Good fantasy novel..."Lamentation"

Just finished Ken Scholes' Lamentation, a post-apocalyptic fantasy novel that forms the first of what is intended to be a 5-volume series.  Given this first book...a first novel...I am looking forward to the rest, even though I tend to find that lengthy series often grow stale after the first three or so (I hope Scholes is an exception).  The characters are engagingly drawn, and I found myself caring about them, and the action was exciting without dominating the book (a fault of a good many "sword-n-sorcery" novels).  The story blends magic and some limited technology cleverly...with hints of "steam-punk."  Scholes came to Bellingham to hawk his third book in the series with an author's reading at Village Books...that most amazing community bookstore which ought to be emulated widely across the country.  He sang and read a short story (a humorous story of a out-of-work clown and a "monkey" that was, in fact, an alien) and previewed an anti-Xmas carol in which NORAD threatens to shoot down Santa Claus.  Scholes' somewhat warped sense of humor was evident...alone enough to make me want to try his writing.   The fact that the author reviews inside the cover included Orson Scott Card, Dennis McKiernan, Harry Turtledove, and L.E. Modesitt, Jr., all of whom praised the book highly was also a movtivating factor.  I recommend highly.