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7th out of 101 books
—
3 voters
Princeps (Imager Portfolio #5)
by
L.E. Modesitt Jr. (Goodreads Author)
The thrilling follow-up to Scholar—in which, after discovering a coup attempt and preventing a bloody civil war, Quaeryt was appointed princeps of Tilbor—begins a new episode inthe young Imager'slife. Now second only to the governor, and still hiding his powers as an Imager, Quaeryt is enjoying his new position, as well as his marriage to Lord Bhayar’s youngest sister, Vae...more
Hardcover, 496 pages
Published
May 22nd 2012
by Tor Books
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Excellent sequel to Scholar; Quaeryt and Vaelora solve one problem at a time until the **** hits the fan badly.
Typical Modesitt ultra-competent hero deals with one problem at a time yes, but I love the style, the world building and the main two characters here; a minor spoiler below about how the series differs a little from usual fantasy in a way that appeals quite a lot to me
one thing I like about this series (Imager in general both Rhenn and this) is also that rather than having the hero's lo...more
Typical Modesitt ultra-competent hero deals with one problem at a time yes, but I love the style, the world building and the main two characters here; a minor spoiler below about how the series differs a little from usual fantasy in a way that appeals quite a lot to me
one thing I like about this series (Imager in general both Rhenn and this) is also that rather than having the hero's lo...more
(Actual ranking 3.5 stars for me, 2.5 stars for the "general viewing public" IMO).
While I enjoyed the book, I understand that I'm strange, and I like stories about governing, as well as battles, of moral choices, and that Modesitt tends to hit those notes (the same notes, with the same moral messages behind the words) again and again with little variation. Which is why I have the split decision on his, book, one part of me is loving the minutiae and the details, the countervailing needs and dema...more
While I enjoyed the book, I understand that I'm strange, and I like stories about governing, as well as battles, of moral choices, and that Modesitt tends to hit those notes (the same notes, with the same moral messages behind the words) again and again with little variation. Which is why I have the split decision on his, book, one part of me is loving the minutiae and the details, the countervailing needs and dema...more
Quaeryt, as blonde David Duchovny, holds a loaf in hand and will feed the poor.
I was not troubled by the ellipses. What Orchid Ch'ng and LaserWraith don't say, "you can flip to any page and find three, even thirty-two."
Quaeryt listen's before speaking, does have the ability to communicate, make decisions, kill, travel unseen and triumph. He performs miracles and achieves extraordinary feats but cannot shake the accusation that he is the Nameless's something. He denies Nameless talents and argues...more
I was not troubled by the ellipses. What Orchid Ch'ng and LaserWraith don't say, "you can flip to any page and find three, even thirty-two."
Quaeryt listen's before speaking, does have the ability to communicate, make decisions, kill, travel unseen and triumph. He performs miracles and achieves extraordinary feats but cannot shake the accusation that he is the Nameless's something. He denies Nameless talents and argues...more
"Princeps" is a direct follow-up to "Scholar" and continues the story of Quaeryt, the Scholar/Imager, beginning the next day. If you are thinking about trying out this series, I would very much recommend beginning with the first volume of Quaeryt's adventures, "Scholar". This is not really a standalone novel but a mostly enjoyable follow up. I was really looking forward to this book after reading the others in the series, but it’s more of a bridge novel and it gets rather slow as it spends a lot...more
This book begins right where the previous book (Scholar) left off, with our hero Quaeryt now married to Vaelora and still running the administration of Tilbor. Unfortunately, as foreseen by Lord Bhayar's grandmother, the former capital of Telaryn, Pompeii Excela, is covered by a volcanic eruption and thrown into chaos. Quaeryt is appointed interim Governor and sent to restore order to the province. During this book, Quaeryt's imager skills become more of an open secret, with some heavy foreshado...more
Posted at: Fangs, Wands and Fairy Dust: PRINCEPS could be called "Diary of a Provinical Governor"
PRINCEPS
Book Five in The Imager Portfolio
L E. Modesitt, Jr.
TOR/Macmillan May 22, 2012
E-book, Hardcover (496 pages) and Audio
Disclosure: Sent by Publisher around release date. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions, except as noted, are my own.
PRINCEPS
Book Five in The Imager Portfolio
L E. Modesitt, Jr.
TOR/Macmillan May 22, 2012
E-book, Hardcover (496 pages) and Audio
Disclosure: Sent by Publisher around release date. No remuneration was exchanged and all opinions, except as noted, are my own.
The thrilling follow-up to Scholar—in which, after discovering a coup attempt and preventing a bloody civil war, Quaeryt was appointed princeps of Ti...more
It's really a tad pointless to say too much since if you've made it this far in the series, you already like the series and are aware of Modesitt's annoying quirks (like characters with crazy unpronounceable names) and his use of the same theme or idea in each book, just expanded or stretched a bit.
This part of the Imager series took us way back to the beginning, before the previous Imager books, and the main character here is working his way up the ranks, solving problems, hiding his abilities,...more
This part of the Imager series took us way back to the beginning, before the previous Imager books, and the main character here is working his way up the ranks, solving problems, hiding his abilities,...more
In Princeps, Quaeryt and Vaelora do not get much of a honeymoon. Shortly after they are married and Quaeryt becomes the Princeps of Tilbor, Vaelora’s brother Bhayar sends Quaeryt on another assignment. This assignment is a promotion to governor of a region that has recently been devastated by a natural disaster. (It seems that Quaeryt has become the guy who gets to put out all the political fires. It is also fairly obvious Quaeryt is mostly going along with this in hopes of furthering his own am...more
This book continues the story of Quaeryt. The story is similar to other L.E. Modesitt's works. A competent and (relatively) honest hero who thinks that his way of doing things is the best, even if it is not, it is better than the alternative.
The first part of the story is mainly regarding politics and trade-offs between the wants of the landholders (nobility), merchants (bourgeois) and the rest of the people. It clearly shows the power difference between these different groups and how doing some...more
The first part of the story is mainly regarding politics and trade-offs between the wants of the landholders (nobility), merchants (bourgeois) and the rest of the people. It clearly shows the power difference between these different groups and how doing some...more
i liked this book much over Scholar- see my review of the series in general. Here, we finally get into the meat of things. At last he is a real man, not the wise fool, itinerant who has no stake in anything and can just pick up and leave if things get too hot. The end was weird. I was mad at Bhayar and the author. Does he really need to set B up as a bad guy? Why? Surely he is savvy enough to know that both Q and V respond most to positive feedback and not by being threatened with Bhayar practic...more
It got only 3 stars from, me instead of 4 due to the ending -- it was cleary written as an ending to a book mid-series instead of having a full resolution. I would've given it 3.5. That said, I just purchased the next in the series, ha! I appreciated the struggles of governorship as seen through Quaeryt's eyes: you can't keep everyone happy; I'm sure our own President feels that every day. I'm interested to see how Quaeryt's lord will treat him in the next few books now that his power is publicl...more
This is the sequel to Scholar. The first half of the book was pretty slow; the last third was much better. I would have enjoyed it better as an ebook I think; even though I was reading a hardback, the font was small, possibly smaller than a lot of paperbacks, and the width of the characters was thin so if you have eye problem it causes a lot of eye strain.
I like the first three books in the Imager series and all the Recluce (sp?) ones much better, but this was still worth reading once. I assume...more
I like the first three books in the Imager series and all the Recluce (sp?) ones much better, but this was still worth reading once. I assume...more
As always, Modesitt shines. He's written literally DOZENS of novels and I've read almost all of them. Of those, I've only read one that I considered less than excellent (Empress of Eternity). Princeps is no exception. Scholar started somewhat slow and wandering, and it was a bit different for the protagonist to already have some reasonable skill in magic. It definitely got better by the end. In Princeps, the action starts right off and keeps you turning page after page. And yet, it's also a very...more
Princeps, the newest novel by L.E. Modesitt Jr., is the second installment in the second sub-series of the Imager Portfolio, which thus far includes a trilogy about the imager-portraiturist Rhennthyl (Imager, Imager’s Challenge and Imager’s Intrigue), and two novels about the scholar-imager Quaeryt (Scholar and Princeps), with a third novel entitled Imager’s Battalion scheduled for January 2013 and two more to follow further down the line. The Quaeryt books are set in the same fantasy universe a...more
Overall, I enjoyed Princeps, although the first half of the book was a tad slow. I felt there were too many ellipses in the diaglogue. The remaining half of the book was much better. The two main characters were likeable. A tad slow in story development and too much emphasis on mundane details. I actually enjoyed the first three books in the Imager series much better, although this book is still worth reading.
Dramatically improves on the previous book, even if every minor character still persists in mithifying and aggrandizing the protagonist in every conversation they engage in. You'd think the world revolves around our dear scholar-imager-turned-governor. Oh well, will still read the sequel. At least diidn't have to skip large chunks of the book... unlike its predecessor.
Picking up directly after Scholar Quaeryt now faces governing a city ravaged by natural disaster while combating corruption and moral choices versus expediency. This kind of internal conflict is what Modesitt excels in demonstrating. Some people may find the mundane details tedious but every bit adds color and additional depth to an already rich and compelling world. These details do make the first half of the book a bit slow, but the final third is fast paced and tense leaving you excited and d...more
I enjoyed PRINCEPS more than SCHOLAR, which it follows. There's still a lot of focus on administration and ethics, but more humanity as Quaeryt learns about marriage by experience, and begins to relate to the world as an imager. I paused in the middle of this book to reread the first three imager stories, to bring fresh air back into the series.
I'm currently having a very hard time reading this book. In my mind, by far the worst of the Imager series. This book is very tedious to read as it is mostly a day in the life of Quaeryt, day after day after day... Today he rode his horse here, and solved this problem, and then went back to his office, and then went home. And repeat. I'm almost 2/3s of the way done the book, and keep hoping that it's going to get better. Generally I have no problem getting sucked up into the world that L.E. Mode...more
If you like Modesitt's other fantasy books (Recluse, Imagers), you'll like this. Because it's basically the same character (logical super competent workman discovering how every thing leads to yak shaving, because they have to micromanage everything, thinking about ethics and food). It's the macaroni and cheese of fantasy.
Although the writing and story isn't up to the standard of my all time favourite books, there's something about this book that I found compelling, engaging and thoroughly captivating. I found the section on restoring the town fascinating, and even the homilies thoughtful despite the blatant similarity of the trappings of the fantasy religion with some we might be more familiar with. The best L.E.Modesitt I've read in a while, and I tend to like them all.
Read the series in order written, not time...more
Read the series in order written, not time...more
This book is a very good mix of politics, people, war, and a bit of magic. It's lower on action than the last one and the story promises more action in the next. The one thing that's a bit off is the title. The story is only partially about being a princes. Another solid imager story.
A great read in the Imager Portfolio. I greatly admire a writer that causes one to ponder life and the consequences of a characters actions on his morality. Read this further exploit of Quaeryt and Vaelora his bride as they deal with politics and loyalty to their Country.
As usual, an intriguing look at the nature of power, order and politics. Modesitt's books a bit like comfort food for me...they tend to be similar from one to the next, but are always impressive and compelling reads.
May 15, 2013
Chris
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Recommends it for:
Fantasy Readers
Shelves:
fantasy
Another good addition to this series. This was well told, with good pacing and the narrator read it well. It received a 4 from me instead of a 5 only because of the occasional predictability of it.
A good story line, it was a little slow at the beginning, but it filled out nicely, I'm looking forward to the next book. His methodical observations of human nature are always interesting.
Good sequel to Scholar>, picking the story line up and carrying the plot forward to a dramatic conclusion. Obviously, there will be another volume (see the ending) in the series.
Second novel about the beginning of imagers in Lydar. Scholar was more exciting, but this one continues the adventures of Quaeryt and his new wife, Vaelora as her brother tries to keep invaders out. He epects more from his brother in law than ever, and Quaeryt has to govern one province and then protect his wife and country with little help or thanks. He also has to guide a small group of new imagers, who really do not want to be in the middle of the war.
the imager series keeps on getting better! love the trials and learning this man has to go through.....
Another excellent Modesitt addition to the set!
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L. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt, Jr. is an author of science fiction and fantasy novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, lived in Washington, D.C. for 20 years, then moved to New Hampshire in 1989 where he met his wife. They relocated to Cedar City, Utah in 1993.
He has worked as a Navy pilot, lifeguard, delivery boy, u...more
More about L.E. Modesitt Jr....
He has worked as a Navy pilot, lifeguard, delivery boy, u...more
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Jun 02, 2012 06:39pm