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 Tolkien and Herbert created unforgettably in The Lord of the Rings and Dune. 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. 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. 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.

R．斯科特·巴克（R.Scott Bakker）1967年出生于加拿大，美国科幻作家协会成员，“乌有王子”系列三部曲是斯科特的处女作。2003年“乌有王子”第一卷《前度的黑暗》得以出版，甫一面市便获得了如潮好评，促使其跻身当代欧美奇幻文坛的畅销作家之列，在美国亚马逊上成为与斯蒂芬·金销量比肩的作者。《出版人周刊》将该书列入“2004年度最佳书籍”的书单。