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3.71 AVERAGE
3.71 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Bakker sets the tone with a child being molested in the first three pages. From there, we get all the ingredients of the dark fantasy cauldron. Rape, murder, incest, repressed homosexuality, all in there. I was actually expecting a bit more given the reputation of the later books, but there's time to get there. This book isn't yet up to the American Psycho level, let alone Hogg. Still, not for the squeamish.
On the northern Three Seas (Mediterranean), the Shriah (Pope) calls for Inrithi (Christians) to aid the Nansur (Byzantine) Empire in a Holy War (Crusade) against the Fanim (Muslims) who hold Shimeh (Jerusalem). Without any exaggeration, that's the level of history plagiarism the high-level plot operates on. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing. The crusades are some of those events that are so strange, we couldn't make up something better, and Bakker doesn't need to waste time explaining what a Shriah is because the real-world equivalent is obvious. Elements like placing surnames first, Inrithism absorbing the previous pagan religion, Shimeh being in the west, and a 4000+ year calendar provide some surface-level differentiation, but not much.
Of course, there are some differences with real history. For one, there are sorcerers. People are aware they exist, but the average person is never going to see magic performed, and there are very few moments in this book where it's used for anything other than lighting fires. There is almost no explanation of what it is or how it works, which I appreciate. Only two "rules" are supplied: sorcerers are visible to other sorcerers, and small metal balls called Chorae protect from sorcery and kill sorcerers.
On the history end, 2000 years ago, the Consult (Satanists) nearly caused the end of the world in an event known as the Apocalypse, which destroyed the kingdoms of the north and left them infested with sranc (orcs). The nature and history of this event is left maddeningly vague, but being told all children were still-born is more than enough to make me want to know more. Hopefully it'll get some play in the next few books.
The book's several sub-plots start widely spaced and are quickly sucked into the gravitational pull of the Holy War. The sorcerer Achamian joins it as a spy, emperor Xerius tries to steer it to his own ends, and the Scylvendi (Hun) Cnaiur hopes to find revenge against the man who killed his father. Each of these three stories are tinged with paranoia. Achamian dreams of the Apocalypse every night, and fears Consult conspiracies behind the war. Xerius fears assassination and suspects practically everyone around him of plotting against him. Cnaiur, most interestingly, fears that the other Scylvendi see him as a "weeping faggot", despite a demonstrated propensity for violence and many kills to his name. His backstory is the most riveting chapter of the book, and intersects with one of its strangest parts, Kellhus.
A Dunyain monk, Kellhus is a combination of a Mentat and Bene Gesserit of Dune, with incredible mental powers and perfect control of his body and emotions. He effortlessly manipulates nearly every person he meets, and has no regard for others except as tools toward his own ends, which also see him gravitating toward the Holy War. Kellhus is by far the most incongruous element in the historical-fantasy milieu, having not only no counterpart in history, but almost none in fantasy. His determinist-rationalist view is completely at odds with the conventional aesthetic of fantasy, and he at first denies the existence not only of Gods, but of magic. This is odd, as otherwise Kellhus' views go unchallenged. "World-born men" are as enslaved to their passions as he assumes, yet he starts the story wrong about an extremely basic fact of the world. What is the purpose of this? And from where did the error arise? He adapts quickly to the new data, so it isn't to paint him as hypocritically hidebound. To enhance Kellhus' incongruity, he has some of the accoutrements of the standard fantasy protagonist: descent of an ancient king, a prophecy, and being from the middle of nowhere.
Despite Kellhus' attention grabbing nature, Cnaiur is the standout character. His intelligence doesn't temper his violence and evil whatsoever, and he is quite comfortable giving into his rage. This makes him in many ways the opposite of Kellhus, who seems to possess no emotions whatsoever. Cnaiur himself wonders if the Dunyain merely "move and move, like something reptilian, snaking through circumstance after circumstance, consuming soul after soul for the sake of consumption alone". There is a creeping don't-go-into-the-basement horror whenever Kellhus speaks to someone, which Cnaiur alone is able to see, and Cnaiur might be the preferable choice between the two. He might kill you and enslave your family, but Kellhus would use you as a tool, make you love him while doing it, then discard you.
Bakker's writing is descriptive and occasionally arresting, without being excessively florid. There are quite a few sex scenes leaning to the prurient side, especially the infamous "black seed" sequence. More troubling to me was the excessive use of the word "rifled". Using it once to describe the action of the wind is one thing, using it what felt like 10 times throughout the whole book is quite another. The repeated use of "bowel" (singular), on the other hand, didn't bother me at all. Others will find the use of diacritics in names unforgivable, and I couldn't be bothered including any of them when writing them.
Maps/appendices review: A character and faction glossary is provided, with a non-IPA pronunciation guide for the names of the main characters. A ludicrous language chart, which has no bearing on the plot, but does provide some lore, is also given. Three maps, two geographic and one conceptual, round out the appendices. The first is a two page map of the continent Earwa, in the visual style of the maps of Lord of the Rings. No legend or scale is given, and it's difficult to tell at a glance which locations are important. Worst of all, the most important locations are near the centre of the map, divided by the spine, and several names cut across the divide. The second map, showing the western Three Seas tilted 90 degrees to the left, helps alleviate that issue as it shows the area in question. Some cities on this map are shown with a black square, others with white, but the difference isn't clear. The location of a battle at Kiyuth is marked with crossed swords, and several locations not visited in this novel are marked with a small cross. Overall, the maps are good and show some thought put into them (cities are located near water and large states are buffered by mountains and bodies of water), but are very derivative. Achamian's conceptual map, drawn in the story while he attempts to mentally map the players in the Holy War, is the most useful, as its description in the story can be a bit hard to follow. It also shows that writing in this world is done vertically.
On the northern Three Seas (Mediterranean), the Shriah (Pope) calls for Inrithi (Christians) to aid the Nansur (Byzantine) Empire in a Holy War (Crusade) against the Fanim (Muslims) who hold Shimeh (Jerusalem). Without any exaggeration, that's the level of history plagiarism the high-level plot operates on. Honestly, it's kind of refreshing. The crusades are some of those events that are so strange, we couldn't make up something better, and Bakker doesn't need to waste time explaining what a Shriah is because the real-world equivalent is obvious. Elements like placing surnames first, Inrithism absorbing the previous pagan religion, Shimeh being in the west, and a 4000+ year calendar provide some surface-level differentiation, but not much.
Of course, there are some differences with real history. For one, there are sorcerers. People are aware they exist, but the average person is never going to see magic performed, and there are very few moments in this book where it's used for anything other than lighting fires. There is almost no explanation of what it is or how it works, which I appreciate. Only two "rules" are supplied: sorcerers are visible to other sorcerers, and small metal balls called Chorae protect from sorcery and kill sorcerers.
On the history end, 2000 years ago, the Consult (Satanists) nearly caused the end of the world in an event known as the Apocalypse, which destroyed the kingdoms of the north and left them infested with sranc (orcs). The nature and history of this event is left maddeningly vague, but being told all children were still-born is more than enough to make me want to know more. Hopefully it'll get some play in the next few books.
The book's several sub-plots start widely spaced and are quickly sucked into the gravitational pull of the Holy War. The sorcerer Achamian joins it as a spy, emperor Xerius tries to steer it to his own ends, and the Scylvendi (Hun) Cnaiur hopes to find revenge against the man who killed his father. Each of these three stories are tinged with paranoia. Achamian dreams of the Apocalypse every night, and fears Consult conspiracies behind the war. Xerius fears assassination and suspects practically everyone around him of plotting against him. Cnaiur, most interestingly, fears that the other Scylvendi see him as a "weeping faggot", despite a demonstrated propensity for violence and many kills to his name. His backstory is the most riveting chapter of the book, and intersects with one of its strangest parts, Kellhus.
A Dunyain monk, Kellhus is a combination of a Mentat and Bene Gesserit of Dune, with incredible mental powers and perfect control of his body and emotions. He effortlessly manipulates nearly every person he meets, and has no regard for others except as tools toward his own ends, which also see him gravitating toward the Holy War. Kellhus is by far the most incongruous element in the historical-fantasy milieu, having not only no counterpart in history, but almost none in fantasy. His determinist-rationalist view is completely at odds with the conventional aesthetic of fantasy, and he at first denies the existence not only of Gods, but of magic. This is odd, as otherwise Kellhus' views go unchallenged. "World-born men" are as enslaved to their passions as he assumes, yet he starts the story wrong about an extremely basic fact of the world. What is the purpose of this? And from where did the error arise? He adapts quickly to the new data, so it isn't to paint him as hypocritically hidebound. To enhance Kellhus' incongruity, he has some of the accoutrements of the standard fantasy protagonist: descent of an ancient king, a prophecy, and being from the middle of nowhere.
Despite Kellhus' attention grabbing nature, Cnaiur is the standout character. His intelligence doesn't temper his violence and evil whatsoever, and he is quite comfortable giving into his rage. This makes him in many ways the opposite of Kellhus, who seems to possess no emotions whatsoever. Cnaiur himself wonders if the Dunyain merely "move and move, like something reptilian, snaking through circumstance after circumstance, consuming soul after soul for the sake of consumption alone". There is a creeping don't-go-into-the-basement horror whenever Kellhus speaks to someone, which Cnaiur alone is able to see, and Cnaiur might be the preferable choice between the two. He might kill you and enslave your family, but Kellhus would use you as a tool, make you love him while doing it, then discard you.
Spoiler
The chapter revealing Cnaiur's backstory is flawless. Early in the story, when Cnaiur is confronted by the knowledge that the other Scylvendi are fully aware of his homosexual side, a trick of the narration plants the idea that it was a tryst between two friends as boys. The truth is infinitely more disturbing. Cnaiur's father captures Moenghus, who seduces Cnaiur and convinces him to help kill Cnaiur's father. It's such a diabolical twist, both in Cnaiur's psychology, and what we know of what a Dunyain might do. That single chapter was worth the price of admission.Bakker's writing is descriptive and occasionally arresting, without being excessively florid. There are quite a few sex scenes leaning to the prurient side, especially the infamous "black seed" sequence. More troubling to me was the excessive use of the word "rifled". Using it once to describe the action of the wind is one thing, using it what felt like 10 times throughout the whole book is quite another. The repeated use of "bowel" (singular), on the other hand, didn't bother me at all. Others will find the use of diacritics in names unforgivable, and I couldn't be bothered including any of them when writing them.
Maps/appendices review: A character and faction glossary is provided, with a non-IPA pronunciation guide for the names of the main characters. A ludicrous language chart, which has no bearing on the plot, but does provide some lore, is also given. Three maps, two geographic and one conceptual, round out the appendices. The first is a two page map of the continent Earwa, in the visual style of the maps of Lord of the Rings. No legend or scale is given, and it's difficult to tell at a glance which locations are important. Worst of all, the most important locations are near the centre of the map, divided by the spine, and several names cut across the divide. The second map, showing the western Three Seas tilted 90 degrees to the left, helps alleviate that issue as it shows the area in question. Some cities on this map are shown with a black square, others with white, but the difference isn't clear. The location of a battle at Kiyuth is marked with crossed swords, and several locations not visited in this novel are marked with a small cross. Overall, the maps are good and show some thought put into them (cities are located near water and large states are buffered by mountains and bodies of water), but are very derivative. Achamian's conceptual map, drawn in the story while he attempts to mentally map the players in the Holy War, is the most useful, as its description in the story can be a bit hard to follow. It also shows that writing in this world is done vertically.
R. Scott Bakker has created something wonderful and amazing. This book made me feel the way I felt when I first read Dune, at 12 years old: that sense of falling headfirst into a universe of unfathomable depth and complexity, of an encounter not just with a mysterious new world, but with a whole new philosophy of thought.
It's a sensation few books since have matched--but it's not always easy. The start of this book is challenging, hurling the reader immediately into the intrigues of collapsing empires and crusading religions, of noble houses vying for power and magical schools spying and scheming for influence. It can be hard to find a reference point, and Bakker's cast of strange, flawed and fantastical protagonists offers no easy heroes to side with. But as the plot begins to unfold, and the audacious scope of the drama Bakker has laid out becomes clear, this story gets its claws in and won't let go.
It's hard to review this book without having finished the trilogy -- _The Darkness that Comes Before_ is very clearly only the beginning of a single, ongoing story -- but I can't wait to read more. I can't recommend it highly enough.
(Paper readers: I highly recommend the US edition by Overlook, which offers beautiful layout, interior design and cover art. The UK editions are a bit ordinary, and this text deserves extraordinary treatment ...)
It's a sensation few books since have matched--but it's not always easy. The start of this book is challenging, hurling the reader immediately into the intrigues of collapsing empires and crusading religions, of noble houses vying for power and magical schools spying and scheming for influence. It can be hard to find a reference point, and Bakker's cast of strange, flawed and fantastical protagonists offers no easy heroes to side with. But as the plot begins to unfold, and the audacious scope of the drama Bakker has laid out becomes clear, this story gets its claws in and won't let go.
It's hard to review this book without having finished the trilogy -- _The Darkness that Comes Before_ is very clearly only the beginning of a single, ongoing story -- but I can't wait to read more. I can't recommend it highly enough.
(Paper readers: I highly recommend the US edition by Overlook, which offers beautiful layout, interior design and cover art. The UK editions are a bit ordinary, and this text deserves extraordinary treatment ...)
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Bakker can’t write a woman to save his life
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence
adventurous
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is something I will need to reread, at least in part, to really catch everything that’s thrown at me. But, since that sounds like something I would actually like to do, I’ll go with five stars.
challenging
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The guy can crank out gorgeous strings of words, without breaking a sweat. Kudos on that. But my gods it's hypnotic to the point of me falling asleep at the wheel. Not for me. Hopefully it's your cup of tea.