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Lamentation [Mass Market Paperback]

Ken Scholes
4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (2 customer reviews)
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Book Description

Sep 1 2009 Psalms of Isaak (Book 1)

An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising.  He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands.

Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city – he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant.

Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others' throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered.

This remarkable first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer will take readers away to a new world – an Earth so far in the distant future that our time is not even a memory; a world where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn’t changed through the ages: War and faith and love still move princes and nations. 


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Product Description

Review

Praise for Lamentation

“This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work.  Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it's done.  No more ponderous plotting - Scholes barely gives us time to breathe.  Yet he creates vivid characters, a world thick with detail, and wonders we've never seen before.  I wish my first novel had been this good.  I wish all five volumes of this series were already published so I could read them now.”-- Orson Scott Card

“Ken Scholes is a hot new voice to watch for on the interesting frontier between science fiction and fantasy.  He has a keen eye for action and a keen ear for the sounds of the human heart.  Grab on now, because he's going places.”--Harry Turtledove

"As intricate as a Whymer maze, Ken Scholes' Lamentation will keep the reader up until the wee hours, winding through this splendid labyrinth.  Bravo!"--Dennis L. McKiernan, bestselling author of the Mithgar series

"Ken Scholes's Lamentation is an iconic SF story cloaked in fantasy, drawing raw material from classics such as A Canticle for Liebowitz and Earth Abides, but forging something new, with colorful characters, compelling scenes, and unfolding miracles."--Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling co-author of Sandworms of Dune

"Ken Scholes' Lamentation is a whale of a first novel, set in a world where technological magic has come and gone, and come again, where organized religion has attempted to recover and restore lost knowledge, if with a certain amount of censorship, where no one is quite what they seem, and where parental ambitions for offspring are filled with deep love and sacrifices, along with double double-crosses, conflicting motives, and tragedy."--L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

“The tone of [Lamentation] is precise and just about exactly right: I was engaged from the opening page, stayed up late looking to finish it, and then begged Scholes to let me see the next book as soon as possible…. I’d describe it as intelligent epic fantasy done right and written with all of the flab removed. It’s nothing like George Martin’s first Song of Ice and Fire novel, except that like that book, it has the chance of standing as an important book in the evolution of the epic fantasy form, is a delight, and is a book that readers are very likely to take to heart. It’s one of the best first fantasies I’ve read in some time.”--Jonathan Strahan

Review

Praise for Lamentation

“This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work.  Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it's done.  No more ponderous plotting - Scholes barely gives us time to breathe.  Yet he creates vivid characters, a world thick with detail, and wonders we've never seen before.  I wish my first novel had been this good.  I wish all five volumes of this series were already published so I could read them now.”-- Orson Scott Card

“Ken Scholes is a hot new voice to watch for on the interesting frontier between science fiction and fantasy.  He has a keen eye for action and a keen ear for the sounds of the human heart.  Grab on now, because he's going places.”--Harry Turtledove

"As intricate as a Whymer maze, Ken Scholes' Lamentation will keep the reader up until the wee hours, winding through this splendid labyrinth.  Bravo!"--Dennis L. McKiernan, bestselling author of the Mithgar series

"Ken Scholes's Lamentation is an iconic SF story cloaked in fantasy, drawing raw material from classics such as A Canticle for Liebowitz and Earth Abides, but forging something new, with colorful characters, compelling scenes, and unfolding miracles."--Kevin J. Anderson, bestselling co-author of Sandworms of Dune

"Ken Scholes' Lamentation is a whale of a first novel, set in a world where technological magic has come and gone, and come again, where organized religion has attempted to recover and restore lost knowledge, if with a certain amount of censorship, where no one is quite what they seem, and where parental ambitions for offspring are filled with deep love and sacrifices, along with double double-crosses, conflicting motives, and tragedy."--L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

“The tone of [Lamentation] is precise and just about exactly right: I was engaged from the opening page, stayed up late looking to finish it, and then begged Scholes to let me see the next book as soon as possible…. I’d describe it as intelligent epic fantasy done right and written with all of the flab removed. It’s nothing like George Martin’s first Song of Ice and Fire novel, except that like that book, it has the chance of standing as an important book in the evolution of the epic fantasy form, is a delight, and is a book that readers are very likely to take to heart. It’s one of the best first fantasies I’ve read in some time.”--Jonathan Strahan

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Customer Reviews

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Most helpful customer reviews
2 of 2 people found the following review helpful
4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, especially for a first book Jan 4 2010
By jydez
Format:Hardcover
An excellent fantasy, especially for a debut novel. Not sure how to describe it other than sort of a "light" epic, with a scifi touch. I say "light" partly because it is not magic-heavy, and partly due to the fact that while there is a certain level of intrigue and machinations going on in the background, and that is dug up through the history of some of the characters, it is not as complex and convoluted as some of the sprawling fantasy epics that are out there. At the same time it is not "simple" as if it were something meant for younger readers.

The scifi touch comes because the book takes place millenia after our society has fallen, some remnants remain by way of cultural evolution, or physical remnants from our future that are recovered and studied.

At first the world feels a little small (travelling from one land to another seems to go very quickly) but by the end the implication is that there is a larger, unknown world out there waiting to be tapped.

I found it to be a good read, quick and easy to get into, not too long to finish and tie off the present storyline, but a definite hint that more is involved in the overall story to come.
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4.0 out of 5 stars Great epic fantasy Feb 10 2011
By Jessica Strider TOP 100 REVIEWER
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Pros: three dimensional characters, political and personal intrigue

Cons: starts very character driven, which some readers will find slow

Rudolfo, Lord of the Ninefold Forest Houses, General of the Wandering Army, is touring his lands when the Desolation occurs. Little does he realize how his life was manipulated with this future act in mind.

Jim Li Tan, 42nd daughter of merchant and spy Lord Vlad Li Tam, is consort to Sethbert, Overseer of the Entrolusian City States. She has just seen him boast of causing the destruction of Windwir, and with it the Androfrancine Order of priests. Her orders from her father to watch this man are about to change.

Neb's mistake caused his absentee father to be in the city when fire rained down upon it. He is the only witness to the destruction.

Petronus is a fisherman who was once much, much more. His quiet life is ruined when he spots the pillar of smoke in the distance. For his path has also been manipulated and it is now his time to act.

These four and many others find their lives irrevocably changed by the sudden destruction of the Guardians of the Light. And it slowly becomes clear that many people have been set up to act during these trying times. But set up by whom and for what purpose?

This is a fantastic book. The first half of the novel is predominantly character driven. Some people might find this portion slow going. But the interesting, fully realized characters (with wildly different backgrounds, customs and secret codes) kept me entertained until the plot picked up.

Magic is used sparingly and for specific purposes. More interesting are the various codes used by the different powers (smudged words on letters, non verbal languages, etc). And once the intrigue begins, so does the tension, making the ending move quickly.

Three dimensional characters, mild use of magic and political intrigue make this a great start to an epic series.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews on Amazon.com (beta)
Amazon.com: 4.2 out of 5 stars  86 reviews
52 of 58 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars The next great fantasy series begins here Jan 5 2009
By Justin G. - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
Imagine a world not too many generations removed from a great and terrible apocalypse. In this world, knowledge, reason, and understanding - the "light" that guides the known world - are cherished and maintained by the Androfrancine religious order in the city of Windwir, home to the great library. Now imagine that great city and all its inhabitants reduced to ash and corpses in a matter of seconds by an act of techno-magical terrorism. What does that do to the fragile balance of power in a world still emerging from a long period of darkness and despair? This catastrophic event opens Lamentation, the astonishingly impressive first novel in The Psalms of Isaak series by Ken Scholes.

I have to admit that my expectations weren't high going into this novel. George R.R. Martin's Song of Ice and Fire series has pretty much ruined me for every other fantasy author, so all I really look for in a fantasy novel any more is to be entertained for a few hours. I got more than I bargained for with Lamentation. Newcomer Scholes merges the character development and political maneuvering of Martin with the emotion and beauty of Guy Gavriel Kay, the result of which is a breathtaking mixture of A Game of Thrones (A Song of Ice and Fire, Book 1) and The Lions of al-Rassan (and that's about the highest praise I can possibly give). Scholes's meticulously planned world (it's easy to imagine that volumes have already been written about its history), fascinating characters and fast paced, ever twisting plot engaged my heart and my mind, and had me racing to the finish knowing full well that it wouldn't be long before I came back for a second reading.

The thing that really kills me about Lamentation is that it is Scholes's first novel. His first! If the guy is this good straight out of the gate, the rest of The Psalms of Isaak series has enormous potential.

I can't recommend Lamentation highly enough. If future volumes are as impressive as this novel, we're looking at the next great fantasy series. If nothing else, it will give George R.R. Martin fans another intelligent and moving fantasy series to read while waiting for the next installment of A Song of Ice and Fire.
30 of 36 people found the following review helpful
3.0 out of 5 stars Compelling characters and a fragmentary yarn against an implausible backdrop Jan 15 2009
By G. M. Arnold - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
So is this science fiction or pure fantasy? Thousands of years (really?) after a technology crash, a religious order guards all pre-apocalyptic information and doles out arbitrary bits of it to curiously passive client states. So we have steam-powered(?) robots, but no telecommunications; stealth "magick" and contraception but (officially) no guns, steel shipping but no road or rail vehicles. Oh, and tactical nukes. This all feels arbitrary and implausible, especially after seeing the "information custodian" theme explored so well in Anathem.

With all that said, I found myself reading "Lamentation" compulsively, grabbing a few pages at every opportunity. I'm not sure why. It certainly wasn't the narrative arc; while there are many well-drawn episodes, they're usually linked up by "just-so stories" and the occasional "deus ex machina". I think the reason was the interesting mix of characters, and the growth and challenges that each of them faced.

I'd definitely recommend this to those who enjoy the fantasy genre. Sci-fi enthusiasts too, although they may get annoyed by the back-story. This is supposed to be the first in a series of five books, and the requisite number of loose ends and narrative options are provided for that purpose. Most of the time I find that I revise my three-star ratings after a while to two or four; if "Lamentation" improves with time, I may try the rest of the series.
21 of 27 people found the following review helpful
5.0 out of 5 stars A breath of fresh air to the Fantasy/ScFi genre! Jan 1 2009
By robert johnston - Published on Amazon.com
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Vine™ Review
"Lamentation" is unusual and entertaining enough to deserve the thinking reader's attention. Congratulations and thanks to Ken Scholes for his remarkable contribution to the fantasy/SciFi collective.

Fantasy 'world creation' comes in a number of flavors and repetitions. Ken Scholes has brought a new bag'o tricks to bear in Lamentation.

At page 1, the reader is dropped into the middle of an H-bomb like conflagration of Lamentation world's spiritual hub and largest, most important city. You begin to understand that this is curious in this 14th century-esque world. There's little to suggest the cause or motivation of the city-cide. "Now what do we do?" is the quandary of the Lamentation world and "What is going on?" is the parallel quandry for the reader. The Lamentation characters unravel a story that spans ancient myth, crafty manipulations and political machinations. Scholes' finely crafted characters are seen to work through rationalizing the past and considering their futures to find the answers required of the moment.

Every author's task is to squeeze plot, character, setting, theme and style, into an enjoyably coherent narrative. Lamentation is a character based story amidst an intense, multi-leveled plot. Scholes weaves the story among the perspectives of about 10 characters. Each is progressively developed as they unfold their perspectives and place in the calamity. This technique creates a "slow start-up" feel because the reader is plunged into so much unknown. A maze of confusion is presented the reader in interesting parallel with the characters confronting their own confusion. The story and the reader are brought into focus as the characters are brought to life. Great character development makes a great story. We get refreshingly believable and memorable characters.

Scholes shows how to end an `epic' volume. This reader very much appreciates Scholes expert and succinct closing. The neatly packaged ending is among the best I've seen for epic-volume closure.

The book draws-in the reader ... who finally gives-in to an all night sprint read to the end. Lamentations sets up a unique fantasy/SciFi opera. The foundation for a "Great Saga" has been poured with Lamentation.
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