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11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A solid addition to the Recluce Saga, January 5, 2010
This review is from: Arms-Commander (Saga of Recluce) (Hardcover)
This book is a continuation of the story line of the Chaos Balance, where Nylan and Arylyn saved Lornth from the Cyadorian's. It begins back on the roof of the world from the view point of Sarryn, the arms commander of Westwind. Also an officer who used the neuro-net on board the angel spacecraft, Sarryn begins to discover she has order-chaos powers too, that are somewhat different than those of the other angel officers. She is pushed by external threats and politics from Westwind into Lornth, where she must hold the country together using her growing magical prowess, the martial abilities of westwind guards, and her ability to predict and counter the plots of her enemies. Besides all of the action, Modesitt tries to ask and answer a number of moral and social questions, such as if it's justified to change cultural beliefs through the use of force. A fan of Modesitt's earlier work will definitely want to add this to his or her collection.
Something else worth mentioning, this was the first recluce book with a female as the protagonist. This may have been a cause of concern for some, but Modesitt pulled it off quite well.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Solid new entry to the Saga of Recluce., February 14, 2010
This review is from: Arms-Commander (Saga of Recluce) (Hardcover)
One of the things I love about Modesitt's Recluce series, is his ability to revisit, and plumb new depths of the history, filling in more detail by virtue of showing new characters, or older characters in new light. If one is not already familiar with the Recluce series, there may be some bits that are either confusing, or perhaps would not resonate to the reader as they might with a fan of the series. And while this is the sixteenth book in the series, it might be useful to understand that the series is not written chronologically, and that Modesitt often sets novels in vastly different historical (for the world of Recluce) periods such that you wouldn't need to have read all the others prior to this one to enjoy it. It's a layering, and if you have experienced the other works you will likely note interesting tidbits that can explain or expand a reader's perspective of events that take place in the other novels.
In Arms-Commander, the viewpoint shifts to Sayrn, the Arms-Commander of Westwind and one of the original Angels who came from beyond the Rational stars. Chronologically speaking this is, I believe, the fifth book in the series taking place shortly after The Fall of Angels, and The Chaose Balance. At first we return to the setting of Westwind itself on the Roof of the World. It is ten years since Nylan has left, and we see that Westwind has become a haven for women, particularly the abused, and disgruntled women who do not like their lot in life among the heavily mysogynistic territories that border Westwind. They literally struggle to keep their place, a home where women can live freely, rule over their own lives, or even over the fate of men. Soon, however, we follow the adventures of Saryn as she takes a force of Westwind guards into Lornth, at first to negotiate and inform the regent, herself the wife of the man who last tried to lead the failed assault on Westwind, and mother of the young man who would one day lead the country. The primary conflict here is that of a futuristic societal norm, IE equality, being forced up against a overly slanted patriarchy that seems all too well aware of the idea that it is a patriarchy and that it feels a need to keep the women down. For me, this felt at times over the top, pushing in some places even beyond what seemed plausible. It felt artificial to me, how strongly against women living free of oppressive rule seemed to me. I got a sense that there might have been some kind of historical justification underlying it, but the reasons were never well explored nor came to light. I found it almost impossible to accept the idea that regent would even have been given such an important role, especially with the grandfather still alive, that it made much of the irrational attitude towards women seem unbelievable to me.
The counter to that, the women's attitude toward protecting their place and space within the world, was successfully convincing. I could quite easily imagine someone who came from a futuristic, equalitarian society would fight tooth and nail not to have themselves or their descendents forced into subservience based soley upon their gender. Overall, the book is enjoyable, though perhaps not quite as strong as some others in the series. It is a solid action book, with a lot more direct war and conflict than many in the series, though with a main character whose job it is to train and command troops, this is perhaps not at all surprising. The role Saryn plays in the history, is intriguing, and I look forward to wherever else Modesitt chooses to take the series.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Legend Continues, January 25, 2010
This review is from: Arms-Commander (Saga of Recluce) (Hardcover)
For the second time - for the first time in the Saga of Recluce - Modesitt tries on a female protagonist. He did it earlier in The Lord-Protector's Daughter (Corean Chronicles), set in a different series. That first effort was a little embarrassing. This time Modesitt does a much better job of making his female real. And manages a very thorough job of establishing The Legend.
Events begin about ten years after the events of The Chaos Balance (Saga of Recluce), about 1,450 years before "present" events in Recluce. Westwind, the small colony of women at the crest of the mountains of the continent of Candar, remains under siege by the unrelentingly misogynic lords of the surrounding country. Saryn, the Arms Commander of Westwind - and former pilot of the space cruiser Winterlance - is dispatched with a small force to Lornth, Westwind's nearest neighbor. Lornth is governed by a regency, and is under attack from without and within. Saryn is drawn into those battles, and must deal with the treachery of most of the Lord Holders, the scheming Suthyans and the barbarian Jeryani.
In some ways, this is the same story Modesitt has told in most Recluce novels: the protagonist discovering his/her order/chaos powers, facing increasingly narrow choices and ever more difficult challenges. And after dozens of novels, Modesitt still remains purely incapable of writing a romantic scene. But I'll give this effort four stars. Saryn is a credible woman. Modesitt does a really nice job with The Legend, the Westwind heresy (in Candar terms) that a woman can fight, rule and be the equal of a man. He also ties the events here into earlier novels, some of which deal with events much later in time. Among other things, we learn why Lornth doesn't appear on the maps of Candar. And it may not be for the reason you think.
A good addition to the Saga of Recluce; a very good addition to The Legend. Perhaps not the starting place for those new to Recluce, but strongly recommended to fans.
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