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Thu May 17, 2018 1:00pm

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Epic Fantasy || Beltur, an Order mage, discovers he possesses frightening powers not seen for hundreds of years.

Excerpts

Read the First Three Chapters of L.E. Modesitt Jr.’s The Mage-Fire War

Tue May 21, 2019 10:00am 4 comments 1 Favorite [+]

Once again, prejudices against the use of chaos magic force Beltur and his companions to flee their refuge in Axalt. The rulers of nearby Montgren have offered them sanctuary and the opportunity to become the Councilors of the run-down and disintegrating town of Haven. Montegren lacks any mages—white or black—making this seem like the perfect opportunity to start again. However, Beltur and the others must reinstitute law and order, rebuild parts of the town, deal with brigands—and thwart an invading army…

L. E. Modesitt Jr. returns to the Saga of Recluce with The Mage-Fire War, the third book in a story arc which began with The Mongrel Mage and Outcasts of Order—available August 13th from Tor Books. Get started now with the first three chapters, below!

Saga of Recluce

20 Novels Later, The Saga of Recluce is Still Surprising

Mon Jun 25, 2018 3:00pm 7 comments 6 Favorites [+]

When I wrote The Magic of Recluce, I didn’t intend to write a series. In fact, I hadn’t thought about it one way or another. I wrote the book because I wanted to prove a point: that a good fantasy could be realistic without losing the fantasy element. The book was so experimental that I never even told David Hartwell, who had been my editor from the beginning, that I was writing it. So receiving the manuscript was a surprise to him as well. The fact that, after reading it, he wanted to publish it… and, especially, that he wanted another book, was a shock to me.

My initial intent had been simply to do several things that most fantasy writers at the time (1989) weren’t doing: (1) to come up with a logical magic system that wasn’t a rehash of folk magic or what had been done before; (2) to make that magic an integral part of a workable socio-economic system; (3) to portray a different government/society that wasn’t a historical or present-day copy of a system in our world; and (4) to portray a world with a real and diverse history that hopefully was more than a canvas backdrop or the equivalent of a cinematic matte scenery.

Excerpts

Outcasts of Order

Thu May 17, 2018 1:00pm 1 comment 1 Favorite [+]

Beltur, an Order mage, discovers he possesses frightening powers not seen for hundreds of years. With his new abilities, he survives the war in Elparta and saves the lives of all. However, victory comes with a price. His fellow mages now see him as a threat to be destroyed, and the local merchants want to exploit his power.

There’s only one way he can remain free and survive—he’s going to have to run.

L.E. Modesitt, Jr. continues his bestselling Saga of Recluce with his 20th book in the long-running series. Beltur began his journey in The Mongrel Mage and continues with Outcasts of Order—available June 19th from Tor Books!

Excerpts

Assassin’s Price

Wed Jun 28, 2017 3:00pm Post a comment 1 Favorite [+]

Six years have passed since the failed uprising of the High Holders, and the man behind the conspiracy is where the rex and Maitre Alastar can keep an eye on him.

Charyn has come of age and desperately wants to learn more so he can become an effective rex after his father—but he’s kept at a distance by the rex. So Charyn sets out to educate himself—circumspectly.

When Jarolian privateers disrupt Solidar’s shipping, someone attempts to kill Charyn’s younger brother as an act of protest. Threatening notes following in the wake of acts of violence against the rex and his family, demanding action—build more ships or expect someone to die.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Assassin’s Price is the eleventh book in the Imager Portfolio, and the third book in a story arc which began with Madness in Solidar and Treachery’s Tools. Available July 25th from Tor Books.

five books

Five Books Featuring Improbable Twists on History and Myth

Wed Dec 7, 2016 1:00pm 10 comments 4 Favorites [+]

I tend to have a weakness for fantasy and science fiction books that take events in myth or history and spin them out oh-so-logically, not as overtly fantastic, but with seeming acceptance of their absolute reality. This probably isn’t surprising since I’ve re-written Loki as a timegod who’s certainly not evil, if still a thief of a very different kind, and also done a logical alternative history series, based on ghosts as real physical phenomena measurable by physics and other purely scientific means… among other things.

So here are five books I didn’t write which provide the same sort of exploration and extrapolation from myth and history, albeit in five very different ways.

Series: Five Books About…

Reprints

Recluce Tales: “The Forest Girl”

Thu Oct 27, 2016 9:00am 1 comment 9 Favorites [+]

For over a thousand years, Order and Chaos have molded the island of Recluce. The Saga of Recluce chronicles the history of this world through eighteen books, L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s most expansive and bestselling fantasy series. Available January 2017 from Tor Books, Recluce Tales: Stories from the World of Recluce collects seventeen new short stories and four popular reprints spanning the thousand-year history of Recluce.

First-time readers will gain a glimpse of the fascinating world and its complex magic system, while longtime readers of the series will be treated to glimpses into the history of the world. Modesitt’s essay “Behind the ‘Magic’ of Recluce” gives insight into his thoughts on developing the magical system that rules the Island of Recluce and its surrounding lands, while “The Vice Marshal’s Trial” takes the reader back to the first colonists on Recluce. Old favorites “Black Ordermage” and “The Stranger” stand side-by-side with thrilling new stories. Below, we’re excited to share “The Forest Girl,” a new story about a historical figure before he became a legend to be feared… and respected.

Excerpts

Treachery’s Tools

Tue Sep 20, 2016 4:00pm Post a comment 1 Favorite [+]

Treachery’s Tools is L. E. Modesitt’s tenth novel in the Imager Portfolio fantasy series—available October 11th from Tor Books. Set thirteen years after the events of Madness in Solidar, Alastar has settled into his role as the Maitre of the Collegium. Now married with a daughter, he would like nothing better than to focus his efforts on improving Imager Isle and making it more self-sufficient.

However, the rise in fortune of the merchant classes in Solidar over the years does not sit well with the High Holders, who see the erosion of their long-enjoyed privileges. Bad harvests and worse weather spark acts of violence and murder. In the midst of the crisis, some High Holders call for repeals of the Codis Legis, taking authority away from the Rex.

Once again, Alastar must maintain a careful political balance, but he cannot avoid the involvement of the Collegium when someone begins killing students. Trying to protect his imagers and hold Solidar together for the good of all, Alastar stumbles on to a plot by the High Holders involving illegal weapons, insurrection, and conspiracy.

Excerpts

Madness in Solidar (Excerpt)

Thu Feb 5, 2015 12:00pm 1 comment Favorite This

Four centuries after its founding, Solidar’s Collegium of Imagers is in decline, the exploits of its founder, the legendary Quaeryt, largely forgotten. The Collegium is so lacking in leadership that the dying Maitre must summon Alastar, an obscure but talented senior imager from Westisle far to the south who has little knowledge of politics in the capital, as his successor.

When Alastar arrives in L’Excelsis and becomes the new Maitre, he finds disarray and lack of discipline within the Collegium, and the ruler of Solidar so hated by the High Holders that they openly refer to him as being mad. To make matters worse, neither Rex Ryen, ridiculed as Rex Dafou, nor the High Holders have any respect for the Collegium, and Alastar finds himself in the middle of a power struggle, with Ryen demanding that the Collegium remove the strongest High Holders and the military leadership in turn plotting to topple Ryen and destroy the Collegium.

At the same time, Ryen is demanding the High Holders pay a massive increase in taxes while he initiates a grandiose building project. And all that, Alastar discovers, is only a fraction of the problems he and the Collegium face.

Madness in Solidar—available March 3rd from Tor Books—is the ninth book in L.E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Imager Portfolio.

Excerpts

Heritage of Cyador (Excerpt)

Wed Nov 5, 2014 4:00pm 1 comment Favorite This

Scarcely a year after the events of Cyador’s Heirs, Lerial uses his mastery of Order and Chaos, the competing natural forces that shape his world and define the magic that exists within it, to utterly destroy an Afritan military force crossing into Cigoerne.

Five years later, Lerial, now an overcaptain and a field commander of Cigoerne’s Mirror Lancers, must lead three companies of troops into Afrit on a mission of mutual interest: neighboring Heldya is threatening to invade Afrit, and if that nation falls, Cigoerne is certain to be next.

The mission is both delicate and dangerous; Lerial’s value in the effort to repelling Heldya is undeniable, but his troubled history against Afrit may reopen old wounds that will never truly heal.

From New York Times bestselling author L.E. Modesitt comes Heritage of Cyador, the new novel in the Saga of Recluce—available November 18th from Tor Books!

Excerpts

Cyador’s Heirs (Excerpt)

Tue Apr 29, 2014 2:00pm 1 comment Favorite This

Check out Cyador’s Heirs, the new novel in L.E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Saga of Recluce, available May 20th from Tor Books!

Decades after the fall of Cyador, its survivors have reestablished themselves in Cigoerne, a fertile country coveted by hostile neighbors in less hospitable lands. Young Lerial, the second son of Duke Kiedron, lives in the shadow of his older brother Lephi, the heir to their father’s realm. Lerial’s future seems preordained: He will one day command his brother’s forces in defense of Cigoerne, serving at his older sibling’s pleasure, and no more.

But when Lerial is sent abroad to be fostered by Major Altyrn to learn the skills and wisdom he will need to fulfill his future duties, he begins a journey into a much larger world that brings out his true potential. Lerial has talents that few, as yet, suspect: He is one of those rare beings who can harness both Order and Chaos, the competing natural forces that shape the world and define the magic that exists within it. And as war finally engulfs the fringes of Cigoerne, Lerial’s growing mastery of Order and Chaos is tested to its limits, and his own.

Excerpts

Rex Regis (Excerpt)

Wed Dec 4, 2013 4:30pm Post a comment Favorite This

The saga of the Imager Quaeryt, Commander in the forces of Lord Bhayar, reaches a new climax as the great struggle to unify the continent of Lydar enters its final phase in L.E. Modesitt’s Rex Regis, available January 7th, 2014 from Tor Books. Check out an excerpt below!

Only the land of Khel remains uncommitted to Bhayar’s rule. Their decision could mean a lasting peace, or more conflict across an already war-ravaged realm.

While the conqueror of Bovaria awaits emissaries to arrive with news of Khel’s decision, other weighty matters occupy Bhayar, his sister Velora, and her husband Quaeryt—not the least of which is the fulfillment of Quaeryt’s dream to create the world’s first Imager academy, where the magical abilities of these powerful casters may be honed, managed, and put to the service of the common good.

Excerpts

The One-Eyed Man (Excerpt)

Mon May 13, 2013 12:30pm 3 comments Favorite This

Check out L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s new novel, The One-Eyed Man, out on September 17:

The colony world of Stittara is no ordinary planet. For the interstellar Unity of the Ceylesian Arm, Stittara is the primary source of anagathics: drugs that have more than doubled the human life span. But the ecological balance that makes anagathics possible on Stittara is fragile, and the Unity government has a vital interest in making sure the flow of longevity drugs remains uninterrupted, even if it means uprooting the human settlements.

Offered the job of assessing the ecological impact of the human presence on Stittara, freelance consultant Dr. Paulo Verano jumps at the chance to escape the ruin of his personal life. He gets far more than he bargained for: Stittara’s atmosphere is populated with skytubes—gigantic, mysterious airborne organisms that drift like clouds above the surface of the planet. Their exact nature has eluded humanity for centuries, but Verano believes his conclusions about Stittara may hinge on understanding the skytubes’ role in the planet’s ecology—if he survives the hurricane winds, distrustful settlers, and secret agendas that impede his investigation at every turn.

The Palencar Project

Two Stories From a Single Vision: L.E. Modesitt on The One-Eyed Man

Mon May 13, 2013 12:30pm 1 comment Favorite This

The One-Eyed Man is a novel that was one I never intended to write. Some two years ago, my editor, the esteemed David Hartwell, approached me and several other authors and asked us to write a short story based on a painting by John Jude Palencar. I started writing, and I kept writing, and by the time I got to 15,000 words or so, and was just beginning to get into the story, I realized two things: first, that I was nowhere close to finishing the story, and, that, in fact, it wasn’t a story; and second, that I wasn’t going to finish the Imager Portfolio book I was also working on by the time I’d promised it to David. So… I put aside the story that had become at least the beginning of a novella, if not a novel, and wrote a much shorter story entitled “New World Blues,” which was published by Tor.com in February of 2012 as part of the “Palencar Project,” consisting of five stories, all based on the painting, by different writers.

Excerpts

Antiagon Fire (Excerpt)

Thu Mar 28, 2013 4:15pm 2 comments 1 Favorite [+]

Take a look at the next installment of L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Imager Portfolio, Antiagon Fire, out on May 28:

The hard-won battles fought in Imager’s Battalion have earned Quaeryt a promotion to commander, as well as an assignment to convince the Pharsi High Council in the nation of Khel to submit to Lord Bhayar’s rule, which is key to Bhayar’s ambition to unite all of Solidar. Joined by his pregnant wife Vaelora, who is also Bhayar’s sister, Quaeryt leads an army and a handful of imagers deeper into the hostile lands once held by the tyrannical Rex Kharst, facing stiff-necked High Holders, attacks by land and sea—including airborne fire launched by hostile imagers from the land of Antiago—and a mysterious order of powerful women who seem to recognize the great destiny that awaits Quareyt and Vaelora, as well as the cost of achieving it.

Excerpts

Imager’s Battalion (Excerpt)

Mon Dec 10, 2012 5:00pm 2 comments 1 Favorite [+]

Enjoy this excerpt from L. E. Modesitt, Jr.’s Imager’s Battalion, coming out on January 22:

The sequel to the New York Times bestselling Princeps follows magical hero Quaeryt as he leads history’s first Imager fighting force into war. Given the rank of subcommander by his wife’s brother, Lord Bhayar, the ruler of Telaryn, Quaeryt joins an invading army into the hostile land of Bovaria, in retaliation for Bovaria’s attempted annexation of Telaryn. But Quaeryt has his own agenda in doing Bhayar’s bidding: to legitimize Imagers in the hearts and minds of all men, by demonstrating their value as heroes as he leads his battalion into one costly battle after another.

Making matters worse, court intrigues pursue Quaeryt even to the front lines of the conflict, as the Imager’s enemies continue to plot against him.