quote for the afternoon
“Every time you hear some version of the imperative “Believe!” cringe and fear for the future. It is the clearest symptom that we live in a culture of wilful delusion–one that actively encourages billions to think they’ve won the Magical Belief Lottery.” ~ R. Scott Bakker
I just finished Bakker’s novel The Darkness that Comes Before. Really, truly an excellent fantasy, extraordinarily written, very dark and complex, and wholly unique. What Bakker does especially well is create a world that is familiar yet disconcertingly unfamiliar at the same time. I have a notion that this is what the fantasy genre is supposed to accomplish, but that very few of its writers actually pull it off. Bakker does, and he does it with some of the best and most thought-provoking prose I’ve read in the genre in a long, long time.
I always roll my eyes whenever I see one of those “Believe” posters at sporting events and political rallies…Report
Very pleased you like the Bakker recommendation. The next volumes in the first trilogy get grimmer and a bit less “fantastical” in that they’re more historical in two senses. First, he draws a lot on histories of the Crusades, esp the 2nd (grim, grim, grim), which for some readers makes it harder to stay as emotionally connected with the characters. (I didn’t have any complaints but the characters’ motivations and behavior are a bit less accessible than in the 1st volume.) And the history of his world continues to be fleshed out bit by bit, with the action more connected to the emerging history.
Looking at the list of other fantasies that were earlier recommended for you, if you have a taste for books that “create a world that is familiar yet disconcertingly unfamiliar at the same time”, you may want to try Guy Gavriel Kay’s alt-histories (not his earlier fantasies). Although they’re less rub-your-nose-in-it gritty than Bakker, they each involve people caught up in a violent clash of religions or cultures. And Kay’s prose is splendid. The Lions of Al-Rassan, which is a lightly fantastical retelling of the Reconquista, has a somewhat similar mood to Bakker’s, with a gripping story and gut-wrenching finale.Report
It’s a great series so far. My only complaint is that it does get a little too dark, and I wish I could like some of the characters better. Martin does this much better than Bakker – though I’m just glad I can finally hold up some other books next to Martin’s and compare and contrast on an equal footing.Report