Plot: The story of The Darkness that Comes Before is not easily summed up. There are factions, both political and religious, and many characters, including princes, mages, warriors, and a prostitute, all of whom get wrapped up in preparations for a Crusades-like Holy War to capture the holy city of Shimeh. Comparisons between the actual Crusades and the attempt to capture Jerusalem are hard to ignore, although Bakker doesn’t seem to be making any allegorical statements here; rather, he uses history as a reference and a blueprint, including mention of the Holy Shroud, which could be compared to the Pope. Meanwhile, a “barbarian” named Cnair Urs Skiotha (the edgiest of all edgelords) becomes the last of the Utemot tribe when he is betrayed in battle. Cnair seeks revenge on the man responsible, the father of a mysterious wanderer named Kellhus (yet another edgelord). Kellhus uses psychology and a philosophy that “what comes before determines what comes after” (apparently, this guy never heard of Jean Paul Sartre) to manipulate people’s thoughts and passions for his own purposes.
Cons: I may be a bit prejudiced reviewing this kind of book, since I tend to prefer the more “fantastical” type of fantasy. There were times when I just wished something crazy would happen just to throw me off guard, but The Darkness that Comes Before reads a lot like a pseudo-history. You could easily read whole chapters without finding an inkling of the fantastic. I do enjoy reading history, but when I pick up a fantasy book, I expect certain elements of the story to be, well, fantastic. If you are the type of reader who enjoys the more realistic, nearly real-world type of fantasy, then this one is for you.
Pros: Scott Bakker proves himself a master of the English language, writing in a superb, poetic style that is never overbearing or pretentious. His style relies on short sentences and some brilliant uses of metaphor. I found myself enjoying many of his descriptive passages, though infrequent, and his battle scenes are fast-paced and thrilling (I only wished there were more of these). The plot is interesting overall; it keeps you guessing and avoids many overused clichés.
I was also a bit annoyed by the pacing of the story. I am a big fan of the media res technique and use it often in my own writing, but Bakker relies too heavily on it. If a plot normally progresses from A to D, Bakker will tell you all about B, while hinting at what happened at A and C, then move on to D while going into greater depth about B. It’s a little disorientating.
My biggest gripe, however, is that the entire book seems to happen inside the characters’ heads. The perspective shifts from one person to the next, most of whom we don’t know very well or don’t care much about, and then huge passages become devoted to their thoughts. The dialogue is clever and unpredictable, but I don’t need an explanation for every line spoken. It’s almost like watching a movie for the first time with the audio commentary on. Sometimes I just wanted to read the dialogue and make my own assumptions.
This is one of those books that serves as a setup for a sequel. But a story should stand on its own merits, I think, so I was a bit disappointed to find myself with too many unanswered questions.
Overall, this was an accomplished debut novel by newcomer Scott Bakker, and I think the author has a lot to offer the genre.
2026 update: Looking back at this more than a decade later, I can honestly say this book did NOT age well. If anything, it’s kind of embarrassing (but not as embarrassing, I predict, as being a fan of Dungeon Crawler Carl will be). The Darkness that Comes Before was written at a time when the “edgelord” trope was all the rage, and all I can say is, thank god that’s over. Edgy fiction does not = mature fiction; in fact, quite the opposite is true. This is the type of writing that makes me think of middle school kids trying to sound grown-up and “cool.” It’s a book trying hard to be “adult” when, to anyone over thirty, it’s really very childish.
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