Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 15 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Like reading a very interesting ancient history textbook, 13 Oct 2004
Tired of reading books that create a world in which nothing is explained? Tired of reading books that skimp out human culture and make each realm a carbon copy of the one before? You need a book that gives you interesting cultures, religions, and so forth without drowning in pedantic detail. You will like The Darkness that Comes Before.
It is not an easy ride. Those looking for skimpy light fare will hurry past this one. The first 100 or so pages are thick in details and names that the mind shudders to remember them all. Some names seem unpronounceable, others full of dots accents and circumflexes to the point of drowning.
But soon the mind remembers each one. Some things are only mentioned- hinted at, but the interest on each one does not die away.
And the villains! Trust me, you will never look at a Trolloc in the same way. The same childish, cardboard cut-outs of the real thing. These villains exude such an aura of palpable menace that you would scream if you could but your larynx has already distatched itself from your throat and hidden itself under the sofa.
The prose is brilliant as well. IT is written with such a great use of vocabulary and metaphors that your mind reels, like when you took your first sip of wine, and entrance into another world full of vivid descriptions.
The plot flows well, with interesting events popping up. It flows well, political intrigue is better than most, you can gradually fell the escalating fundamentalist religous antagonism building up in Sumna and the tension in the Emperor's court.
So overall the Darkness that Comes Before is a great worthy of your time if you want to be immersed in a rich evocative fantasy that will be lauded for decades after its release
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12 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Top class stuff, 13 Aug 2005
Despite reading complaints regarding the highly detailed and complex world created by Bakker which stated his book was quite hard to get into i bought it because of the promise of a darker, more mature fantasy than normal. I was not disappointed. Bakkers writing and the world he creates have a depth and subtlety which are all to rare in the fantasy genre and the story/characters are as dark as anything those other masters , George R.R Martin and Steven Erikson, could hope to conjure. I hesitate to go into any great detail on the book itself for fear of introducing spoilers but suffice to say that the writer and book are of the very highest class and have even attracted deserved praise from the quality, literate papers such as the Guardian as well as his successful peers.
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3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
High standard but not for everyone, 19 Mar 2008
The Darkness that Comes Before is an impressive debut. The world that R. Scott Bakker has created is complex and multi-layered, dark and gritty. Thrown into the mix is cultural differences, religion, language, schools of wizadry, fanatic zealousness, greed, political intrigue, love, betrayal, conflicting loyalties, each facet showing an amazing depth in its detail.
Bakker writes with confidence, providing a fine, well rounded ensemble cast, all of them 'human,' that is, flawed, with their own dreams and ambitions.
His world is extremely grim, and sometimes seems to take itself a little too seriously, unlike, say, Joe Abercrombie's recent trilogy, but it is intelligently written, although not the easiest of reads. From the outset the detail is there, in terms of names, places, history, concepts, almost to the point of feeling a little overwhelming.
The author is clearly passionate about psychology and philosophy, and these two threads underpin the whole book. The concept of human psychology that his central character employs to understand and manipulate all those around him is interesting and original, although it does seem at times like a psuedo-scientific version of new-age self-help manuals, you know the type - 'understanding body language,' and the concept makes the central character remarkably unappealing!
Bakker's world and style aim for dark realism, reminiscent of Martin and Erickson, and i would place him between those authors - not possessing Martin's skill at characterization or humour, but definitely showing more heart than Erickson. To truly enjoy a book I need that sense of empathy - worrying about characters, smiling when they smile, caring for them, about them, and that is where Erickson falls flat on his face, but there are a few characters here that do inspire that kind of feeling (although not all, including a suprisingly cold and soulless central character). I care what happens to them enough that i want to buy the next instalment, anyway. And i suppose, that is what it is all about.
Overall it is an intelligently written, captivating piece of fantasy, although its adult themes and depth of detail mark it out as not for everyone. There is potential for this series to be truly great.
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