Customer Reviews

Natural Ordermage (Saga of Recluce)

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Natural Ordermage is L. E. Modesitt's best Recluce novel in a number of years. The combination of a more interesting hero, exploration of a new land and culture, and a slightly different twist on the superhero-awakening plot give a breath of fresh air to a series badly in need of it. I take a half star off for his attempts at romance and his less than thorough exploration of the culture of Hamor, but round it up to 5 stars for a hopeful return to what made the early Recluce novels some of the most interesting in recent memory.

The Magic of Recluce series has fallen victim to Modesitt's quantity-versus-quality mentality; many of the recent additions have been the same formula - young mage comes of age, becomes the most powerful person in the world, makes sacrifices, and becomes the leader of his country after wiping out the bad guys - used over and over. As a result, the series has suffered to the point where some entries in it were nearly unreadable. Of the recent novels, only Wellspring of Chaos and Chaos Balance offered some hope, but in general there hasn't been a spellbinding Recluce novel in the better part of a decade.

Natural Ordermage may not be spellbinding, but it's decent reading. The young-hero-awakening story receives a major shot in the arm with Rahl, a powerful mage-in-the-making who acts a lot more like the spoiled teenager that he is than the typical Modesitt saint-in-training. Rahl is not above using his powers to seduce local girls, and when he doesn't get his own way he turns sullen. This gets him into a whole lot of trouble, some of which isn't his own making, and through a series of bad luck and bad decisions he ends up being exiled to Hamor.

This is the second reason why Natural Ordermage is the best entry in the series in some time; Rahl's exploration of the culture and politics of Hamor is well done, and while Modesitt did something similar by introducing new cultures in Wellspring the Hamorian civilization in Ordermage is much better fleshed out. Another advantage over previous novels is that he doesn't put Rahl at the top of Hamorian society immediately. Rahl may be young and powerful, but without giving away too much of the plot he's got a long way to go at the end of the book. (For now, at least; somehow one strongly suspects that this is the Hamorian dangergelder referred to in an earlier book.)

A half star off for Modesitt's attempt at romance being done as poorly as usual, although one reason the book may be better than many of his recent ones is that that angle is largely absent for most of it. Another slight negative is a bit more unusual: Modesitt doesn't really argue the morality of Hamorian society as he usually does with his characters, but perhaps that will come in a sequel. An upside to this latter issue is that since the protagonist hasn't come to the conclusion that all above him are corrupt, he hasn't yet decided to change the world by lopping off the heads of his bosses, which is a newer plot for Modesitt.

For now, 5 stars and one of the few Modesitt novels of recent years worth reading.

This book starts out with the familiar setting of a young man of Recluce discovering his order-talents and being exiled to another land to master his abilities on his own, or die trying. 'Natural Ordermage' takes place some time in the far-distant future of when Nylan was founded, during a time in which Recluce is bound by tradition and change is feared. A strong and unschooled natural ordermage (such as Rhal) is a threat to society and cannot be permitted to stay. So, as in previous books, Rhal must find his way in a strange world without much idea of his powers or his goals. Throughout the book, it seems that invisible forces are guiding Rhal towards some mysterious destiny, and Rhal really has no good idea about what his role will be or who the puppet-masters might be. This book is the first in a multi-book installment, so you're left with a definite incomplete feeling at the end of it, but the next book should be extremely fun.

The character of Rhal is only slightly different than Modesiitt's classic heroes, in that he may be a little less benevolent and a little more bitter about his conditions. His tendency to be slightly more self-absorbed creates some interesting situations and his willingness to use his powers for his own gain is pleasing.

The nation of Hamor is finally explored, after years and years of hints and teasing descriptions of the place. From previous novels you'd expect a barbaric land where slavery and robbery flourish, but the Hamor presented here is much different than that. Both chaos- and order-mages patrol city streets as 'mage-guards' and maintain strict but fair discipline in the name of the Emperor. The land is driven by worldwide commerce and advanced technological feats such as the ironworks of Luba. Hamor actually comes off as being one of the most successful and fair of the all the lands. Just by exploring this land, this book jumps to near the best of the Recluce novels.

All in all, this book is very pleasing and I am looking forward to reading the next book in the series.

On the island of Recluse, master scribe Kian mentors his apprentice younger son Rahl; his older offspring Kacet is a member of the Guards of the council stationed at Reflin. Unbeknownst to Kian, to avoid hassles and make life easier on himself, Rahl serendipitously uses tiny doses of order magic when he thinks the time deems to do so. However, his efforts to conceal his illegal use prove futile as the Council magisters trace his misuse back to him.

The council has Rahl tested to ascertain the strength of his ability and why the rules of magic seem not to apply to him. Between his impulsive youthful temper and his seemingly out of control skill, the Council exiles him across the sea to the wilds of Hamor; a place where he will either learn to control himself and his order magical usage working on export-import trade or die. Either outcome is acceptable to the Council.

Although NATURAL BORDERMAGE is listed as the fourteenth Saga of Recluse tale, the novel mostly takes place on Hamor. This location switch to an apparently less civilized place brings freshness to the L.E. Modesitt, Jr. environs. The story line is a coming of age fantasy starring a fascinating youngster who just wants order in what he perceives is a WELLSPRING OF CHAOS. Although well written, the book is the first of two novels so that the climax is more a set up to the sequel even as the hero becomes more adept with magic, his ability to land in trouble also increases (strong correlation between the independent variable of skill level and the dependent variable trouble he is in).

Harriet Klausner

Natural Ordermage (2007) is the first fantasy novel in the Ordermage duology of the Saga of Recluce series, following Wellsprings of Chaos and Ordermaster. In the previous duology, Kharl learns to be a black mage from reading and considering The Basis of Order. Following some hints in the book, Kharl learns to perform several order techniques that allow him to defeat white mages.

In this novel, about five centuries after the settlement of Recluce, Rahl is a youth in Land's End who is fairly satisfied with his life. The son of a scrivener and a basket weaver, Rahl is being trained in his father's trade and seems to have some talents in the required skills.

However, Rahl seems to have also developed some Order talents since leaving school. He is able to sense Chaos in other people and even the feelings of many individuals. His father has been teaching him how to use a truncheon for many years and he has learned to anticipate the actions of others during practice.

Rahl is rather successful in his relationship with women and has been taken as a lover by an older girl. But then the girl becomes pregnant. Rahl is certain that he was not the cause of her pregnancy due to his careful avoidance of the fertile periods, but her brothers think otherwise.

Magister Puvort - the local mage -- begins to suggest that Rahl is misusing his Order talents and recommends that Rahl enroll as a mage trainee. On his way to the mage to accept such training, Rahl is confronted by the brothers of the pregnant girl and forced to fight them.

Rahl wins the fight handily, but Magister Puvort witnesses the fight and accuses Rahl of misuse of his talents. Puvort arrests Rahl and takes him to the local lockup. After Puvort briefs the local Magisters, Rahl is exiled from Land's End and sent to Nylan for consideration by the Order Engineers.

Rahl does rather well in Nylan, but his talents seem to be untrainable. After he inadvertently destroys a section of the Black Wall separating the town from the rest of Recluce, the Engineers intensify his training and then exile him to Hamor. He serves as the purser's assistant on the voyage to Swartheld.

In this story, Rahl is more self-centered than most youths in his age range. He has set himself in a life pattern that he can live with and doesn't want to change. He sees external pressure to change as unfair and inexcusable. He has little incentive to see things as others see them.

Although he is little different emotionally from others of his age, Rahl has strong, but untrained, Order talents. Since he seems to be untrainable by the more mature Order Mages, they tend to pass him on into exile. Of course, Rahl is very angry at the way he is being treated, but he doesn't see any need to change himself. In Hamor, he continues in much the same way until life forces him to find another approach.

This story is about a different type of Order Mage. Unlike Kharl, He mostly learns by doing and feeling rather than by thinking or reading instructions. Even though he reads a copy of The Basis of Order, he gains little from the contents. Some things seem to be beyond his capabilities until the right situation forces him into learning the new talent. Naturally, he is a great aggravation to his teachers until he finds one used to this approach.

Highly recommended to Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of late development, special talents and exotic societies.

-Arthur W. Jordin

Natural Ordermage is a solid new additional to the Recluce serires by L.E. Modesitt. In this latest installment we finally get a glimpse of the Hamorian Empire.

The story revolves around a young man named Rahl. Rahl uses order to influence those around him to his benefit. Through his own hubris, and the machinations of some less than savory magisters who run the island nation of Recluse, Rahl finds himself exiled to Hamor. Intrigue, abduction, and self discovery follow. Rahl is the proverbial fish out of water and must learn to control his powers and his anger if he's going to survive.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book, but feel I must point out this book feels like it's written to set up the events to come in the next book in the series.

Modesitt brings the reader another excellent story from his long lasting series "The Saga of Recluce". This time we have the central character of Rahl, who has a talent for using order that cannot be easily harnessed. But he learns, and learns fast that his gift is precious to many who would use him. As always Modesitt gives a whole world to us through adventure, and travel. This is a book a Modesitt fan should not miss. Highly recommended!

Natural Ordermage and Mage-Guard of Hamor form the best sub-series of the already great Recluse series. The depth of the characters is richer than ever and the continued mix of chaos and order mages as well as characters from different lands and cultures is amazing. The growth of the main character is so real as he struggles through teen angst and on into adulthood is very well developed and often touching while remaining interesting. Friendship, love, betrayal, magic, and martial combat are all here.

I admit to picking up Natural Ordermage with some trepidation. My last review of a Modesitt book was pretty harsh, relegating his recent work to the shampoo-rinse-repeat bin of been-writing-that-series-too-long where the author starts telling the same story with the same character again and again and again. But for some reason, foolish optimism perhaps, I decided to give him another shot when I saw his new Recluse novel (while I thought these too had gotten stale, my fiercest criticism dealt with his Coreander series).
I'll have to say I was pleasantly surprised, though too many of his tendencies/tics or whatever you'd like to call them still were noticeable. The book is certainly a fast and enjoyable read, if not a particularly thrilling or thought-provoking one. Like much of Modesitt's work, the writing is smooth and the reading almost effortless. The pace moves along quite quickly for the most part, though sometimes this is more flaw than strength. The for the most part, as in many of his novels, often falls down on the very detailed descriptions of eating, which I've come to expect with a sense of resignation.
The book follows Rahl, a scrivener with a mixed ability with order who is exiled from Nylan to Hamor where his abilities grow in fits and starts. Meanwhile, he gets embroiled in a conspiracy that ends with him having to start from scratch once again, from an even worse beginning.
One positive beyond those already mentioned is that Rahl is a somewhat unusual character for Modesitt. One that is many times unlikable and often a bit blundering, a welcome change from his by now stock character--the quietly competent and efficient man who only gets more so. Another positive is the view into Hamor, a land that we haven't heard/seen much of in the earlier dozen or so Recluse novels.
One problem is that while Rahl is a bit of a change, the plot isn't all that different. A mage unsure of his abilities slowly learns how to use/control them and slowly fights his way up whatever ladder of promotion there is, while facing the inevitable corrupt boss. Along the way, he'll overhear many snippets of useful conversation via is order-senses and break far too many wrists of bad guys (rather than killing them). I have nothing against the idea of proportional violence and an ethical desire to not kill if unnecessary, but if I read one more time how Rahl's truncheon "cracked" down on "x's wrist" I might have broken my own two wrists so I could no longer hold the book and thus avoid the next time that event happened (usually in about 20-30 pages). Because the plot isn't so different, and because anyone coming to Natural is bound to have read earlier Recluse novels, it is a bit predictable. And one does have a sense, despite the many bad things that happen to Rahl, that things still happen a bit too easily or quickly. I know that seems contradictory, but it's how it feels, perhaps because while the bad things do occur, the setbacks are always minor in terms of time and pages to recover from them.
So where does Natural Ordermage stand at the end? I usually break down series books into four categories. The first for those outstanding books (usually early ones) that captivated and drew in readers thus ensuring a continuation of the series (sometimes a pyrrhic victory); the second category is for those books in the series that don't reach that height but are good in their own right and still sweep you along; the third category for those books that are merely serviceable--moving along the big plot or characters so they live (well, some) to be written about another day but doing so in perfunctory, almost lifeless fashion, lacking spark and originality; and the fourth category for those books spit out by the author (or some relative who has gotten Power of Character or whatever legal designation is needed) with the evil knowledge that the pages could be filled with "All work and no play makes Jack . . . " and the series' long-suffering yet ever-hopeful fans would still buy the book. Natural falls somewhere between that third and second category. It's absolutely better than serviceable, but I can't really call it good or sweeping or compelling. It's enjoyable, it's pleasant. It's your amiable neighbor that your mom suggests hanging out with when none of your real friends are around (if you're, you know, ten), and you don't mind, but not for too many days in a row. It's the best Recluse book in a while, but that might be damning a bit with faint praise. Perhaps it bodes better things in the future. At the least, it's enjoyable enough that I'll pick up its sequel when it comes (c'mon--you knew it was coming)

L.E. Modesitt's Recluce Fantasy series is something that has become so predictable that you read as much because you know what to expect as for any actual update in the story. That's not a bad thing as long as you understand what you are getting when you buy the book.

Natural Ordermage represents yet another branch in the story that tells other sides of things that have happened in the past. In this case we get a glimpse into the Empire of Hamor, and with the other branches, this opens our eyes to them being something better than we might have thought before. It's good filler material.

The real problem with the series at this point is that it's pretty much novel by the numbers. The Main Character will be some sort of powerful mage who is not part of the establishment and is driven out or who has to find a way to succeed in spite of other societal challenges. He will learn a trade, be good at it, get into trouble with others who feel threatened by him and will suffer through various adventures/challenges as a result. It's a nice pattern if you enjoy it, but it's very predictable. If you are a fan then it's still worth reading.

Natural Ordermage is pretty much par for the course. Modesitt is very good at writing this series and this is book is similar to Fall of Angels and the White Order in that is gives us a chance to look at new sides of the story. This was definitely a book best bought in paperback because it wasn't groundbreaking enough to merit the cost of a hardback.

Some of Modesitt's books in the middle of the Recluse series fell off the wagon a little, sounding much like many of the other books. But with this new installation, Modesitt has moved from a hero we are all familiar with and tackled a much more dramatic situation, a much more complicated figure. The result, coupled with Modesitt's incredible world building and sense of plot, is a refreshing jumpstart in a saga that had begun to feel redundant. Fans of Recluse, or Modesitt, or even newcomers, will all enjoy this novel and eagerly await the follow-up installation.