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The Darkness That Comes Before
- The Prince of Nothing, Book One
- Narrated by: David DeVries
- Length: 20 hrs and 44 mins
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Publisher's Summary
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 - its language and classes of people, its cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals - the kind of all-embracing universe Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in the epic fantasies The Lord of the Rings and Dune.
It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both 2,000 years past and 2,000 years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasûrimbor Kellhus - part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous, charismatic presence - from lands long thought dead. The Darkness That Comes Before is a history of this great holy war, and like all histories, the survivors write its conclusion.
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- Amazon Customer
- 08-06-2021
one of the best books and series I've ever read.
all I will say is I loved it so much I'm getting a tattoo of a symbol within the book. bakker is literary genius. this is definitely a book you would want to actually read rather than listen to, I think only listening it would be confusing.
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- Hendrik
- 11-02-2019
Difficult to get into, but great once you do.
Similar to Lord of the Rings, it can get dense at times. Bear with it though, it will be confusing as the author plunges the reader right into the story. But as the story continues and it becomes more clear it gets much better.
Just as much philosophy as fantasy, a great book for those with time.
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- Angela Farley
- 01-09-2020
Good narration, fairly gritty
It's a bit obnoxious in the philosophical parts, but I knew that going in. The female characters are very very dull so far, but I'm hoping that changes throughout the next books.
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- Anonymous User
- 17-03-2022
not for me
struggled to finish and almost DNF too many times. the women were very poorly betrayed and I felt very offended while reading any female POV, which were only a couple and were in my own personal opinion very negative and degrading. I will not be reading book #2. not for me
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- Anonymous User
- 30-06-2018
Pretentious rubbish
This waste of time seems written by a man who believes himself far more intelligent then everyone else. But couldn’t decide wether he wanted to be a poet or a storyteller. Ultimately fails miserably at both. I only wish I had taken the advice of the previous reviewer
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3 people found this helpful
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- Alexandra Kennedy-Clark
- 10-08-2015
A lot of people I respect loved this book. Not I
I abandoned this book after about five hours. Only the second audio book I have abandoned in three years.
A lot of people, ok, 4, but people I respect. Literally a lawyer, a banker, a doctor and an astronomer all loved and recommended this book. The guys I play DnD with twice a month. We all read fantasy fiction, and they highly recommend this book.
I just couldn't get into it. Perhaps I'm an intellectual lightweight, perhaps it's a book you need to read rather than listen to. I found it confusing, heavy on deep detail but narrow on engaging plot. If you like R.R. Martin, Abercrombie and Rothfus but disliked The Decline and fall of the Roman Empire, this book may not be for you.
I would love to rate this book higher given that some very well red guys loved it, but it wasn't for me..
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6 people found this helpful