Customer Reviews

The Death of Chaos

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(5)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

The first book by Modesitt that I read was 'The Towers of the Sunset', and it took me months to finish it, when normally it would have taken me a few days. I thought it was so-so. I read another in the series after it, and thouroughly enjoyed it. When I came back to 'The Towers', I loved it. I only say this, because it seems a lot of the books in the series were like that. I missed the deeper picture. 'The Death of Chaos' is one of the best books I have had the pleasure to read. I found it to be thoughful, and insightful, and consistent. One of the points in the other reviews is the lack of consistency in that Lerris, the main character, is an order focus at a time of too much order. In Modesitt's world, magic is divided into Chaos and Order. These different aspects are always balanced. If there is too much Order, Chaos will start popping up in the form of White Chaos wizard foci. The fact is that he was a 'grey' wizard, with great power of the balance. He didn't tilt the scales either way, leaving the rules set by Modesitt intact. Another aspect of Modesitt that was hard to get used to was the style of his writing. He leaves much to the imagination, which once I got used to I found again to be highly rewarding. With his wit, and turn of phrase, Modesitt seems to show that almost every line in the book was written with care, to bring you to careening to the climatic ending. All in all one of the best books I have ever read.

This is, imho, the best of the series to this point. The wait for the return of lerris was more than worth it. The book has a more human than human quality that I find almost unbearable in its poignancy. I could wish there was less tech and more magic, but that is almost a sideline to the real struggle in the book as lerris comes to manhood. I am not ashamed to say I cried several times while reading the book, and at the oddest parts. I cannot recommend it highly enough, the characters, the magic, the imagery are outstanding and original. I rank recluce with black company, sword of truth, wheel of time and curse of the mistrwraith.

This book has the same formula which has worked well in the previous books in the Recluse series, but in The Death of Chaos it seems to be getting a little tired. In each of the previous books, the hero settles a major problem of the time (and creates the groundwork for future problems), and makes a discovery about the order/chaos balance. In The Death of Chaos, however, Lerris' solution is virtually the same as Justen's in The Order War, and it seems that we're right back where we were after the destruction of Fairhaven. I also find it strange that Justen and Dayala would be in favor of such a resolution. In spite of my objections to the conclusion, the storytelling is as strong as ever and The Death of Chaos is a difficult book to put down.

This book is very interesting and a rewarding read. Having read the first 6 books of the series this has to be one of the best ones. The "inconsistencies" stated in some of the other reviews really aren't there at all. Lerris as well as Justen were GREY wizards (and you could make a case for Gunnar being one too). So there powers balance out since they use both chaos and order. As to Lerris' relatives, since Lerris pretty much destroyed all the order and chaos in the world they could not hold there ancient bodies together without order. All in all this is one of the best books I've ever read and is well worth the price.

I've notice this crazy trend with online reviews - raves with little explanation equal positive feedback from readers, and those that are critical receive quite low marks. Now tell me - those of us who are "well read" in the genre of science fiction and epic fantasy - can any of us really say that Modesitt is in the upper echelon of fantasy authors? Certainly not. Were there such a list though, men like Jordan, Martin, Tolkein, Rawn, and Jacques would be at the top. Their worlds are captivating, believable, with characters that DO rather than say, and you feel transported. Modesitt does have numerous redeeming qualities: a good magic system, interesting political commentary (moreso than most fantasy), and a penchant for making his heroes so mellow and modest. On the other hand, the meal scenes are intolerably long, slow, and frequent. There's a lot of inexplicable happenings - for example - why did Lerris and Krystal need to be bonded? In that area of the book - I reread the same 10 or 15 pages that SEEMED to be explaining, but I was baffled at to the apparent necessity. My theory - just so that we could have more lovey dialogue and a few situations where she could answer question he had thought and not spoken. At least there was more conflict than in previous books (the Magic Engineer was awful), and that perked my interest and saved me from many naps that otherwise would have been taken. I would caution anyone who has not read - this is SLOW stuff. There's nothing wrong with that if done right, but I can only safely say that the Recluce series gets it partially right.

This book is great, it was such a quick read because I just didn't want to put it down. I would recommend it to everyone because, Modesitts world, is so vividly real. A few have the skills to master the power of Chaos, and a few have the skills to master the power of Order. Lerris is an Order Master, probably the most powerful to have lived yet, in the world of Recluce. He is happy to just be considered a Woodcrafter, but when a situation arises he goes into action using his Order abilities, which he likes to be very modest about. This book has definitely lived up to my expectations, since the first book ends with a statement that made me really want to read this book. I really liked the way Modesitt described the gruesome, Medieval-like battle scenes and Lerris' heroics. It was interesting reading about Lerris' newfound magical powers. Overall this was a great book. If you are interested in fantasy books this is for you.

This book is one of the most exciting that I have ever read. Practically from the beginning to the end of this novel something significant is occuring. Even when Modesitt writes casual conversations, they are relative to the story as a whole. This, I think, is the authors greatest attribute; the ability to make the profound seem innocuous. Lerris, the erstwhile hero in this culminatory book,seems a ' simple carpenter' and is content with this, but when faced with adversity, is able to rise to a situation. The battleground of Order and Chaos serves as the basis for greater themes - such as the application of volition and the hegemony of societies. This book should be read since it is the final edition of the Recluce Series and, still greater, for the prodigious skill and ability of Modesitt as a writer.

What can I say, I am a HUGE Recluse Saga fan. I think the books in the series are excellent and I love the flowing writing style. These are those books that you read and can't put down. I have often come to the end of a chapter and needed to go to bed or go do something else, and been so "into" the story that I had to start the next chapter. This Saga will capture you.

The books can be read out of order but some books in the series are sequential - the first book starts a story about a given character, the next book in the sequence finishes off that story. Be sure to read the first of these to start. Other books in the series are stand alone and can be read solo. But trust me, it would be VERY tough to read only one book in this series.

Some series have great "re-read" value and I hold this Recluse Saga as one of my most "re-read" ever. Some of these I have read 4 or 5 times and still enjoy them and have trouble putting them down. From Karl the cooper to Rahl and his issues, the characters in these books come alive and we get real buy-in to what happens to them.

Do yourself a favor and pick up a couple of the Recluse Saga books. You won't be disappointed.

I found this to be one exceptional novel. Especially at the end, for me it got very emotional, and not one book to date has done that. It felt like a dark fantasy because of the toll it took on me. Caught me completely off guard. I own all the books (except for The Chaos Balance-just released a couple weeks ago) and do not regret buying them. Modesitt can make the most boring subjects interesting (like smithing, woodworking, building towers etc)

The Death of Chaos is filled with the original feeling and depth of the first book. Modesitt gives us more than just characters to read about, but instead "people" to "follow." This book was a quick read, due to the fact that you don't wish to put it down. The story centers mainly on just two characters instead of several, who end updividing your attention. Read it. Enjoy it. Tell a friend