I just finished Ken Scholes’s first novel, Lamentation. This book has been getting a lot of buzz, and so I asked Ken for a copy. It actually took awhile, since the copies have been going out to regular reviewers (I don’t review; I recommmend what I like, partly as a way to show what a writer is reading). Well, I loved Lamentation.Â
Ken has built us a new and fascinating future world, mostly fantasy with a salting of sf ideas. The world is strong and sure and interesting, the characters full of great soul faced with grave challenge.  It’s a smart world with a smart plot, and Ken trusts his readers to follow him through a breathless string of events. He wields his words with the power of swords, and the book feels stronger than a first novel has any right to be.Â
Even though I have an advanced reading copy, I went off and pre-ordered a hardcover so I’ll have a first edition. Maybe I’ll even get a second one for pleasure reading and possible passing on. This will be a series worth collecting.Â
Lamentation is coming out in February, 2009 from Tor Books, and can be pre-ordered as a book and in audio.  And if you can’t wait, well, his short story collection is out, too. I recommended that last month.