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22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An imperfect hero and a new land make this the best Modesitt in a while, September 19, 2007
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.
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Familiar, but pleasing, October 4, 2007
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.
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5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
coming of age fantasy, September 21, 2007
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
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