The Darkness That Comes Before: The Prince of Nothing, Book One

Name: The Darkness That Comes Before: The Prince of Nothing, Book One
Price: 3.99 USD
Availability: InStock
Rating: 4.3 (2671 reviews)
Author: R. Scott Bakker

by R. Scott Bakker

Literary Fiction Fantasy

4.3 (2,671)

4.3 stars from 2,671 reviews. Top 73% of Literary Fiction books we track.

$3.99KU78% off peak

Last checked: May 21, 2026

Read free with Kindle Unlimited

Price history: $1.99 – $17.99

Good deal — this is near the lowest price we've tracked.

Price range: $1.99 – $17.99

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Fans of these authors will like this...

Frank Herbert
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Patrick Rothfuss

Fans of these books will like this...

Dune
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Perfect for you if...

You want fantasy that treats philosophy and theology as seriously as swordplay, with prose that demands your full attention.
You loved Dune's political intrigue and Tolkien's worldbuilding depth, but found both too straightforward morally.
You're drawn to unreliable narrators and characters whose motives stay opaque even after hundreds of pages.

Maybe not for you if...

You prefer plot momentum over digression; this book stops frequently for extended philosophical debate and character introspection.
You need a protagonist to root for. Kellhus is fascinating but calculating, and the other leads are compromised in ways the narrative won't resolve for you quickly.
You want clear good versus evil. Bakker's world has competing faiths, moral ambiguity, and no obvious heroes.

About this book

The first book in R. Scott Bakker's Prince of Nothing series introduces a strikingly original world with its own languages, social classes, cities, religions, mysteries, taboos, and rituals. The world of Eärwa bears scars from 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, a mysterious traveler named Anasûrimbor Kellhus—part warrior, part philosopher, part sorcerous presence—emerges from lands long thought dead. He becomes entangled with two men and two women, intervening in an epic holy war. The narrative unfolds as a history of this great conflict, shaped by those who survive to tell it.

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Price History

Kindle price over time. Green zones = periods when the book was free.

$1.99 – $17.99

Currently on sale at $3.99 — 78% off peak. Price has dropped 37 times over the last 5 years. Goes on sale roughly every 37 days. Typically stays discounted for 4 days.

Sales Rank

Amazon sales rank: lower number = better selling book. #1 is the bestseller.

Currently around #19K in the Kindle store — a steady mid-list seller. Climbing the charts — 48% improvement recently.

Rating & Reviews

Purple line = star rating over time. Blue area = total review count growth.

Currently 4.3★ from 2,671 reviews

Gaining approximately 24 new reviews per month. Steady word of mouth growth. Rating has climbed from 4.3 to 4.4. Recent readers are rating it higher.

Sale Prediction

Actual Predicted

This book is currently discounted at $3.99. It typically returns to around $17.99.

Prices shown in USD from Amazon US. We continuously pull new data to improve tracking. If dates look old, it usually means there has been no significant change since the last data point.