The Chaos Balance (Saga of Recluce) (Mass Market Paperback)

by L. E. Modesitt Jr. (Author) "THE WIRY AND silver-haired man paused at the end of the causeway from Tower Black, his breath white in the sunlit chill..." (more)
Key Phrases: burly armsman, white lancers, accursed forest, Roof of the World, Mirror Lancers, Lord Sillek (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Kirkus Reviews
Addition to Modesitt's independently intelligible fantasy series about planet Recluce and its warring Order and Chaos magic. Chronologically, the events here follow those of Fall of Angels (1996). Surrounded by aggressive macho cultures, the ``angels'' under Ryba have developed a clean and orderly but oppressive feminist dictatorship. Engineer, smith, and Order mage Nylan can no longer tolerate being used by Ryba as a stud and source of new weapons, so he departs with his son Weryl and his lover, the healer and singer Ayrlyn. But the male-dominated, expansionist empire of Cyador, with its unmatchable Chaos magic, must somehow be restrained; and so Nylan agrees--reluctantly--to help the primitive, unwashed macho swaggerers of Lornth. A sturdy addition to a superior series, this time presented without narrative foibles. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Review
"A writer of exceptional fantasy, Mr. Modesitt leaves the reader in no doubt about the price of power and the bittersweet triumph of the human spirit in this splendid new Recluce adventure."--Romantic Times

"Modesitt's many fans will enjoy this, as will any reader who relished intricate plotting, sympathetic characters, and action galore."--Publishers Weekly

"A sturdy addition to a superior series."--Kirkus Reviews
-- Review

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
• Publisher: Tor Fantasy (June 15, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812571304
• ISBN-13: 978-0812571301
• Product Dimensions: 6.5 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 6.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #40,027 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

13 of 14 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Understanding & Enjoying the World of Recluse, November 15, 2000

By	J. Bryant "t0problemsolver" (USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

L.E. Modesitt jr's Recluse series is a world of magic and balance. a world that will grab you and make you loss track of time as you are unable to put his Recluse books down. The author, recommends that you read his book in the order of they were published. If you are the person who likes to read the last 50 pages of a book first, and then skip around to different areas of the book as you read it through, then by all means, read the Recluse series in the order of publish. WAIT!..... If you are a reader who truly enjoys finding yourself part of the on going story, as read a series from the start of he story to its end. Then the Recluse series will grab you and not let you go until the conclusion of the series. L.E. Modesitt, jr. has written an 11 books series of the Recluse world so far. This author wrote the Magic of Recluse first. As be has published books, he has jumped around throughout the story time line of the world of Recluse, and put together books of set, and other single books, which he may add another book to that part of the story in a future published book. This author has written the story in books of set, that is the first three book of story: 1st book) "Fall of Angels", 2rd) "The Chaos Balance" & 3rd) "The Tower of the Sunset". Tells the birth and the destruction of kingdom of highly skilled warriors, with the third book leading into the creation of a new kingdom, (Recluse). Then the next book is, 4th book of the World of Recluse) "The Magic Engineer". Then Modesitt, jr. switches to the side of Chaos, and tells a story where the character's of Chaos will became heroes in your eyes too. So with time, you will gain a better understanding of the World of Recluse through the following books: 5th book) "The White Order", & 6th book) "the Color of Chaos". The next set of books that go together in the World of Recluse, are: 7th book) "The Order War", 8th book) "The Magic of Recluse", & the 9th book) "The Death of Chaos". As for the last two book that the author has written, he has drifted into the life of some of the troops found in the World of Recluse. My $0.02 worth.

5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars You'll be wanting more when you're done this one., August 17, 1999

By A Customer

It was excellent, as is the whole Recluse Series. If you have read any of the the series you'll want this one. If you haven't read any of the series you had better get started and catch up with the rest of us. Modesitt has given us a very believeable and logical system of magic as well as characters you can enjoy reading about. His delve into the history behind the land and his attention to details is superb. I couldn't put it down. Heck I haven't been able to put any of them down.

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good story, but very similar to others in the series., March 23, 2004

By	C. T. Hunter "chips_books" (Gainesville, FL United States) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This books chronicles the fall of Cyador and the rise of Naclos. Even though the history and information about chaos/order relationships contained in this one are important for a reader wanting to understand the world of Recluce, I was somewhat disapointed by the fact that this book reads almost exactly like the others in the series. Basically, Nylan, your typical smith/order-mage, spends most of the book struggling to understand and master his powers. The book ends in the same way most of the others have- Nylan destroying a huge White army at the last possible second and being punished for it just like all the other heroes have been, by going blind and aging. I did like the characters in this one, good and bad, but I felt like I knew what was going to happen the entire time (which it turns out I did) so I didn't really get caught up in the suspense very much, just tried to get through it in a hurry to more on to the next one, which doesn't make for enjoyable reading. Hopefully in future books, Modesitt will change up the general story outline, maybe detailing the colonization of the planet by the Rats.