Rate this book

Cantique (2010)

by Ken Scholes(Favorite Author)

3.94 of 5 Votes: 1

ISBN

2352944384 (ISBN13: 9782352944386)

languge

English

genre

Fantasy

publisher

Bragelonne

series

The Psalms of Isaak

review 1: This is the second book in the Psalms of Isaak series, and once again it concentrates upon a series of interesting characters, primarily Jin, Rudolfo, and Isaak. The mysteries encountered in the first book deepen; I won't say more than that because I don't want to give anything away. If you have not read the first book of the series I suggest you start there. The Psalms of Isaak stories are engrossing, fascinating and beautifully written; the stories are post-apocalyptic (set in a future world thousands of years after most of the world was laid to waste), steampunk (mechanical birds and robots live side by side with a technologically backward populous), fantasy (dreams come true, magick is real and regularly used), epic tale, romance, political intrigue, and mystery (who i... mores pulling strings?). It is hard to characterize the series, but perhaps that doesn't really matter - the characters are what pulls the reader in. There is a remarkable cast of complicated, interesting, believable, and sympathetic characters, who take turns narrating. The story flows seamlessly, though, and getting to know all of these disparate characters so closely makes the story more suspenseful and appealing. I really care about all of them. Ken Scholes' writing is smooth. His' world is carefully crafted, and he lets details unfold naturally. It is apparent that a cataclysmic event caused vast swaths of land to be destroyed and people to fear technology generations later, but exactly why happened and why is gradually introduced as the story progresses. This adds an element of intrigue to the already intriguing mystery of why the capital was destroyed.
review 2: I read this directly after reading the first volume, Lamentation. Like most "Book 2s" in fantasy series, it leaves much more unresolved than resolved and does not work as a stand-alone. That said, it answers some of the questions left after Lamentation and sets up the broader storyline for the remaining three planned volumes.The multiple-viewpoint style continues to work well, and Scholes is careful to keep the knowledge different characters hold firewalled (i.e., viewpoint characters may be ignorant of or misunderstand things other characters know).I won't say much on the content to avoid spoiling Lamentation, but I will say that we learn far more about the Marshers in this volume than we knew after Lamentation. I'm looking forward to reading Antiphon. less

Download links for: Cantique

Advertising