The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker

There are no one dimensional advance the plot and disappear characters in this series. Not only is Drusas Achamian one of the most tortured heroes I have come across, every character is given the same respect, if not depth. Except for my occasional name problem, I found the philosophical bent and the very personal emotional descriptions to be captivating. This is not light weight reading my friends, but it is also not a Mervyn Peake. When I was finished a reading session I felt like I had just exercised or jogged a couple miles. Bakker's writing style to be extremely satisfying. Their belief that they will return has made the Mandate outcasts since The Consult has not been seen since the First Apocalypse and has become stories to scare children. They are a ridiculed school because of their belief of The Consult, an ancient force that served the No-God and survived the first apocalypse 2000 years earlier. The tradeoff for this power is the sharing of Seswatha's spirit which causes them to relive the final battles of the apocalypse every night in their dreams. The reason for this is The “Gnosis,” which has been passed to them by the ancient sorcerer Seswatha. While being the smallest school, they are unquestionably the most powerful one. The central figure of the book is Drusas Achamian, a spy/sorcerer of questionable value to his school of Sorcery, The Mandate. There can be no confusion in that the central regions of this novel have obvious parallels to Egypt and Macedonia, with Germanic and Norse influences thrown is as you move north. Scott Bakker is truly a captivating journey through what can only be described as a Middle Eastern world. I recommend you spend a few minutes and read the character and faction glossary to familiarize yourself with the pronunciation of the major players and groups, some are quite a mouthful. In reflection, these are the first things I always remember of this book. Where the sun is hot and the names are long.

The Darkness That Comes Before by R. Scott Bakker