Rating: 
Summary: A really great book but definitely not the best of Recluce!
Review: This may be the best book Modesitt's released in the last five years or so, but I wouldn't call it the best of the Recluce series. Being fairly predictable and sometimes a bit too plodding, this book didn't live up to its real potential. Most of the book was really great and I am still tempted to give a 5-star ranking. Mainly, Kharl is a truly great character that the reader really feels like he understands. More mature than your normal fantasy hero, and more set in his ways, Kharl is a simple man who believes in what is right but feels lost in a world that doesn't seem to hold the same values and is full of gross coruption. When Kharl tries to do what little he can to uphold his values, the backlash is such that he feels his life is over. It's all he can do to survive and this book takes you from Kharl's most desperate time through his inevitable great triumph and beautiful reward. Also, Modesitt finally got around to giving us a tour of the other lands of his world. Austra, Nordla, and Hamor were visited by Kharl during his time as a sailor and they all have much potential for future books. I'd especially like to read more of Hamor. I hope that Modesitt will continue with his story of Kharl in future books.
Rating:
Summary: A Return to the World of Recluce
Review: Three years after the somewhat formulaic "Cyador" books, Modesitt has returned to the world of Recluce, this time to the tale of Kharl, a cooper - a barrel maker - in Nordla, a northern island-continent across the Eastern Sea from Recluce and Candar, the sites of the 11 earlier books. And for the first time, the protagonist is a grown man, with a consort and two teenage children. While the overall plot remains much the same as the earlier books, there are at least a few important changes from those earlier books. Kharl suffers losses and wrongs not experienced by any of the earlier Recluce protagonists. He is a mature man, not the callow youths we have seen earlier. And his experiences take place in Nordla and in other parts of the world that we've not seen before. But along the way, fans of the Recluce series will encounter familiar characters: Talryn from "The Magic of Recluce," Justen from "The Order War," and several others. "Wellspring of Chaos" occurs some years after the destruction of Fairhaven at the end of "The Order War" and not too long before the events of "The Magic of Recluce." It's good to see Modesitt stretching a little bit. It would be better to see him stretch a little more. But the story is fun, and the ties into the earlier stories - the destroyed tower of the Duke of Lydiar, for example - is seamless. You don't have to know a thing about the Recluce series to enjoy this book, but if you are familiar with the series you will be delighted at the sly references. There will plainly be a sequel; Modesitt gets suitable mileage out of a good character. I look forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: A Return to the World of Recluce
Review: Three years after the somewhat formulaic "Cyador" books, Modesitt has returned to the world of Recluce, this time to the tale of Kharl, a cooper - a barrel maker - in Nordla, a northern island-continent across the Eastern Sea from Recluce and Candar, the sites of the 11 earlier books. And for the first time, the protagonist is a grown man, with a consort and two teenage children. While the overall plot remains much the same as the earlier books, there are at least a few important changes from those earlier books. Kharl suffers losses and wrongs not experienced by any of the earlier Recluce protagonists. He is a mature man, not the callow youths we have seen earlier. And his experiences take place in Nordla and in other parts of the world that we've not seen before. But along the way, fans of the Recluce series will encounter familiar characters: Talryn from "The Magic of Recluce," Justen from "The Order War," and several others. "Wellspring of Chaos" occurs some years after the destruction of Fairhaven at the end of "The Order War" and not too long before the events of "The Magic of Recluce." It's good to see Modesitt stretching a little bit. It would be better to see him stretch a little more. But the story is fun, and the ties into the earlier stories - the destroyed tower of the Duke of Lydiar, for example - is seamless. You don't have to know a thing about the Recluce series to enjoy this book, but if you are familiar with the series you will be delighted at the sly references. There will plainly be a sequel; Modesitt gets suitable mileage out of a good character. I look forward to it.
Rating:
Summary: Best Recluce novel since Chaos Balance, if still formulaic
Review: Wellspring of Chaos is probably the best Recluce novel Modesitt has penned since the Chaos Balance, a solid if not spectacular addition to a series that had badly run out of gas the last few books. What makes it better? The good books in the series share the common thread of exploring the intriguing cultures and magic of Recluce; the bad ones use it as a backdrop for what has become a bit of a repeating boy-overcomes-obstacles-to-be-world-changing-mage/Emperor/etc. The good news is this has a lot more in common with the former. The story is one we've heard before and unfortunately elements remain formulaic enough to knock it down a star. Without ruining plot, Kharl the Cooper is a good-deeds type who does a good deed for the wrong person, gets forced from his home, sails around the globe (literally), finds himself in exile, and helps out the land and people of his exile. Substitute sail for wander and Recluce has seen this tale told before - Magic of Recluce, Towers of the Sunset, Magic Engineer, Order War, Fall of Angels, among others. It's familiar territory, for better or for worse. Now the good news. First, Kharl is Modesitt's first middle-aged Recluce protagonist since Nylan in the Chaos Balance, meaning Modesitt ratchets Kharl's observation level of life's travails up a few notches from his typical kid. This doesn't mean Kharl is any quicker off the bat than some others - his awakening as an Order Mage resembles that of Lerris - but we don't have to watch him do truly dumb things. Second, the wanderjahr is better done than any book since Chaos Balance. Kharl visits almost every major city on the planet in his sailing, and its the exploration of the different cultures in this well articulated world that make this worth reading. Nordla and Austra finally get explored, as well as side trips into Hamor, Recluce and Candar, the last of which features some neat cameos by previous series characters. As it turns out, Austra and Nordla don't feel much different from various Candar provinces, but its still interesting reading. Finally, Kharl does interesting things with Order magic - there's new tricks in that old dog. The formulaic aspect to the plot clearly subtracts a bit, meaning this is good but doesn't rank with the very best of the series (such as Towers or Death of Chaos). Still, its the best of Recluce in several years, and the various plot threads Modesitt leaves undone means we'll get a sequel of hopefully similar quality. It's also not a bad entry point for the series given that Kharl has to have the history of Candar explained to him by his shipmates, meaning you get a pretty solid background even if you don't know the series. Those of us who have a bookshelf full of Modesitt first editions and would buy the next just to keep the series complete have a worthwhile read ahead.
Rating:
Summary: Best Recluce novel since Chaos Balance, if still formulaic
Review: Wellspring of Chaos is probably the best Recluce novel Modesitt has penned since the Chaos Balance, a solid if not spectacular addition to a series that had badly run out of gas the last few books. What makes it better? The good books in the series share the common thread of exploring the intriguing cultures and magic of Recluce; the bad ones use it as a backdrop for what has become a bit of a repeating boy-overcomes-obstacles-to-be-world-changing-mage/Emperor/etc. The good news is this has a lot more in common with the former. The story is one we've heard before and unfortunately elements remain formulaic enough to knock it down a star. Without ruining plot, Kharl the Cooper is a good-deeds type who does a good deed for the wrong person, gets forced from his home, sails around the globe (literally), finds himself in exile, and helps out the land and people of his exile. Substitute sail for wander and Recluce has seen this tale told before - Magic of Recluce, Towers of the Sunset, Magic Engineer, Order War, Fall of Angels, among others. It's familiar territory, for better or for worse. Now the good news. First, Kharl is Modesitt's first middle-aged Recluce protagonist since Nylan in the Chaos Balance, meaning Modesitt ratchets Kharl's observation level of life's travails up a few notches from his typical kid. This doesn't mean Kharl is any quicker off the bat than some others - his awakening as an Order Mage resembles that of Lerris - but we don't have to watch him do truly dumb things. Second, the wanderjahr is better done than any book since Chaos Balance. Kharl visits almost every major city on the planet in his sailing, and its the exploration of the different cultures in this well articulated world that make this worth reading. Nordla and Austra finally get explored, as well as side trips into Hamor, Recluce and Candar, the last of which features some neat cameos by previous series characters. As it turns out, Austra and Nordla don't feel much different from various Candar provinces, but its still interesting reading. Finally, Kharl does interesting things with Order magic - there's new tricks in that old dog. The formulaic aspect to the plot clearly subtracts a bit, meaning this is good but doesn't rank with the very best of the series (such as Towers or Death of Chaos). Still, its the best of Recluce in several years, and the various plot threads Modesitt leaves undone means we'll get a sequel of hopefully similar quality. It's also not a bad entry point for the series given that Kharl has to have the history of Candar explained to him by his shipmates, meaning you get a pretty solid background even if you don't know the series. Those of us who have a bookshelf full of Modesitt first editions and would buy the next just to keep the series complete have a worthwhile read ahead.
Rating: 
Summary: A Mage In Spite of Himself
Review: Wellspring of Chaos is the twelfth novel in the Recluce Saga, but the events therein occur about a half century after the destruction of Fairhaven in The Order War and before the events in The Magic of Recluce. In this novel, Kharl is a cooper in the port town of Brysta on Nordla. One everning, he interrupts an assault on a neighbor's girl by two rich youths and drives them off. Later, he finds an assaulted female blackstaffer, a wanderer from Recluce, in an alley near his shop and takes her into his home; his wife Charee believes that blackstaffers are evil and will not allow her to be taken upstairs to the family residence, so Kharl lays her down on the apprentice pallet in his workshop. Charee treats her injuries, repairs her clothing, and prepares to take her to the local priest of the one-god. However, someone starts a fire and kills the girl during the confusion. Captain Egen of the Watch arrests Kharl for the murder and has him confined in a cell. However, a neighbor testifies at the trial that Kharl was within his sight throughout the fire incident and thus could not have killed the girl. So the Justicer and the local lord decide, from the testimony of Captain Egen, that Charee must have been the murderer and she is sentenced to hang. They also decide that Kharl has resisted arrest and was disrespectful, so he is sentenced to thirty lashes. After this misjustice, both of Kharl's sons blame him for the death of their mother and move away from the home. Kharl's taxes are raised to double twice the prior years and his customers are going elsewhere for barrels. Then his neighbor is murdered and Kharl intercepts the fleeing killer and stops him dead. Grabbing what coins he can and the dead girl's staff and backpack, Kharl flees his home and his troubles. In this story, Kharl is the victim of a mean, nasty and vindictive person, Captain Egen, who is the son of the local lord and who has come to thoroughly hate Kharl. Despite all that has happened to him, Kharl is still naive and trusting. However, he is taken in hand by Jekat, a local urchin and beggar, and introduced to the seamier side of Brysta, including Egen's misdeeds and a ritual killer white wizard who is after Jekat. Kharl finally escapes Brysta on the Seastag, captained by Hagen of Valmurl on Austra. He becomes a carpenter's assistant and visits ports throughout the world. He also reads a book from the dead blackstaffer's pack, The Basis of Order, and ponders the nature of order and chaos. In his travels, he meets a number of people who help him understand the principles behind the book and he eventually finds a minor black mage who describes some of the "tricks" that black mages can perform. This story describes Kharl's development as a black mage. While he never relinguishes his previous occupation as a cooper nor his current one of carpenter's mate, he reluctantly adds the skills of mage to his repertoire. He is very stubborn and only gives up ideas and associations as absolutely necessary. He is driven to be a mage or he would have ignored the whole notion. Nonetheless, he finally acknowledges his new vocation, but also recognizes his great ignorance. In some respects, this novel parallels The Magi'i of Cyador, only with a black mage rather than a white wizard. With the loose ends in this volume, one would expect a sequel corresponding to Scion of Cyador, wherein Kharl concentrates on developing his order skills. Hopefully this sequel will not be very long in coming. Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of personal growth, magical abilities and dutiful commitment. -Arthur W. Jordin
Rating:
Summary: Wonderful worldbuilding. Well written.
Review: When he gets between a lord's son and his pleasure, cooper Kharl goes from being a respected craftsman to an accused criminal. Ultimately, he loses his entire family and has to flee his native Brysta--but not before a young black mage he had rescued is murdered. Kharl takes the mage's staff. As her reads the fallen mage's book and experiments with her staff, Kharl begins to refine his own sense of order. He may be a simple cooper, but he believes in doing things right--and over time, comes to believe in making things right as well. But it's difficult for a refugee to make things right--you need power to accomplish much. A mage, on the other hand, has real power. Kharl's problems lead him to befriend beggers, fight pirates, and ultimately battle white mages for the future of one of the kingdom of Austra. Fortunately, he has a knack of finding friends when he needs them and, although he denies it, his sense of order begins to bring him power. Author L. E. Modesitt, Jr. has created a fascinating world in the Recluce saga. Order and chaos battle one another, yet need each other to survive. The politics of the world are far more complex than good vs. evil, and even the side of 'order' has its own problems. Kharl makes an interesting character--with a love for wood and iron and true caring about others. Readers new to Modesitt and Recluce may find the novel slow going at first. The problems Kharl faces reveal themselves only slowly and his ultimate (in this book at least) battle does little to resolve the problems that first set him into motion. For me, WELLSPRING lacked some of the emotional intensity of earlier novels in this fine series. That, however, is not to say that WELLSPRING isn't a fascinating adventure and well worth the read.
Rating:
Summary: Modesitt's Best Main Character Yet
Review: Wow! This is by far my favorite book, not only in the Saga of Recluce, but my favorite by this writer. I have read every book in the Saga of Recluce, the three books from the Chorean Chronicles, and four of the books from the Spell Song series. From all, Kharl is by far my favorite.
The first and (I find) most interesting point in this character, is that he is totally different from all of the other leading men (or women) in Modesitt's stories. For one, he is tall, broad, and even has a slight paunch, where as all of his other characters are shorter and slight of figure. I think this is what made me like this character in the first place, his solidness. He is also a very honest man (der, a must for an Order Master), and he goes above and beyond constantly, and never expects a reward.
Please, please, Mr. Modesitt, write a sequel to this!
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