Take a photo of a barcode or cover
virohsa 's review for:
The Darkness That Comes Before
by R. Scott Bakker
I picked up this book on a recommendation from a user on a worldbuilding forum. I'm not sure what I expected, but this book was somehow better and worse, and I'm glad I read it.
There are things I don't like about the book - the pacing was slow at first while Bakker set the stage, and I struggled not to put the story down. Also, the characterization of women is consistently problematic in ways that go beyond what I'd expect given the worldview of the other characters. I found myself cringing at the female main character's motivations, which at times seemed simplistic and reduced her to a caricature.
That being said, the worldbuilding was excellent. Bakker did a great job of drawing me into the world, and I felt like I could vividly picture the setting. Everything felt immense, beautiful, and harsh. I think he did a good job presenting his conlang(s) as well. It was just the right amount of foreign words to stoke my interest, but I didn't feel like I was reading something incomprehensible. The appendices helped. I didn't initially like the organization of the story and found it jarring to jump between main characters, but as I got my bearings, I was grateful for the chance to take breaks - each character's story was intense and I was anxious by the end of their chapters.
The most interesting part of this story was the main characters themselves, specifically how much I despised almost all of them, save the female main character. Every one of the others is villainous, and as I hate-read their stories, I found myself excited for them to meet their demises. Yet by the end of each chapter, I had grown sympathetic to them. I began to have favorites, and found myself worrying about which ones might survive as their stories came together. I've never read a book that compelled me to cheer on characters so morally bereft.
I originally wanted to give this book four stars, but the truth is, I have thought about this book and these characters at least once a week since I finished reading it seven months ago, and have recommended it to several people in my life.
There are things I don't like about the book - the pacing was slow at first while Bakker set the stage, and I struggled not to put the story down. Also, the characterization of women is consistently problematic in ways that go beyond what I'd expect given the worldview of the other characters. I found myself cringing at the female main character's motivations, which at times seemed simplistic and reduced her to a caricature.
That being said, the worldbuilding was excellent. Bakker did a great job of drawing me into the world, and I felt like I could vividly picture the setting. Everything felt immense, beautiful, and harsh. I think he did a good job presenting his conlang(s) as well. It was just the right amount of foreign words to stoke my interest, but I didn't feel like I was reading something incomprehensible. The appendices helped. I didn't initially like the organization of the story and found it jarring to jump between main characters, but as I got my bearings, I was grateful for the chance to take breaks - each character's story was intense and I was anxious by the end of their chapters.
The most interesting part of this story was the main characters themselves, specifically how much I despised almost all of them, save the female main character. Every one of the others is villainous, and as I hate-read their stories, I found myself excited for them to meet their demises. Yet by the end of each chapter, I had grown sympathetic to them. I began to have favorites, and found myself worrying about which ones might survive as their stories came together. I've never read a book that compelled me to cheer on characters so morally bereft.
I originally wanted to give this book four stars, but the truth is, I have thought about this book and these characters at least once a week since I finished reading it seven months ago, and have recommended it to several people in my life.