Book Review - Antiphon by Ken Scholes

I've been a big fan of Ken Scholes since picking up the first book in the "Psalms of Isaak" series, Lamentation. The second book, Canticle, was even better.

Sadly, the third book in the series, Antiphon, isn't nearly as good as the first two books. I don't know if that's because of the "middle book" syndrome or what. "Middle book syndrome" is when the second book of a trilogy is the weakest book because it's not establishing the series and it's not ending it. Many times, it seems it's just positioning pieces on the chess board.

Since I believe (I could be wrong) that Scholes' series is supposed to be five books long, it makes sense that the third book would fall victim to this.

And it does. Very hard.

My review for the book has been posted to Curled Up With a Good Book.

"The ancient and the modern clash as the Wizard Kings of old, long believed to be extinct, reach forward to war with the Androfrancine Order to take control of the ancient magicks. Neb, the Home Seeker for the Marsh People, runs the wastes looking for the Hidden Library, chased by a strange group of women for purposes unknown. Meanwhile, mechanical people from the ancient past, ancestors of the mechoservitors created by the Androfrancines, search for their own reasons. The Crimson Empress is coming, and her acolytes are attempting to pave the way for her ascension in the Named Lands. Only a few people can stop her."

I mentioned the chess pieces analogy for "middle book syndrome" above, and it definitely applies here.

The characters are nowhere near as interesting, and everything appears to be "destined" to happen.

It got quite annoying after a while.

Still, Scholes' writing maintains its excellence, so I'm hoping this is just a bump in the road to a thrilling conclusion to the series.

Read the review to find out more. And let me know what you think!