THE DARKNESS THAT COMES BEFORE (PRINCE OF NOTHING #1) by R. Scott Bakker | Book Review

In this video, Jordan reviews R. Scott Bakker's The Darkness That Comes Before, book 1 of The Prince of Nothing trilogy, focusing on the novel's philosophical themes (with special emphasis on the ideas of Friedrich Nietzsche).

~*TIME STAMPS*~
Intro: 0:00
Synopsis: 2:41
Is Bakker for you? 4:40
What I liked: 10:15
The Big Idea: 20:49

~*FOLLOW JORDAN & NIKKI*~

~*MUSIC*~
Rescue Mission - Lupus Nocte (via Epidemic Sound)
Conquest - Dragon Tamer (via Epidemic Sound)
Epheme - Ben Elson (via Epidemic Sound)

#iwizard #RScottBakker #PrinceofNothing

[iWizard]

CORRECTION: I called Ikurei Xerius III and Ikurei Conphas brothers in my review, although Conphas is Xerius' nephew. My mistake! ;)

[blacknbluecollarreader]

This is my favorite series of all time. This series was the only fantasy works that had me looking into Philosophy/Nietzsche, History/Crusades etc. When I heard you bring up Bakker the other night on your live with Jimmy....I said to myself "Man I hope this guy puts out a review on Bakker" and boom here it is. Excellent review Jordan.

[gundersonles]

Fantastic series. My absolute favorite. Keep the very solid reviews coming!

[RedViper]

Man you did weave sorcery with that video. That was probably the most accurate, thorough review I have watched for this book.
You really grasped the content. You Big Idea part was really insightful and it shows how deliberate Bakker is as a writer cause everything you said feels like a foundation and a foreshadowing for the whole series, up to the final paragraph of the final seventh book. Every word he writes is carefully chosen.
Thats why I really hope you will read all seven books. I think you will be fascinated how he builds his story and conflicts around these ideas. Even the part you said about the omniscient watcher and the calculated moves.

I also liked a lot what you said about Esmenet. People often criticise Bakker of how he wrote her and some other females. I think they see the context but miss the nuance and the subtletly in Esmenet's struggle to rise above it.

This and the sequel series, The Aspect Emperor, are my favourite series so I am really grateful to you for that rewarding video.

[QuintVonCanon]

Welcome to the Slog. Truth Shines.- Quint

[Christopher_Navo]

Im going to hit this series up in August. Looking forward diving into it.

[geminisundone]

Just found your channel as ive recently bought this fantasy trilogy.
You are a brilliant orator my friend.
✌️

[Will_]

Great job on the review!
Bakker's Second Apocalypse is my all time favorite fantasy series, by a large margin.
I hope you continue with the series after the first trilogy. In my opinion, the Aspect Emperor books are even better.

[cursedarmada]

Great review! Hope you continue with the series. There's really nothing quite like it out there.

[EricMcLuen]

The summary I came up with is a Bene Gesserit leading the First Crusade. Kellhus really isn't a sorcerer If you are familiar with history, he follows it almost beat by beat. Dune is all over the two series. He also plays a lot with Xian eschatology names like Golgotterath or Mengetta. In Second Apocalypse he riffs on Tolkein a few times.
Other than a Black Company foreward, this is the only blurb I have seen from Erickson. He and Bakker are the most deliberate authors I have read.
Their use of language is beautiful, or perhaps horrifying, to read.
Another thing that kept bouncing in my head was to paraphrase End of Faith by Sam Harris - once you get someone to believe something contrairy to common sense and reason, you can get them to do anything. Kellhus is trying to break the cycle of predestination while so many seem so eager to give up their illusiory freewill.
I also apparently need to read the Bicameral Mind.
But there are trigger warnings all over the place so it is hard to recommend. Especially as the books get more intense as they go.
But Esme, Cnaiur and Kellhus are three of the most fascinating characters I have come across.

[andrewhanson]

Great summary and discussion of themes! The Second Apocalypse is one of my favorite series. I look forward to hearing your thoughts on the rest of Prince of Nothing trilogy.

[geauxreadbooks]

I finished this book a couple of days ago and the more I set with it the more I like it. I went into it completely blind as I don’t even read the synopsis on the back before I start a book. A lot of the philosophy was lost on me but as I watched videos like this I can see it was there all along. I don’t love the philosophy that is evidently in the book but man I enjoyed learning about these characters and this world. Thanks!

[Johanna_reads]

Amazing analysis! Esmenet fascinated me, and I think we shared some similar quotes. I found her desires and needs so compelling. It's hard not to think of Paul Atreides when reading about Kellhus in this book. I need to read Nietzsche, and this series is certainly ripe for philosophical discussions. I loved the metaphysics of this world and can't wait to hear more of your thoughts as you read on!

[sharang]

I really love your long reviews that are more like video essays with the book as a base than a review. This series has always seemed too dense for me even though I love both Erikson and Wolfe. This really made me excited to jump into series I want to need to start finishing series....

[bobbob-cdyl]

Finally got around to finishing this book and I really respect it. Going to go right on to book 2. While I have some nit picks that are personal and some moments were not as profound to me as it felt as it was intended to be. I still really appreciated what has been set up, as there are not a lot of “conclusions” to this book. The cnauir and kelhus section was FANTASTIC

[MacScarfield]

My list on references and notes ready (Part 2 of 2) Apologies if I repeat myself from earlier comments!😅

Golgotterath: Golgotha (or Calvary, where Jesus was crucified) and Gorgoroth, “The Valley/Land of Terror/Horror/Dread/Fear”, a region of Mordor in “LOTR” and the Ered Gorgoroth range (“Mountains of Terror”) in Beleriand in “The Silmarillion”, as well as the Cthulhu Mythos Diety Gol-goroth created by “Conan the Cimmerian” creator Robert E. Howard
Triamis the Great: Fusion of Alexander the Great (Conquest, deification, mutiny from soldiers), Augustus (First Roman Emperor, deification, long life), Marcus Aurelius (Both Warrior & Philosopher Emperor, written down a journal) & Constantine the Great (First Christian/Inrithi Emperor, unification under one emperor as “Gods steward on Earth/Earwa”)
Eärwa: Earth + Eä (the created world/universe of Tolkien) + Eär (“sea” in Quenya) + Eärwen (“Sea-maiden”, daughter of Olwë, wife of Finarfin, mother of Finrod, Angrod, Aegnor & Galadriel)
The Fanim called to prayer with drum: The Islamic Muezzin combined with Japanese Taiko Drums?
Kyraneas: Mix of the Bronze Age Mycenaeans fighting the Trojan War and the Ancient Greeks fighting the Persian Empire (Lovecraftian “300”!)
Ceneian Empire: The Roman Empire, with elements of Alexander the Great’s Hellenistic Empire
Scylvendi: Scythians, Huns, Mongols, Conan’s Cimmerians
Number Sticks: “Alea iacta est” (“The die is cast”, Julius Caesar crossing the Rubicon) + I Ching, Chinese Divination, using numbered sticks
Heresiarch: Heresy+Patriach? 😆
Sapatishah & Padirajah: Satrap (Persian Governor/Petty King) + Padishah (Persian Royal Title, also one of the titles of the Galactic Emperor in “Dune”) & Padishah + Raja (Royal Sanskrit Title, found around India and Southeast Asia)
Cneiur: Attila/Conan the Cimmerian with a pinch of Achilles (a Great Leader of a Warband feeling wronged by his High King?)
The Scylvendi view on war as a sacred act: Akin to the Ancient Assyrians, the Indo-European Koryos, the Huns under Attila and the Mongols, with elements of Gnosticism & Buddhism (“the World is a lie”)
9th Column: The Famous “Lost” 9th Roman Legion (and possibly the infamous 5th Column, an inner enemy?)
Black and red streamers with prayers in gold: Akin to the multicolour Tibetan Prayer Flags, here in a victory parade
Animal sacrifice: Dogs (unusual animal: The Roman annual “Supplicia canum”, Norse Blot and Santeria Sacrifice), Lion (Venatio: Roman Exotic Animals killed in Amphitheaters)
Tydonni Men of the Tusk raiding Pharixas on behalf of the King of Cironj to repay defaulting on their payment for being shipped, condemned by the Shriah: The Sacking of Zara during 4th Crusade, to repay the Venetians, who were excommunicated by the Pope. (Ironically the Nansur Emperor congratulating the cunning King of Cironj, is in contrast to the 4th Crusade, which later sacked Constantinople backing a Byzantine claimant, as to gain his support and further repay the Venetians)
The Vulgar Holy War (an intentional ironic title from Bakker there I recon: Common/offensive! 😅): The People’s (Peasants’/Pauper’s/Popular) Crusade
Battle of Mengedda: Battle of Civetot (name: (Josef) Mengele+Megiddo (Ancient Site of multiple battles: The Egyptians defeating Syrian City States in the 15th Century BC (first detailed battle ever in history!), the Egyptians defeating the Kingdom of Judea in the 6th Century AD and the British and the Arabs defeating the Ottoman Turks in WW1: Also the site of the Biblical Endtime Battle of Armageddon (Variant of “har məgiddô”, Mount Megiddo In Hebrew) in the Revelations of John the Apostle)
The “Mystery” of “Esmenet, the Whore of Summa”: “Mystery, Babylon the Great, the Mother of Harlots and Abominations of the Earth”/“The Whore of Babylon” prophesied in Revelations before Armageddon
Mog: Gog & Magog from Revelations?
Temple Prostitutes: A know feature of several Mesopotamian Cultures, such as Shamhat from the Epic of Gilgamesh, and the Temple Quarters of Astarte/Ishtar
Poor Inrau…Sarcellus: Team Consult! 😬
Esmenet saved from the villagers by a Shiral Knight: Yeay! The Knight turning out to be Sarcellus: Oh, no! (Esmenet & Sarcellus: Dark take on Esmeralda and Phoebus from Victor Hugo’s “The Hunchback of Notre Dame”?)
Akka’s dreams: Mix of collective PTSD with the ancestral genetic “Other Memory” of the Fremen Reverend Mothers in “Dune”
Xinemus & Achamian discussing their tutelage of Proyas: “Heartbroken that a godlike child(…)has gone to such extremes”.
The Indenture: The Oath by all the leaders of the “Princes’ Crusade” (with the exception of Count Raymond IV of Toulouse, later the first Count of Tripoli), to Byzantine Emperor Alexios I Komnenos to let him gain control of the territory they conquered, which they upheld until the Seige of Antioch. Many notable difference between Xerius III and Alexios I, most notably that unlike Xerius, Alexios was 1) the first Emperor of his Dynasty, 2) a competent general on his own, & 3) the historical First Crusade started after Alexios had requested aid from Western Europe through Pope Urban II against the Seljuk Turks, and as a such he played a much more active role in the launch of that holy war.
Galeoth Potato (definitely not something in the Old World during the Crusades!) Liquor: Akvavit, Vodka & Moonshine
Double Oh-Oh: Sarcellus, not human…😬
Killing a wolf as a rite of passage: Apache
Both “The Architect” of the Consult and Moenghus described as having eyes as the “Nail of Heaven” while manipulating people, hm…
“Sentiments, like a son’s love for his father, simply deliver us to the darkness, make us slaves of custom and appetite…I don’t love my father, plainsman. I do not love. If his murder will allow my brethren to pursue their mission, then I will murder him!”: Yup, Kellhus is definitely psychotic! 😬
Serwë: Serve…
Patridomos: Patriarch + Majordomo (head servant, “principal in the household”)
The Bare-Handed Blade Block, Kellhus!
Kellhus pretending to be a Prince of Atrithau, akin to the Myth of Prester John
The Kidruhil: The Cataphracts of the Byzantine and Sassanid Empires (& Prince Imrahil & his Mounted Gondorian Knights?)
Moënghus among the Cishaurim: Mallahet, the non-Kian Cishaurim, who also had eyes like the Nail of Heaven?
The Scarlet Spire Spy Master being addicted to chanv: Similar to Baron Harkonnen’s Mentat Piter De Vries in “Dune”
Thunyerus: Vikings/Varangians with Gothic features (the Thervingi, ancestors of the Visigoths settled the Lower Danube and the Dniester Rivers), headhunting as some Celtic tribes and the Samurai (captured heads shrunk as some Amazon tribes)
Esmenet being named after the wife of a Prophet: Gomer, the prostitute wife of the prophet Hosea in the Old Testament
Sarcellus and Skëos: Shapeshifting Skin Spies of the Consult!
Nansur House of Congregates: Byzantine Senatorial Class.
A priestly caste akin to the Hindu Brahmin Caste and Dumézil’s “Trifunctional Hypothesis” (of Indo-European Societies divided into three classes/castes: Priests, warriors-aristocrats & commoners)

[MichaelRSchultheiss]

Excellent review and analysis of the philosophical themes in The Darkness That Comes Before! The Prince of Nothing series comprises my favorite books, and R. Scott Bakker is my favorite author. I'll look forward to your thoughts on the second and third books!

[MattUebel]

Fantastic review! Looking forward to the next one.

[PikachuGamer]

Dude that paper you wrote sounds absolutely epic! Vasubandhu, I never hear anybody mention the V-man. I have devoured all of Vasubandhu's works and find this very interesting. This was a really great video and I was wondering if you could you recommend any other dark fantasy/fantasy horror books that incorporate more spiritual/philosophical aspects preferably enlightenment/moksha! I have been running a D&D Campaign for years that incorporates a lot of Buddhist/Eastern philosophy. Enlightened Machine races, Gods ripped out of Nirvana. Stages of imortal diamond bodies etc. This vid was write up my alley.

[MacScarfield]

Finally have my list on references and notes ready: Apologies if I repeat myself from earlier comments!😅 (Part 1 of 2)

Kellhus: A much more psychopathic take on Paul Atreides from “Dune”
The Dunyain: Paul’s training from multiple “Schools”, such as the Mentats & the Bene Gesserit with name hinting at the Dunedain Rangers in “Lord of the Rings”, with elements of Stoicism, Pythagorean Philosophy, Nietzsche’s concept of “Ubermensch” & Zen Buddhism
“I am not one more animal. (…) I am a man. I stand apart from these things.”: Referencing the Gom Jabbar Bene Gesserit Test from “Dune”
“The way is too narrow, Father” (Matthew 7:13-14)
Leweth saving Kellhus: So much for “Mr. Determinist”!
“Arrows hissed by him. He picked one from the air and studied it.”: Pretty ninja of Kellhus!
Nonman: The Elvish “Elder Races” of the Melniboneans and the Vadhagh of Michael Moorcock’s “Elric of Melniboné” and “Corum” stories, respectively
Gnosis: Greek “Knowledge”
Anagogic: Greek “Comparison”, Uplifting/Spiritual
Psûkhe: Psyche, Greek for Soul
Logos: Greek for Word, a “first/prime mover/movement” in several Ancient Greek philosophical schools, in Christianity title of Jesus and his relationship to God the Father: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God” (Opening of the Gospel of John)
Cishaurim: Order of Assassins, snakes on their shoulders akin to the Monstrous Mythical Persian King Zahhak, saffron robes akin to Buddhist monks, henna used in Muslim & Hindu Cultures
Ensolarii: Solarii, Galactic currency in “Dune”
Achamian: Inspired by the spies of John Le Carre?
Trinkets: The claimed power of religious relics, combined with the Cold War “Balance of Terror” of Nuclear Armageddon?
Nansur and the Imperial Saik: The Byzantine Empire & Orthodox Church under the Byzantine Emperor
The Thousand Temples, Sumna & the Shriah: The Catholic Church with their Saints set in Rome & the Pope (Sumna: Soma? Drink/Food of the Hindu Gods in the “Rig Veda” & Narcotic in “Brave New World” by Aldous Huxley) with some Hindu aspects (their multiple gods as aspects of one god/“highest principle”, Brahman)
Inri Sejanus: Jesus (“Iesus Nazarenus, Rex Iudaeorum”-“Jesus of Nazareth, King of the Jews”) and Sejanus (confidante of Roman Emperor Tiberius, later executed for treason: Ben Jonson wrote a play about him, “Sejanus, His Fall”, and he appears in Robert Graves’ “I, Claudius”)
Kian & the Fanim: Arabia & Islam
The Tusk: The Old Testament & the Stone Tablets of the Ten Commandments, with elements of the Hindu Rigveda
Schools vs the Thousands Temples: St Augustine’s divide between the Secular and the Holy, which in Christendom lead to the Investiture Controversy (the “Holy” power of the Pope/Catholic Church against the “Worldly” power of the Holy Roman Emperor/various Kings), Luther’s “Two Kingdoms” Doctrine, “science vs faith” (Galileo Galilei & and the secular “separation of Church & State”), with aspects of the Crusades against “internal nonbelievers” such as the Cathars (the Albigensian Crusade), Jews (Progroms) and the heathens of the Baltic Sea (the Northern/Baltic Crusades)
The “unity” of the Fanim: Might be referring to how in Islam with its legal origins, in contrast to Christianity, there is no tradition or doctrine of separating the secular and religion (however there are of course the Sunni-Shia division, several different schools of law and obviously local variations in the nature of state and religion)
The No-God: An “Anti-God” (as in Satan, Antichrist, or Ahriman in Zoroastrianism)? Though likely also referring to the “No-Chambers” of “Dune” (which hides all that is inside from the prescience/precognition of Spice Melange. Possibly also referring to “Nous” (“(the) intellect/intelligence” in Ancient Greek, a “first/prime mover/movement” in several Ancient Greek philosophical schools) and the “Noosphere” (a theoretical Geological/Theological concept of a “final evolution” of the planetary biosphere into one “sphere of reason”))
Ancient North: The Fallen Western Roman Empire, the “Urheimat” of Indo-Europeans, the Vedic Culture of the Rigveda, the “worst year in history” 536 AD (volcanic ashes, little sunlight, harsh winters and starvation + possible comet: Possibly the inspiration for Norse Ragnarok, another “Armageddon”) ravaging Europe (especially Scandinavia “the womb of nations” as Jordanes put it, where many of Germanic peoples and nobles of Post-Roman Western Europe claimed ancestry from), the Bronze Age Collapse of the Civilizations in the Iliad and the Old Testament, as well as the many fallen kingdoms in “The Silmarillion”.
The Great Library of Sauglish: The Library of Alexandria.
“The Gnosis of the Nonmen Magi, the Quya”: Quenya from “LOTR”?
The Tusk demanding sorcerers to be burned: Exodus 22:18, Leviticus 20:27
The Shriah’s calling for a Holy War: The Council of Clermont, where Pope Urban II declared the First Crusade in 1095 AD
Synthese: Synthetic, a combination of two or more entities that together form something new/the creating of something by artificial means. In Hegel’s dialectical approach, a Synthesis unifies two earlier opposing concepts
Hamoric Language: Ham, one of Noah’s three sons in the Old Testament, claimed ancestor of Africans
Shemic Language: Shem, another of Noah’s sons, claimed ancestor of the Semitic speaking peoples, such as Jews and Arabs
Zeüm: Zion, another name of Jerusalem, often used by Jewish Nationalists (Zionism), and by Rastafarians and Evangelicals referring to the promised rebuilt “New Jerusalem” in the Revelations of John the Apostle
The Language of Shem-Varsi: Somewhat akin to Indo-Iranian, mother language of Iranian and Vedic Sanskrit (though IRL Semitic is not related to either languages)
Nilnamesh: Parallels to India, with elements of Judaism and Religion (multiple gods as in Hinduism, Classical Myth and Mesopotamian & Canaanite Religion (many of these with elements inherited from the reconstructed Proto-Indo-European Pantheon), and they keep to the faith that Inrithism developed out of, akin to Judaism)
Galeroth: Medieval France/Celtic Gaul, Gallish-Gallic/Gaulish
Maithanet: Inspired by the Myth of Prester John, a Christian King in Asia or Africa European Christians hoped to trade and ally with against the (Turkish) Muslims
Shigek: Egypt/Mesopotamia (River with multiple tributaries, Old Kingdom, God-Kings, Ziggurats)
The Eothic Guard of the Nansur Emperor: The Varangian Guard, the “Viking” Bodyguard of the Byzantine Emperor, as well as Goths and other Germanic Warriors serving Roman/Byzantine Rulers
Nenciphon, Kian Capitol: Ctesiphon, Royal Capitol of the Iranian Parthian and Sassanid Empires