L.E. Modesitt Jr. discussion

For July we'll be reading (re-reading) The Magic of Recluce.

I look forward to rediscovreing this world as well as finding out what first time readers think.

I started this book as we traveled to relatives for the weekend. I kind of shocked me. I'd forgotted how gently Modesitt leads you into the story. I was completely captivated by Larris, and couldn't wait to see the world unfold.

Little hints to other books that I picked up on:

Black Ships
Steam Engines
Farvn (Capitol chaos city destroyed long ago)


What did you find?

I haven't started it yet. I picked up the first of the Matt Helm series, which I haven't read in quite a while, & got hooked. It might be a while...

I do recall liking the way Modesitt aged the city's name. Very well done.

Just finished it last night. Here's my review:

http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...

Good review, Chris. The sound effects bugged you that much, eh? I'm neutral on them. I never thought they added much, but they never bothered me, either.

What really bugs me about his writing is the love lives of the major characters. It was mitigated in this instance somewhat by the bond, but I've never cared for the way the lovers interact. I guess some people do, but it's way outside my experience.

I really liked your comparisons to other fantasies. You were right on the money.

Thanks, Jim. Yeah, the effects were a bit annoying. I might have been overcritical of them but they did start to pile up. They really aren't enough to take away from the story too much though. I definitely want to check out more of his stuff...

Here at least, I didn't get too annoyed with the love life stuff. It did seem strange that we couldn't pick up too much on where Lerris's interests were, though it was written in his first person perspective.

Chris wrote: "Thanks, Jim. Yeah, the effects were a bit annoying. I might have been overcritical of them but they did start to pile up. They really aren't enough to take away from the story too much though. I de..."

I figured that perhaps guys were always so undecided where women were concerned... Lol... but the lack of lead in for the romance is a common problem I see among male writers. Oh did that sound as bad as I think it did? Please let me know if you know a male writer that has a flair for romance in his books :)

"I met her by accident, pursued her with desperation & married her against my will. (The last part was her idea). I wasn't really thinking about it, myself..."
(Conrad describing how he met Cassandra in This Immortal by Roger Zelazny.

Yeah, that pretty much sums up how I met my wife of 28 years, too. A lot of work has gone into the relationship on the back end, but very little on the front.

Modesitt's relationships are always very deep & enduring on the front end. No one ever seems to just fall into the sack for some fun. I guess there are some guys that approach relationships like that & are willing to put in lots of work without any sexual reward, but they never strike me as real. I don't know any guys like that.

His heroes are always apologizing for not treating the girl properly, too. They sincerely seem to feel bad about stuff that just doesn't make sense to me. I think he's trying to make them very liberal, but it just doesn't ring true to me.

Jim wrote: ""I met her by accident, pursued her with desperation & married her against my will. (The last part was her idea). I wasn't really thinking about it, myself..."
(Conrad describing how he met Cassa..."

My husband is a guy like Modesitt writes - but they are few and far between.

I finished my review last week: I forgot to post it here...

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/...

Well let me start by saying excellent reviews Chris and Lynn! I do agree with Chris on the overuse of onomatopoeia in this book.
I think Lerris, and the other mages, come across as overly apologetic because they can feel everything their partner feels. How often do we unknownly hurt those we love? Well these guys know. LoL
One other thing has always bugged me about this book. Why doesn't Gunnar (the father) train Lerris more? We learn in The Order War that Justin and Gunnar are both Brotherhood trained mages and Gunnar is now a big wig on Recluse. He apparently sees Lerris as weapon to be used against the white wizards yet sends him out unprepared. I know that black-mages are hard to train and it's often a voyage of self discovery, but they really seem to throw Lerris to the wolves.

Eric wrote: "Well let me start by saying excellent reviews Chris and Lynn! I do agree with Chris on the overuse of onomatopoeia in this book...."

Dude. I said that? I didn't even know I knew that word. Cool. Hehe. Seriously though, thanks for reading the review.

I liked yours too, Lynn.

Oh, and Eric. You said "in this book". Does that mean he chills out the splat! boom! creaaakkk! effects in the other books?

LOL, I love that word, Chris. And while he does continue to use, pow! bang! thud! it usually procedes some action, while in this book it sometimes replaces the action completely

Eric wrote: "Well let me start by saying excellent reviews Chris and Lynn! I do agree with Chris on the overuse of onomatopoeia in this book.
I think Lerris, and the other mages, come across as overly apolog..."

Thanks for reading my review! I wanted to give you my take on the whole father thing:

I thought of magic on Recluce like sex anytime before the 50's - a totally taboo topic. No one worked magic in public, the didn't even admit it existed.

So, with his father something being the equivalent a Priest, like many teens in that glorious age that gave us rock and roll, Lerris was kicked out the nest without the topic coming to light.

This was my take on the situation; it may help that I'm a writer. I can usually fill in the blanks pretty well.

Eric - well, maybe it won't be as distracting. Luckily his story is good enough to keep at it.

Lynn - that makes sense. He probably had no education on the subject. And, if he was setting this narration in place for Recluce, he would have left out describing his urges and longings. Though I'd guess they were certainly there.

Chris wrote: "Eric - well, maybe it won't be as distracting. Luckily his story is good enough to keep at it.

Lynn - that makes sense. He probably had no education on the subject. And, if he was setting this n..."

Glad it helped :)

I think you're right on with Gunnar's personality, Lynn. Instead of sex, I thought of Gunnar more as a pacifist who is against guns. Picture a strident anti-gun activist & substitute 'aggressive magic' in place.

Gunnar never liked guns &, as we find out later, had a very rough experience the one time he used them. He was so upset with that, he tries to deny any validity for their use & so buries his head in the sand. This leaves Lerris completely ignorant & unarmed when he leaves the protected nest & goes into the wilds where a gun is not only useful, but a necessity for someone like him.

Jim wrote: "I think you're right on with Gunnar's personality, Lynn. Instead of sex, I thought of Gunnar more as a pacifist who is against guns. Picture a strident anti-gun activist & substitute 'aggressive ..."

I asked Lee about this - He reminded me that Gunnar had another son before Lerris. And this son was schooled in magic before leaving - let's just say it didn't turn out the best...

I do remember the hints about his first son, but I don't think that invalidates what I said. Gunnar was already leaning hard in that direction. His experiences with Justin really set his opinions. Perhaps his son turned it into a true phobia.

I knew a woman that used to party a lot. She was pretty well known for it & that meant she'd drive home with more than a few drinks in her. This was back in the 60's & 70's, out in the country, so it wasn't a huge deal.

She had an epiphany & got on the anti drunk driving kick. She was quite a pain about it. In the early 80's, one of her kids was killed in an accident by a drunk driver. She was quite rabid about it after that. That's how Gunnar's progression impressed me.