Author: Ken Scholes
Narrated by Scott Brick, William Dufris, Eliza Foss, Peter Larkin
Audio Length: 16 hours and 43 minutes
Canticle is the second in a planned five book series by Ken Scholes. The proceeding novel, Lamentation, was one the most highly regarded debut novels of 2009. The follow up novel, Canticle, was published a mere 8 months later, which in the fantasy genre is minor miracle compared to some of the other series. With Lamentation being so well received Mr. Scholes has his work cut out for him in order to recapture the excitement and fascination in the second novel. Since I enjoyed the Audio version of the first novel, I decided to also purchase the Audio version for Canticle as it was read by the same people.
Summary
Canticle starts about 9 months after Lamentation ended. Rudolfo and Jin Li Tam’s son, Jakob, was born but is not in good health. The magicked powders that Rudolfo used to help Jin Li Tam conceive have caused serious health issues with Jakob and he is not expected to live unless a cure can be found.
The story begins with the Firstborn Feast, a celebration of the arrival of Rudolfo’s first born child. During the feast, several magicked assassins appear and slaughter several of the high profile guests including Hanric, the Marsh Queen’s Shadow. When the assassins reach Rudolfo, he hears one whisper, “No, not him.” So Rudolfo is the only one left alive among his high profile visitors. Rudolfo learns that these assassins are using blood magick when allows them to move faster than a bird and become much stronger than the normal magick powders. The side affect of the blood magick powders is that once they wear off the user dies.
Petronus also is attacked by maicked assassins and told that “the sins of P’Andro Whym are visited upon his children.” Luckily Petronus is saved at the last minute by the old Gray Guards. But he is now mortal danger from this new threat.
Vlad Li Tam is moving around the Scattered Islands in his metal ships in attempt to form alliances and investigate the unknown people behind the plot that brought down Windwir and House Li Tam. Things do not go well for Vlad in this novel when he finally discovers the people who set up House Li Tam. His story is probably the most heart breaking to read as he forced to endure some very gut retching torture. Surprisingly, Mr. Scholes makes Vlad into a tragic yet likeable character by the end of the novel which is a total turn around from the last novel.
Lastly, Neb ventures in The Churning Wastes on quest to discover Sanctorum Lux. He learns that Sanctorum Lux is supposed to be a copy of The Great Library that was in Windwir. Along the way, Neb discovers something else much more important that will change his course for the rest of the series.
Review
As you can tell from the small plot summary that I provided, Canticle divides into numerous plot trails for each of the main characters. I only covered the major ones as there are several minor plot threads that are also woven into this story. At times this can be confusing keeping up with each character but Mr. Scholes generally does a good job of checking with character in pretty rapid succession. This is accomplished by keeping the chapters short and the space devoted to each entry limited to a page or two. Basically, if the format the first novel did not bother you then you ought to fell right at home.
Canticle is the typical second novel in a series. It introduces numerous plot threads and builds the characters that will lead into the succeeding novels in series. There is some discovery of the people behind the destruction of Windwir and their motives by the end of the novel but not much else is resolved.
I was somewhat let down by Canticle but I do not think it was the story’s fault. Lamentation began with a horrific event, the destruction of Windwir, and moved at a very quick pace through a war and its resolution. The political maneuvering was fun and kept the tension high through the novel. Canticle moves at a slower pace and tends to drag in spots. There is too much introspection by the characters that covers the same ground and becomes tedious at times. But this is the type of story that has to be written in order for the series to continue.
Once again, the narration is incredible as it adds a new dimension to the novel. The narrators alternate their readings with the characters that they have been assigned. I went back and re-read portions of the book later and I had the voices of the readers in my head. Macmillan Audio went all out on this novel as they did with Lamentation and the effort really shines through.
Final Word
I am still pretty high on The Psalms of Isaak series by Mr. Scholes and eagerly awaiting the next book. I have no real idea where he is going with his story but a gut feeling it will be incredible and highly entertaining. While Canticle may suffer from second book syndrome, it is a worthy successor to Lamentation and for the most part a real joy to read.
My Rating
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