The Recluce series used to be one of my favorites, but I fell out of it somehow. I picked up Wellspring of Chaos while in the grips of nostalgia. Now, even though I have other books that I really want to read, I'm kind of tempted to pick up the next book in this series instead.

So, why the three stars if I enjoyed it so much? Well, I need a certain mood to read books from this series. I need the patience to wait while Modesitt makes his way to the ultimate conclusion. I need to want to be comforted by the inevitable ending that I know is coming. I lost that mood about halfway through this book, and so my enjoyment went down.

I will say that I liked the deviations from the usual pattern. I liked that Kharl was older, if still searching for some kind of purpose and meaning. I liked that there wasn't a love interest, which most certainly would have felt contrived. I enjoyed Kharl's learning process, and I had fun revisiting such familiar waters. Despite having other things that I want to read, I may just read more about Kharl sooner rather than later.