drops the reader smack-dab in the middle of one storyline only to abandon it for another for several hundred pages, at which point the storylines more or less merge.

I'll leave it to others to summarize the plot -- I'm sure that I've missed many of the finer points of conflict during my first read. Suffice it to say that "The Darkness That Comes Before" is essentially setting the stage for a massive war ("the Second Apocalypse"). The problem is, competing political and religious agendas, not to mention lifelong hatreds, makes the unification of forces to go on the merry war a massive undertaking in its own right. While there are bad guys aplenty among the various armies and nations that will fight on the same side of the Holy War, we barely get acquainted with the forces they'll be fighting against.

Further complicating matters is the titular "Prince of Nothing," Kellhus. Not a sorcerer (there are plenty of those in this book, never fear, although their wizardry is not often put into practice), not a demigod, but definitely something more than a man, Kellhus joins the Holy War for motives that aren't exactly clear. Kellhus' father, another mystical figure, is clearly involved, but the nature and extent of Kellhus' mission is never fully explained. Is he going to kill his father? Is his father already dead?

In the hands of a lesser writer, this convoluted, murky plot would have seen "The Darkness That Comes Before" returned to the bookstand after a few chapters. Fortunately, Bakker brings the goods, writing with a stylish, poetic voice that compels the reader to devour the pages. Battle scenes are handled as smoothly as inner, tortured soliloquies. Light on descriptions of landscapes and other physical features, heavy on dialogue and introspection, Bakker's prose serves to heighten the mysteries of his alternate universe rather than frustrate the reader.

A helpful set of maps (the artwork is reminiscent of the maps of Middle Earth in Tolkien's "The Lord of the Rings" novels - a nice touch) and a glossary/appendix provide a much-needed resource -- kudos to Bakker for including them. (Full disclosure - I found it much more helpful just to photocopy the pages and have them available loose for reference 'cause I got so tired of flipping back to them.)

The novel ends without a true climax, but with a clear "setting the stage" for the next novel, "The Warrior-Prophet." Without a doubt, I will pick up the next book and hope that some of these threads are brought together.

Not for the squeamish (the battle scenes are harsh, vivid affairs, and there's more than a wee bit o' sex), "The Darkness That Comes Before" is a novel that probably shouldn't be read on the Stairmaster, but should be savored in an armchair with a favorite beverage.

The most compelling aspect of these novels that makes them stand out from the others of its genre is both the exceptional writing style, and the very mature feel of this book. Most fantasy books are about young teenagers this makes these novels is many ways coming of age novels. By making the characters in his novel adults (Only one major character is under twenty) Bakker adds maturity to his world. This novel is placed in a world and you can feel the weight of the history, both of the world and of the characters in their actions.

This is not a feel good swashbuckleing novel. This world is painfull, bigotry, hatreds and supersitions are presented as part of the socities and are resented and accepted by the characters in stride, this is their world and this is what they expect. This isn't a novel that will have some 110 pound girl pick up a sword and armor and miraculosly be able to best some 200 pound knight who is three times as strong and been trianing with wepons full time for 15 years. The females characters have to fight on their own terms, sex and desire are a weapon in this book and not wielded exculsively by the women. Women are not allowed to join the sorceres schools, not for any real reason, just because everyone is sexist.

The real streagth of this novel is characteraztion. I read this novel for a second time and was suprized at both how little and how much happened. The first 200 pages go quite slow, but are very effective in how they delvop the characters. Drusas and Esmenet are both flawed in very deep ways, but command respect and become more compelling as the novel progresses. The central character is Kellus who is facinating as being something greater than a normal human. A monk who has superhuman reflexes, the intelect of genuis, and unnatural self control. But what really makes him facinating is his complete attention to his mission and lack of true emotion. It takes a daring author to make a main character distictly unlikable, but when they make it work it produces great characters and great insight into thier world.

The Darkness That Comes Before is the story of the start of a religious war, inspired by some sort of new leader. Various peoples have various interests in the war, and there may be some involvement of a mysterious group called the Consult, that wants to bring about some mysterious end of the world. Interesting premise, but we don't progress much beyond that--we are too busy flipping to the back of the heavy volumes trying to remember who the heck everyone is.

This book has many things to recommend it--most of all its fresh originality and lack of cliches. It doesn't look like anything fantasy has seen before.

Maybe ditching all the tried-and-true story elements wasn't the best idea after all, because despite the author's well-crafted prose, cultures, and places, this story left me flat. I never frantically turned the next page, eager to see what would happen. The most emotional reaction I had to the story was a few moments of "Eww...that was gross". The Darkness that Comes Before never made me care what became of the characters, of which there were far too many, and none of them had names I could actually pronounce. (The author had some sort of love affair with various accent marks).

Hopefully the next book in the series will be more enthralling. I will keep reading to see if any of the first book's promise is fulfilled, though I am not rushing out to buy book #2.

If you are looking for a really good read, move on. If you are a fantasy aficionado, try this just to have a look-see.

The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, Book 1) is, in my opinion, an amazing first book to the fantasy trilogy by R. Scott Bakker. I would have given this book a 5, but it does not contain what many fantasy readers are likely looking for.

It lacks the extensive and interesting world-building of many other great fantasy authors though it does contain original concepts that at I have not seen in other books. The book seemlessly creates an unwritten history to the nations and people it talks about giving you a deeper sense of intuition of the outcomes, though by no means does it give away suspense and surprise. It is somehwat shallow as it dives right into the mystery of the nations, leaving you knowing what you don't know and will find out later and knowing a great deal.

I've never cared for original magic systems as they don't make good books, so I won't judge that here, but I will say most people will not be impressed and possibly be annoyed by the magic in the book. It does little to catch the imagination.

The setting in the book often lacks description which is one thing I wish will be undone in the next book. You can often tell the general setting of the characters, but a crowded city is just a crowded city. The world seems to self-centered around the characters for my taste, excluding one character.

The characters were very, very deep and totally original and, personally, interesting to read about. There is one character in particular whose whole aspect and placement in the book is just amazing and I found it totally enjoyable to read his parts in the book. The book has plenty of psychological feeling to it and you can really feel the tension of the characters as well as their elation at times.

The book was, somewhat, needlessly long. It could have been shortened to make the read more immediate and interesting. I will say you need patience to read the book as it sometimes seems the author is delving too far into something that doesn't really need to be explained.

The writing is excellent though. His use of words and description as well as literary devices is superb, but you can tell that he isn't an extremely experience author. Not by his writing itself, but by the arrangement and placement of certain details as well the structure of the plot.

As for the plot, it is a modest plot. Certainly not as good as it could have been. Each section of the book has its own climax, but the end of the book doesn't end as I would have like. I actually prefer cliffhangers, but this leaves me few new ones that didn't start already in the middle and beginning of the book. Could have been better.

What really made it for me in this book was the character Kellhus. I won't go into spoilers, but the originality and simple making of that one character was perfect.

I wouldn't recommend this to all, but if you are looking for good fantasy, you can't really go wrong here. Just have some patience and read without attempting to judge the book. You'll find plenty to complain about if you look for it, but you'll find more to enjoy if you look for it.

I absolutely love losing myself in a great novel when I find the time, regardless of the genre. However, this winter break (school teacher) I found myself stuck with this book as the only unread option left in the house. I had started to read it on a few other occasions, tossing it aside after a few pages in favor of something else. This time, being my only option, I forced myself to trudge through the barrier that previously held me up. After 174 pages, I am thoroughly, and forever, done.

I imagine that Mr. Bakker is an incredibly intelligent, creative, and literate individual, with understanding of both tradition western and eastern philosophy and history (which he mirrors into his narrative), but his formulation of his story seems overindulgent.

Imagine yourself stuck in a snowstorm in a warm cabin, sitting by the fire, with a strange brilliant cousin (Bakker). You ask him, "So, what's been on your mind lately?", and he opens into a monologue about an imagined world of fictional nations with entire histories, fictional religions, what seems to be hundreds of characters (none of which seem to be main characters), all with complex names and titles spelled in a language of his own creation (with a lot of umlauts), along with fictional complex geography (without a map), complex social stations, fictional governments, and prolific allusions to esoteric cosmologies of his own imaginings. No plot development. No character development. A few hours into this, you realize that this brilliant cousin of yours must be bored out of his skull with an enormous amount of idle time on his hands and is now wasting your time with this interminable flow of imaginings. You know that it would, eventually, begin to make sense with a few more hours invested, but do you have the patience?

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys a book series that presents a convoluted and complex world that demands a lot of attention to details, perhaps even some serious note taking. If you enjoyed "Dune", this might be right up your alley.

Scott Bakker created a fantastic world Earwa. In the opening novel of a trilogy, he sets the characters and scenery of this fantasy on an epic scale while his steady prose prolpels the plot forward. The population of this fantastic world teems with schemes and machinations formining many sub-plots within the grander story. Whose plot is a holy war heralding the possible arrival of a second apocolypse on this world.

This novel is so dense with proper names of places, people and sets I confess I write this review after my second attempt to reading it. I got about halfway through my first try then decided I had other books to read so put this one aside. Am I ever glad though I tried reading it again. Bakker's imagination is awe inspiring. Yes there is a little possible confusion when one first reads the first half of this opening salvo in the trilogy trying to keep straight who is who which is a challenge even with the appendices added to the back of the book. The reward in my opinion however far outweighs minor challenges. Bakker's fantasy is gritty unflinching and deep. It does not cater to all the genre's audience as it assumes the reader is sonewhat sophisticated and is searching for more than wizards and dragons. As other reviewer's have pointed out there are a few graphic scenes throughout the narrative, but I even admire this as it is appropriate I think for a post 9/11 fantasy novel. Marks the start of an excellent bold and fresh trilogy which I recommend to any who are tired of fantasy authors recycling the same old story.

The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, Book 1) is, in my opinion, an amazing first book to the fantasy trilogy by R. Scott Bakker. I would have given this book a 5, but it does not contain what many fantasy readers are likely looking for.

It lacks the extensive and interesting world-building of many other great fantasy authors though it does contain original concepts that at I have not seen in other books. The book seemlessly creates an unwritten history to the nations and people it talks about giving you a deeper sense of intuition of the outcomes, though by no means does it give away suspense and surprise. It is somehwat shallow as it dives right into the mystery of the nations, leaving you knowing what you don't know and will find out later and knowing a great deal.

I've never cared for original magic systems as they don't make good books, so I won't judge that here, but I will say most people will not be impressed and possibly be annoyed by the magic in the book. It does little to catch the imagination.

The setting in the book often lacks description which is one thing I wish will be undone in the next book. You can often tell the general setting of the characters, but a crowded city is just a crowded city. The world seems to self-centered around the characters for my taste, excluding one character.

The characters were very, very deep and totally original and, personally, interesting to read about. There is one character in particular whose whole aspect and placement in the book is just amazing and I found it totally enjoyable to read his parts in the book. The book has plenty of psychological feeling to it and you can really feel the tension of the characters as well as their elation at times.

The book was, somewhat, needlessly long. It could have been shortened to make the read more immediate and interesting. I will say you need patience to read the book as it sometimes seems the author is delving too far into something that doesn't really need to be explained.

The writing is excellent though. His use of words and description as well as literary devices is superb, but you can tell that he isn't an extremely experience author. Not by his writing itself, but by the arrangement and placement of certain details as well the structure of the plot.

As for the plot, it is a modest plot. Certainly not as good as it could have been. Each section of the book has its own climax, but the end of the book doesn't end as I would have like. I actually prefer cliffhangers, but this leaves me few new ones that didn't start already in the middle and beginning of the book. Could have been better.

What really made it for me in this book was the character Kellhus. I won't go into spoilers, but the originality and simple making of that one character was perfect.

I wouldn't recommend this to all, but if you are looking for good fantasy, you can't really go wrong here. Just have some patience and read without attempting to judge the book. You'll find plenty to complain about if you look for it, but you'll find more to enjoy if you look for it.

I absolutely love losing myself in a great novel when I find the time, regardless of the genre. However, this winter break (school teacher) I found myself stuck with this book as the only unread option left in the house. I had started to read it on a few other occasions, tossing it aside after a few pages in favor of something else. This time, being my only option, I forced myself to trudge through the barrier that previously held me up. After 174 pages, I am thoroughly, and forever, done.

I imagine that Mr. Bakker is an incredibly intelligent, creative, and literate individual, with understanding of both tradition western and eastern philosophy and history (which he mirrors into his narrative), but his formulation of his story seems overindulgent.

Imagine yourself stuck in a snowstorm in a warm cabin, sitting by the fire, with a strange brilliant cousin (Bakker). You ask him, "So, what's been on your mind lately?", and he opens into a monologue about an imagined world of fictional nations with entire histories, fictional religions, what seems to be hundreds of characters (none of which seem to be main characters), all with complex names and titles spelled in a language of his own creation (with a lot of umlauts), along with fictional complex geography (without a map), complex social stations, fictional governments, and prolific allusions to esoteric cosmologies of his own imaginings. No plot development. No character development. A few hours into this, you realize that this brilliant cousin of yours must be bored out of his skull with an enormous amount of idle time on his hands and is now wasting your time with this interminable flow of imaginings. You know that it would, eventually, begin to make sense with a few more hours invested, but do you have the patience?

I would recommend this book to someone who enjoys a book series that presents a convoluted and complex world that demands a lot of attention to details, perhaps even some serious note taking. If you enjoyed "Dune", this might be right up your alley.

Scott Bakker created a fantastic world Earwa. In the opening novel of a trilogy, he sets the characters and scenery of this fantasy on an epic scale while his steady prose prolpels the plot forward. The population of this fantastic world teems with schemes and machinations formining many sub-plots within the grander story. Whose plot is a holy war heralding the possible arrival of a second apocolypse on this world.

This novel is so dense with proper names of places, people and sets I confess I write this review after my second attempt to reading it. I got about halfway through my first try then decided I had other books to read so put this one aside. Am I ever glad though I tried reading it again. Bakker's imagination is awe inspiring. Yes there is a little possible confusion when one first reads the first half of this opening salvo in the trilogy trying to keep straight who is who which is a challenge even with the appendices added to the back of the book. The reward in my opinion however far outweighs minor challenges. Bakker's fantasy is gritty unflinching and deep. It does not cater to all the genre's audience as it assumes the reader is sonewhat sophisticated and is searching for more than wizards and dragons. As other reviewer's have pointed out there are a few graphic scenes throughout the narrative, but I even admire this as it is appropriate I think for a post 9/11 fantasy novel. Marks the start of an excellent bold and fresh trilogy which I recommend to any who are tired of fantasy authors recycling the same old story.

This is, along with the work of George RR Martin, R. Hobb and to a slightly lesser extent Guy Gavriel Kay, Tad Williams and Steven Erikson, the best ongoing Fantasy series.

It has superb characterization (Kellhus, Cnaiur, a variety of secondary characters and the legendary, mysterious and yet to be revealed Moenghus as well as names from the past that may yet play a role), worldbuilding on a level rivaled only by very few, various races, clans, and a more interesting use of magic than *any* other series or standalone Fantasy that I know. Now, I read a lot, but the battles in this book are simply mindblowing. This is Fantasy for adults, it's for people who want an intelligent and complex plot with characters that both fascinate in that powerful way only magical characters can but also have flaws which hamper their progress. Unlike some I find myself fascinated rather than disturbed by the graphic sex and violence in this book, there's a realness to it that other series, outside of Martin's, don't match. It's a brilliant, shining piece of work IMO, something of a blend of JRR Tolkien and GRR Martin and I can't wait until The Thousandfold Thought (an apt as well as very cool title) is released early 2006, concluding this magnificent series.

Lately, I have given up trying to discover new authors to read in the fantasy genre. All too often they are horrible writers that struggle to create a believable and moving story.

I was pleased to discover Bakker and his new series, able to finally enjoy myself in a new fantasy series. His writing is fluid and understandable - and, most of all, it is believable. The battle depictions and movements are real, and the dialogue and character interaction is not forced. Finally, a new author that will help breathe life into a genre that is fast gaining a bad reputation.

If I have to say anything bad about this book, I would say that he fell into the oh-so-common role of feeling the need to use foreign and hard to pronounce names throughout his book. All to often the fantasy genre attempts to pull you away from our every day lives by creating an environment that we are not familiar with, such as names and places alien to us. Where this can be a plus in some cases, Bakker may have overdone it in this one. Now, this is petty, I realize, but I don't see the need to create everything so foreign. But, it is also petty for a reason, because I couldn't find too much that was bad about this book.

Bakker's work is a gem. He inhabits characters as disparate as a prostitute, a warrior, an emperor, and sorcerer with intense abandon. His plot is rife with philosophical surmisings; he wisely uses these surmisings to propel events, rather than merely comment on them. His prose is poetic: "She stared numbly at things and people: at a cracked amphora bleeding oil across a vendor's mat; at young Galeoth slave girls negotiating the masses with downcast eyes and woven baskets of grain perched upon their heads; at a haggard dog, alert and peering through thickets of scissoring legs...".
Perhaps my only critcisms are the indulgences he enters into with sex. Bakker's sexual scenes read as intensely as anything else he writes, but sex tends to be an intense act within itself, and needs less of his conjoined and vivid adjectives. However, this criticism of mine is highly subjective; there is no accounting for taste.
Another minor flaw is Bakker's victimization of his own success--he moves so deftly from character to character it's a flagellation to have to leave one for another. Similar experiences occur when reading George R. R. Martin. Although I wasn't quite as involved with Bakker's characters as Martin's (Bakker's myriad names and proper nouns can be even more daunting than Martin's, as Bakker's are more exotic), I find the epic quality of Bakker's multiple viewpoints a delicious punishment. In short, his characterizations and political intrigues are entirely convincing--if not as emotionally moving as Martin's, they are still beautifully rendered, encapsulated in philosophical penetrations that rend more deeply than anything in fantasy literature.
As a writer of fantasy and professional reviewer of literature, I recommend Bakker wholeheartedly. I have a distaste for extreme statements, but on the subject of Bakker, extreme statements flood from my pen: this is an author with genius. I wish I had written The Darkness That Comes Before.

When this was first published, the book jacket said Bakker was working on a PhD in philosophy. I wonder if he intended to submit this as his dissertation. In any event, surely this answers the age old question: what in the world are you supposed to do with a doctorate in philosophy? Why silly, write spectacular fantasy fiction, of course!

I just finished reading the trilogy the second time. And during a long drive home last weekend, I thought about them. Then I thought about their meaning. Then I thought about crime. About damnation. About salvation. About the soul. And then I thought to myself: considering that I'm a die hard atheist, this is amazing! Granted, part of the rumination was about trying to figure out the plot and characters of the book, but since the book is far from just a whodunit, the contemplation cannot help but to also be about these very weighty concepts themselves as applied outside the book in the real world and real history. And I can say with absolute certainly that I have never thought about these or similar things when reading Martin or even Tolkien.

We know high fantasy is about worldbuilding, plot, and characters. I guess the question Bakker tries to answer is this: can it also be about ideas? What's Tolkien's idea? Better to fight and die than serve an evil dark lord? (by the way, I have ordered a Chorae, the Phial of Galadrial, and some obsidian arrowheads from eBay, so I'm not afraid of blaspheming you Tolkien! Ha!) What's Martin's idea? Make sure you end up on the winning side of a dynastic struggle if you want to keep your head on your shoulders? Thin gruel, to be sure. Prince of Nothing can go toe to toe with any of them on worldbuilding, plot, or character. But it also adds a very thick, hearty serving of religio-philosophical soup. Sure, some people are put off by that. But I say to them: this is no bait and switch. I know you signed up for sword and sorcery, and there is indeed more than enough of that here to satisfy even the most demanding appetite: from the malevolent Ark-Of-The-Sky to the marvelous concept of jnan, from the sandy and bloody Holy War to horrifyingly relentless rise of the Warrior-Prophet, from the heartbreakingly mad barbarian Cnaiur to the exquisitely tormented sorcerer Akka. It has got all of that and more you can hope for.

But Bakker should be given credit for more than this. Like all great literature, Prince of Nothing is something to be appreciated on multiple levels. He should be given credit for writing about grand and deep ideas. This is a work with another dimension. It opens up with an enigmatic quote from Nietzsche. On the very first page, it gives a provocative definition of the soul. Just on the very first three pages, it presents two different views on the nature of crime, each profound in its own way. Before the prologue is over, you have already sat through the first psychoanalytic session in the book. Near the end of the first volume, it describes a terrifyingly realistic meditation exercise that scrubs the mind clean, and prepares it to steer and maneuver to come before. And before it's all over, here I am, pondering about crime, damnation, salvation, and the soul.

There can be no doubt: Prince of Nothing is a work of high fantasy of the first order.

p.s.: I don't know why some people keep referring to Kellhus as some sort Nietzschean Overman/Superman. I guess it's because of the quote from Nietzsche at the beginning of the book. But according to Nietzsche, the Overman has to be a passionate being. Kellhus has no passion.

This review is for the entire "Prince of Nothing" series of which "The Darkness That Comes Before" is book one.

Bakker is a theologian, philosophist, psychologist, sociologist, linguist, and historian, but above all else he is a storyteller. This is not your run of the mill fantasy series, it's a journey through hell. Yes there's magic, armies, battles, and empires, but there is so, so much more. Frankly, I can't tell you if when you finish the series you will either be praising Bakker for an amazing story or cursing him for the emotional havoc he's wrought on you, maybe like me you'll be doing both.

This series is not for the squeamish, there's a perversity to his characters that goes beyond oedipal. It really depends on the reader's sensibility as to whether the brilliance of the story outweighs the distressful obscenity or vice versa. It's almost as if Bakker is daring you to keep reading, testing your ability to handle the tale he is weaving.

There will be times where you put this and the subsequent books down in disgust, but if you're like me, when you get up from your cozy chair or wherever your reading spot is, you will find you can not let the book out of your grasp. The story sticks to you and you need to keep reading.

All in all I can say that this series haunts me but I am all together richer for reading it. I'm glad I read this series. I'm also glad, however, that it took 3 years for Bakker to publish the first book in his next series that takes place in the world of "The Prince of Nothing". I needed time to recover, read other works, forget a little how extreme Bakker can be. But now that the new book is out, I find myself diving into it head first, eager to learn about the continuing adventures of the poor wretches Bakker has created.

If you think you can handle it, read the series, it truly is fantastic, just hold on, it's gonna be a bumpy ride!

I thought the premise of the book offered an original twist to a genre that has become kind of stagnant. The characters are flawed in ways that would frustrate me at times, but that made the story all the more satisfying when these characters did something good/right. The back drop of 'Darkness' is...well...dark. The reader is confronted with dying empires, mysterious and malevolent villains, obscure politics, lost cultures, and a variety of landscapes that all keep the story interesting. The environment of Darkness gave me the feeling of mystery, and that the story is connected to a deep, complicated history. The 'magic' in the story was unique to me. Bakker created a trade off for being a 'Schoolman' (aka Sorcerer) He also created a terrifying counter weapon to magical power. This put the average joe on a more level playing field with Schoolmen, which in turn created a bit more drama to the action than the usual fantasy novel.

I have read the story twice now and will probably read it again. This is rare for me. There is a ALOT of detail in the story that I missed on the first pass.

I was immediately hooked by the prologue of this book, which is mysterious and intriguing. The characters were very deep and interesting and the prose was understandable, nicely paced, and pleasant. The plot did not move at a downhill run but this was more than made up for with the excellent characterization, tremendous world building, and vivid back story. I thought Bakker's world was one of the most plausible and well crafted that I have encountered. The main character is a unique approach and I think that many of the characters are not fantasy cliches. I really enjoyed the book and look forward to the next installment.

This volume must clearly be read as an opening , a setting up .

The characters , the mythology , the history , the geography have priority before the action and the plot is only hinted at .

Bakker tries and succeeds to introduce the reader to a complex fantasy world with an obvious care for consistency .

Like many reviewers , I have also seen analogies with the work of S.Erikson (for the dark , threatening atmosphere) and with S.Donaldson (Achamian really looks and behaves like Thomas Covenant) .

I definitely loved the introduction of the Consult (what an interesting name !) and the No - Men whose role is still shrouded in mystery .

Anasurimbor Kellhus is a compelling character with a well described personality .

Many , many things stay open at the end of the book :

- The Dunyian monks don't seem to use the Sorcery , monks usually don't take women , yet they somehow lived 2000 years in isolation . How ?

- The existence of the Consult is established because they "disappeared" only 2 centuries ago after having been fought by the Mandate for 1800 years . Why nobody believes in its existence now ?

- Who are the No - Men and what are their goals ?

- And perhaps the biggest mystery : WHO is Kellhuse ? And WHO is his "father" and his "mother" ?

All that is well written with , sometimes , perhaps an overly elaborated style and makes the reader want to know more .

I am sure that the pleasure of reading the second installement will be even greater than the first .

I found myself unable to do anything other than write a review here.

The Prince Of Nothing is quite simply the best book I've ever read.

I'm perplexed and disappointed to see mixed reviews of this book. I'm cautious in recommending the novel simply because I know so little about you, dear reader. The most popular newspaper in England is the Daily Mail. Adults and children alike flock to read Harry Potter novels. Who are you, and what makes a good book for you?

R Scott Bakker has a PHD in Philosophy in addition to being an author. His characters have a depth to them, a complexity of character that you will find hard to match in any genre. You'll find intelligence, horror, madness, passion laid before you in incredible depth.

I have no doubts about the ability of R Scott Bakker to write unparalled novels. I have only doubts about (some) of the audience's ability to appreciate it (hence the mixed reviews here on the store).

Very well written fantasy book. Somewhat reminiscent of Guy Gavriel Kay's writing, but more than anything similar to C.S.Friedman's dark and thought-provoking "Coldfire" trilogy. like Friedman's books, it explores the themes of blind faith and religious war, definitions of "good" and "evil", all intermixed with sorcery, battles and amature philosophy.

Book also borrows heavily from Frank Herbert's sci-fi classic "Dune". Like Dune's Paul Atreides, the main character of this book, Kellhus, possesses unique and terrible power and through the use of that power rises from slavery to become a leader of a religious jihad twisted to his own purposes. Herbert's famous technique of following character's words with their thoughts is heavily used throughout the book to provide further insights into the characters. And, of course, every chapter begins with a quote from an invented history book - just like Dune.

Leaving aside this heavy "borrowing" from Herbert in areas of style, the book is well written. Language is fluid, twists and turns are plenty, scenes are very graphic and enough original ideas are presented to keep one interested.

I quite enjoyed Bakker's first foray into fantasy. Perhaps it is his background in philosophy that provides his characters and societies such realism - what might have happened if Neitzsche had been interested in becoming a political figure? Yes, his invented languages and places are somewhat heavy but one actually gets used to them after a while.

His use of magic - closer to psi than anything - are much more realistic than any other fantasy novels that I have read before. The same goes for the individual fights and large-scale battles.

The central character, Kelhus, and his society are the most intriguing creations since Moorcock's Elric. In fact, for those who are high-level practitioners of qigong, Bakker's descriptions are very close to reality. Kelhus' abilities, mental state and even the philosophy of the Logos seem to accurately reflect reality.

As many have written before, I really wanted to like this book. As others have stated in one fashion or another, I absolutely HATED it!

I believe I have an excellent vocabulary. The words used throughout the text did not confuse me so much as they irritated the hell out of me. The pseudo-enlightened garbage the author tried to pass of as philosophy made him seem like one of those snotty little know-it-all punks we all wish we weren't acquainted with -- you know the ones I'm referring to, the sad little human pimples who have read one or two books in their entire life and can't wait to explain how brilliant they are as a result of this trivial experience? If I lost you in this last bit, perhaps YOU are, like R. Scott Bakker, that little pimple-punk the rest of us dread!

Regardless of Mr. Bakker's education and achievements (yes, I did read about his course of study while at university), I saw little to no technical value in the writing either. The dialogue between characters was stilted, the description of these characters was virtually nonexistent and the story itself was abysmally dull. I love it when a writer succeeds in challenging me to use more than half of my brain in order to follow a plot. Intricate storylines filled with subtle nuances a good storyteller can produce are one of the main reasons I read in the first place . . . pretentious nonsense barfed onto page after page by someone who only THINKS his novels are oh-so-clever comes across as an insult to my intelligence.

It should be clear to anyone who read my review to this point that I detested the book. My feelings toward the story pale when compared to the loathing I felt for each and every one of the paper-thin characters who trudged across the pages. The concept of anti-heroes is hardly groundbreaking and I have often thought moral ambiguity adds something worthwhile to characterisation. Nothing could be further from the truth in the case of Anasurimbor Kellhus. This 'Marty Stu' (and apparent author avatar) embodies the very core of what I despised most about this drek. I have no use for fan-fic and have never written anything of the sort. That established, I briefly entertained the thought of writing something which might address the intense hatred I felt toward that horrible excuse for a character!

Others have mentioned Bakker in comparison to Terry Goodkind and Robert Jordan. I dislike both of these writers a great deal and consider their respective works to be a waste of time. Still, my contempt for 'the Sword of Truth' and 'the Wheel of Time' is a mild breeze when compared to the hurricane of disgust I feel for 'the Prince of Nothing.' Whenever I read a comment or review that compares R Scott Bakker to JRR Tolkien, Frank Herbert or George RR Martin, I feel an urge to laugh hysterically until I vomit. The only way I can imagine mentioning Bakker and Tolkien/ Herbert /Martin in the same sentence would be something to the effect of: "R Scott Bakker's writing ability is NOTHING like {insert name of actual writer here}!"

It surprised me more than a little to learn it was NOT a self-published work. Now that I have finished the first installment, I find the only consolation available to me is that no one can force me to read the others. I suppose it also makes me feel a little bit of comfort to realise I never paid a penny for any of the series though.

I HATED this book. It wasn't because it was too complicated or too deep for me to understand, it was simply because I thought it was too badly written to be considered good or worthwhile in any sense. I almost never bother to write reviews. It rarely matters enough to me to put my thoughts or opinions out there for others to read. This rambling travesty irritated me so much though, I felt it worth the few minutes of my time to share my feelings toward 'the Prince of Nothing.'

Take from it what you will.

As far as contemporary fantasy goes, there are few books that get better than this one. With the debut volume of this series, Bakker firmly establishes his writing ability in the great company of such writers as Keyes, Martin, and Erikson.

Much like Martin, Bakker doesn't pull any punches and the resulting story flows with a gritty realism that is not often found in other books of this genre. While reading about rape or the particularly detailed evisceration of a character may not be the stuff of warm and fuzzy stories, they are unfortunate realities of life (particularly in the time periods most often set in fantasy novels) and their unabashed inclusion into more intense books of fantasy helps to set a very mature and hard-edged tone. You will never mistake these titles for children's literature.

The characters are engaging and easy to identify with but not necessarily good or evil. Bakker does a good job of establishing the fact that the enemy is the other side's hero, and largely leaves you to choose which is which.

If I were to have one criticism, it is that the prose itself can seem riddled with forced cliche' and pretentiousness at times when the author tries too hard to inject "philosophy" into the story line. This seems to fade in and out and is easily overlooked and forgiven, in my opinion, when you begin to get the feel for the whole story and realize just how good it truly is.

With the pretentiousness included, you will find in The Darkness That Comes Before a novel that stands above 99% of others in the same genre and flatly shames such long-time favorites as Jordan and Lackey by comparison. With pretentiousness aside, this title could actually give Martin a run for his money.

familiarize yourself with all the groups, their history etc.

else in the first few chapters you will wonder what the heck is happening!

but after the first few chapters it gets really interesting.

bakker draws liberally from hindu/buddhist enlightenment concepts and fuses it with islamic jihad, persian history, roman culture, assasination cults etc to fork up an interesting tale which though reminds you of the medieval is infact set two hundred years from now!

i'm going to the library today evening to get the sequel!

This series made me like fantasy again. Sure its dark. Its bleak. Its full of evil and manipulative characters. That's not what I like about it though. Its an amazingly detailed and interesting world in which one character, absolutely manipulates everyone he meets and does so in a believable fashion. I love the Mandate magic dream thing. The backstory is incredible and incredibly detailed yet leaves a ton to the imagination. The characters are complex and few enough in number to keep you from getting lost. I can see where some think (and rightly so) that women aren't portrayed in a kind light in the series, but does that really matter for the story? Its definitely a more male fantasy. For me, this is definitely a must for anyone who likes well-written, intelligent, darker fantasy.

This book starts slowly but is the beginning of an epic adventure that is majestic in its unraveling.. the characterisation draws you in to a world where men are like children and can be manipulated with ease by the hand of one man.. and a great threat is on the horizon. Fabulous story-telling, happily recommend this to anyone and everyone who has read it has not been disappointed.

--minor spoilers from early scenes in the book below--

I will not deny that The Darkness That Comes Before is a very intelligent book. It almost begs to be read in the quiet under the moonlight when nothing troubles the reader and he/she has the time to contemplate over just about every paragraph. I however, read it while commuting to work every day, an hour or so each morning.
Did it save me from boredom? Yes. Will I be buying the next book? Probably not (I have about 100 pages to go in this one, so my opinion may yet be swayed).
Some of my personal criticism:
-the often swearing really detracts from the feel of this book. For instance I cannot imagine a man in that place and time to cry out "F---!" to express his discontent. I just can't, but maybe it's just me. In contrast, early in the book, the barbarian protagonist fights the invading army and screams out much worse of an obscenity - and it fits well. Editing should have been stricter in the first case.
-the book is utterly humourless. I can't think of a single moment that made me feel at ease. Instead we get non stop arguments, negative emotions, slaves, 100 000 dead, etc etc. Compare this to scenes from another gritty and depressing epic like ASOIAF, and you will see how the author scattered easing moments there (Jon's relationship with the wildling girl, Arya's training with the dancing master, etc).
-One of the main characters is absolutely idiotic. I seriously skipped much over her parts. She was just too stupid to bear. Think ASOIAF's Sansa only as a slave and about twice as dumb/annoying.
-Superhero characters. Javelins grabbed from the air, considering killing 60 warriors with the strength of just 2 men... Oh man.
-Overpowered magic. At some point twenty wizards wipe out an entire army of barbarians who were never defeated before. Seriously. Stop it with the frigging magic.

But ABOVE ALL, or should I say BELOW ALL of these relatively minor problems in the book is the author's way to hyper-amplify EVERY SINGLE EMOTION.

You will see dialogue interchanging with italics, indicating character's thoughts or feelings, such as:
'Such fury!'
'How could he be so ignorant!'
'He grasps too much!'

This is just... no.

Decent plot saves the book, but I will not suffer through the next installments.

My current progress has brought me through book one and I am approximately 1/3rd of my way through Book 2. Book 1 is available in the US, published by Overlook Press. I had to order Book 2 from the store.ca, as Penguin Canada owns the initial rights on the trilogy with Overlook having a delayed US publishing contract.

The story is that of the world of Earwa, 2000 years after an apocalypse brought about by Mog-Pharut, the No-God, has destroyed the mighty kingdoms of the nothern lands, including ancient Kuniuri. As mankind flees from the forces of the No-God (the inhuman Sranc, the unearthly No-Men, and the villainous Consult), the last descendant of Kuniuri's ruling dynasty finds shelter at the secret fortress of Ishual, and the monks of the Dunyain. The line of Anasurimbor Colmemas is lost, last of the High Kings of Kuniuri. (In Earwa, familial names are used first, then the familiar.) The No-God would be defeated, eventually, leaving only the southern lands and the Three Seas as the home of Mankind.

In 2000 years, the great apocalypse forgotten, a Holy War against the Fanim heathens has been called by the Shriah, patriarch of the Church of the Tusk and the One God, to march against the Fanim and recapture the Holiest of Holies, the city of Shimeh. Sorcerers and men of war gather, and an Emperor schemes to turn the Holy War to the devices of regaining vast tracts of land lost to the infidel. One sorcerer of the Mandate school, last holder of the secret magics of the north, rides with the Holy War, a man named Drusas Achamiam. The only school of Sorcerers that still believes in the near mythical Consult of the No-God. They are ravaged each night by dreams of the final battle and the death of Anasurimbor Colmemas. Each night they hear his last words; "An Anasurimbor shall return at the end of the world..."

And then he meets Anasurimbor Kellhus, monk of the Dunyain, and the Prince of Nothing. A man who must reach Shimeh, for the isolation of the Dunyain is threatened by one of their own who had left the secret monastery of Ishual and learned the secrets of Sorcery. A man named Anasurimbor Moenghus, who promises power and hatred, and as the search for him begins, the Consult once more appears, and the No-God stirs...

The Author:

Some information to note about the author. Dr. R. Scott Bakker holds a Ph.D. in Philosophy from Vanderbilt University. He is also the son of a tobacco sharecropper in Ontario, and teaches currently in London, Ontario. In my reading of Dr. Bakker's web discussions about his book and philosophy, he strikes me as one of the more intelligent authors and gentlemen I've had the privilege to read. His forums are located at: [...]

Related reading:

The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints by Harold Lamb

Flames of Islam by Harold Lamb

Works by Kant and Nietzsche

My Impressions:

The first thing that struck me as I started reading this book is the cover. A beautiful psuedo-Islamic script (it reads up - down) that Dr. Bakker worked out covers the dustjacket of these books. It's what caught my eye when I purchased the first book. Dr. Bakker's writing style is very clean, in my opinion. While able to conjure vivid imagery and build a beautiful and unique world in Earwa (it strikes me as a very Mediterranean/Byzantine world with a heavy Middle Eastern flavor), he is very economical in how he does so. There are no pages of rambling exposition and there are no descriptions that run past what is needed to convery the imagery appropriate.

The cast of the book is ensemble, writing from the view of several people as the Holy War progress. Dr. Bakker frequently falls back to the Sorcerer (Achamiam), the Monk (Kellhus), and the Harlot (Esmenet, Achamiam's lover). Dr. Bakker delves into the Logos, the pathology of the Dunyain Monks, and into the magic of the Sorcerous schools of the Three Seas (I love his allusions to the words of magic as a song, and how well he works them into his descriptions). The books are very gripping and I've found it difficult to put them down. Rereading comes easily.

Having read The Crusades: Iron Men and Saints by Harold Lamb, I can see also how Dr. Bakker drew on the First Crusade as source material for basic framework of how the Holy Warriors of the Three Seas function and interact with each other. Emperor Ikurei Xerius III is a definite allusion to the Byzantine Emperor Alexis II Comnene of our own world.

Even without the added insight, the books themselves are very high quality writing and I would recommend them to anyone who enjoyed such books as Martin's Song of Fire and Ice, Donaldson's Chronicles of Thomas Covenant, and Tolkien's Lord of the Rings. When placed with those three other series, I feel it fits in perfect. It's different. It's not a rehash, and like those other worlds it has its own unique feel to it. It is, in effect, reading different fantasy. Too many worlds and fantasy novels are ripoffs of one another. Earwa is not The Land which is not Middle Earth which is not Westeros, and I think that is what makes me appreciate these particular series so much, and why R. Scott Bakker should be read along with such series.

Loved this book - the main characters are all nuanced and complex. The story is deep and very detailed and it feels like this world has been around forever. What's great about this story, and I'm assuming the entire trilogy, is the political intrigue and how each of the various schools and factions have their own agenda. I think what the author has created is on a scale with Tolkien and the like, although LOTR is still my favorite fantasy trilogy :) I loved Kellhus's character, especially his fighting skills. Also loved the "Conan" type Scylevndi. I recently purchased book two, and will begin reading later this week!! A great book that is highly recommended

The Darkness That Comes Before is one of the best fantasy novels I have ever read. To a greater degree than anyone in the Fantasy genre except (perhaps) George R.R. Martin, Bakker develops a rich, very gritty, flesh and blood setting, with a deep, complex history, and an intricate weaving of politics, mystery, love, warfare, magic, and philosophy.

Add on to that some truly superb characterization, that actually starts off quite well in this novel, but continues in its two sequels. Bakker keeps the focus mainly on these characters, and really puts them through the ringer. The result is a cast of complex beings.

Mind you, this is dark and gritty realistic fantasy (in other words, probably not a good idea for children). In addition to that, Bakker's work is replete full of meaning, both philosophical and literary, so I HIGHLY recommend that you read it slowly and thoroughly.

For anybody interested in a superb, gritty new fantasy series, I strongly, strongly recommend The Darkness That Comes Before.

Reading over quite a few of the comments, I agree with those that I read that were positive and am definitely surprised by some that were negative...

I'd like to add to what was already written, on the positive side at least.. and this is the first time I felt compelled to leave a review for a book/series I read.

First off, this author definitely appears to understand people and their different vantage points. He then goes on to mold together all such views, those that contradict each other to present a more completely expressed situation. One negative review talked about a certain female character's "stupidity" (I'm not sure which of two characters he's referring to) and I think that if that is how that particular character (or any character) appears then that only adds realism. Each character then has their own understanding of a given situation... what a dynamic and conciliatory perspective we then receive and perceive! Would you want all of the main characters to be equally intelligent (I prefer the word aware, after reading this book) or equally not so?

I can only recommend this to everyone who can give different perspectives and ideas (unless you've encountered all of the contained perspectives and ideas) a chance to be expressed.

I have not read many fantasy books. The last, chronologically speaking, intellectually stimulating (but not nearly on such a high level as this) series I read was the Second Sons trilogy. The only series I've read that could even compare to this (and this one now replacing that as my ultimate favorite) is Dune (at least the first 6 books that I had actually read, written by Frank H.). Anyone who liked Dune would, in my opinion, like this.

On a side note, I tend to like realistic material (i.e. watching every episode of 24), so the notion of sorcery made me skeptic. However, that matters not, in retrospect. After only the introduction, I realized that this was a serious book, and far more realistic than the back summary reveals. It just follows a paradigm of physics that differs from our most currently understood.

In the later books, I found the talk about the "anima" and their particular sorcery quite interesting. I agree that Bakkar is, as one reviewer said, a world builder.

The last thing I'd like to add (maybe one of the earlier comments mentioned this) is that there is a similarity between Kellhus's training, conditioning, and, later on, everyday life with that of (so-conceptualized) Ch'an Buddhism or eastern enlightenment (as I know I should not label such) in general.

I just love this series and I had read it in-between coding a class scheduling application for my college. Without this series, I don't think I could have made the deadline. I've read the whole trilogy and am waiting patiently for "that which comes after". ;)

P.S. Could anyone please recommend any other series other than Dune/Tolkien's stuff that is akin to this? I'm quite entertained by this ultra-aware and self-controlled persona... or just with the many underlying sub-plots overlapping one another.

I've never really been one for fantasy, but after reading about this on the store.ca's site, I picked it up and was thoroughly blown away by the intrinsic philosophies and metaphysics, and the developed characters. Plot turns keep it intrigueing.
If you're a fan of Clive Barker, Frank Herbert, or more cerebral fantasy, then you'll be an instant Bakker fan. His writing style is poetic and erudite, and very much his own.
The Prince of Nothing series has quickly become one of my favourite stories ever. If you're not into complex epics, however, such as Dune, perhaps skip this and come back to it when you're more comfortable with the number of characters and its depth of meaning.

The Darkness that Comes Before introduces us to a new world with fascinating magic and nations. Bakker does justice in the creative development of nations, worlds, and magic.

What I found is that this first book only scratches the surface of the world created by Bakker. You get to know some of the main characters, but only a taste as the book moves several story lines together. You do not get the depth in the character development because there were not enough pages in the book.

The Dunyain Kellhus is the most interesting character as he uses and discards people for his "mission". Amazingly he possess people by telling them the "truth" and reads people as one would read a book giving credence to knowledge is power.

The mandate sorceror,Achamian, also progresses from old useless fool lost, depressed, to show his power at the end of the book. Will he be the stalwart against the Consult menace and unleash the full potential of his powers, or will he fold under the pressure.

Bakker adds a depth of theory and philosophy into the book that is not found in many contemporary stories. While this may bog some readers down, others may welcome this deviation of the norm.

I am excited to continue this journey and Bakker has added enough tempting bits of story, plot and character for me to recommend this book.

I would NOT put him on the level of Tolkien, Martin, Jordan, because it is the first book of the series. We'll see how he books progress before I give him praise worthy of those authors.

What starts out slow and very confusing, turned into a very interesting story. This book is definitely for someone who likes the intricate and multi layered story. This book reads like a song of fire and ice. I will definitely get the next book.

This book has garnered outstanding reviews and the author is being hailed as the heir to Tolkien.
I'm not sure that I see why. While this first novel has some original touches and nicely avoids good-versus-evil cliches, it doesn't really stand out to me. The worldbuilding is that of generic epic fantasy, with civilizations lasting thousands of years, emperors, dark lords, and multiple species; some distinctly Frank Herbert-esque touches of religious cults, killing words and Mentat-like trances add interest, but are not really well developed. (I do think the Sranc, murderous creatures perhaps best described as goblin-elves, are interesting.) Rapid POV switches between characters who are broadly sketched rather than vividly developed makes the plot not so much hard to follow as hard to maintain interest in.
Sentence-level writing is sparse, at times to the point of dullness; there is an overall lack of imagery, and though I applaud the author's desire to avoid infodumps I think readers may find the setting generally underdeveloped. While reading, I never felt drawn into the world; not only visual but sensory detail is largely lacking from what feel like rapidly sketched scenes.
The work shows potential, but not brilliance, in my opinion.
This will probably appeal to fans of epic fantasy; I don't think it transcends the genre.

This book will make you think -

Very mature adult fantasy - the story is gripping, but a lot more interesting is the logic and thought process. Characters are well fleshed out and there is a lot of depth. Unusual story line - in the conventional sense, the main Protagonist's are not the cut and dry heroes, but more in shades of Grey rather than straightforward Black and White. There is no right or wrong - it is all in perspective.

The inherent Philosophy in this book is a very different way of trying to reaching salvation (If I can take it so far). However to understand the surroundings and prevent it from affecting you or your goals is after-all the first step to self realization or awareness.

This book is all background to what may happen in the next two books.

The plot is all over the place and it doesn't seem until the last 250 pages that the author knows where he wants to go with the story and finally concentrates on the most interesting characters.

I recommend the book as a good opener for the next two books(...)
Hopefully, the next two books are less background and more substance.

A few unique and very interesting characters (especially khellus who sadly disapears for a lot of the book) make the book worth while, but dont mistake this for George RR Martin....yet.

Because Bakker maintains separate plot lines before significant characters meet up, you'll probably find yourself having to flip back in the first book to remind yourself who's who; however, this bewilderment ends within the first book of the trilogy and your persistence will pay off. I didn't find these books "pretentious" like a few others have, but ambitious, and they live up to their ambitions.

The series is more political and military than I usually enjoy, but the characters, the world and the premise drew me in. This is something different, and something very, very well done. If, like me, you are tired of Tolkien clones, try out the first book and see what *you* think!

The Prince of Nothing books by R. Scott Bakker is the best fantasy series I've read. And yes, I have read Lord of The Rings. These books are that good. Think the crusades with all its religious turmoil along with several factions, called schools, of sorcerers thrown into the mix. But The Darkness That Comes Before is so more than just that. Bakker provides a great cast of characters and interweaving relationships. I couldn't put this book down. I was happy to sacrifice sleep and keep this story going.

Matt Cole
Author of. Abode of The Damned

This man is daring.
His work hinges very heavily on the use of specific literary techniques, most commonly "in media res" scene-framing. He changes the kind of writing here and there in the book, jumping from a poetic prologue worthy of a creation myth; to stirring intrigues and action sequences; to a sort of world-narrative in which he describes events from a history book's perspective in lieu of a narrative protagonist.
His liberal use of the Byzantine Empire and other historical events (especially the First Crusade, of course) is very hard to miss; while reading, I actually found myself thinking of Larry Gonick's comic dramatization of the Crusades in his "Cartoon History of the Universe" series.
I have to admit, Bakker could stand to tie his work together a little bit more; the prologue is, what, a thousand years before Chapter One? And Chapter Two is the first of several POV-switches, which would be confusing if they didn't all distantly connect, at least in their associations. The Holy War, thankfully, lashes them together a second time over, ensuring that every chapter is a different perspective on world events.
The man is a fantastic writer, getting into the meat of his characters' fears, passions, and thought patterns in a way that feels effortless. Characters are deeply motivated, with as much pride and self-importance as the most conceited despot; they are easy to relate to, but full of nuance and detail.
To address a couple of criticisms I've seen repeated on these message boards: the darkness issue and the women issue.
Yes, come to think of it, Bakker has about as many roles for women as a Frank Miller comic (i.e. nearly zero). But the difference is crucial: they feel like real people, with concerns and complicatedness that far surpasses the sort of flatness and pulp-comic stereotyping seen in the vast, VAST majority of both science fiction and American writing in general.
As far as darkness is concerned, I'm claiming the historical fiction defense! Bakker has the same level of obsession with the Crusades that George Martin has for the War of the Roses; and anyone who studies history long enough will know just how horrible and demented civilizations can be, especially when their interests conflict. Personally, I think there are times when such dark material as this (though Martin is worse, no question) needs to be set down so I can go watch cartoons and clear my head, but this is a far cry from, say, "Johnny the Homicidal Maniac". Few of the characters take anything like pure pleasure from the terrible things they do, as much of the book consists of people talking out their dilemmas and convincing themselves that they have no other options.

Case in point: before the battle between the People of War and the Empire, the People of War's best chieftains spend several pages debating strategy, cultural myth, and personal honor, as it relates to the timing of their attack on the Imperial forces. These are not Frank Miller monsters, who gleefully hack apart their foes; these are human beings who see the violence they commit as either their duty (civic or religious; it varies) or the only option afforded them.

As for the women, well, history has not been kind to women, either.
All in all, Bakker is a fantastic, if sometimes slightly unfocused, writer; he seeks veracity in his work without making it depressingly (or obsessively) dark and deadly; and his head is so filled with details for this world he's created that one can't help but wonder if Earwa is a place he's visited in some sci-fi parallel dimension.

A very solid, well-written first volume of what looks to be a great series. Widely compared to Martin's Song of Ice and Fire, a comparison that isn't too unjust. Martin is far and away the best living fantasy writer, so the fact that Bakker can be compared to him at all is to his credit. For being Bakker's first novel, The Darkness is nothing short of a miracle. The good: Bakker's prose is outstanding, the plot is compelling, character-driven, and suitably epic, the main characters are engaging and unique. What really strikes me about the novel is that it does something very few genre works succeed at -- it is also a novel of ideas. Bakker's background as a philosophy and lit scholar clearly shows through, but even if you have no background in phil, the discussions are lucid and reasonably interesting. There is also enough sex and violence to spice things up -- or to provide the meat and potatoes, if you will. If the title didn't tip you off, this is not kids stuff. The bad: the novel starts off slow, as most good fantasy does, and bogs down a bit in the middle act with an uninteresting side character or two (something even Martin was guilty of in the otherwise superb Feast for Crows). Also, in the middle act, it's hampered by a lot of world-building and exposition (a few too many Proper Nouns), but that's also typical of the beginning of epic fantasy series -- a lot of groundwork to be laid out. The novel really picks up after that, as the characters deepen and the plot continues to thicken. All in all, an essential addition to the discerning fantasy reader's library, and as good as you'll find in epic fantasy until Martin comes out with his next installment.

Psychological fantasy? Yes, although it may seem like a foreign concept this piece of fiction really works well. Not since Steven Erikson has a book or series tickled the thinking man's fancy like R. Scott Bakker (another unappreciated Canadian writer, go figure).

Without delving too much into the plot, the book is about a Holy War and the various behind the curtains struggles to take control of said Holy War. There isn't one main character and the action jumps around, breaking any monotony. One thing I really liked about this is there wasn't one single boring storyline that would make me disappointed to be moving to.

One of the characters is exceedingly perceptive of others and an enigma to the other characters. I found him (Kellhus) very well written and couldn't wait to hear more. The others offer plenty of personality including a neruotic, paranoid, control freak emperor, his arrogant but extremely competent nephew, a Conan-esque barbarian that gets put in his place and struggles to deal with life as the non-Alpha, and an errand boy spy that might be on to something huge.

It doesn't surprise me that it took Bakker 15 years to write this book and all I can hope is the quicker writing of the next 2 can match the complexity and thought out story of The Darkness That Comes Before. 5 stars.

I happen to love sprawling and realistic epics written with adults in mind (George RR Martin, Abercrombie, etc...) and this series falls right into that wheelhouse. The plot is complex, and some of the philosophical portions are challenging, but this book (and the whole trilogy) completely swept me along.

This was one of those rare genre works where I had no idea where the story would end up. I was just along for the very enjoyable, heartbreaking, and thrilling ride. The book does start a little slow. That said, if you are not hooked by page 100 I would give something else a try. I am guessing it will grab you. The worldbuilding on display here is superb.

A word of warning ... the series is complex - I am rereading it and am enjoying utilizing the extensive glossary provided with book 3. My best guess is that if you enjoy George RR Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire, than you will enjoy Bakker's work as well. I found the complexity to be similar, as well as the writing quality - although the worlds and plots could not be more dissimilar (different, but both excellent).

Give it a shot!

This really is an awesome book. The story is complex, but it's not intimidating. Characters are developed. The history, philosophy, and religion are complicated. But it all makes for a great story. Is it as good as George R. R. Martin? No. But it is soooo much better than most fantasy. It is serious fiction that you can't put down.

My one concern: is it homophobic? It is possible that Bakker is using homosexuality as a way to identify corrupt characters. But is also possible that in his world sexuality is ambiguous.

As long as he doesn't perpetuate any dangerous homophobia, this book is truly terrific.

For fantasy readers who enjoy complex characters and wide interactions, this is a fantastic book. The author does a very good job of presenting and defining both a world and a global political environment, as well as people at various levels within that realm. It combines a really interesting combination of readily identifiable historical elements with some post-apocalyptical bits and some outright fantasy in there too. If you're looking for a purely escapist novel that you can read in an afternoon, this won't serve your purpose. If, however, you want something you can sink your teeth in to that will have you thinking, wondering, and relating to characters along the way, this definitely fits the bill nicely.