Imager's Challenge: The Second Book of the Imager Portfolio [Hardcover]

L. E. Modesitt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: October 13, 2009 | Series: The Imager Portfolio (Book 2)

Imager’s Challenge takes up immediately after the conclusion of Imager. Still recovering from injuries received in foiling the plots of the Ferran envoy, Rhenn is preparing to take up his new duties as imager liaison to the Civic Patrol of L’Excelsis. No sooner has he assumed his new position than he discovers two things. First, the Commander of the Civic Patrol doesn’t want a liaison from the infamous Collegium, and soon has Rhenn patrolling the streets of the worst district in the city. Second, Rhenn receives formal notice that one of the High Holders, the father of a man Rhenn partly blinded in self-defense, has declared his intention to destroy Rhenn and his family.

 

Rhenn’s only allies are the family of the girl he loves, successful merchants with underworld connections. In the end, Rhenn must literally stand off against gang lords, naval marines, Tiempran terrorist priests, the most powerful High Holder in all of Solidar, and his own Collegium—and find a way to prevail without making further enemies and endangering those he loves.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In this second installment of Modesitt's serpentine political fantasy series (following 2008's Imager), the imager Rhennthyl has been made a Maitre D'Aspect and Liaison to the Civic Patrol of L'Excelsis. As a covert security operative, Rhennthyl must ferret out corruption. He expects guidance from the Collegium, but the more involved he becomes in the patrol, the more the masters distance themselves. When Rhennthyl makes enemies of one of the high holder families, the Collegium's refusal to become involved leaves him no options but to take matters into his own hands. Though the story drags occasionally as Rhennthyl ponders every aspect of his predicament and the Masters give constant professorial lectures, Modesitt's steady prose guides Rhennthyl and the reader through the hierarchical foot-dragging and feudal power-mongering.
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Review

"* "The author's skill in portraying the humanity of characters who possess the power to destroy others with a thought adds a level of verisimilitude and immediacy rarely found in grand-scale fantasy." - Library Journal"

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 464 pages
• Publisher: Tor Books; First Edition edition (October 13, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0765321262
• ISBN-13: 978-0765321268
• Product Dimensions: 9.6 x 6.5 x 1.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (28 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #570,102 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

After spending years writing poetry, political speeches and analyses, as well as economic and technical reports on extraordinarily detailed and often boring subjects, I finally got around to writing my first short story, which was published in 1973. I kept submitting and occasionally having published stories until an editor indicated he'd refuse to buy any more until I wrote a novel. So I did, and it was published in 1982, and I've been writing novels -- along with a few short stories -- ever since.

If you want to know more, you can visit my website at www.lemodesittjr.com.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars A solid, enjoyable, tale but with too much filler., April 18, 2010

By 

Darious - See all my reviews

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Imager's Challenge: The Second Book of the Imager Portfolio (Hardcover)

First, I want to say that I enjoyed Imager's Challenge, wrapping it up in just two days and immediately putting the sequel on pre-order.

However finishing the book in that period of time was no great effort as I glossed over all the food, fashion and faith fillers. The author spent want felt like a godawful amount of pagecount discussing the clothing of the characters, what they ate for dinner, and lunch, and breakfast, and late breakfasts, and early dinners, and... well you get the point.

The didatic indoctrination of the protagonist in the Way-Things-Ought-To-Be by tediously delivered instruction by mentors or sermons by the clergy left me with glazed eyes before half of the book was finished. I hadn't encountered something this heavy handed since Gerrold's War Against the Chtorr series.

Those points aside it is an interesting, if roughly sketched in, setting. There is some interesting foreshadowing and possibly Chechov's guns laying around, and I look forward to seeing the main character in his new role in the next installment of the series.

But please. No more than one meal description per four chapters...

11 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars An Imager Fights Against Corruption and a Deadly Vendetta, November 27, 2009

By 

A. Lee (L.A., CA USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imager's Challenge: The Second Book of the Imager Portfolio (Hardcover)

This book continues the story that began in IMAGER. Rhenn, formerly a journeyman portrait painter who, after a series of events in the first book, goes to the Collegium to learn to properly use his talent as an Imager. At the Collegium, Rhenn quickly learns to master his skills and had been made a Master Imager. At the start of this book, he has just started as a liason to the Civic Patrol. Rhenn discovers some nefarious activities on his rounds at the criminal courts and patrolling the Taudis, a district in the city where poverty and gangs are common. Rhenn is also formally notified of the deadly vendetta against him by one of the most wealthy and powerful High Holders in the land. He needs to find a way to deal with those problems without lending any attention at all to the Collegium, as the role of all Imagers and the Collegium is precarious in the land, since everyone is wary of the powers Imagers may use, and the balance of power is always a touchy issue, even among the High Holders and their relations with the Merchants and other groups.

This is primarily a political fantasy, as Rhenn needs to work within the system, or at least be aware of the system enough to be able to work around it without revealing himself. There is also suspense and action, as assassins are gunning for him, and also for those important to him. And there's also a bit more about the magic system of Imaging, although not as much as in the first book. Here, there is some further exploration of his abilities, but much of his magic is spent doing fairly basic things (shielding and telekinesis). Readers who enjoyed the first book should find this book equally enjoyable. As with the last book, there are parts that are slow-moving, but with lots of detail about the world and the society and politics. This book finishes a definite story arc. If there are no more books in the series, a reader could be satisfied. If there are more books, I would certainly be interested in reading them.

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Another Outstanding Fantasy Novel, November 5, 2009

By 

J. Christensen - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Imager's Challenge: The Second Book of the Imager Portfolio (Hardcover)

Modesitt has an outstanding talent to write a fantasy novel that is enjoyable in itself but also leaves you hoping for a sequel. Most of the better known, contemporary authors of fantasy novels, such as Jordan, Martin, and Goodkind, end their novels like daily segments of a TV soap opera. Apparently, that is the only way they can create reader interest in a sequel. I look forward to reading all of Modesitt's future fantasy novels.