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4.6 out of 5 stars
4.6 out of 5
206 global ratings
5 star
69%
4 star
21%
3 star
7%
2 star
1%
1 star
1%
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Dreamfire
5.0 out of 5 stars ... takes a different and refreshing angle on the whole good vs evil magic
Reviewed in the United States on February 16, 2016
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For those looking for a "magic" and "wizardy" book that takes a different and refreshing angle on the whole good vs evil magic, this book is the pay off for the somewhat slow and unexciting first book (The Magic Of Recluse) that lays the ground work for the Order versus Chaos dynamic that is the magic system in this world.

While you DONT need to read the first book, it DOES help to understand some of the ways order and magic work and the consequences of both and why the "good" wizards wear black and the bad wizards wear white.

In addition to a very new take on magic, what drives this story is the action oriented "chase" aspect as well as the very subtle yet powerful love story woven in the midst of this "chaos" (pun intended)

I want to end on that, often times whats strong in fantasy books are all the magic and spectacle, dragons and crazy stuff. But what is lost is the human magic and THAT element is present even in our "non magic" world. This book does a good blend of making you believe in this amazing magic, while telling a story with compelling and human characters that find struggles and love in ways even we can relate to.

And that is magic we can all bask in
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Jack
4.0 out of 5 stars Recluce begins
Reviewed in the United States on October 4, 2019
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An interesting stand-alone entry in Modesitt's series. While it's only his second book published, it chronologically expands on the later history of Westwind and Fairhaven, which you don't even know about if you're reading the series in publication order. But more importantly, this story of Creslin and Megaera begins the settlement of the island of Recluce, which had been considered incapable of sustained habitation.
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Dewayne Haun
5.0 out of 5 stars Great book!!!
Reviewed in the United States on September 5, 2019
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I love his books and especially the Saga of Recluse. The only complaint is that the editor needs to do a better job of correcting minor mistakes in his books. As long as these books have been out, these things should have already have been fixed.
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John Spruill
5.0 out of 5 stars Love the series!
Reviewed in the United States on April 29, 2019
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I have loved this series so far! I've read through book 5 so far and each book has been great! The books have the ability to stand on their own with full development, but reading them in order provides continuing of the overall story. Just bought book 6 and I can't wait!!
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars It took the first chapter then i was hooked!
Reviewed in the United States on November 13, 2018
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The pages just flew by, the writing worked for me and I could almost feel like I was next to Creslin and Megaera as they go through their life's journey.

It certainly adds to the first book and you get a good feel of the history of Recluse.
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Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Will have you staying up to finish it
Reviewed in the United States on October 20, 2014
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This is one of the first books I've read through by myself (yes, that may sound sad). Having an attention problem when reading normally, this book drew me in so far I couldn't get distracted even if the world was coming to an end.

Gripping story, great characters, perfect history lesson for the series as well. It may be the second book in the series (not chronologically within the storyline), but chronicles the Founders and the beginning of Recluce itself.
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Amazon Customer
4.0 out of 5 stars Good story but a little prolonged in a period.
Reviewed in the United States on June 13, 2019
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Just started on these series. I like the story and the characters and how that changes between books. A little prolonged in a period with all the discussions about being able to live on the island because of lack of food.
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Chip Hunter
VINE VOICE
4.0 out of 5 stars Much better than book 1
Reviewed in the United States on June 26, 2003
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This book brought up my opinion of Modesitt a lot. It was much more enjoyable when written in second person and with fewer hard-to-make sound effects. The overall plot of the book was great, introducing the beginnings of Recluce as a Black wizard isle. While the evil characters could really have been developed to a greater extent, and some of the more exciting scenes seemed a little hurried, I truly enjoyed this read and am looking foward to reading the rest of LE's books.
P.S. If anyone has a hardback copy of this book, I'd really like to negotiate for it.
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Top reviews from other countries

Amazon Customer
5.0 out of 5 stars Brilliant addition to an excellent series.
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 23, 2018
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I love the world created in the Saga of Recluce. I happened across the first book a number of years ago, and I loved the Order Vs Chaos construct, and the way the characters were framed.
Having read that, and then Book 5 (which is the continuation of Lerris' story, and loved them both, I started next on this book.
Well worth the read, and great to have some history of the world I love filled in, as well as some unexpected revelations. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves heroic fantasy - it is well written, the characters are fairly real and flawed, and the balance between order and chaos is the key.
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S. Cartwright
3.0 out of 5 stars Traditional fantasy with interesting concept of magic
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on August 22, 2015
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This is the second book in a very long but not particularly tightly-coupled fantasy saga: in particular, it's in no sense a sequel to the first book (it's set, at a guess, several hundred years earlier) and can be read independently. If you already know this author's work, you'll know what to expect. He has interestingly inventive styles of magic: in this series, some mages (usually the good guys) control "order" while others (usually the bad guys) harness "chaos" - quite how order and chaos are defined seems to be above a bit flexible (in this book, weather, which is pretty much the poster child for chaos theory, falls under order, presumably because of the demands of the plot). He has a tendency to insert chunks of moral philosophizing, which people looking for a straight action fantasy will probably find irritating, but they do counterbalance the fact that his heroes generally wind up as perpetrators of massacres, even if they didn't intend to and it was arguably in self-defence. Creslin isn't his most likeable hero - a bit given to self-pity - and it's not entirely clear just why the bad guys are so determinedly out to get him, even though their nefarious schemes keep backfiring on them (one of the subordinate bad guys makes a comment at one point along the lines of "if we'd just left him alone, he wouldn't have caused us any trouble" - and he's quite right). Mass casualties and much environmental destruction ensue. There is a happy ending. As I said, pretty typical Modesitt.

I don't think it's among his best books, but it's a good enough read. A minor gripe that I have with this author is that he obviously writes very fast - he's produced over sixty books, which must mean that he churns out at least two a year - and consequently he doesn't write very well. He could do with a firm editorial hand to deal with the long sentences that get completely out of control, and the occasional misuse of words. I keep wanting to copy-edit.
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Jane Ennis
4.0 out of 5 stars Great fantasy novel
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on July 3, 2017
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Modesitt has a gift for creating believable worlds based on magic with intricate plots and credible characters. The narrative isn't predictable, and although the novel has a reasonably 'happy ending', the main characters have to undergo many difficulties and make a lot of sacrifices before they reach that stage.......it is a journey of self-discovery for both of them.
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DLB
5.0 out of 5 stars I love the Recluce series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on December 6, 2015
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I love the Recluce series; the characterisation, the story lines and the world created by Modesitt. I wish the eBooks had the list of books at the beginning so they could be read more easily in the order they were written and also that the proof reading was just a little more accurate but have enjoyed the hard copy books enough that, as I now have a problem with the weight of such thick books, I have bought them in the Kindle editions too to read again!
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mick Bennett
5.0 out of 5 stars Good series
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on January 17, 2021
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Great author
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