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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
the (chronologically) first novel of Recluce, July 18, 2003
Book 10 in the Saga of Recluce Even though this is the tenth volume in the Saga of Recluce, it is chronologically the first. Long before Creslin founded Recluce, long before the angels fell and Nylan built Westwind, long before all of the recorded history of Recluse there was the Empire of Cyador. Cyador is an Empire built on the power of Chaos mages and Chaos towers (supplying the Chaos energy required for much of the technology of Cyador). The Empire uses the army (Lancers) to hold back the barbarians from Cyador as well as hold the Accursed Forest (the forest that the Druids are later from) back from spreading into Cyador. Lorn is a son of a Magi family. He is one of the most talented and proficient students in his classes, but he lacks the love of chaos that is necessary to become a Magi. Lorn can do the work better than perhaps anyone and is capable of being a Chaos Master, but he isnt obsessed with it nor does he truly love Chaos. If you have read other Recluce novels, you know this will lead to Lorns exile from his family and the city of Cyad. This is most similar to Lerris being exiled from Recluse and going on the Dangergeld (The Magic of Recluce). The difference is that Lorn knows why he must leave Cyad, where he is going, and what the risks are. Lorn is made a Lancer undercaptain and must fight on the frontier of Cyad against barbarians. Lancers have a low survival rate, Magi Lancers have an even lower survival rate because they get the most difficult assignments (so that they will be killed. A personal capable of wielding chaos but not a magus is too dangerous to the Empire, or so the higher ups have decided). Lorn knows what he is getting into, but actually becoming a Lancer is the only way that he sees to live. Lorn is essentially a moral, honest man, but at the same time he is ruthless in protecting himself and his loved ones from threats, both real and perceived. If Lorn sees someone as a threat, he will kill that man but hide the crime in such a way that nobody is sure who committed the murder (and in some cases that a murder even took place). He is a very guarded individual, mostly because he knows that the Magii in Cyad do not want him to live, despite his family connections. The more you read in Recluce you will begin to see that Modesitt is essentially telling the same type of story over and over again. You can see clear comparisons between Lorn, Creslin, Nylan, and Lerris. There is the recurring theme of exile, and the protagonist trying to find his destiny without quite knowing how he will accomplish it. In one sense, if you have read one Recluce novel you pretty much know how the other ones will work out. Magii of Cyador is slightly different in that Lorn has more knowledge and intent in his actions, but the book still follows the basic pattern that Modesitt set up in the first Recluce novel. That said, this remains one of my favorite fantasy series because of the depth of development in the created world and in the characters. We get to see what the characters are thinking, why they are planning their actions, and what the repercussions are of those actions. Modesitt is not gentle towards the protagonists, they suffer more than any other character in the books, and maybe thats part of why I like the books so much. My one suggestion is to take breaks between the books or you can get tired of the repetition fairly quickly.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There'll be a sequel to this one!, April 9, 2000
This review is from: Magi'i of Cyador (Saga of Recluce) (Hardcover)
A worthy addition to the Recluce Series. Backfills where THE CHAOS BALANCE and FALL OF ANGELS left off..exploring CYAD in all it's glory. As usual, Modesitt introduces a heady young man, in this case, SMART, HARD-WORKING, but not a highly-motivated young Mage. The kid gets sent to the Lancers, where he learns the Military ways while secretly strengthening his magely ways. Modesitt provides glimpses into the founding of CYAD, and references to the First Born, i.e., the White Angels. As usual in the Recluce Series, Modesitt *REALLY* gets into Lorn's head. While not as strong as some of the previous books (Magic Engineer, Recluce, The Order War and The White Order are my faves), it still stands cubits ahead of other fantasy authors or worlds. I _EAGERLY_ look forward to the next volume!
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11 of 14 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A rational approach to Rationalists, May 27, 2000
This review is from: Magi'i of Cyador (Saga of Recluce) (Hardcover)
The cut and dried dialogue and narration that open this story sets the tone of a "rationalist" viewpoint which one quickly sees is both fearful and overtly unemotional simultaneously. The use of the screeing glass by the Magi'i to invade the privacy of the hero and his family is quite chilling for it is a powerful tool for constraint on their behavior and ability to even speak with one another. One learns that the families of the magi'i have no freedom for they can be truth read and spied upon at the whim and will of the magi'i and they are forced to live in a prison of fearful restraint. But, as the story unfolds our hero Lorn begins to evolve into a quietly passionate, deeply intelligent and clever man. He is forced to manipulate and master increasingly hostile environments into which he has been forced to survive the plots against him simply because of his heritage as mage-born. He finds himself uncommitted to the prospect of spending his years trapped within concrete and marble buildings devoted to the boring (to him) future of spending his own life force (chaos) on refuelling energy cells. These energy cells power the firelances of Mirror Lancers and the firewagons used for transportation in the ongoing struggle against the accursed forest and the barbarians. The story is largely spent describing his struggles to overcome the aforesaid barbarians and accursed forest as an outcast magi'i in the role as mirror lancer. However, one has a sense that this is stage setting for his unfolding evolution into the highest echelon of the magi'i. He has acquired wealth and power from that wealth through his own foresight and the skills of his merchanter consort Ryalth. He is destined to become a mover and a shaker in the next part of this saga. The love story is charming even though Lorn is forced to commit multiple murders to protect his lady Ryalth from villans. I would like to know the hero better as a man. He is rather one dimensional, but then this may be part of the plot to separate within the reader's understanding the concept of the cold "rationalists" in contrast to the more passionate and emotionally driven "barbarians". One senses that the author plans a number of "rationalists" novels which will provide, hopefully, a thorough understanding for the reader as to who and how the cold blooded magi'i came to rule Cyad and its people. This is a very good "mirror" to Modesitt's book "Fall of the Angels" in the Recluse series. Hopefully the author will write a book that will enrich this perspective for it is deep territory for intrigue and dark plots. Perhaps more of the machinations within the inner circle of the Magi'i of Cyador and their manipulation of their "dense" Emperor. In any event, the future of Lorn and the city of "Lorn'eth" will unfold in due course.
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