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A review by ngreads
The Towers of the Sunset by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
5.0
I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about this one. I went into it pretty much blind, only knowing that it was part of Recluce (which I had really enjoyed the first book of), and that it was written in third-person-present tense, which is a writing style I’m not a huge fan of.
Then I started reading, and this book wouldn’t leave my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I never wanted to put it down.
The Saga of Recluce (so far, at least) is a really unique series to me. Both books I’ve read of it have been very slow, explaining little and just asking the reader to exist in the world, experiencing the magic and the culture with the main character. Modesitt also doesn’t really explain much - everything is presented through show rather than tell. It can be a bit frustrating at times, wanting to know more about what’s happening, but it also made for a unique reading experience.
The story follows Creslin as he struggles with the balance of holding to the pacifism and order that his magic demands while struggling with the constant hard situations and decisions he is forced to make.
The story is also about the balance of power in relationships. The balance of politics and trade. The balance of chaos and order.
Even the book itself is balanced, the end and beginning perfectly reflected.
This isn’t for everyone. It’s slow. It explains little. It expects a lot of the reader, demanding the audience to piece things together.
But for me, I absolutely loved it. And if you’re interested in something beautiful and different from most fantasy I’ve seen on the shelves, I highly recommend it.
As a side note, this book also has pasta in it, one of the very VERY few high fantasy books I’ve seen that does. So immediate bonus points for that. Not to mention the purely amazing onomatopoeias that are sprinkled liberally throughout the whole thing. LOVE IT.
Then I started reading, and this book wouldn’t leave my mind. I couldn’t stop thinking about it, and I never wanted to put it down.
The Saga of Recluce (so far, at least) is a really unique series to me. Both books I’ve read of it have been very slow, explaining little and just asking the reader to exist in the world, experiencing the magic and the culture with the main character. Modesitt also doesn’t really explain much - everything is presented through show rather than tell. It can be a bit frustrating at times, wanting to know more about what’s happening, but it also made for a unique reading experience.
The story follows Creslin as he struggles with the balance of holding to the pacifism and order that his magic demands while struggling with the constant hard situations and decisions he is forced to make.
The story is also about the balance of power in relationships. The balance of politics and trade. The balance of chaos and order.
Even the book itself is balanced, the end and beginning perfectly reflected.
This isn’t for everyone. It’s slow. It explains little. It expects a lot of the reader, demanding the audience to piece things together.
But for me, I absolutely loved it. And if you’re interested in something beautiful and different from most fantasy I’ve seen on the shelves, I highly recommend it.
As a side note, this book also has pasta in it, one of the very VERY few high fantasy books I’ve seen that does. So immediate bonus points for that. Not to mention the purely amazing onomatopoeias that are sprinkled liberally throughout the whole thing. LOVE IT.