# The Psalms of Isaak Series by Ken Scholes



## Werthead (Jul 19, 2010)

*Book 1: Lamentation*



> The most powerful city of the Named Lands is Windwir, home of the Androfrancine Order and their attempts to rebuild the lost technology and wisdom of ancient times. Then Windwir is scoured from the face of the world by ancient sorcery, throwing the Named Lands into turmoil. The scattered remnants of the Androfrancine Order have become divided over the succession of the Pope, whilst Rudolfo, Lord of the Ninefold Forest Houses, falls into conflict with Sethbert, Overseer of the Entrolusian City States, over who is to blame for the disaster.
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> From the south, House Li Tam is manipulating events to its own ends, whilst in the north the enigmatic Marshfolk see the destruction of Windwir as a sign that their long exile may be coming to an end. Amongst the ruins of Windwir an old man and a young boy find their destinies united as they seek to bury the remains of the dead, and a mechanical lifeform is uncovered who holds the key to the secrets behind the disaster.
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## Werthead (Jul 26, 2010)

*Book 2: Canticle*



> Nine months have passed since the destruction of Windwir. The kingdom of  the Ninefold Forest Houses has taken up the mantle of 'the light', the  collected wisdom of ancient times, and built a new library to preserve  the remnants of what was lost when Windwir fell. However, war and civil  war wracks the Named Lands and House Li Tam has sailed into the southern  ocean, following a hint that previous events are being orchestrated by a  hidden power for their own, inscrutable ends.
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> _Canticle_ is the second novel in *The Psalms of Isaak* series and the sequel to _Lamentation_, a reasonable debut novel which overcame its lack of depth and polish with fast, readable prose and good pacing. _Canticle_  is a better book, making character motivations considerably more  complex and murkier, expanding the world and scope of the story and  adding some new factions previously only hinted at in the first volume.
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## Werthead (Jul 30, 2010)

http://thewertzone.blogspot.com/2010/07/antiphon-by-ken-scholes.html*Book 3: Antiphon*



> The Named Lands continue to suffer tumults in the aftermath of the rise of the Machtvolk and the birth of Rudolfo and Jin's son, who it is prophesied will save the world. Vlad's quest to unearth the true nature of the threat to the Named Lands leads him deep into the equatorial oceans and a startling discovery, whilst deep in the Churned Wastes Nebios discovers the path to his true destiny, and a fateful encounter with the enigmatic antiphon.
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> Antiphon is the third and middle volume of Ken Scholes' five-volume Psalms of Isaak series and suffers acutely from 'middle volume syndrome'. There's an enormous number of scenes where people sit around and talk about the plot or, rather more oddly, stand around and have lengthy internal monologues about the plot rather than getting on with business. There's also a continuation and indeed expansion of the number of scenes where people 'in the know' about what's going on stand around and make smug, enigmatic pronouncements about events and the clueless protagonists refuse to ask what is going on. If Scholes had become a screenwriter, he'd have made an excellent addition to the Lost writer's room.
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