The darkness that comes before
by R. Scott Bakker · first published 2003
100% recommend
Why HN recommends it
Dark, philosophically dense epic fantasy with brutal violence and deep metaphysics, praised for not hand-holding the reader; suits readers who want intelligent fantasy beyond mass-market conventions.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
Strikingly original in its conception, ambitious in scope, with characters engrossingly and vividly drawn, the first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series creates a remarkable world from whole cloth—it's language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals—the kind of all-embracing universe that has thrilled readers of Stephen R Donaldson and George R.R. Martin.It's a world scarred by an acopalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Travelling among th
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The Darkness That Comes Before is stupendous. It took Bakker a decade to write, which shows. His books after are written too quickly and the introduction of dragons spoils what could have been a purely own creation free of the poisoned…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗…arguments) with brutal thriller violence. This sticks with you for a number of weeks. Sending this to my sister was reacted with "it was really good, fascinating..why the f* did you send this to me?" The Darkness That Comes Before (The Prince of Nothing, Book 1) http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1841494089/ref=as_li_ss_tl?... Fantasy, philosophy, linguistics in Magic..dark, dark and a very old world. Brilliant, the best fantasy…
on “Ask HN: What books have changed the way you think? ” ↗I don't particularly like fantasy, but I have read my fair share. I've enjoyed "The Darkness that Comes Before" because I thought it was intelligently written, philosophically consistent and deep, and didn't hand-hold the reader. These are all attributes that your average mass-market fantasy (Sanderson, Abercrombie)…
on “Ask HN: What book changed your life?” ↗I love The Darkness that Comes Before, where this observation is explored and exploited, in case you have not read it.
on “OpenAI's Codex sure knows a lot about HN [video]” ↗The first book is The Darkness That Comes Before, and it's the beginning of two trilogies (the second of which ends up with four books...) The first three books are as good as anything in the genre. They're quite dark, but have very deep metaphysics,…
on “How Many Hobbits? A Demographic Analysis of Middle Earth” ↗