Ordermaster (Saga of Recluce)

Rating:
Summary: Charming But Nothing New
Review: "Ordermaster" is the sequel to "Wellspring of Chaos," this book picking up immediately where the last ended. For those familiar with Modesitt's "Recluce" series, this is the 13th book and, like most of the 12th book, takes place on the islands of Austra and Nordla, away from the continent of Candar and the island of Recluce, where the 11 earlier books were set.

Modessit really has only one story to tell. The plot in all 13 books is largely the same. The protagonist - always a male, by the way - must overcome increasingly difficult challenges to triumph. There have been three variations: in some of the middle books we learned that the White Demons, the Chaos wizards, had some good points. In some of the other books, we saw the origins of "The Legend," the societies on this world where woman are dominant and not men, although always from the point of view of a man. And in "Wellspring" and in "Ordermaster," we see the formula applied to a middle-aged barrel maker, rather than a callow youth.

It really reminds me of the old 1960's Motown groups who are still touring, 40 years down the road, singing the same songs, using exactly the same dance moves. It's charming but not captivating. It's frustrating because you can see Modesitt's talent improving across the books, but he hasn't written a *new* book in years; just variations on the same book.

And then there is The Balance. Modesitt's carefully rationalized magic, Order v. Chaos, requires that there be a balance, a concept developed throughout the series. At its simplest level, the Balance says that when there is a powerful order wizard like Kharl, the protagonist here, there has to be an equal increase in chaos. And we know from earlier books that Kharl has a equally powerful contemporary in Lerris, the protagonist of "Magic of Recluce" and "Death of Magic." Where are the "super wizards of Chaos" to balance these two?

In the last three or four books, the Empire of Hamor has been the baddy; perhaps in the next book we will see Kharl and Lerris team up to take down Hamor? No, what am I saying, that would be a new plot. Not likely.

"Ordermaster" is a good yarn, but nothing new; it's a story told thirteen times. Told a little better each time, it's true, but still. Wait for the paperback.

Rating:
Summary: sequel to the WELLSPRING OF CHAOS
Review: After saving the life and the throne of Lord Ghrant of Austra, former cooper and sailor Kharl is made a Lord and given an estate. He barely settles in when Kharl's friend lord- Chancellor Hagen whisks him to the capital. Lord Ghrant needs his help in quelling rebellious lords, abetted by the Hamorian Empire who wants to make Austra a part of their dominion. After Kharl defeats the mages and the rebellious lords he returns home but once again his rest is short-lived.

Hagen tells him that Lord Ghrant wants him to be the envoy to Nordla, Kharl's former homeland, the place he fled because Lord West and his son Egen wanted to kill him. He accepts the job realizing that he has changed so much his enemies will never recognize him. He is to report on the activities of Hamorians reputed to be there in large numbers. In Nordla, Kharl realizes that Egen is allied with the Hamorians who want to overthrow his father and place the son Egan on the throne. Kharl refuses to let this happen because Egan is so evil he will destroy Nordla. In the upcoming battle Kharl must destroy four powerful white wizard masters of chaos magic before they try to kill him.

ORDERMASTER, the sequel to WELLSPRING OF CHAOS returns the reader to the further adventures in store for Kharl, a powerful mage, a reluctant Lord and a champion of justice. He is a character so likeable and endearing readers will root for him to prevail in battle and in Nordla win the hand of the woman he loves. There is plenty of action in the book though not at the expense of character development as L.E. Modesitt, Jr. has written another exciting action adventure in his Recluce Universe.

Harriet Klausner


Rating:
Summary: Deja Vu All Over Again
Review: First of all, L.E. Modesitt is a very enjoyable author. I say enjoyable because although I don't know if he is really good I always love reading his books. However...

He really needs to come up with some new plots. As other reviewers have pointed out - this is the same story that he has told 6 or 7 other times. Modesitt apparently likes to do stories in two book arcs - his many Recluse stories span the founding of the Legend, the founding of Recluse, the destruction of Fairhaven. Most of the stories are from the side of order, but there are two arcs that cover White Wizards and present them in a favorable light (but then they were the only slightly white - White Wizards).

This story covers the second half of the arc about Kharl - a middle-aged cooper who has lost his wife (executed for a crime she did not commit) and two sons (because Kharl was exiled) and has discovered that he has the ability to "wield" order. As is typical in the two book arc, the second novel is about Kharl really coming into his power and understanding the task before him. I won't go into more description as through other reviews you can get the gist of the story.

Basically, this book and the one before it (Wellspring of Chaos) are perfectly fine places to begin reading the Recluse novels, but if you've had the enjoyable experience of reading any of the 12 or so other novels, this book will not take you to any new places. This explains my 3 star rating. If this is your first or hopefully second (at least read Wellspring first), then this book is easily or 4 or 5 star read.

Rating:
Summary: Reliable entertainment
Review: I can always depend on being entertained when I purchase an L.E. Modesitt, Jr. book. This book is no different. In the Recluce books, and his other fantasy books, Modesitt sticks to a standard formula. The protagonist finds he/she is endowed with special powers, (in Recluce, power over Chaos/Order), and as these powers develop, they prove to be just sufficient to take care of any problems the protagonist encounters. No this is nothing new for Modesitt, and thats fine for me, because I am always entertained. Worth the price in my opinion. If your new to Modesitt, you may want to try one of his earlier Recluce books first and form your own opinion.

Rating:
Summary: decent read but same old same old
Review: If Ordermaster and its prequel Wellspring of Chaos had come out as the first two books in the Recluse series, I'd have given them a slightly stronger review. Ordermaster is decently paced, has a good strong main character, some interestingly complex politics as its background, and is overall pretty well-written. But after reading a dozen Recluse books before these, one has to wonder how many times can Modesitt tell this same story. The problem in Ordermaster, besides the fact that we've seen this story so many times before, is that the plot begins to feel repetitive even within the book itself, a problem that has already affected his shorter series, the Corean Chronicles.
To recap the general formula: reluctant man of great but unpolished power gradually learns to use said power through a series of increasingly difficult tasks/battles in which he overcomes great odds at the cost of greater personal injury, much to the awe of those around him. He grows more powerful and more reluctant each time, often due to an increasing distaste for the death he's caused. In the end, he returns triumphant but battered to his humble abode where he'll humbly do some humble craft until humbly forced to humbly pick up yet again his hero mantle in the next book.
In this case, the humble hero is Kharl, the cooper turned mage/lord from the Wellspring of Chaos, where he helped Lord Ghrant of Austra overcome a rebellion led by his brother. In this book, Kharl must first help Lord Ghrant of Austra overcome a rebellion (helped in large part by the greedy Hamorian empire) and then in the second half return to his home of Brysta to help put down a rebellion led by one brother against another (helped in large part by the greedy Hamorian empire). The manner in which he puts down both rebellions is as strikingly similar as the overall plot, use of the "sight shield" to slip unnoticed into enemy areas, use of "hardened air" to kill enemies, turning back of "chaos fire" against the wizards who wield it, and so on. It is only a slight exaggeration to say that if one simply copied fifty pages and then changed a few names, one would have the next fifty pages, and could continue to do so until all 400 pages were done.
What helps Ordermaster somewhat is the characterization, which though familiar is also nicely done for the most part. And a few of the side-stories are well-done as well. And if you haven't read other Modesitt books, it's a decent enough story, though too repetitive.
With each "new" book of Recluse, I hope more and more for an actual original story and I grow more and more disenchanted. I've moved Modesitt from the "buy the book" category to the "get at the library" one because of the repetition of story and character, and he's on the edge of being added to the "don't bother reading because you've seen it all before" category. Ordermaster doesn't do anything to change that.

Rating:
Summary: Good sequel
Review: Typical fare from LEM.
The formula's for his recluce novels never differ too
much.
No need to mention too much but if you've read any of his
other more recent recluce novels, you'll know what to
expect from this novel.
Anything else has already been mentioned in another review.

Rating:
Summary: Ordermaster
Review: While it is true that the author uses his "standard" formula of the hero's evolution and discovery of powers, the characters in each subsequent Recluce novel have become stronger and more interesting and perhaps more human. In the latest stories of Kharl, the author brings out the very true ringing struggle to make the best decisions and take the best actions in an environment when all choices presented are poor. He brings this insight to the topic of the justice system which Kharl learns is not "justice," but just the best alternative to poorer alternatives. Similarly, Kharl learns that political power should rest with the least imperfect party.
In this respect the fantasy world of Kharl feels very real.
I found the story very entertaining and would hope that Mr. Modesitt will conjure up another Recluce book with another fresh hero soon.

Rating:
Summary: Excellent. Indeed.
Review: Yes,we have a delightful exposition of how it all works in 'OrderMaster'. Sure, Modesitt's hero again works his way up from zip to something powerful: but isn't that what hero's are for? With no heros to champion high level standards, humanity would have no guidon for improvement. What a powerful way to get across the societal machinations of our awakening humanity... it works for me; and hey, this time the hero gets to hug his woman!