The saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., has become one of the standard works of fantasy in the 1990s. VOYA says, "Modesitt's logical structure of the interrelationship of order and chaos, magic and technology, is one of the most through in modern fantasy. The personal growth of his characters and the depiction of their world, it well-written and credible - and involves the reader... The serious fantasy reader will revel in Modesitt's work." Launched with The Magic of Recluce, the novels of Recluce have gone on to sell over a million copies in paperback.
The most recent of the Recluce novels, Fall of Angels, introduced the engineer/smith Nylan, the only man among the leadership of the company of "angels" marooned on a high plateau in the west of Candar, and perhaps the one person most responsible for their survival. But the angels are a matriarchal band, and so Nylan must leave his companions and seek a life elsewhere. He travels down from the plateau into the world of warring kingdoms and strange magics with his companion, Ayrlyn, the healer, and his infant son. They are in search of a place to lead a peaceful life, but they look different from the locals, and their talents are most valued in battle - and so the war between chaos and order begins again.
The Chaos Balance is the seventh book of the saga of Recluce.
"A writer of exceptional fantasy, Mr. Modesitt leaves the reader in no doubt about the price of power and the bittersweet triumph of the human spirit in this splendid new Recluce adventure."--Romantic Times
"Modesitt's many fans will enjoy this, as will any reader who relished intricate plotting, sympathetic characters, and action galore."--Publishers Weekly
"A sturdy addition to a superior series."--Kirkus Reviews
Description:
The saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., has become one of the standard works of fantasy in the 1990s. VOYA says, "Modesitt's logical structure of the interrelationship of order and chaos, magic and technology, is one of the most through in modern fantasy. The personal growth of his characters and the depiction of their world, it well-written and credible - and involves the reader... The serious fantasy reader will revel in Modesitt's work." Launched with The Magic of Recluce, the novels of Recluce have gone on to sell over a million copies in paperback.
The most recent of the Recluce novels, Fall of Angels, introduced the engineer/smith Nylan, the only man among the leadership of the company of "angels" marooned on a high plateau in the west of Candar, and perhaps the one person most responsible for their survival. But the angels are a matriarchal band, and so Nylan must leave his companions and seek a life elsewhere. He travels down from the plateau into the world of warring kingdoms and strange magics with his companion, Ayrlyn, the healer, and his infant son. They are in search of a place to lead a peaceful life, but they look different from the locals, and their talents are most valued in battle - and so the war between chaos and order begins again.
The Chaos Balance is the seventh book of the saga of Recluce.
From Kirkus Reviews
Addition to Modesitt's independently intelligible fantasy series about planet Recluce and its warring Order and Chaos magic. Chronologically, the events here follow those of Fall of Angels (1996). Surrounded by aggressive macho cultures, the ``angels'' under Ryba have developed a clean and orderly but oppressive feminist dictatorship. Engineer, smith, and Order mage Nylan can no longer tolerate being used by Ryba as a stud and source of new weapons, so he departs with his son Weryl and his lover, the healer and singer Ayrlyn. But the male-dominated, expansionist empire of Cyador, with its unmatchable Chaos magic, must somehow be restrained; and so Nylan agrees--reluctantly--to help the primitive, unwashed macho swaggerers of Lornth. A sturdy addition to a superior series, this time presented without narrative foibles. -- Copyright ©1997, Kirkus Associates, LP. All rights reserved.
Review
"A writer of exceptional fantasy, Mr. Modesitt leaves the reader in no doubt about the price of power and the bittersweet triumph of the human spirit in this splendid new Recluce adventure."--Romantic Times
"Modesitt's many fans will enjoy this, as will any reader who relished intricate plotting, sympathetic characters, and action galore."--Publishers Weekly
"A sturdy addition to a superior series."--Kirkus Reviews