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12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A Coming of Age In a TIme of War, May 13, 2003
This review is from: Legacies (Corean Chronicles, Book 1) (Hardcover)
Legacies is the first novel in the Corean Chronicles. "The Duarchy of Corus blessed all the lands with peace and prosperity, for generation upon generation, from the times of the Forerunners onward ... Then came the Cataclysm, and the old ways and webs weakened, and the world changed for all time".
Alucius is the scion of a Herder family. He has the Talent and has learned the ways of the Iron Valleys and the Nightsheep. Now he is old enough to be inducted into the Militia as was his forefathers. Since his father did not come back from such service, his mother, Lucenda, is determined not to lose him as well, but his family cannot afford to buy out his enlistment.
His grandfather, who had been a Militia Captain, trains him well for the service; he can ride, shoot, swordfight and even fight hand to hand. His mother provides him with Nightsheep underclothes that will turn a sword and may even stop a bullet (although the impact could still kill him). When the time comes, Alucius is better prepared than most Militia inductees, but nothing can prevent random misfortunes.
Alucius has a girl who promises to wait for him. Wendra is a friend of the family whom he has known for years. She too comes from a herder family, although her father is a cooper, a maker of barrels.
Their immediate enemies are the Reillies and other brigands in the Westerhills. However, there are also the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona in the south as well as the Matrial of Madrien to the southwest beyond the Reillies. Madrien has been attacking the Reillies and many of them have come east to raid the Iron Valleys.
While Alucius is serving in the Militia, the Madrien attack the Iron Valleys with a powerful Duarchy device. Alucius is knocked unconscious by a falling building. Upon awakening, he finds a silver torque around his neck that can strangle him, cause intense pain or even kill him at the will of his commanders; also, the torque cancels most of his Talent. He has been captured by the matriarchal Madrien society, where most men wear the torque and even a few unruly or distrusted women. He is determined to escape, but he doesn't yet know enough to avoid recapture even if he can find a way to remove the torque.
This novel features a young man of talent serving in the military and greatly resembles the Magi'i of Cyador in those aspects. However, this is a time of war in Corus. Moreover, the young man is not as powerful in his talent as Lorn and is not an officer, but rather a low ranking trooper, although he is learning fast.
The world of Corus has an unusual ecology, with many animals and plants that are too poisonous to eat and some with strange powers. Moreover, there a still a few powerful artifacts of the Duarchy in working order, but the Legacies of the Duarchy are commonly considered curses.
Madrien is a matriarchy, but is opposed by nations that are rabid patriarchies. The Iron Valleys are a mildly patriarchal society when compared to the others. While the author has explored the differences between matriarchal and patriarchal societies elsewhere, one would think that the term "Duarchy" probably indicates a society with a more balanced division of power between the sexes. The sequels may be even more interesting than this volume.
Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys fantasy stories of smart and talented persons working their way out of a dangerous situation.
-Arthur W. Jordin
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Coming of Age in Corus, January 1, 2003
This review is from: Legacies (Corean Chronicles, Book 1) (Hardcover)
I like Modesitt. His characters - his young characters, in particular - are well drawn and vivid. His narrative is good, particularly in battle scenes. His handling of romance is less elegant, perhaps betraying some of his religious beliefs. But as much as I like him, I really, really wish he could come up with a new plot. He seems to have read or watched Bill Moyers' interviews of Joseph Campbell, and never gotten beyond the part about the Young Hero. Alucius is a young man growing up in a fairly obscure part of the continent of Corus. He is a Herder, a part of a family that raises Nightsheep, and spins their wool into a kind of low-tech, flexible body armor. A natural nemourlon, if you will. Early on Alucius discovers he has magical/psychic powers, Talent. "Legacies" is the story of his growth as a young man and his growth in his ability to use his Talent. It is also the story of awkward, ambiguous good against comfortable, complacent and even seductive evil. If the adjoining country of Madrien is founded on an evil use of Talent, and enslaves men, but let's its people live comfortable and safe lives, should the evil use of Talent be destroyed? If all of this sounds an awful lot like the Legend of Recluce, well, yes, it is. There's an added element of an earlier, more technological, collapsed culture whose powerful artifacts still litter the landscape, some to deadly effect. And no one will confuse Alucius's home, the Iron Valley, with the Black Island of Recluce. But here, as in Recluce, a specially Talented youngster is dragged against his will into war, with dramatic consequences for everyone involved. As other reviewers have noted, we only get confusing glimpses of the earlier cultures and history of this land, and the events of the book take place on the westernmost part of the continent. Presumably, most of the loose ends will get cleared up over the next two books of this projected trilogy. The writing is better than it was in the Recluce books (especially the early books), but the basis of the Talent isn't as well explained as the Order/Chaos of Recluce. There's a plethora of very strange creatures around: sanders, sand wolves, soarers and more. Perhaps all this will get explained later. For now, I guess readers are to take it as an annoying kind of foreshadowing. The pacing is far better, although as has been the case since "The Magic of Recluce," there's not much question of what is going to happen, only how it is going to happen. I just wish Modesitt could bring his considerable talents to new plots.
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9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
a strong sense of Recluse, April 30, 2006
Having read every Recluse novel which L.E. Modesitt, Jr has written I can say with complete confidence that after two or three novels it becomes quickly apparent that Modesitt tells the same story over and over again. That's fine. I happen to enjoy the story that Modesitt tells. He tells the story of a young man from humble beginnings. This young man typically has a hidden "Talent" or magical skill which would set him apart from the rest of the world. His family tells him to not reveal this talent because he will never be safe when people know. The young man is moral. He always chooses to do the right thing, the proper thing, and the difficult thing if the difficult and dangerous thing will lead to a greater good. Eventually the young man becomes a target but rises to a level of power and authority because he is highly skilled.
I just described The Magic of Recluse, The Towers of the Sunset, a variation of Ordermaster, and pretty much every other Recluse novel.
This is also a very accurate description of Legacies, the first novel in Modesitt's Corean Chronicles.
Alucius is from a herder family. Herders typically have some measure of Talent. Alucius has Talent in full measure. Where do we think his story is going to go from here? What sort of novel is this? Who is the author?
Ah, yes. It is a fantasy novel written by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. The basic outline of the plot fits the outline given above. Add in the matriarchy vs patriarchy which also fills out Recluse and it makes me wonder if there isn't some way that the Corean Chronicles isn't set thousands of years after The Death of Chaos. Likely, it isn't. But there is a fit.
The book is workmanlike and decently crafted. Modesitt knows how to tell his story and if you space out his novels enough there isn't the full sense of retread.
-Joe Sherry
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