"Magic of Recluce" Chaos and Order *spoilers are sure*

[Brad]

We hit this topic a little sooner than I had hoped, but it has entered the discussion (see Gut Reaction), so let us here what you have to say about the core of The Magic of Recluce.

[Jon]

Chaos and Order are why I kept coming back to the Recluce series. Each novel gave me a glimpse of the pieces, a different facet, a new perspective.

[Martin]

I just posted my review on The Magic of Recluce and I have to agree with Jon that one of the reasons that I enjoy reading L.E. Modesitt Jr. is his ability to change perspective from one book to the next the add to the general story and also his ability to let information trickle into his stories and then pick that information up at a later time to explain its importance.
One example I used in my review was with the girl Shrezsan whom Lerries encounters on the road to Nylar who reacts at seeing his black staff, but neither Lerris nor I as a reader understands why. This is picked up later in the book, where Lerris and others are referred to as Blackstaffers, but what it means isn’t really explained at all in this book.
There’s also a reference in this book some of the mountain range called Westhorns aren’t fully natural, but you’ll have to look in another book (I can’t remember which at the moment) to find out how it happened and the same is true about the reference to Fairhaven’s destruction, which is explained in yet another book (that I don’t remember either).
I both like and dislike this as I love to get that ‘deja-vu-ish’ moment of something mentioned get picked up again at a later time. The disadvantage is that the time line for the books in the Recluce series, compared to the release dates of the books. The chronological order of the actual stories can be found on Modesitts homepage here: Chronology of Recluce. The release order of the books can be seen in the left pane on the page.
As you can see on this page The Magic of Recluce is the first book published, but the second but last in chronological order.

[Jon]

Martin wrote: "As you can see on this page The Magic of Recluce is the first book published, but the second but last in chronological order."

And thanks, Martin, you just reminded me of a question I wanted to ask Mr. Modesitt concerning that chronology, although I'm in the wrong thread, but, oh well.

Mr. Modesitt, did you intentionally write The Magic of Recluce knowing it was near the end of the story arcs? Or were the other novels just to fill in the missing links for this first story?

[L.E.]

The closest answer to your question is that, as I was writing The Magic of Recluce, I kept developing the history of the world until I knew I had to write more stories. I didn't initially, because I'd never written fantasy before, and neither I nor my editor knew for certain whether the book would be a success. Then when my editor asked for another Recluce book, I had all the history in mind, and not a sequel for Lerris... which is why the first four books were written in the order in which they were and why I didn't get back to Lerris until the fifth book.

[Sandy]

I finished the book, and I guess the highest praise you can give a book is that you continue to think about the issues raised, at least as to your own understanding of good/evil order/chaos and the idea of balance. I loved Justin, perhaps because I tend to see in grays myself. But unintended consequences from good deeds? Something to think about and an original way to pose moral questions.

I like series with complete cultures and histories, and a good yarn, so will definitely read more of the series to see how they got to this point.

[Brad]

I was a big fan of Justin and his greyness too. And for much of The Magic of Recluce I was convinced that it was the way Lerris was headed. I can't wait to read the next book.

[Sandy]

Brad said for much of The Magic of Recluce I was convinced that it was the way Lerris was headed.

I was too. In fact, I sort of thought that in the last bit he did somehow step over the line. But now I'm not sure. Does he really end up on the side of never using destruction to help someone? Perhaps this is resolved in another of the series.

At any rate, I found this a very enjoyable fantasy from a new author (for me). Thanks to whoever chose it.

[Martin]

Sandy wrote: "I finished the book, and I guess the highest praise you can give a book is that you continue to think about the issues raised, at least as to your own understanding of good/evil order/chaos and the..."

The Magic of Recluce is continued in The Death of Chaos, which is chronologically the last in the saga of Recluce. It's a fairly direct continuation of The Magic of Recluce and in my opinion even better.
I had to put off reading Haze until I had reread The Death of Chaos as I couldn't remember how it all ended and like you had a hard time letting go of their fates.

[Brad]

Thanks for the tip on The Death of Chaos, Martin.