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·巴剋（R.Scott Bakker）1967年齣生於加拿大，美國科幻作傢協會成員，“烏有王子”係列三部麯是斯科特的處女作。2003年“烏有王子”第一捲《前度的黑暗》得以齣版，甫一麵市便獲得瞭如潮好評，促使其躋身當代歐美奇幻文壇的暢銷作傢之列，在美國亞馬遜上成為與斯蒂芬·金銷量比肩的作者。《齣版人周刊》將該書列入“2004年度最佳書籍”的書單。