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 that has thrilled readers of Stephen R. Donaldson and George R.R. Martin. It's a world scarred by an apocalyptic past, evoking a time both two thousand years past and two thousand years into the future, as untold thousands gather for a crusade. Traveling among them, two men and two women are ensnared by a mysterious traveler, Anasurimbor 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. With this stunning debut, R. Scott Bakker is poised to become one of the next great fantasy writers of his generation. The Darkness That Comes Before proves again that epic fantasy can be intelligent, majestic, and terrifying.