Canticle

Pros: political intrigue, plot twists, tense atmospheres

Cons: many aspects of this book are merely set-ups for the next in the series

Minor Spoiler Alert

Canticle is book 2 in the Psalms of Isaac. It's been 9 months since the events of Lamentation and a celebration is under way to welcome Rudolfo's heir to the Ninefold Forest Houses. When tragedy strikes, the people of the already devestated Named Lands learn that the outside threat they feared is closer than they think.

All the principles are back, rushing towards their destinies, though none of the end results they're expecting. Neb finally gets to go to the Churning Wastes, Winters takes up her crown, Jin Li Tam becomes a true queen and her father comes face to face with those who really orchestrated the destruction of Windwir.

The only negative is that some of the events are a little drawn out and feel like they're just to facilitate events in the next book - particularly Neb's storyline.

Ultimately, it's a great book with lots of intrigue, down time for character development and plot twists you won't see coming.

Lamentation, in my opinion, was a little rough to start off, but by the end you knew you had a decent tale you were dealing with. Certainly a good show for a debut. Canticle takes that precipice that Lamentation left off on and just hurls you into the stratosphere. It feels like you are constantly pumped up on scout magicks as the novel races across the landscape of the Nine Lands (and a glimpse beyond). Book two of the arc is largely a book of reveals, where our perception of the characters doesn't change much (much), but what we know of the world around them grows a lot. While its hard to say whether its critical to have read this book yet for its reveals versus the scope of the series, if you enjoyed Lamentation, really, how could you not read it? (plus, I gave it 4 stars. Surely that counts for something!)