The battle of the Named Lands is in full swing, and seems to have been dominating the lives of Winters, Rudolfo, Jin Li Tam, Petronus and Neb for much longer than the mere 18 months it has been roaring on. The Y’Zirites have a much more firm foothold on the world the previously expected, and young Jakob is being stalked by forces of a most shocking origin. Scholes’ worldbuilding in the Psalms of Isaak series is unparalleled, and the intricate details that make up this novel only add to its complexity. Scholes’ fantastic characterization is on full display here, especially in the characters of Jin Li Tam, Rudolfo and Winters… the ending is absorbing and wrenching, with a decided cliffhanger. Be prepared to throw a book, a cat or an errant spouse when you turn the last page. — Romantic Times, 4 Stars

After three books (Lamentation, Canticle, and Antiphon) and a three-year break, Scholes resumes the Psalms of Isaak series with this intricate adventure. Rudolfo, the Gypsy King, deals with political intrigue, treachery, and the constant threat of the Y’Zirite armies. Isaak, the wayward mechoservitor, is found by the farmgirl Marta. Pope Petronus delves into ancient secrets, laying bare the layers of myth stretching over the centuries. Rumors and prophecies suggest that soon the long-broken world will be healed at last. Fitting with the frequent incorporation of dreams into the story, the narrative has a removed, almost hallucinatory feel; even when things happen, they happen in nebulous ways. Science fiction and fantasy elements overlap seamlessly, bringing Scholes’s far-future post-apocalyptic world to life in captivating detail. While new readers will be lost in the myriad plotlines, characters, and alien concepts, fans will undoubtedly enjoy this continuation of the saga. — Publishers Weekly

A mysterious voice, an alien songstress, a postapocalyptic Santa Claus, and a host of other bizarre creatures come together in Scholes’s lively, arresting and gleefully offbeat second short story collection (after 2009’s Long Walks, Last Flights), which equally startles with profound emotion and revels in absurd humor. In the brilliant “A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon,” a tearful ruler encounters a strange object and a young woman that bring both doom and renewal. “Invisible Empire of Ascending Light” concerns a violent contest to take the place of a dying god. “Four Clowns of the Apocalypse and the Mecca of Mirth” is a wide-eyed, bizarro-style caper involving the misadventures of four clowns in a wasted, radioactive America. By turns baroque, off-kilter, and haunting, Scholes’s writing will delight lovers of the unusual and wildly imaginative. — Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

The third installment of Scholes’s grand-scale Psalms of Isaak saga (after 2009’s Canticle) expands the genre-blending narrative in glorious style. The secret revival of the bloody Y’Zirite religion, which may be an elaborate conspiracy created generations ago to bring down the Androfrancine Order, has brought madness to the Named Lands. Gypsy King Rudolfo, whose infant son is being called the “Child of Promise” by the cultists, finds blood-magicked spies in his home and enemies in his forest. And as the invisible enemy furthers its masterfully orchestrated invasion, Rudolfo and others hear an ethereal music that seems to require some kind of response. A diverse cast of dynamic characters, a tantalizingly labyrinthine mystery, a world full of wonders, and powerful symbolism and imagery power this seamless merging of epic fantasy and science fiction. –Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

Read Lamentation and Canticle (released today in paperback) — Book 1 and Book 2 of the Psalms of Isaak, both of which also garnered Starred Reviews.

Also, a special e-book offer this month for the first book, Lamentation, for just $2.99 Kindle | Nook | Sony

In the second Psalms of Isaak volume, civil war rages across the Named Lands. Following the annihilation of Windwir, an ancient metropolis preserving precious Old World knowledge, the Y’Zirite religious cult responsible for the city’s destruction reveals itself by assassinating the guests at a feast held by Gypsy King Rudolfo. As battle lines are drawn and new alliances are formed, other principals face their own struggles. Windwir survivor Neb seeks his fate in the Churning Wastes. Neb’s beloved, the Marsh Queen Winters, discovers Y’Zirite members among her people. Scholes adds new layers of mystery and intrigue while fleshing out the compelling characters of one of speculative fiction’s most spellbinding new sagas. — Booklist

The conspiracy deepens in this sequel to Scholes’ epic, marvelously complex fantasy debut (Lamentation, 2009).

In the previous installment, ancient spells of the Wizard King Xhum Y’Zir leveled the city of Windwir, repository of knowledge from the Old World. The instigator of the destruction, a Y’Zirite cult, reveals itself as the sequel opens by assassinating several major political figures, an act which the cult sees as the necessary prelude to the advent of its prophesied Crimson Empress. As civil war spreads across the Named Lands, nobleman schemer Vlad Li Tam and his extensive family search for the stronghold of their foe; the Gypsy King Rudolfo seeks a cure for his ailing infant son Jakob, heralded by Y’Zirites as the Child of Promise; Windwir survivor and prophetic dreamer Neb seeks his destiny in the Churning Wastes; and his beloved, the young Marsh Queen Winters, faces the unpleasant, deadly truth that the Y’Zirite cult sprang from her own people. Not only is Scholes a capable world builder, he ably handles the tough task of keeping the series momentum going, intensifying the mystery so deftly that even if readers can’t foresee where the story’s going, it’s clear that the author knows exactly what he’s doing.

— Kirkus, Starred Review

The sequel to Scholes’s stellar debut 2008’s Lamentation ingeniously fuses epic fantasy and postapocalyptic science fiction.

Magicked assassins kill numerous leaders from across the Named Lands and send the region into economic and political turmoil. Amid the chaos, Jin Li Tam gives birth to General Rudolfo’s son, sickly Jakob. As Rudolfo sets out in search of a cure, young Marsh Queen Winters ascends the throne of her people only to realize her past has been an elaborate lie; former Androfrancine Pope Petronus risks his life to bring some semblance of peace to the realm; and Nebios ben Hebda uncovers bombshell revelations regarding the Order’s “metal men” and the history of the Old World. Abounding in prophecy, myth and mystery, this grand-scale saga is a towering storytelling tour de force.
— Publishers Weekly, Starred Review

In his first novel, a vividly imagined sf-fantasy hybrid set in a distant, post-apocalyptic future, Scholes, already highly praised in the
speculative-fiction community for his dazzlingly inventive short fiction,
turns his talent up a notch. When an ancient weapon destroys Windwir, the Named Lands’ greatest city and repository of knowledge, the only surviving member of the city’s Androfrancine order is the metallic android Isaak. Rudolfo, lord of the Ninefold Forest Houses, finds Isaak surprisingly intact in Windwir’s smoldering ruins and guilt-ridden over his role in the city’s downfall. Yet Rudolfo quickly begins to suspect that Sethbert, overseer of the neighboring Entrolusian City States, is the real culprit and starts girding his Gypsy Scouts for battle. So begins Scholes’ Psalms of Isaak, a projected five-volume saga containing all the ingredients of a first-rate epic-magic, arcane science, and a handful of compelling protagonists. By the end of the novel, the reader is caring deeply about the characters and looking forward with burning anticipation to the sequels. — Booklist

As an ancient weapon destroys the city of Windwir, a young apprentice watches from a nearby hilltop, mourning the death of the city and his father. When Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, realizes what has happened, he knows for certain that the land will soon be plunged into a devastating war. The author of Last Flight of the Goddess launches a new series with the startling image of mass destruction, and the action only builds from there. Richly detailed and original in concept, Scholes’s epic fantasy belongs in most libraries. –Library Journal

Summary:
The city of Windwir, the capital of the Androfrancines and the home of the greatest library in all the kingdoms, is entirely laid to waste by an ancient and awful weapon. As the remaining kingdoms of the Named Lands mourn the loss of the people of Windwir and thousands of years of knowledge, the Androfrancines must try to rebuild their order as far-reaching political machinations come into play.

Romantic Times, 4 1/2 Stars

Buy Lamentation (The Psalms of Isaak)