The Magic of Recluce

Saga of Recluce, Book 1

By: L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Narrated by: Kirby Heyborne

Length: 19 hrs and 14 mins

Publisher's summary

Young Lerris is dissatisfied with his life and trade, and yearns to find a place in the world better suited to his skills and temperament. But in Recluce a change in circumstances means taking one of two options: permanent exile from Recluce or braving the dangergeld, a complex, rule-laden wanderjahr in the lands beyond Recluce, with the aim of learning how the world works and what his place in it might be. Many do not survive. Lerris chooses the dangergeld.

When Lerris is sent into intensive training for his quest, it soon becomes clear that he has a natural talent for magic. And he will need magic in the lands beyond, where the power of the Chaos Wizards reigns unchecked. Though it goes against all of his instincts, Lerris must learn to use his powers in an orderly way before his wanderjahr, or fall prey to Chaos.

©1992 L. E. Modesitt (P)2013 Tantor

Read it before

love this book, own a copy that's in storage so it's nice to be able to listen to it at school, work and such.

A good story !

Would you say that listening to this book was time well-spent? Why or why not?

It is a great story. Its told to listener is a way to make it interesting. Author has a quirky sens of humor.

What other book might you compare The Magic of Recluce to and why?

The imager series

What do you think the narrator could have done better?

I like the way the narrator reads the story. May not be everyones type but he grows on you.

Do you think The Magic of Recluce needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?

This most definitely is only the beginning of the series.

Any additional comments?

waiting for more of this series

Good story, good narration

This was my first time to listen to a novel by L. Modesitt. While the story line takes a while to develop once I got further into the book I really enjoyed it.

The narrator is fantastic and has to deal with the oddities of sounds in the book. While the narrating of wind blowing, boots clicking, and horses whinnying can distract from the story I thought it was done well.

Overall a great listen.

Onomatopeias drive me crazy

The books is good. I remember enjoying it in print when I read it years ago. The audiobook version is equally enjoyable. The only major frustration I have lies at the intersection of narration and onomatopeias. It seems that Modesitt used a lot of these in this book, and the producer (director?) of this rendition did not deign to provide sound effects. That left Kirby Heyborne trying to make the sound of horse hooves, thunder, wind, howling wind, howling ghosts, closing doors, cocking crossbows, clinking swords, and more.

I'm most of the way through the book now, and the read onomatopeias are driving me nuts. I pray that in later books, either Modesitt used fewer of these, or the narrator is provided with sound effects to replace his own attempts at making these sounds.

Could barely "put it down"

Loved the story - great pacing and clever characters, even if I did want to slap the kid who kept whining about being bored...

great epic fantasy

I originally read these books in the mid 90s when I was in high school and am now rereading using the audio book. first of all the narration is great. Modesitt uses onomatopoeias a lot and it really works in text and in the audiobook. I feel that on the other side of 15 years this book holds up well as the start of a great epic fantasy series. I'll be continuing my reread using audiobooks.

loved it!

just as good as Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson. Only complaint is the writing makes the sound effects instead of describing it.

The story line.

I read these books years ago & then shared them with my sons... excellent story, nice to be able to listen instead of reading it again. excellent 👌

Slow....not quite epic

I found this book really slow and almost void of adventure. It was a good listen, but largely because I was always thinking, 'OK, now it is going to get interesting'. Being the first in a series, it is often tough for an author to lay down all of the ground work for the world, the history and the characters and then throw in a few things to make it interesting. I found this novel to be a good foundation to build on, but just didn't capture me enough to go onto the second book in the series. But, I do like a good Orc bashing, and there are no Orcs.

great book, good narrator.

the story is a very interesting take on magic and beings it to a sensible almost scientific style. the narrator is quite good, creating different voices for different characters and reading clearly.