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A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon
After untold ages of futurity, the world is old. Regret is endless. Deceit is ubiquitous. And for the Weeping Czar, love is new.Ken Scholes is the author of the five-book Psalms of Isaak sequence, comprising Lamentation, Canticle, the forthcoming Antiphon, and two more in progress. "A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon" is set in the same world, about a thousand years before the events of Lamentation.
32 pages, Kindle Edition
First published February 17, 2009
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About the author
Ken Scholes
88 books246 followersKen Scholes is the award-winning, critically-acclaimed author of five novels and over fifty short stories. His work has appeared in print for over sixteen years. His series, The Psalms of Isaak, is published by Tor Books and his short fiction has been released in three volumes by Fairwood Press.
Ken's eclectic background includes time spent as a label gun repairman, a sailor who never sailed, a soldier who commanded a desk, a preacher (he got better), a nonprofit executive, a musician and a government procurement analyst. He has a degree in History from Western Washington University.
Ken is a native of the Pacific Northwest and makes his home in Saint Helens, Oregon, where he lives with his twin daughters. You can learn more about Ken by visiting www.kenscholes.com.
Ken's eclectic background includes time spent as a label gun repairman, a sailor who never sailed, a soldier who commanded a desk, a preacher (he got better), a nonprofit executive, a musician and a government procurement analyst. He has a degree in History from Western Washington University.
Ken is a native of the Pacific Northwest and makes his home in Saint Helens, Oregon, where he lives with his twin daughters. You can learn more about Ken by visiting www.kenscholes.com.
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Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews
April 9, 2011
3.5 stars. This short story is set in the same universe as the Psalms of Isaak (Lamentation and Canticle) 1000 years before the beginning of that series. I have not yet read any of the series novels but certainly intend to check them out given my enjoyment of this story and the quality of Scholes prose.
The story centers on Frederico, the Czar of the title, who suffers from a mysterious “condition” that has been passed down from his ancestors and subjects him to frequent bouts of severe melancholy and weeping. His condition causes a severe strain on those who care about him as evidenced by the superb opening of the story in which Frederico discovers his 13th wife has just committed suicide:
Rather than calling the death a suicide (which it is believed would lead to mass suicides by those women that idolize and worship his dead wife), the death is called an assassination by rebel “Lunar Resurgence” which is then used as a pretext for a security crackdown on the mysterious group. During the crackdown, an ancient relic is discovered and Frederico takes possession of it. Through possession of the relic and its unusual properties, Frederico learns the ancient source of his condition, some dark and painful truths about his ancestors and his society and about the healing power of love.
The pace and tone of the story are crisp and Scholes prose is very good. The character of Frederico is well developed for such a short story and is someone that the reader truly comes to care about in the end. I thought this was a very good read and one that I certainly recommend, especially as it is available for free at www.tor.com.
The story centers on Frederico, the Czar of the title, who suffers from a mysterious “condition” that has been passed down from his ancestors and subjects him to frequent bouts of severe melancholy and weeping. His condition causes a severe strain on those who care about him as evidenced by the superb opening of the story in which Frederico discovers his 13th wife has just committed suicide:
Frederico leaned close to smell the poison on his thirteenth wife’s cold, dead lips. It tickled his nose and he resisted the strong desire to kiss her that suddenly overcame him. That you might lose yourself from sadness by my lips, my husband and Czar, her open, glassy eyes promised him. He looked away, uncomfortable with her empty, inviting stare.
Rather than calling the death a suicide (which it is believed would lead to mass suicides by those women that idolize and worship his dead wife), the death is called an assassination by rebel “Lunar Resurgence” which is then used as a pretext for a security crackdown on the mysterious group. During the crackdown, an ancient relic is discovered and Frederico takes possession of it. Through possession of the relic and its unusual properties, Frederico learns the ancient source of his condition, some dark and painful truths about his ancestors and his society and about the healing power of love.
The pace and tone of the story are crisp and Scholes prose is very good. The character of Frederico is well developed for such a short story and is someone that the reader truly comes to care about in the end. I thought this was a very good read and one that I certainly recommend, especially as it is available for free at www.tor.com.
June 2, 2019
With a title like "A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon," you would expect a story of tragic love and loss and extreme melancholy. And that's exactly what this is: a sad, sad love story, told with rich language and in epic fashion, that leaves you both fulfilled and heartbroken in the end. Wonderfully done.
November 27, 2016
Originally available on the Tor website, the short story A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon is to Ken Scholes's The Psalms of Isaak series what The Hedge Knight was to George R.R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire saga. The story is set in the same world as The Psalms of Isaak novels, but takes place a thousand years earlier.
The story focuses on the troubled Czar of a powerful empire. When he comes in contact with a mystical object from another world (the moon, actually), he starts to ask some dangerous questions and ignites a conflict that could endanger his entire world. There aren't a lot of familiar touchstones in this story, though the Y'Zir family and mechoservitors are mentioned, but as soon as you start it feels like returning to a familiar place. Scholes is one of the best new writers of fantasy fiction, and his skill at both world-building and bringing to life vibrant, emotional characters is on full display here.
It's not vital to understanding The Psalms of Isaak stories, but A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon is a moving story that fans of that series will definitely want to read. It also makes a great (and affordable) way to sample Scholes's writing and see if his novels are worth trying (they are). Either way, it's more than worth the bargain price to add it to your Kindle library.
The story focuses on the troubled Czar of a powerful empire. When he comes in contact with a mystical object from another world (the moon, actually), he starts to ask some dangerous questions and ignites a conflict that could endanger his entire world. There aren't a lot of familiar touchstones in this story, though the Y'Zir family and mechoservitors are mentioned, but as soon as you start it feels like returning to a familiar place. Scholes is one of the best new writers of fantasy fiction, and his skill at both world-building and bringing to life vibrant, emotional characters is on full display here.
It's not vital to understanding The Psalms of Isaak stories, but A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon is a moving story that fans of that series will definitely want to read. It also makes a great (and affordable) way to sample Scholes's writing and see if his novels are worth trying (they are). Either way, it's more than worth the bargain price to add it to your Kindle library.
January 7, 2013
As far as short stories go, this was incredibly beautiful. Scholes' writing is very good and flows well with the subject. The plot is amazing and contains some very emotional scenes and passages. I'm tempted to try and read Scholes' other works after reading this one! A Weeping Czar Beholds the Fallen Moon gets a totally recommended sign by me and since it is a free short story, there's nothing holding you back from downloading and reading this too!
December 12, 2012
Above average short story that reminded me of the lyric quality of Ken Scholes' writing in the Psalms of Isaak series. This story does stand alone, but draws the reader into a world of kings and wizards and princesses that is unlike other stories that use those words.
August 10, 2016
A beautiful and haunting tale
This brief tale comes the same world as Lamentations, and fans of the series will find some mysteries revealed therein. Ken Scholes' writing as just damn fine here.
This brief tale comes the same world as Lamentations, and fans of the series will find some mysteries revealed therein. Ken Scholes' writing as just damn fine here.
September 18, 2010
Beautiful, sad story. I learned of this (and read it) right at a critical time in reading Canticle, which gave portions of that book more richness.
July 22, 2012
Read this online at Tor.com, but will buy it from Amazon. It fills in information that's only hinted at in the Isaak series, so well worth searching out.
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May 28, 2013همون موقعها خوندمش. دقیقاً یادم نمیاد چه نظری در موردش داشتم. منتهی هرچی بود، خوب نبود چندان
November 11, 2013
Back story to the Psalms series. Very good.
Read
January 18, 2015Not as good as the title, but what could be? Still dream-like, bittersweet and oddly epic for such a short piece.
March 21, 2015
A hauntingly beautiful tale that introduces you to the Named Lands universe. I loved this and it has me ready to read the full set of Psalm of Isaak books.
July 27, 2010
An excellent short story.
Displaying 1 - 13 of 13 reviews