Rating: 
Summary: "The Logos is without beginning or end."
Review: Plot Summary: The land is on the brink of a Holy War. Factions compete for control of the army of the war, the path of the war, and the concessions after the war, all before the war begins. Something sinister may be afoot as the dreaded Consult, an evil not heard from in over 2000 years may be making a re-appearance in the world but only a few even believe they still exist. Will Drusas Achamian (who is the most prevelant "narrator" in the story, providing the historical text that preceeds many of the chapters) be able to convince the powers that be of the real impending threat? What are the motives of the players in this war? These are the questions whose answering is the story of The Darkness That Comes Before.
Opinion: This is a fantastic book but is a total lead-in to the rest of the trilogy. Somewhat hard to get into at first due to a very large assortment of strange names and places and sects. Everyone of these names has way too many syllables to be easily readable, not to mention the accent marks liberally sprinkled into almost every name. Is this a major flaw? By no means, it's just a very minor pet-peeve. Even before everything starts to make some sense as a whole, the individual stories as they unfold are extremely interesting, complex, and well drawn out. Each character is distinct and through their eyes the world begins to come into focus. The characters and lands that all ran together at the beginning are all drawn together by the events of the Holy War by the end of the book. There is alot of sex and violence in this book but it adds greatly to the story in my opinion. I enjoyed greatly the fact that there is a deep backstory that is unfolded in bits and pieces of each character. At no point did I find the story dragging. The action is perfectly integrated with the dialog, flashbacks, and intrigues of the vast politics of this world. And all those things complement very well the warlike and other actions of the characters. Much is left in mystery at the end of this novel and it feels like despite all that has happened, not much in the way of the world has gone on. It is very much just a set-up for the Holy War that is to take place in the next 2 novels on the series. "The Logos is without beginning or end" is the childhood mantra of one of the main characters but also fitting describes the way we are dropped into this world at what happens to be a crucial point, possibly on the brink of a second apocalypse. Without preamble were are thrown into the lives of these characters and Bakker assumes our understanding will work itself out.
Recommendation: Read it! Then die waiting for the remaining books (or buy them from Canada before you can in the US) like I am. This is quite similar in scope, in that it is very complex, to A Song of Ice and Fire by George Martin and yet in storyline not similar at all. No farm boy come hero (yet) either. I rate this as 5 out of 5 stars because I have not been this interested in a new fantasy world in a while now. So much is happening on and beneath the surface that the story is never dull, the characters, while sometimes distasteful, are always interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: really in depth book
Review: The darkness that comes before was a really interesting and unique book. The beginning was a little hard to follow but once I got into it it was very difficult to put down. It has really good characters with quite interesting personalities. I strongly reccomend it to anyone who likes a good fantasy that takes on a more political viewpoint.
Rating:
Summary: Starts slow, but it is a very good book
Review: The names in this book are gonna kill you,and the mapping is poor, but the book finishes strong and leaves you wanting more. I like his world and the factions that are fighting are very new. I think the folks that will not like this book are the ones who like an easy read
Rating:
Summary: Solid start to a potentially interesting series
Review: There is something in the air or water in large English-speaking countries with small populations that result in interesting fantasy fiction writings -- from Australia come Lian Hearn, Ian Irvine and Sean McMullen; from Canada come Guy Gavriel Kay, Steven Erikson and now R. Scott Bakker.
Bakker adds some interesting twists on standard elements to the fantasy genre: five competing schools or guilds of sorcery, various religions, a lost memory of the evil that caused the apocalypse of 2000 years before, a shadowy group of evil men (and creatures) that seek to awaken the dead god of destruction, and a mystery man who heralds either the coming of the next apocalypse, humanity's salvation or its doom. Bakker's not as good a writer as Kay, nor as imaginative as Erikson (who is?), but the philosophical underpinnings of the story are intriguing and Bakker is certainly a better-than-decent writer in his own right.
The daily internecine warfare and political intrigues (between sorcerous associations, between rival nations, etc.) are interesting enough to carry most of this 600+ page (paperback) novel, but more will be necessary to build up the series. Hopefully, Bakker will be able to retain control of his narrative.
One negative point: Bakker's depiction of women as uniformly second-class citizens used for sex and breeding (except for one Queen mum who is a harpy) lacks depth, variety and realism (all the men from varying countries in the book have different characteristics and worldviews, why is that not also true for the women in those places?).
Nonetheless, there are enough interesting concepts, plotlines, backstories and histories here for a good start to a new fantasy series. I'm glad that Bakker's work took less time than the unforgiveable four-plus years it took US publishers to catch on to Steven Erikson.
Rating:
Summary: A great epic fantasy
Review: This is one of those books that I could hardly wait to get a free minute or two to continue reading. It is the first of a series and I'm itching for the next volume to come out (expected sometime quite soon, in fact)The first part of this book reminded me a lot of Frank Herbert's "Dune": that being, a rather diverse, confusing, "I wondering what's going on here", beginning: and like "Dune", your patience is rewarded as the individual pieces eventually get pulled together, making for one great story. The story itself is fresh and intriguing; with plots and subplots involving individuals and also on a more global scale. There is a wealth of interesting characters and substantial character development. You will find war, revenge, deception, journeys, and an erotic sexy quality to the sporadic love scenes: all of which make this novel very readable and addicting. If you liked the style of story telling you found in "Dune" or if you just like great fantasy writing, I would recommend this novel.
Rating: 
Summary: "'He is less. And he's more.'"
Review: This line of dialog from Chapter Twelve perfectly sums up R. Scott Bakker's debut novel, "The Darkness That Comes Before."
Bakker's knowledge of philosophy and ancient languages gives his epic fantasy a unique flavor. His world exudes a harsh authenticity, imbued with feudal politics and religious fervor. Competing factions of sorcerers debate philosophical quandaries. Character and place names stumble with accent marks like diaereses and circumflexes.
The novel begins with the emergence of the eerily manipulative Kellhus. Then it shifts to the sorcerer Achamian and bogs down with interior monologues. The plot finally awakens when Kellhus returns, after a 300 page absence, and the main characters converge on the Holy War. The political machinations reach a crescendo and an ancient evil resurfaces. Bakker seems caught between depicting a non-human evil, like most fantasy, or focusing on the evil that humans can visit upon each other, like George R. R. Martin. He ends up doing both. The non-human evil is frighteningly portrayed, but it makes so few appearances that the human conflicts steal most of the attention.
"Darkness" mixes three major struggles -- Kellhus searching for his father, Achamian and the Mandate hunting for the ancient evil, and the political machinations surrounding the Holy War. Any two of these could have anchored the plot, but the inclusion of all three leaves the novel jumbled. The narrative spends most of its time inside the characters' heads, winding through philosophical discourses. Once the major conflicts have been established, the repeated discourses feel like ponderous doubletalk. In the descriptive passages, Bakker's prose drips with lyricism. At many moments of tension, it crumbles into awkward sentence fragments. The philosophical tone, the poetic language, and the political conflicts combine to give the novel an erudite feel that borders on snobbish.
Bakker aims high with "Darkness," a novel of complex language, intrigue, and plot. However, he lets the complexities overwhelm the plot and characters. The best popular fiction contains deep levels, but also provides an easy entry point for readers who don't want to delve into the complexities. Bakker plunges straight into deep waters, which will leave most readers sputtering on the surface.
Rating:
Summary: First-class fantasy
Review: What a breath of fresh air. I've been looking for a good fantasy series for a looooong time. Mr. Bakker's first novel blew me away. This novel has a fully realized world, plausible situations, magic that makes sense within the context of the world, half a dozen very interesting characters, skillful writing and brilliant pacing. It also provokes emotion, not melodrama. Here's the best part (for me at least):
* NO ELVES
* NO DISGRUNTLED PRINCES
* NO BICKERING WOMEN
* NO MEANINGLESS QUESTS
* NO DISNEY-ISMS
* NO CLUELESS POETRY
* NO INDESTRUCTIBLE, INFALLIBLE HEROES
* NO GIFTED, SMALL-TOWN BOYS WHO ARE SECRETLY PRINCES OR HEIRS I could go on. READ THIS BOOK!
Rating:
Summary: Epic fantasy of the year!
Review: Wow, there's something in the water up in Canada, and US publishers are really missing out. Good thing for the Internet! Manitoban Steven Erikson, still without distribution in the states, has established himself as the penultimate epic fantasy writer of the day (except for maybe G.R.R. Martin). Now along comes 'The Darkness that Comes Before, an unequivocal stellar debut by Ontario native R. Scott Bakker. All of the usual superlatives apply. Simply put, TDTCB is incredible, and any fan of epic or high fantasy should already have it on order. Bakker is an expert craftsman...his world is rich and believable, the characters godlike, and the plot constantly engaging and in motion. Toss in the requisite humor, flawed leads, sex and betrayal, and a true gem emerges from the fantasy morass. Brief plot summary annotated from the book sleeve: Two thousand years have passed since Mog-Pharau, the No-God, last walked among Men. Now the Shriah of the Thousand Temples has declared Holy War, and untold thousands gather, determined to wrest Shimeh, the Holy City of the Latter Prophet, from the hands of their heathen kin. Among them, one man stands apart, a man who uses redemption to deceive, and passion to elevate and enslave... Anasurimbor Kellhus. Two couples, a barbarian chieftain and his concubine, a sorcerer and his harlot lover, share his trials and tribulations, each compelled by what they think they see: the possibility vengeance, the promise of redemption, the threat of apocalypse, or the hope of escape. As the violent fortunes of the Holy War transform Kellhus into an all-conquering prophet, they finally begin to ask: What is he really? References have been made to Tolkein, but this novel is far more postmodern and machiavellian than LoTR. Bakker has more in common with Erikson, Stephen R. Donaldson, Martin or early Robert Jordan. There are multiple threads and disparate points of view (hence 'epic'), but as the book progresses they are wound tighter and tighter until the gripping conclusion. Don't be misled by self-admitted Marxist reviewers.... Modern philosophies don't easily translate to fantasy novels (witness Goodkind's terrible slide), and Bakker himself wrote a great short article on sffworld.com about the current role of the fantasy genre in modern life (Why Fantasy and Why Now?). Bakker may come across as an educated, intelligent writer, but more importantly, he's a talented one. Avoid this debut at your own peril.
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