(This review was written in 2004.)I read my first L.E. Modesitt Jr. book back in the early nineties, right around the same time Robert Jordan was getting popular. My first thought, upon seeing The Magic of Recluce, was that Modesitt looked like a Jordan clone. He had the same cover artist, same publisher, and same general “feel.” I read the book, and found it interesting, but wasn’t overwhelmed.During the next ten years, however, I grew increasingly impressed with Modesitt as a writer. He took a different route from Jordan—instead of letting his series become increasingly bloated, he followed a more Anne McCaffrey series paradigm. While there are some fifteen Recluce books out now, many of them are stand-alones, and those that have continuing characters are formed into sub-series set within the world. Modesitt has written consistently and professionally, proving to his readers that he deserves their trust.Wellspring is the latest in the Recluce series. It takes place some number of years after the last sub-series, and stands completely on its own, not requiring any previous—or further—reading in the world to enjoy. The book represents one of the directions I think that fantasy should go in the future. It isn’t about the end of the world or a traditional quest—it is the story of a person, a single viewpoint character, struggling to make his way in a fully-realized fantasy world.This character—Kharl—shares some characteristics with a traditional fantasy hero. He begins the story relatively low in the social hierarchy. (He’s a cooper.) He has latent magical abilities that he doesn’t realize, and the progression of the story will require him to leave his comfortable home in search of who he truly is. At the same time, however, he is a very original character for a fantasy story. Not a young man by any means, Kharl is presented as a simple family man. His search to “find himself” feels far less like a quest than it does a realistic presentation of a man cast out of house and home, trying to make his way as best he can and deal with events that threaten to completely overwhelm him.One of Modesitt’s strengths is the detail he includes in his writing. He knows this world, and he gives us the sense that he also knows what it is like to be a cooper. This is the kind of book that could really only have been written following several large series set in the same setting, for while it doesn’t seem to really advance any major world-based issues (except, perhaps, for some sections at the very end) it does draw upon a world that has been developed and expanded over a decade’s time.The book isn’t groundbreaking, and it does have a few problems. This book presents somewhat simplified view of good and evil—order mages are good, chaos mages are bad. Other Recluse books are far more interesting in the way that they deal with good/evil. In this book, however, anything that is destructive—from a person with an angry temperament, to weapon that has a flaw in its forging—emanates chaos to those who can see it. This sense is exacerbated by Kharl’s simple, ‘honest craftsman’ temperament. Though he struggles with his purpose and his situation, Kharl is a remarkably good man who just doesn’t have to bother with moral struggles. Everything is very black and white (though, of course, in Recluce black means Order and white means Chaos.)The book does tend to meander a bit, without a clear sense of purpose, though in this particular case I’m willing to forgive this as a quirk rather than a detraction. The wandering plot adds to the feel of Kharl’s struggle. Modesitt’s writing is very good on the paragraph-by-paragraph level, and that makes the short chapters move very quickly and interestingly. I do think the book could have been served by a 10–15% cut, as some of the sections felt even more unconnected than the rest. However, it was a good read overall, and it was nice to enjoy something that was simply a product of a master writer telling a fine story.
It has been any years since I last visited the world dominated by the Chaos of Hamador and the Order of Recluse so it was with some trepidation that I began reading "The Wellspring of Chaos." I had stopped reading the recluse books in the past because, quite frankly, that had started to get kind of boring. However, I have had this book on my wishlist for a long time and it arrived for Christmans (thanks Mom) so I decided to dive right in. I'm glad I did.Like all of the Recluse novels this one is a fresh and new look at the world through a new characters eyes; this time via Kharl the Cooper. Also, as in prior novels, a good chunk of time has passed in the world since I was last there. Kharl lives in the small seaside city of Bystra which is run by a lazy lord and dominated by the lords 3 corrupt sons; the most notable of whom, in this story, is Egen.Kharl is a good man and a very good cooper. He is married and has 2 sons and his own cooperage next door to a scrivner. Kharl isn't perfect however. He has a stubborn refusal to really see who he is and his sense of order is so strong that he tends to rub less honest people the wrong way. In fact Kharl's tendency to do good ends up causing him far more trouble than he could imagine thanks to Lord Egen.However, not all of the consequences of Kharl's actions are bad. He tends to the wounded, saves potential rape victims, fights off pirates, and even destroys a few powerful enemies along the way to discovering who and what he really is.Kharl is a well written character and I found him very likable. Likewise I found his story to be very enjoyable though the ending seemed a little too neat and tidy. I would have liked to have seen a bit more reconciliation with some of the more important people of his past. Even with that small quibble I can whole heartedly recommend "The Wellspring of Chaos"
What do You think about Wellspring Of Chaos (2005)?
Another standard entry for Modesitt, similar story line from all the other books. I must say that the way he jumps from across periods of time from book to book has infuriated me throughout the series, but I can't seem to put my finger on a time frame in relation to the other books in the series for this one. Clearly it is one that has occurred somewhat later on the time line, but is it prior to the magic of recluse, or after? I suppose I will have to read Ordermaster next and see if there are any other clues as to this books place in the history if recluse, candar, etc.
—Mike Paulhus
I'd probably give this 3.5 stars, because although I like the characters and story, the writing is kind of choppy. Often at important conversations, the speakers will come to some kind of understanding, but Modesitt never spells it out and doesn't often even offer enough clues for the reader to figure it out. Or maybe it's just me. But how annoying is that, to be reading this conversation, read that the characters look at each other meaningfully, and then one of them says, "Ah. I see your point." And I'm wondering, "What? What point? He made a point? What's his point? What are you talking about?" But then the characters move on to something else and I never do find out what the point made was. Or else he'll throw in details that I think will be important to the plot but are only red herrings. Except I don't think Modesitt intends them to be red herrings. They're just random details that I'm guessing he put in to make the characters and setting more real but only detract from the plot. Maybe that's just his style, but I'm thinking that the roughness doesn't add charm or anything else to his books, and if he could smooth them, the flow of the whole book would just zip along delightfully.
—Liz
It wasn't immediately excellent, but engaging enough to keep reading. It did, indeed, keep to the promise that despite being book 11 in a series, I was still able to follow along. Modesitt's world is fairly well-constructed, though he shows little of the countries in detail (it's mostly sea ports). The story follows a cooper (barrel-maker) as he loses his family and sets out to almost accidentally becoming a mage. The prose was solid, though the plot fairly predictable, if you've ever read a discovering-my-power story. The magic system is based on order and chaos, a very interesting concept that didn't go as far as I would've liked to see it go. Chaos mages are portrayed as evil, cut and dried; it would've been nice if Modesitt would've thought up a non-evil chaos mage, or even an ambiguous one. Still, it was a pretty good read, though some of you less quantum-minded folks won't find the magic as readily understandable, I think. It's amazing what you can do with quantum and call it magic. Heh. All in all, the book was pretty neutral, neither good enough for me to want it or bad enough for me to discourage you from it.
—Aelvana
