Book List
13. Wellsprings of Chaos by LE Modessitt
I went through lots of Modessitt's Recluce novels in high school and college, but hadn't read any since. Recluce is a world dominated by the twin opposing forces of order and chaos; throughout the series we see how the tension and uneasy Balance between the two powers has
played out.
In this particular installment, we follow Kharl, a Brystan cooper whose good heart and willingness to defend the defenseless leads to the loss of all that he has and his exile from Brysta. As he wanders the world he searches for answers, both to how to use his burgeoning order powers, and to deeper questions of how to find justice in an unjust world. The book takes place between The Order War and The Magic of Recluce, but aside from a few nods and cameos requires no previous experience in the series.
Like with so much in life, Modessitt's strengths are his weaknesses, and vice versa. He's described his work as "hard fantasy" -- imagine high fantasy as written by Arthur C Clarke or Isaac Asimov. The magic system, the worldbuilding, and the economics all work, which was uncommon in the 1990s when he began. The catch is that he spends lots of time and ink proving to the reader that he's done his homework, which can be fascinating, or deathly dull, depending on the reader's taste or even mood. We spend the first 100 pages establishing Kharl's daily life (enlivened by a little action, but mostly mundane.) It worked for me, but it might not have ten years ago.
I went through lots of Modessitt's Recluce novels in high school and college, but hadn't read any since. Recluce is a world dominated by the twin opposing forces of order and chaos; throughout the series we see how the tension and uneasy Balance between the two powers has
played out.
In this particular installment, we follow Kharl, a Brystan cooper whose good heart and willingness to defend the defenseless leads to the loss of all that he has and his exile from Brysta. As he wanders the world he searches for answers, both to how to use his burgeoning order powers, and to deeper questions of how to find justice in an unjust world. The book takes place between The Order War and The Magic of Recluce, but aside from a few nods and cameos requires no previous experience in the series.
Like with so much in life, Modessitt's strengths are his weaknesses, and vice versa. He's described his work as "hard fantasy" -- imagine high fantasy as written by Arthur C Clarke or Isaac Asimov. The magic system, the worldbuilding, and the economics all work, which was uncommon in the 1990s when he began. The catch is that he spends lots of time and ink proving to the reader that he's done his homework, which can be fascinating, or deathly dull, depending on the reader's taste or even mood. We spend the first 100 pages establishing Kharl's daily life (enlivened by a little action, but mostly mundane.) It worked for me, but it might not have ten years ago.