New Poll: SFF debut of 2009?

With Glen Cook an incredible runaway winner in the last poll, I'm now about a third into The Books of the South (Canada, USA, Europe). Not bad up to this point, but not quite as good as Chronicles of the Black Company (Canada, USA, Europe).

And in case you were not aware of this, I'm presently in the middle of an email interview with Glen Cook. . .

Ken Scholes' Lamentation (Canada, USA, Europe) has been making a lot of noise in the last few months. Advance praise is extremely positive, and this novel is being heralded as the SFF debut of 2009.

Will Ken Scholes be the next big thing, or will he just be next? Stay tuned to find out. . .

Here's the blurb:

An ancient weapon has completely destroyed the city of Windwir. From many miles away, Rudolfo, Lord of the Nine Forest Houses, sees the horrifying column of smoke rising. He knows that war is coming to the Named Lands.

Nearer to the Devastation, a young apprentice is the only survivor of the city – he sat waiting for his father outside the walls, and was transformed as he watched everyone he knew die in an instant.

Soon all the Kingdoms of the Named Lands will be at each others' throats, as alliances are challenged and hidden plots are uncovered.

This remarkable first novel from an award-winning short fiction writer will take readers away to a new world – an Earth so far in the distant future that our time is not even a memory; a world where magick is commonplace and great areas of the planet are impassable wastes. But human nature hasn’t changed through the ages: War and faith and love still move princes and nations.