Modesitt, L.E. Books

Mage-Guard of Hamor (Saga of Recluce)

L. E. Modesitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

The tale of Rahl matures.. excellent continuation of the story. 4 out of 5 stars.
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Another well-written and entertaining novel set in Modesitt's world of Recluce, this one picks up where Natural Ordermage leaves off, following Rahl as he continues to make a life for himself in Hamor. This book tracks along a very similar pattern to many of the other books in the series, both in content and in writing style. We once again have the privilege of following a young and inexperienced mage through trials and difficulties that force him to grow, learn, and reflect on his role in life. Once again, he becomes incredibly powerful and finds himself in a position to shape history. Modesitt's writing style is very distinct, being almost overly detailed and leaving much of the emotion to the reader's imagination. Very enjoyable and certainly having improved over the course of his writings, Modesitt's writing style is a major reason his books continue to be successful.

Parts of this book felt a bit repetitious to me, with Rahl and company fighting battle after battle with similar results, and the characters struggling with the same issues throughout most of the 600-something pages. One good aspect of the book is the expansion of the world Modesitt has created. We finally learn all about Hamor in this book and the previous, something that has been a long time in coming. The character of Rahl remains imperfect, generally acting rather melancholy, but growing in confidence and bearing during the course of the book. Taryl may be my favorite supporting character in the whole series. Both mysterious and undeniably likable, Taryl plays a big part in making this book enjoyable. I'm not sure if this wraps up the story of Rahl, but this book ended with a solid conclusion that doesn't demand a sequel. Modesitt did leave the option viable, however, so we'll just have to wait and see.

Very good addition to the series. Recommended. You can read these books as stand-alones, but to get the full enjoyment, start at the beginning with The Magic of Recluce (Recluce series, Book 1).

Editorial Review:

Acclaimed author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. continues his new Recluce story in Mage-Guard of Hamor, the second of two volumes set mostly on the continent of Hamor, far across the sea from Recluce, where the story began.

Rahl was a young apprentice on the island of Recluce sent to the mages training school for testing, then banished to Hamor. His education now continues under dangerous circumstances. In Hamor, his powers have increased, but so has the amount of trouble he attracts.

The whole society of Hamor is a new culture for Modesitt—and Rahl—to explore, one in which magic is a monopoly of the state. Rahl is a mage now, powerful and still just as dangerous to himself and to others. This is the story of how he gains both more knowledge and power, and more self-control.

Natural Ordermage (Saga of Recluce)

L. E. Modesitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 16 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Another new Recluce protagonist 4 out of 5 stars.
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This book and its announced sequel features the young Recluce native Rahl, son of a scrivener. Rahl has a great deal of ability in order magic, but uses it instinctively--at the beginning of the book he's completely untrained, and since that's forbidden in Recluce he's shipped as a prisoner to Nylan, where the order engineers are kept separated from the rest of the population, to see if he can be of use to them. He does well with languages and weapons training, but when he tries to deliberately do anything much with his magic it tends to blow things up, so he's sent on a "temporary" exile to Hamor, the huge continental empire that's a major rival to Recluce, ostensibly as a clerk for the Recluce Merchants' Association. Only he finds out that things aren't as they should be in his office, and one night is drugged and kidnapped, waking to find himself working in the ironworks south of where he'd been and missing all his memories and his magic. But a Mage Guard officer senses something about him and makes him a mage clerk, and ultimately both his memory and his powers start to return. And ultimately he becomes a Mage Guard himself and discovers and foils a major plot against the Empire of Hamor. What will happen next isn't clear, so I'm looking forward to reading the sequel. Rahl isn't as likeable as Kharl was--he's always complaining about the unfairness of life, which comes across to me as rather whiney. But his heart is in the right place, and there are worse things than a passion for justice as long as it isn't limited to justice for oneself. And his "natural" ordermagery is an interesting idea, as compared with the way other books have presented order magic.

Editorial Review:

L. E. Modesitt, Jr. begins a new Recluce story in Natural Ordermage, the first of two volumes set mostly on the continent of Hamor, far across the sea from Recluce.

Rahl, a young apprentice scrivener on the island of Recluce, likes life to work out in his favor. And he has a bad attitude, too. To make sure things go his way, he uses a small amount of order magic in opportunistic moments--but his abilities are starting to get the attention of the Council magisters. So the Council sends him to the mages training school for testing, and through misuse of his powers, which are getting stronger all the time, he gets himself banished to the continent and empire of Hamor.

As an exile in Hamor, working in the Ordermage Council's import and export business, Rahl’s powers increase more—and so does the amount of trouble he can get into.

Welcome to the fantasy world of L. E. Modesitt, where the adventure is just beginning.

Colors of Chaos (Saga of Recluce)

L. E. Modesitt

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Total reviews: 20 Average rating: 4.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

The biggest fantasy from L. E. Modesitt, Jr. to date, Colors of Chaos is the story of the White Chaos wizard Cerryl: his education in life and love, and his rise to power in the magicians guild of Fairhaven. This is the direct sequel to The White Order, which told of Cerryl's boyhood and youth, and takes place at the same time as the events in Modesitt's earlier novel, The Magic Engineer. Yet it stands alone, the longest Recluce novel, a portrayal of the growth and change of character and of the strengths and weaknesses of an age-old civilization held together by the power of magic. Ceryl, now a full mage in The White Order, must prove himself indispensible to Jeslek, the High Wizard. Whether through assassination, effective gorvernance of occupied territory or the fearless and clever direction of troops in battle, Ceryl faces many harrowing obstacles, not the least of which is Anya, the plotting seductress who's the real power behind the scenes of the white wizards. With his wits, his integrity, and the support of his love, the Black healer Leyladin, he must survive long enough to claim his rightful spot within the ruling heirarchy of the White Order. This is a must-read for followers of the Saga of Recluce, offering a unique, sympathetic point of view of the White Chaos wizards-the forces that throughout history have opposed the magicians of Recluce.Colors of Chaos is the ninth book in the saga of Recluce.

Ordermaster (Saga of Recluce)

L. E. Modesitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 18 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Ordermaster is the 13th book in the Saga of Recluce and the direct sequel to Wellspring of Chaos. The cooper Kharl has no sooner taken possession of the estate bestowed upon him by Lord Ghrant of Austra for his aid in quelling the revolt of Ghrant's dispossessed brother, when he is summoned back to the capital. Hagen, his friend the lord-chancellor, needs help in dealing with rebellious nobles. After a bloody campaign, in which Kharl discovers and is forced to use even more deadly order magery, civil order is restored and Ghrant's throne firmly secured. But Kharl is now a famous and feared public figure, the Lord's Mage, and his notoriety makes him uncomfortable.

To his surprise, Kharl is soon called upon again by Lords Ghrant and Hagen, this time to return to his homeland of Nordla as envoy, because Nordla has become the next target of Hamorian expansion. Back in his hometown of Brysta, he discovers that his old enemy Egen is engaged in a plot with the Hamorians to take the throne from his father and open Nordla to the enemy. Kharl has to find a solution, for the sake of both the land of his birth and his adopted new country.

Magi'i of Cyador (The Saga of Recluce)

L. E. Modesitt

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Total reviews: 25 Average rating: 3.5 of 5

Editorial Review:

L. E. Modesitt, Jr., is one of the standard setters in fantasy today, and his most famous series is the Saga of Recluce. Each novel fills in pieces of the history of this land where Chaos and Order strive to maintain a magical balance.

Magi'i of Cyador marks the beginning of a new tale from deep within the rich depths of the history of Recluce. This is the story of Lorn, a talented boy born into a family of Magi'i. A diligent student of remarkable talent, Lorn lacks only the single most coveted attribute required of a Magus of Cyador: unquestionable loyalty. Lorn is too independent for his own good.

So Lorn is forced to become a lancer officer, and he's sent to the frontier to fight off the all-too-frequent barbarian raids--a career that comes with a 50% mortality rate. His enemies don't expect him to survive . . .

Lorn is a fresh, new character who will enrich one of today's most important fantasy series: the saga of Recluce.

Magi'i of Cyador is the tenth book in the saga of Recluce.

Scion of Cyador: The New Novel in the Saga of Recluce

L. E. Modesitt

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

L. E. Modesitt, Jr. is one of the standard setters in fantasy today and his most famous series is the Saga of Recluce. Each novel fills in pieces of the history of this land where Chaos and Order strive to maintain a magical balance.

Scion of Cyador continues the story begun in Magi'i of Cyador. Exploring the rich depths of the history of Recluce, Magi'i of Cyador introduced Lorn, a talented boy born into a family of Magi'i. A diligent student mage who lacked blind devotion, Lorn was made a lancer officer and shipped off to the frontier--a career that comes with a 50% mortality rate.

Having survived his extended stint fighting both barbarian raiders and the giant beasts of the Accursed Forest, Lorn has proven himself to be a fine officer . . . perhaps too fine an officer. As his prowess has grown, so has his number of enemies and rivals. Too much success has made him a marked man. When he returns to his home, both he and his young family become targets while all of Cyad is in upheaval over deadly political infighting. But Lorn is now hardened, a deadly fighter himself, especially when the Empire is at stake.

Scion of Cyador is the completion of another grand story in the Recluce saga.

Scion of Cyador is the eleventh book in the saga of Recluce.

Scepters (Corean Chronicles, Book 3)

L. E. Modesitt

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

The popular creator of Recluce and of the Spellsong world of Liedwahr has built a whole new fantasy world on Corus. With each new volume of the Corean Chronicles we learn more about the magical underpinnings of this fascinating realm as we follow the continuing adventures of his reluctant hero, Alucius. In Legacies he became the first Iron Valley militiaman to escape sorcerous enslavement in Madrien. In Darknesses, he found a way to defeat a would-be conqueror who revived the fearsome creatures and potent weaponry of the legendary past. Now he returns to face the greatest challenges yet to both his courage and his magical Talent.Alucius is happy back on his nightsheep stead with his beloved wife Wendra, who is expecting their first child. But the country is beset by enemies on all sides. Although the Lord Protector of Lanachrona keeps his promise not to order Alucius back to active duty, Alucius finds his request for help no easier to ignore. Newly promoted to higher rank, and given command of a combined force of the Northern and Southern Guards, Alucius must first quell a strange religiously-inspired rebellion and then find a way to destroy the powerful weapons of ancient design again being used by the forces of Madrien. Unlike the Lord Protector, Alucius can see that a third, covert, threat must be behind the other two. He will have to confront an alien evil that seeks to enslave the whole world of Corus in the guise of bringing back a lost golden age. Only the timely assistance of the mysterious ancient Soarers and the addition of Wendra's Talent to his own give him any hope of success. Scepters is a stirring climax to the first Corean trilogy.

Soarer's Choice: The Sixth Book of the Corean Chronicles

L. E. Modesitt

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Customer Reviews:
Total reviews: 12 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. returns to the world of Corus and concludes the trilogy of the intertwined stories of Dainyl, the Alector, and Mykel, the native soldier, which began in Alector's Choice and Cadmian's Choice.

The civilization of the Alectors, which has farmed and developed all life on Corus to produce sustaining life force for their vampiric civilization, must move wholesale from one planet to another every few thousand years as it exhausts the life force of another world. This time, two worlds have been prepared, and the time is at hand for the great move. And Corus is the looking like the loser, to be abandoned by the civilizing forces of the government of Alectors, but used as a dumping ground for malcontents and others who don’t make the cut to move on to a richer new world. This neither bodes well for the future of human civilization, nor for the honest Alector’s such as Dainyl, trying to hold everything together, as all systems are failing. But the mysterious Ancients, the Soarers, are a force to be reckoned with, and they may hold a powerful and destructive trump card

Legacies (Corean Chronicles, Book 1)

L. E. Modesitt

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Total reviews: 29 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

A New Age Begins

The First Book of the Corean Chronicles

Millennia ago, a magical disaster caused the fall of a great civilization that spanned a continent, and ended a golden age. Corus today is a world of contending countries, of struggling humans, strange animals and elusive supernatural creatures. Though much has been forgotten, it is still a place of magical powers, and of a few people who are Talented enough to use them.

Even as a child, Alucius showed very strong Talent. He was warned never to reveal it, lest others seek to exploit it. But as he grows to young manhood, Alucius must serve in the Militia like his father before him. When his country is invaded by the slave armies of the Matrial, immortal ruler of a nearby land, Alucius is captured and magically enslaved.

A time of changes has come upon all of the world of Corus. If the evil surrounding the Matrial is not ended, those changes will not be happy ones. Alucius and his Talent have a central role to play.

Alector's Choice (Corean Chronicles, Book 4)

L. E. Modesitt

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Total reviews: 17 Average rating: 4.0 of 5

Editorial Review:

Alector’s Choice takes place several thousand years before the events chronicled in the Legacies Trilogy, at the time when Corus is ruled by the Talent-magic of the Duarchy. The Myrmidons of Justice command the skies riding their fearsome pteridons.
As the Alector Colonel of Myrmidons, Dainyl is the fourth highest ranking military officer of the Duarchy. Alectors are a race apart from the normal inhabitants of Corus, from another world. But there is a rebellion brewing against them.
Captain Mykel is a young officer potentially Talented and unaware that, should he ever discover that Talent, his life is forfeit. For Mykel is not an Alector, and only Alectors are allowed to use Talent.
The rebellion spirals out of control, spurred by treachery, corruption, and greed -- and aided by the re-appearance of the ancient soarers, a fragile humanoid race of flying beings thought to have become extinct. A terrible war is brewing, and one, or both of these men are the only ones who might stand against it.