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A review by mdstepp1998
Lamentation by Ken Scholes
4.0
Overall, Lamentation was a great, fast paced read that was heavy on the intrigue and dialogue and lean on the overall development of the World it took place in.
The latter of these characteristics isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some fantasy titles...Jordan comes to mind immediately...drown the reader at times with so much description that it becomes nearly unbearable. Other times...like Tolkien, in my opinion...the descriptive nature of the writing is done so well that it doesn't cause negative effects. Ken Scholes doesn't really bother with any description of the World (outside of the immediate towns the characters are in through out the book) he is working within. Instead he tells the story of the fall of an entire town/culture/order/people by way of a horrific (nuclear in capacity) spell and the 3-4 months of aftermath from the perspective a half dozen or so characters. No side stories or random characters. No drawn out speeches or conversations that could seem to not be realistically paced. And no chapters written solely to expound the travels of the characters between two main plot points.
Because the book essentially takes place after the great disaster, there is considerable dialogue that sets up the mystery of who was behind the deed and the numerous political strings being pulled in all directions. The main weakness of the book is in the dialogue, for by the halfway mark there are repeated instances of characters restating lines of thought or the author using the same descriptions for different scenes over and over. It doesn't get to the point of bringing down the book, but it may be the sole causality of trying to streamline the story too much.
The story is definitely a 4.5 and top read of recent fantasy works. The book ends with a nice piece of mystery and intrigue that really sets up the second (of the trilogy) book. Enjoy.
The latter of these characteristics isn't necessarily a bad thing. Some fantasy titles...Jordan comes to mind immediately...drown the reader at times with so much description that it becomes nearly unbearable. Other times...like Tolkien, in my opinion...the descriptive nature of the writing is done so well that it doesn't cause negative effects. Ken Scholes doesn't really bother with any description of the World (outside of the immediate towns the characters are in through out the book) he is working within. Instead he tells the story of the fall of an entire town/culture/order/people by way of a horrific (nuclear in capacity) spell and the 3-4 months of aftermath from the perspective a half dozen or so characters. No side stories or random characters. No drawn out speeches or conversations that could seem to not be realistically paced. And no chapters written solely to expound the travels of the characters between two main plot points.
Because the book essentially takes place after the great disaster, there is considerable dialogue that sets up the mystery of who was behind the deed and the numerous political strings being pulled in all directions. The main weakness of the book is in the dialogue, for by the halfway mark there are repeated instances of characters restating lines of thought or the author using the same descriptions for different scenes over and over. It doesn't get to the point of bringing down the book, but it may be the sole causality of trying to streamline the story too much.
The story is definitely a 4.5 and top read of recent fantasy works. The book ends with a nice piece of mystery and intrigue that really sets up the second (of the trilogy) book. Enjoy.