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rynae's review
4.0
I gave this 3.5 stars instead of 4+ because of the endless, boring philosophy and law Q&As between Rhenn and his teachers. UGH! I wish these philosophical ideas had been more seamlessly integrated into his story and thoughts. I usually love philosophy, but this was like watching someone sit in class. Not interesting at all.
This book also suffers somewhat from some of the classic first person narrative problems in regards to getting the reader necessary information. However, most of the story was very enjoyable, and I liked the main character. I’ll definitely finish the series.
This book also suffers somewhat from some of the classic first person narrative problems in regards to getting the reader necessary information. However, most of the story was very enjoyable, and I liked the main character. I’ll definitely finish the series.
wizardowl's review
1.0
Edit: it was really bad. Every time I remember this book I feel lowkey angry for wasting a few hours of my life reading it. I've rarely been more baffled trying to understand how anyone likes a book as I am with this book.
Well, it wasn't *really* bad, but it wasn't good either.
The pros: the good prose, the impeccable attention to detail, and the fact that it was decent enough for me to finish all 432 pages. That's pretty much it, actually.
The cons:
-There was virtually no plot to speak of. At first I was interested in the main intrigue of the story and wanted to know how it would all come together in the end, but the plot developed so unnecessarily slowly that I became disinterested as it went along. We don't need to be walked through every step of the protagonist's day, every day, without so much as one new plot-relevant detail in sight. If a day is just the same as the last day, skip past it, please. The same story could have been told more effectively in half the length. If the second book continues on in the fashion of the first, I'm betting the first two or even three of these 430+ page volumes could've been combined into one book.
-The characters were lackluster. The protagonist occasionally had some real personality shine through from beneath his bland veneer, but aside from that...
-The worldbuilding was extremely thorough but utterly uninspired. There was nothing striking, unique, or particularly fascinating about it. Every meal, location, distance, and outfit was considered, and I love that kind attention to detail, I really do; but without creativity to back it up, it's just not very interesting.
-The dialogue was very weak, especially when compared to the generally refined and effective prose. Almost every conversation was stilted and unnatural, sometimes to the point of being confusingly unclear. Also, there were several instances where the protagonist would be thinking something and another character would respond to him as if he'd spoken it aloud. I was so confused the first time this happened, but I sort of put it down to the fact that a person's thoughts are sometimes very easy to read from their face/body language. But then it kept happening, with no explanation, leaving me scratching my head every time and wondering if I'd somehow misread something. What can I say, there are lots of secretly telepathic people in Solidar and none of the characters seem to notice? I know that if I were Rhenn I'd be wondering how everyone kept reading my mind.
-I felt like the authour had a lot of opinions about Politics, Human Nature, and Life that he was shoving down the reader's throat. Obviously an authour's personal beliefs, opinions, and biases will always show in their writing to some extent, but with this book I felt like I was being preached at--a sort of unpleasant, cynical preaching that had me rolling my eyes more often than not.
Overall, this book had a lot of wasted potential. The premise could have been exciting if only the plot had been more fleshed out and the story hadn't meandered and dragged so much. I feel like maybe L.E. Modesitt Jr. has written more inspired books in the past, but that this one was just something his publisher demanded, so he trudged through writing it despite having no real inspiration or desire to do so. After reading this book, that's the only explanation I can think of that would account for his great fame and popularity. I probably won't bother to continue with this series.
Well, it wasn't *really* bad, but it wasn't good either.
The pros: the good prose, the impeccable attention to detail, and the fact that it was decent enough for me to finish all 432 pages. That's pretty much it, actually.
The cons:
-There was virtually no plot to speak of. At first I was interested in the main intrigue of the story and wanted to know how it would all come together in the end, but the plot developed so unnecessarily slowly that I became disinterested as it went along. We don't need to be walked through every step of the protagonist's day, every day, without so much as one new plot-relevant detail in sight. If a day is just the same as the last day, skip past it, please. The same story could have been told more effectively in half the length. If the second book continues on in the fashion of the first, I'm betting the first two or even three of these 430+ page volumes could've been combined into one book.
-The characters were lackluster. The protagonist occasionally had some real personality shine through from beneath his bland veneer, but aside from that...
-The worldbuilding was extremely thorough but utterly uninspired. There was nothing striking, unique, or particularly fascinating about it. Every meal, location, distance, and outfit was considered, and I love that kind attention to detail, I really do; but without creativity to back it up, it's just not very interesting.
-The dialogue was very weak, especially when compared to the generally refined and effective prose. Almost every conversation was stilted and unnatural, sometimes to the point of being confusingly unclear. Also, there were several instances where the protagonist would be thinking something and another character would respond to him as if he'd spoken it aloud. I was so confused the first time this happened, but I sort of put it down to the fact that a person's thoughts are sometimes very easy to read from their face/body language. But then it kept happening, with no explanation, leaving me scratching my head every time and wondering if I'd somehow misread something. What can I say, there are lots of secretly telepathic people in Solidar and none of the characters seem to notice? I know that if I were Rhenn I'd be wondering how everyone kept reading my mind.
-I felt like the authour had a lot of opinions about Politics, Human Nature, and Life that he was shoving down the reader's throat. Obviously an authour's personal beliefs, opinions, and biases will always show in their writing to some extent, but with this book I felt like I was being preached at--a sort of unpleasant, cynical preaching that had me rolling my eyes more often than not.
Overall, this book had a lot of wasted potential. The premise could have been exciting if only the plot had been more fleshed out and the story hadn't meandered and dragged so much. I feel like maybe L.E. Modesitt Jr. has written more inspired books in the past, but that this one was just something his publisher demanded, so he trudged through writing it despite having no real inspiration or desire to do so. After reading this book, that's the only explanation I can think of that would account for his great fame and popularity. I probably won't bother to continue with this series.
mhkennadixon's review
4.0
My boyfriend got me to read this series. It's not my usual cup of tea, but I read it for him, and ended up enjoying it more than I expected, even finishing the whole series and feeling disappointed when it was over.
trask's review
4.0
I liked this book a lot for what it was. It's a Modesitt book, so it is somewhat formulaic, but that is what I would have expected. I liked the characters and the story and can see myself reading the whole series.
metaphorosis's review
4.0
4 stars - Metaphorosis Reviews
The son of a wealthy factor, Rhennthyl resists going into the family business, and instead finds an apprenticeship with a portrait artists. A terrible accident ruins his hopes of life as an artist, and he must decide what to do with limited prospects, and two talents - art, and magic.
I've found L. E. Modesitt to be inconsistent between series, and relentlessly consistent within series. Said, another way, I like some of his series (Recluce) all the way, and don't care much for others. Happily, the Imager Portfolio looks to be one of the good ones, and I now wish I'd bought all the books back when they were on sale.
The world of Terahnar is a bit of a departure for Modesitt. It has a determinedly Terran jumble of aspects, built largely on Romance-language cognates and names (e.g., a weekend day of 'Samedi'). Given Modesitt's usual rigor, I assume that somewhere down the road, these will coalesce into some kind of logic - perhaps an Amberian source world or similar. If not, I'm at a loss to understand it. In any case, the names do make it easy to follow the story - the country of Ferrium, for example, is an industrial, iron-based culture.
Character-wise, Modesitt produces his usual - a contemplative, capable protagonist who works hard and always does the logical thing, especially if that involves working hard (and being surprised that others think it's unusual). Rhennthyl is strong, smart, attractive and humble. He suffers the world's injustices without complaint, and overcomes them through sheer indomitability and determination. It's a recipe that works remarkably well. While the emotional arc of the story is fairly predictable, and the character seems very, very familiar, he's still interesting to follow.
Rhennthyl is, of course, a man of many talents, one of which is magic, or 'imaging'. Modesitt likes his magic systems, but he focuses on character studies, not a Brandon Sanderson application of detail. So, imaging is a bit vague, and our hero, logical as he is, doesn't explore it very deeply. Instead, he explores its consequences in society and in personal interaction. Mostly, that works, but I did find myself wishing that Modesitt had applied a little more rigor. Even if we accept imaging's fuzzy outline, Rhennthyl (as with other Modesitt heroes), has a fair number of 'feelings' (e.g., that someone is watching him) that don't seem to fit the magic system at all. That became a little wearing, in part because it blurred the boundaries between worlds - building the feeling that all Modesitt's worlds have similarities.
One such similarity is the traditional strong man, oppressed woman world. I've noted many times before how tiresome I find this, unless you're using it to make a point. In this first book, Modesitt could have told his core story just as easily in a world of equality, and I wish he had.
I'm not much of a food and clothing guy, but if you are, there's some talk of it here. Modesitt doesn't go overboard, and it's easy to skip, but there's seldom an outfit he doesn't describe in general terms and colors, especially regarding women. Dinner dishes are similarly named, but then set aside. Philosophy is regularly dipped into, though in a shallow enough way that if it's not your thing (and it's usually not mine), you can ignore it and let Rhennthyl worry about it until it comes up again. Morals the same, and if you're familiar with Modesitt, you'll be unsurprised that everything comes in shades of gray.
This first book is somewhat dissatisfying in that it is so clearly the first book in a series. It doesn't end so much as stop - not really in a cliffhanger, but it's clear we've only gotten the first part of a much longer story. The good news is that this introduction is enticing enough to go get the rest.
All in all, a strong fantasy with a very familiar tone, and recommended for fans of Recluce.
The son of a wealthy factor, Rhennthyl resists going into the family business, and instead finds an apprenticeship with a portrait artists. A terrible accident ruins his hopes of life as an artist, and he must decide what to do with limited prospects, and two talents - art, and magic.
I've found L. E. Modesitt to be inconsistent between series, and relentlessly consistent within series. Said, another way, I like some of his series (Recluce) all the way, and don't care much for others. Happily, the Imager Portfolio looks to be one of the good ones, and I now wish I'd bought all the books back when they were on sale.
The world of Terahnar is a bit of a departure for Modesitt. It has a determinedly Terran jumble of aspects, built largely on Romance-language cognates and names (e.g., a weekend day of 'Samedi'). Given Modesitt's usual rigor, I assume that somewhere down the road, these will coalesce into some kind of logic - perhaps an Amberian source world or similar. If not, I'm at a loss to understand it. In any case, the names do make it easy to follow the story - the country of Ferrium, for example, is an industrial, iron-based culture.
Character-wise, Modesitt produces his usual - a contemplative, capable protagonist who works hard and always does the logical thing, especially if that involves working hard (and being surprised that others think it's unusual). Rhennthyl is strong, smart, attractive and humble. He suffers the world's injustices without complaint, and overcomes them through sheer indomitability and determination. It's a recipe that works remarkably well. While the emotional arc of the story is fairly predictable, and the character seems very, very familiar, he's still interesting to follow.
Rhennthyl is, of course, a man of many talents, one of which is magic, or 'imaging'. Modesitt likes his magic systems, but he focuses on character studies, not a Brandon Sanderson application of detail. So, imaging is a bit vague, and our hero, logical as he is, doesn't explore it very deeply. Instead, he explores its consequences in society and in personal interaction. Mostly, that works, but I did find myself wishing that Modesitt had applied a little more rigor. Even if we accept imaging's fuzzy outline, Rhennthyl (as with other Modesitt heroes), has a fair number of 'feelings' (e.g., that someone is watching him) that don't seem to fit the magic system at all. That became a little wearing, in part because it blurred the boundaries between worlds - building the feeling that all Modesitt's worlds have similarities.
One such similarity is the traditional strong man, oppressed woman world. I've noted many times before how tiresome I find this, unless you're using it to make a point. In this first book, Modesitt could have told his core story just as easily in a world of equality, and I wish he had.
I'm not much of a food and clothing guy, but if you are, there's some talk of it here. Modesitt doesn't go overboard, and it's easy to skip, but there's seldom an outfit he doesn't describe in general terms and colors, especially regarding women. Dinner dishes are similarly named, but then set aside. Philosophy is regularly dipped into, though in a shallow enough way that if it's not your thing (and it's usually not mine), you can ignore it and let Rhennthyl worry about it until it comes up again. Morals the same, and if you're familiar with Modesitt, you'll be unsurprised that everything comes in shades of gray.
This first book is somewhat dissatisfying in that it is so clearly the first book in a series. It doesn't end so much as stop - not really in a cliffhanger, but it's clear we've only gotten the first part of a much longer story. The good news is that this introduction is enticing enough to go get the rest.
All in all, a strong fantasy with a very familiar tone, and recommended for fans of Recluce.
treutman93's review against another edition
mysterious
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.25
copperkaleidoscope's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
jasonhenry42's review against another edition
5.0
I was intrigued from the start. Rhen (I listened to the audiobook so please ignore any misspelled names) is a character who grabbed my interest and sympathy right from the start and he kept me listening even as it took a while for the plot to get going. I really enjoy the philosophical musings present throughout the book, and they always fit right into the narrative and never come off as preachy (even when they're literally part of a sermon). The world of l'Excelsis is rich and detailed and inspiring and I'm already diving into book two.
rgreatreader's review
4.0
A sweet romance, and an interesting (if mainly unexplained magic system). Not too much of a plot, but quite fun to read anyway.
vinayak's review
3.0
Nice world building. Story seems to have lots of potential. Gathered some pace at the end. Otherwise it is quite slow.