Rating: 
Summary: If you liked Recluce you'll like this
Review: L.E. Modesitt Jr's opener in his latest series, The Corean Chronicles is an utter gem, but entirely expected. I confess I didn't find the Spellsong quartet as good as the Recluce novels, but with Legacies, Modesitt is back to his flowing best. The novel is written in that style so unique to Modesitt, where the pace of life seems more languid but inexorable as he grow with our primary character and follow him as he matures into a model citizen with that little extra.
The story concerns a herdsman named Alucius, who lives on the Iron Valleys on his stead with his mother, Lucendra and his grandparents, Royalt and Veryl. From an early age he shows great promise in what is called `Talent' with his healing of his ailing grandmother and uncanny ability to communicate directly with the nightram flock (who supply the wool that become harder than steel under pressure). After learning how to become a crack shot from his grandfather and fighting off the alien sandwolves (and forming a relationship with Wendra, daughter of Kyrial the cooper) he is conscripted into the militia where the next three months form the bulk of the story.
Various military rites of passage and a burgeoning Talent (which he must keep hidden) means a swift recognition in the milita and he is promoted through to First Squad Leader and spends considerable time as a scout. It is soon recognised that not only is Alucius a crack shot but has a gift for a cool head under pressure and tactical acumen. His rise to military stardom seems inevitable until, that is he is captured, unconscious, during a battle with the Matrial forces.
Ever since the cataclysm the Matrial has ended four hundred years of anarchy, but has imposed her own matriarchal society where everyone is collared and linked to her own massive Talent giving her power of life and death over all her peoples. They are better off under her but it comes at the price of freedom. Alucius is conscripted into her army and demonstrates the same acumen fighting the Southerners as he did in his own militia. During his time his Talent powers grow ever more and one day a meeting with the ethereal soarers gives a greater sense of destiny until he walks into the Matrial's palace, locates the source of her `chains' and frees the land of the collar before escaping with nearly a hundred men and returning to the Iron Valleys to become a captain in charge of his own company.
Throughout the book the reader grows alongside Alucius as this perfectly good, easy natured yet inexorable force grows physically, mentally and in Talent to become a formidable warrior. Any reader of Modesitt will recognise this style prevalent in all his lead characters. You know nothing can stop them and they plod slowly through all obstacles to reach the conclusion. There is no moralising as Modesitt makes it clear that whatever our hero decides to do is unequivically right and brooks no argument. Alucius' eventual ability to kill with a single thought actually makes him a very dangerous man and given his professed ambition is simply to learn then there is a keen sense that Alucius' actions, at times, just happen to coincide with the perceived correct moral choice rather than due to careful consideration on his part. Indeed, in the world of Corus he seems almost omnipotent.
Modesitt's world of Corus returns us brilliantly to the tour de force that is Recluce both in characterisation, style and plot. It is three attributes that are unique to the author within the fantasy genre. No other author writes quite like Modesitt and, as ever, his novels are a delight to read. This opener is no exception.
Rating: 
Summary: A Coming of Age In a TIme of War
Review: Legacies is the first novel in the Corean Chronicles. "The Duarchy of Corus blessed all the lands with peace and prosperity, for generation upon generation, from the times of the Forerunners onward ... Then came the Cataclysm, and the old ways and webs weakened, and the world changed for all time".Alucius is the scion of a Herder family. He has the Talent and has learned the ways of the Iron Valleys and the Nightsheep. Now he is old enough to be inducted into the Militia as was his forefathers. Since his father did not come back from such service, his mother, Lucenda, is determined not to lose him as well, but his family cannot afford to buy out his enlistment. His grandfather, who had been a Militia Captain, trains him well for the service; he can ride, shoot, swordfight and even fight hand to hand. His mother provides him with Nightsheep underclothes that will turn a sword and may even stop a bullet (although the impact could still kill him). When the time comes, Alucius is better prepared than most Militia inductees, but nothing can prevent random misfortunes. Alucius has a girl who promises to wait for him. Wendra is a friend of the family whom he has known for years. She too comes from a herder family, although her father is a cooper, a maker of barrels. Their immediate enemies are the Reillies and other brigands in the Westerhills. However, there are also the Lord-Protector of Lanachrona in the south as well as the Matrial of Madrien to the southwest beyond the Reillies. Madrien has been attacking the Reillies and many of them have come east to raid the Iron Valleys. While Alucius is serving in the Militia, the Madrien attack the Iron Valleys with a powerful Duarchy device. Alucius is knocked unconscious by a falling building. Upon awakening, he finds a silver torque around his neck that can strangle him, cause intense pain or even kill him at the will of his commanders; also, the torque cancels most of his Talent. He has been captured by the matriarchal Madrien society, where most men wear the torque and even a few unruly or distrusted women. He is determined to escape, but he doesn't yet know enough to avoid recapture even if he can find a way to remove the torque. This novel features a young man of talent serving in the military and greatly resembles the Magi'i of Cyador in those aspects. However, this is a time of war in Corus. Moreover, the young man is not as powerful in his talent as Lorn and is not an officer, but rather a low ranking trooper, although he is learning fast. The world of Corus has an unusual ecology, with many animals and plants that are too poisonous to eat and some with strange powers. Moreover, there a still a few powerful artifacts of the Duarchy in working order, but the Legacies of the Duarchy are commonly considered curses. Madrien is a matriarchy, but is opposed by nations that are rabid patriarchies. The Iron Valleys are a mildly patriarchal society when compared to the others. While the author has explored the differences between matriarchal and patriarchal societies elsewhere, one would think that the term "Duarchy" probably indicates a society with a more balanced division of power between the sexes. The sequels may be even more interesting than this volume. Highly recommended for Modesitt fans and for anyone else who enjoys fantasy stories of smart and talented persons working their way out of a dangerous situation.
Rating:
Summary: First Time Modesitt Reader
Review: Legacies is the first of Modesitt's novels that I have gotten around to reading. His Recluce series has been suggested to me in the past, but there was so much out there to read that it went to the back of my mind. However, I saw this book at a used book store, and, since it was the only book of his avaliable that was the first of a series, I decided to try it out. It took the book a little while to get going, especially because it would jump multiple years and leave it up to the reader to figure out how old Alucius is at the time. His grandfather's training sessions were the point where it became an interesting book for me, and stayed interesting throughout. There was a good deal of everything, and though I've seen better explanations of tactics in fiction, Modesitts' were adequate for moving the story along. The greatest boon of the book was probably the inclusion of rifles into the standard swords and sorcery arsenal. I had never heard of anything like it in a fantasy novel, and Modesitt made good use of the rifle in emphasizing Alucius' broad range of skills in everything from herding to warfare to saving western Corus on his day off. Unfortunately, there were a few things that irked me as I read through the story, which made the book undeserving of a fifth star in my mind. The most prominent was his conversion of miles (I think) into vingts and hours into glasses. Almost every fantasy writer does something of the like, for seemingly no reason other than to make their world unique, but just because it is excruciatingly common does not make it excusable. Secondly was the properness of everybody who Alucius comes across. There was a distinct lack of vernacular dialogue between anybody, which diminished the realism of the book for me. The third was the naming issue. It is obvious that Modesitt was not a linguist on any level, and instead put random consenants together to create alien-sounding names, and then gave animals names like sanders, soarers, and Wildebeast. Again, this is very common among fantasy writers, but it doesn't help his case that it is. Overall it was a pretty good start to a fantasy epic, definitely enough to warrant a purchase of Darknesses.
Rating:
Summary: A New Series
Review: Legacies: The first book in the new "Corean Chronicles" series by LE Modesitt is similar in some aspects to his other books. However, there are many differences to the older chaos/order balance series: most important the world: instead of many magic users there are only a few. In fact, Legacies is similar to the first Time God book; there are rifles instead of the arrows and swords of his Recluse series, and the magic use is confined to a very few individuals. The magic use is a cross between the order magic and chaos magic of the recluse novels. To a first time reader of LE Modesitt, this is one of his best, and contains many of the characteristics that make up his books: a hero who starts off weak, and gets stronger, but is still limited in power, and a war into which he is thrown. In this case a war between a Matriarchal nation, where all men are enslaved, and a small nation, to which the hero belongs. Because of the war conscription is introduced, and the hero becomes a cavalryman. While the size of the book may be daunting, it is a very easy read, and a very enjoyable one. If you are a fantasy fan, this is a must read, and even gets a recommendation from Waterstone as a Christmas "must read" in their stores.
Rating:
Summary: First Time Modesitt Reader
Review: Modesitt seems to have certain themes he returns to in his books. Chief among these themes is a society where women are the strong rulers, and men are the barbaric, but simulataneously competent and unjustly discriminated against, sex. His other important theme is that magic is like engineering is like magic. These themes seem to take prevelance in this new series, albeit not so strongly as they did in the Saga of Recluse. Still, I felt like I was simply reading another Recluse novel -- one simply 10,000 years in the future (which, perhaps this is). In any case, as usual, Modesitt is a gifted writer who interests readers in a story that never really gets going and ends too quickly. Perhaps we will be treated in the next novel to a more thorough development of the world and how "Talent" works. In any case, I've learned how to shear mystical sheep. As I learned woodworking and steam engine creation in Recluse, I'm looking forward to something more substantial in the next book of this series.
Rating: 
Summary: Slow moving but shows promise
Review: Modesitt seems to have certain themes he returns to in his books. Chief among these themes is a society where women are the strong rulers, and men are the barbaric, but simulataneously competent and unjustly discriminated against, sex. His other important theme is that magic is like engineering is like magic. These themes seem to take prevelance in this new series, albeit not so strongly as they did in the Saga of Recluse. Still, I felt like I was simply reading another Recluse novel -- one simply 10,000 years in the future (which, perhaps this is). In any case, as usual, Modesitt is a gifted writer who interests readers in a story that never really gets going and ends too quickly. Perhaps we will be treated in the next novel to a more thorough development of the world and how "Talent" works. In any case, I've learned how to shear mystical sheep. As I learned woodworking and steam engine creation in Recluse, I'm looking forward to something more substantial in the next book of this series.
Rating:
Summary: great epic fantasy
Review: On a remote sheep farm in Corus, herder Alucius grows up in relative isolation as his mother and grandparents do not want the ruling bodies to use the lad's Talent. Instead he learns to hide his skills, using them only to augur any danger to his family or the sheep. Alucius' pastoral life ends when the Militia drafts him. Not wanting to repeat what happened to his father who died fighting for the Militia, Alucius serendipitously uses his Talent to study auras in order to stay alive. However, in spite of his skill, the enemy invaders from Madrien capture him and place him bondage. Though somewhat muted in his environs, Alucius applies the Talent to survive. The introductory novel to the latest epic fantasy from L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is a great start to what looks like will be a tremendous series. This book is not a throw away though the inviting story line provides a strong look at the cast, especially Alucius while containing weird creatures and a world that seems very mystical yet genuine. It is the global environment that makes LEGACIES a triumphant opening gamut that will send fans of the author and new readers into a frenzy for the next novel. With the Talent of Mr. Modesitt, Jr. fans will anticipate even greater insight yet filled with non-stop action and excitement as the audience explores the intricacies of the Corean Chronicles. Harriet Klausner
Rating:
Summary: Well-Written, Character-Driven Story
Review: Story: Alucius is a young shepherd in a society that is trying to rebuilt, generations after a cataclysm. Like many members of his family, he has Talent, which includes the ability to read minds (limitedly), heal others, the ability to move about unnoticed, and the ability to see where others cannot. However, his country is impoverished, and is being threatened by the Matrites, a matriarchal nation to the West, and by another warlike nation to the South. Alucius gets drafted and is eventually wounded, captured, and enslaved by the Matrites. He discovers that the Matrites have limited freedom (especially the men) but are more orderly and prosperous than his people. As Alucius develops his Talent, he is eventually escapes and leads a group of prisoners-of-war back to his homeland. Technical Commentary: This is a character-driven story that is solely focused on Alucius, who seems destined to somehow save his people. It looks like this first-of-three books is setting Alucius up to save not only his own country, but to help the people of his entire continent regain some of what was lost during their cataclysmic past. The book is well-written, Alucius is very well-developed as a character, and the setting and story hold enough strangeness to create novelty. The writing is very detailed, and the pace requires a patient reader. Second Commentary: The history of the people of this land is pretty sketchy. Some find this a weakness, but I see the sketchiness as an aspect of this character (he is young and needs to learn much) and his culture (they have lost much of their past and are just starting to regain their old magic and technology). Conclusion: If you're a patient reader who likes character-driven stories, read this book. If you are neither or both of those things, don't read it.
Rating:
Summary: A new hero and world
Review: The author has given us a new world and a new hero to combat evil. While there are many themes running through this book, the predominant one is good versus evil and the author's conflict of hurting some for the greater good going awry. Our hero must overcome slavery and battle while protecting his secret talent. In the end he manages to win his freedom over the obstructionism of arrogant men. This one, the first in a series is a definite keeper!
Rating:
Summary: A new hero and world
Review: The author has given us a new world and a new hero to combat evil. While there are many themes running through this book, the predominant one is good versus evil and the author's conflict of hurting some for the greater good going awry. Our hero must overcome slavery and battle while protecting his secret talent. In the end he manages to win his freedom over the obstructionism of arrogant men. This one, the first in a series is a definite keeper!
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