Ken Scholes

Ken ScholesKen lives in the area, with his amazing wonder-wife Jen West Scholes and their wonder-twins. He has logged time as a sailor, soldier, preacher, musician, label gun repairman, retail manager and nonprofit director. He sold his first story to Talebones Magazine in 2000 and won the Writers of the Future contest in 2004. His quirky, offbeat fiction continues to show up in various magazines and anthologies like Polyphony 6, Weird Tales and Clarkesworld Magazine.

He invites readers to contact him through his website. When he's not writing, Ken loses himself in Story elsewhere or sings Paul Simon songs to his immoveable cats.

 

How to Order:
  • Ken Scholes's signed books are available year-round, limited to stock on hand. If you order inscribed copies, they will ship after the next time we meet with him.
  • If you wish to receive a personalized book, indicate the person's name below. For example, "Joe". If you have further questions, please see the Signed Books FAQ page -- it's for the Chuck Palahniuk process, but your question may be answered there. If not, please contact the Orders Manager at order at sthelensbookshop dot com.

 

     

     

     

Antiphon (Hardcover) -- signed or inscribed

Antiphon (Hardcover) -- signed or inscribed

$25.99
Model: ANTIP10HC

If you would like the book inscribed to a certain person, type their NAME here.

New Release! Psalms of Isaak 5-book series - Book 3

 

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 from Publishers Weekly (07/12/2010): The third installment of Scholes's grand-scale Psalms of Isaak saga (after 2009's Canticle) expands the genre-blending narrative in glorious style. The secret revival of the bloody Y'Zirite religion, which may be an elaborate conspiracy created generations ago to bring down the Androfrancine Order, has brought madness to the Named Lands.

Gypsy King Rudolfo, whose infant son is being called the "Child of Promise" by the cultists, finds blood-magicked spies in his home and enemies in his forest. And as the invisible enemy furthers its masterfully orchestrated invasion, Rudolfo and others hear an ethereal music that seems to require some kind of response.

A diverse cast of dynamic characters, a tantalizingly labyrinthine mystery, a world full of wonders, and powerful symbolism and imagery power this seamless merging of epic fantasy and science fiction. (Sept.) Copyright 2010 Reed Business Information.

Lamentation (Hardcover) -- signed or inscribed

Lamentation (Hardcover) -- signed or inscribed

$24.95
Model: LAMEN09HC

If you would like the book inscribed to a certain person, type their NAME here.

Psalms of Isaak 5-book series - Book 1

From Publishers Weekly (12/01/2008): Scholes's mesmerizing debut novel, the first installment of the five-volume Psalms of Isaak saga, launches him into the stratosphere of contemporary epic fantasy.

Fueled by an impressively serpentine story line that explores deep philosophical issues of knowledge and power, the novel begins with a literal bang: Windwir, the world's greatest city and home of 200,000 people as well as the famed Androfrancine Order and its enormous library, is completely destroyed by a mysterious weapon unleashed by an unknown foe. Left oddly untouched are the Androfrancines' mechoservitors, one of whom, Isaak, may be the only one who knows what happened and why.

Readers will be intrigued by the subtle, adept world building and ensemble cast of brilliantly complex characters, but it's Scholes's pure storytelling prowess that makes this tale of devastation and retribution so unforgettable. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

"This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work. Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it's done. No more ponderous plotting — Scholes barely gives us time to breathe. Yet he creates vivid characters, a world thick with detail, and wonders we've never seen before. I wish my first novel had been this good." Orson Scott Card

Lamentation (Paperback) -- signed

Lamentation (Paperback) -- signed

$7.99
Model: LAMEN09PB
Psalms of Isaak 5-book series - Book 1 From Publishers Weekly (12/01/2008): Scholes's mesmerizing debut novel, the first installment of the five-volume Psalms of Isaak saga, launches him into the stratosphere of contemporary epic fantasy.

Fueled by an impressively serpentine story line that explores deep philosophical issues of knowledge and power, the novel begins with a literal bang: Windwir, the world's greatest city and home of 200,000 people as well as the famed Androfrancine Order and its enormous library, is completely destroyed by a mysterious weapon unleashed by an unknown foe. Left oddly untouched are the Androfrancines' mechoservitors, one of whom, Isaak, may be the only one who knows what happened and why.

Readers will be intrigued by the subtle, adept world building and ensemble cast of brilliantly complex characters, but it's Scholes's pure storytelling prowess that makes this tale of devastation and retribution so unforgettable. "(Feb.)" Copyright 2008 Reed Business Information.

"This is the golden age of fantasy, with a dozen masters doing their best work. Then along comes Ken Scholes, with his amazing clarity, power, and invention, and shows us all how it's done. No more ponderous plotting — Scholes barely gives us time to breathe. Yet he creates vivid characters, a world thick with detail, and wonders we've never seen before. I wish my first novel had been this good." Orson Scott Card
Canticle (Hardcover) -- signed or inscribed

Canticle (Hardcover) -- signed or inscribed

$25.99
Model: CANTI09HC

If you would like the book inscribed to a certain person, type their NAME here.

Psalms of Isaak 5-book series - Book 2

 

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.

Canticle (Paperback) -- signed

Canticle (Paperback) -- signed

$7.99
Model: CANTI10PB
Psalms of Isaak 5-book series - Book 2 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.
Long Walks, Last Flights & Other Strange Journeys (Paperback) -- signed or inscribed

Long Walks, Last Flights & Other Strange Journeys (Paperback) -- signed or inscribed

$17.99
Model: LONG08PB

If you would like the book inscribed to a certain person, type their NAME here.

With these 17 tales, Scholes invites readers to his Imagination Forest populated by alien babies, messianic Santas, typing chimps, off-brand love, and a little bit of hope.
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