Previous SFF Author: John Schoffstall
(1968- )
Ken Scholes‘ short fiction has appeared in various magazines and anthologies including Realms of Fantasy, Polyphony 6, Weird Tales and his first collection, Long Walks, Last Flights and Other Journeys (Fairwood Press). Ken Scholes also has a degree in history and was a winner of the Writers of the Future contest.
Read or listen to some of his short stories at Ken Scholes’ website.
CLICK HERE FOR A FEW MORE TITLES BY KEN SCHOLES.
Today we welcome Ken Scholes, author of the PSALMS OF ISAAK series, which began with Lamentation and concludes this month with the fifth volume, Hymn. I have enjoyed this series, especially its internal mythology and interesting characters.
One randomly chosen commenter will win a copy of Hymn!
The Whymer Maze from Lamentation to Hymn
I think sometime around Canticle or Antiphon,
Lamentation is a promising start to a new fantasy (or at least semi-fantasy) series, which is a bit ironic as its own start is a bit bumpy. The story begins with a bang — literally. We’re witness to the utter destruction of an entire city — screams, flames, toppling buildings, searing winds, etc. Many novels would end with the scene, but Ken Scholes chooses to make it the starting point of the plot, an original beginning which I liked a lot.
Unfortunately,
Bill Capossere and Terry Weyna´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Ken Scholes | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
Canticle, the follow-up to Ken Scholes’ Lamentation, shares some of the same flaws and strengths as the first novel, including a rough start, but like its predecessor overcomes its flaws to turn into an engrossing, if not action-packed, novel.
Canticle picks up a few months after the events of Lamentation. It’s Scholes’ concerted effort to recap those events that makes the opening somewhat flawed,
Bill Capossere and Robert Thompson´s rating: 4, 4.5 | Ken Scholes | SFF Reviews | no comments |
PLOT SUMMARY: The ancient past is not dead. The hand of the Wizard Kings still reaches out to challenge the Androfrancine Order, to control the magick and technology that they sought to understand and claim for their own.
Nebios, the boy who watched the destruction of the city of Windwir, now runs the vast deserts of the world, far from his beloved Marsh Queen. He is being hunted by strange women warriors, while his dreams are invaded by warnings from his dead father.
Jin Li Tam,
Robert Thompson and Bill Capossere´s rating: 4.5 | Ken Scholes | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
Requiem is the fourth book in Ken Scholes PSALMS OF ISAAK series, which while having a few minor issues throughout has mostly been a fresh mix of fantasy and science fiction, filled with intriguing characters and exploring complex issues involving the intersection of religion, technology, and society. Requiem continues that exploration, though in weaker fashion than the prior three novels.
By now, the plot has grown extremely complicated, so I’m not going to offer up much of a plot recap,
Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Ken Scholes | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Ken Scholes brings his PSALMS OF ISAAK series to a close with Hymn (2017), a novel that satisfactorily ends the series, even if the novel is perhaps a bit weaker in comparison to its predecessors.
One of the series’ strengths has always been Scholes’ vibrant imagination, and Hymn retains that quality here, building on earlier concepts and adding new ones, which I won’t detail here so as to avoid spoilers. Another positive quality of the series has been its,
Bill Capossere´s rating: 3.5 | Ken Scholes | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: John Schoffstall
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…
Detailed, thoughtful review, Bill. I'm going to read it for two reasons. First, Karen Russell wrote it, and second, it…
this sounds like a fun one