You will enjoy The Darkness That Comes Before

I had a fascinating moment a month ago. I sat in a church parking lot for an hour, reading a novel on my phone.

And I thought, ‘Why am I reading this?’

I was barely two chapters in before I finally dumped it. Usually, I read hundreds of pages before deciding to abandon a book. Part of me thinks the author will reward me for my perseverance and the book will get better. It never does.

This brings me to The Darkness That Comes Before. I rarely talk about the books I have read because most of them are either painfully dull or so average and uninspired that I have nothing to say about them. That moment at church stands out because I was sorely tempted to give fantasy novels a break.

But then I went online, bought The Darkness That Comes Before, and now I’m in absolute awe. Avid readers know that feeling you get when you’re having so much fun reading a book that your entire body is practically vibrating with excitement. And you can’t put the novel down long enough to shower, let alone sleep.

I have not experienced that in years. Not since The Way of Kings by Brandon Sanderson. The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker is the sort of novel I’m predisposed to hate because Bakker and Steven Erikson (Malazan) have similar storytelling techniques.

And if I haven’t mentioned this before, I abandoned Malazan after the third book. The Darkness That Comes Before is equally heavy. This is the highest of fantasies, with fictional kingdoms, tribes, languages, cultures, religions, and names you can barely pronounce.

Like Erikson, Bakker throws you in the deep end and asks you to swim. The setting is a violent world split between five powerful factions: the three sorcerer schools, a mighty empire of religious zealots, and a barbaric cult of pagans that wield a mysterious power.

Things take a nasty turn when the Shriah of the Thousand Temples (Religious Zealots) declares a Holy War against the Fanim (Pagans) in the South in an effort to recover the holy city of Shimeh. The result is a conflict of epic proportions that threatens to kill millions.

Meanwhile, unseen forces are working behind the scenes to unleash a second apocalypse upon mankind. And only those who know of the horrors of the first apocalypse can stop them. If you think you know what to expect from this novel based on that short description, think again.

I bought this book a month ago, only to realize that I already owned a copy. I read the novel for the first time in January but gave up after the second prologue. Yes, this damn book has two prologues for some reason. If you can push past that initial hurdle as I did, the rewards are worth it.

The first few chapters made little sense. The further I went, the more factions, nations, and concepts Bakker threw at me and I nearly gave up a second time. But I stuck around because Bakker’s characters are compelling.

The characters are infinitely engaging, boasting surprisingly distinct goals and motives. Wait until you meet Xerius. Oh. My. God. You think you know what makes him tick. But then Bakker explores the X-rated aspects of his backstory, and then…it’s really gross. But
Xerius is fantastic: the kind of ruthless but unexpectedly brilliant psychopath you love to hate.

Bakker’s characters ground you. They give you a reason to keep reading. And eventually, all the pieces coalesce. Each chapter drops vital nuggets of information, patching the gaps in your understanding until you can see the entire picture and you know what this world looks like, where everyone stands, why the past matters, how it affects the future, etc.

To be clear, this book is not a slog. I’m not saying you must tolerate half a novel of absolute boredom before things get good. The first fifty pages may frustrate you. But once Achamian reaches Sumna, things pick up.

Your patience will determine your experience. If you don’t mind stumbling in the dark for a little while as you gradually discover the various facets of the Holy War, you will enjoy The Darkness That Comes Before.