Ken Scholes - Read Online Free Books

If Dragon's Mass Eve Be Cold and Clear

Tue, 08 Jan 2019 18:16:05 +0200

The Santaman came reeking of love into this place and we did not know him . . .

"There are common themes in Ken's work. Of love and faith and a world full of half-understood legends; beliefs dissolving around you. Of people, plunging forward, trying to do the right thing. Of trying to find a way forward, even if we don't really know if the Santaman will ever come again, and we aren't quite sure we believe. Of finding hope, where all was lost. If Dragon's Mass Eve Be Cold And Clear deals with all of these. It is strange and wondrous and compassionate and gorgeous, and I hope you love it, too."

—from the introduction,

by Tina Connolly, author of Ironskin

Requiem

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:16:04 +0200

Ken Scholes's debut novel, Lamentation, was an event in fantasy. Heralded as a "mesmerizing debut novel" by Publishers Weekly, and a "vividly imagined SF-fantasy hybrid set in a distant, postapocalyptic future" by Booklist, the series gained many fans. It was followed by Canticle and Antiphon. Now comes the fourth book in The Psalms of Isaak, Requiem.

Who is the Crimson Empress, and what does her conquest of the Named Lands really mean? Who holds the keys to the Moon Wizard's Tower?

The plots within plots are expanding as the characters seek their way out of the maze of intrigue. The world is expanding as they discover lands beyond their previous carefully controlled knowledge. Hidden truths reveal even deeper truths, and nothing is as it seemed to be.

Diving Mimes, Weeping Czars & Other Unsual Suspects

Sat, 08 Jan 2011 18:16:03 +0200

Antiphon

Fri, 08 Jan 2010 18:16:00 +0200

Nothing is as it seems to be.

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, queen of the Ninefold Forest, guards her son as best she can against both murderous threats, and the usurper queen and her evangelists. They bring a message: Jakob is the child of promise of their Gospel, and the Crimson Empress is on her way.

And in hidden places, the remnants of the Androfrancine order formulate their response to the song pouring out of a silver crescent that was found in the wastes.

Review

Praise for Canticle:

"The Psalms of Isaak is a superb series. Scholes' has all the story elements of epic fantasy in place: memorable characters living in a vibrantly complex world of magic and ancient history, with plot twists and revelations sprung at just the right moments. More than that, his storytelling verve and craftsmanship makes his pages sing. He's written scenes of apocalypse and steaming metal men and invisible assassins that I won't be forgetting any time soon. Really good stuff."--David Anthony Durham, bestselling author of *Acacia

"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 Reviews (starred review) on Canticle

"Ken Scholes has already made the leap from good to great...if you thought Lamentation was impressive, then just wait until you get hold of Canticle."--Fantasy Book Critic

"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 on Canticle*

About the Author

KEN SCHOLES is a winner of the Writers of the Future contest whose short stories have appeared in various magazines and anthologies since 2000. His first novel, Lamentation, debuted from Tor in February 2009. Canticle was the second and Antiphon is the third of the five-book series, The Psalms of Isaak.

Ken grew up in a small logging town in the Pacific Northwest. He has honorable discharges from two branches of the military, a degree in History from Western Washington University, and is a former clergyman and label gun repairman. Ken lives near Portland, Oregon, with his wife Jen West Scholes, and their twin daughters.

Canticle

Thu, 08 Jan 2009 18:15:59 +0200

Come back to the Named Lands in this compelling sequel to Ken Scholes amazing novel Lamentation.

It is nine months after the end of the previous book. Many noble allies have come to the Ninefold Forest for a Feast in honor of General Rudolfo's first-born child. Jin Li Tam, his wife and mother of his heir, lies in childbed.

As the feast begins, the doors of the hall fly open and invisible assassins begin attacking. All of Rudolfo's noble guests are slain, including Hanric, the Marsh Queen's Shadow. And on the Keeper's Gate, which guards the Named Lands from the Churning Waste, a strange figure appears, with a message for Petronus, the Hidden Pope.

Thus begins the second movement of The Psalms of Isaak, Canticle.

At the publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management software (DRM) applied.

Requiem (The Psalms of Isaak)

Tue, 08 Jan 2013 18:16:07 +0200

Long Walks, Last Flights & Other Strange Journeys

Tue, 08 Jan 2008 18:16:01 +0200

With these 17 tales, Ken Scholes invites you to his Imagination Forest. You’ll find a toy bear of Little Brain tasked with a Very Long Walk and a mysterious metal man with the power to bring down a city and the heart to weep for it. Follow Meriwether Lewis west, seeking the source of a mysterious scrap of currency from the future. Laugh and cry as Andro Giantslayer recounts the highlights of his dungeon-crawling, dragon-slaying and diaper-changing career with Luendyl the Fierce and Fair. Learn exactly how Cain found himself a wife, see what superheroes get up to in their sunset years, and watch Hodgson and Houdini as they traverse the landscape of Hell in search of Michelangelo’s Crystalline Ear. And along the way, keep your eyes open. You’ll meet alien babies, messianic Santas, typing chimps and maybe, if you look carefully, you’ll find some off-brand love and a little bit of hope in Drum Farrelly’s supply room. Buckle up. Hang on. A ride in the Imagination Forest is bound to be a strange journey . . .

Beneath Ceaseless Skies #175

Sun, 22 Nov 2015 08:54:05 +0200

Issue #175 of Beneath Ceaseless Skies online magazine, featuring stories by Ken Scholes and Rose Lemberg.

Antiphon poi-3

Tue, 27 Nov 2007 21:04:38 +0200

A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon

Tue, 08 Nov 2016 17:06:34 +0200

After untold ages of futurity, the world is old. Regret is endless. Deceit is ubiquitous. And for the Weeping Czar, love is new.Ken Scholes is the author of the five-book Psalms of Isaak sequence, comprising Lamentation, Canticle, Antiphon, and two more in progress. "A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon" is set in the same world, about a thousand years before the events of Lamentation."Brilliant."—Publishers WeeklyAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.

Canticle poi-2

Sat, 27 Nov 1999 21:04:39 +0200

Lamentation poi-1

Thu, 27 Nov 1997 21:04:40 +0200

Hymn

Mon, 17 Nov 1997 18:02:23 +0200

Ken Scholes completes his five-book epic that began with his acclaimed first novel Lamentation. The battle for control of The Named Lands has captivated readers for ten years as both characters and readers have learned the true nature of world called Lasthome. Now the struggle between the Andro-Francine Order of the Named Lands and the Y'Zirite Empire has reached a terrible turning point. Believing that his son is dead,Rudolfo has pretended to join with the triumphant Y'zirite forces—but his plan is to destroy them all with a poison that is targeted only to the enemy.In Y'Zir, Rudolfo's wife Jin Li Tam is fighting a war with her own father which will bring that Empire to ruin.And on the Moon, Neb, revealed as one of the Younger Gods, takes the power of the Last Home Temple for his own.The Psalms of Isaak
#1 Lamentation
#2 Canticle
#3 Antiphon
#4 Requiem
#5 HymnAt the Publisher's request, this title is being...