GreyDoor

Reading an author's first novel can fill you with anxiety as well as joyful anticipation. On one hand, you may have just started something which provides frustration, even with a touch of beginner’s latitude given, or on the other hand, you may have something which you cannot put down I think overall it is the excitement of finding the next thing to take you away from family and friends for hours on end. The Darkness That Comes Before features an extremely complex cultural background, a multitude of characters, and a plethora of exotic names, places, terms and concepts. Reading the first few pages feels a bit like starting a new job: you don’t know anyone, or where anything is. From a purely prose perspective, it is quite beautiful, however it does ensure that it takes a while to become comfortable with Bakker’s style and his universe. If you are determined, and I recommend that you should be, you will soon become engrossed in the rich detail and story. It is a novel that explores deeply. You will also find that by the end, you , and the characters, are still only starting out on this epic. This is something for which I have been waiting a long time. I cannot wait to read the nex two books.