The Mage-fire War

[Jimbo1]

As usual, Mr. Modesitt delivered a terrific story, with action, amazing world-building, and interesting characters.

I held myself back from reading through the book in one sitting, rationing my reading time as best I could. I've really enjoyed the trilogy of volumes about Beltur.

Well written, well paced, we'll played, sir!

[JTass]

Seconded

[lmodesitt]

Thank you. I appreciate the comments and am glad you enjoyed the books.


L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

[CodeBlower]

Thoughts on the book:

Spoiler: show

I'm looking forward to seeing how things develop in the next book -- especially with Lhadoraak's offspring (plural).

My only, real, disappointment with this book is a petty thing: that Beltur spent so much money, dragging those poor troopers all the way to Hydolar, for them just to revisit all the same public-rooms on the way back home.

I think it illustrates that he wasn't sure what to expect and was trying to plan for every contingency -- but he's been saving his coppers all this time -- and then spent a wagon-load of them unnecessarily just to deliver a message.

-

I have one trivia question -- for you or anybody else -- that I haven't had a chance to go look up: The first time we visit Fairhaven -- with Lerris and Justin -- in "The Magic of Recluce" -- Justin spends quite a bit of time dealing with one spirit in particular.

Spoiler: show

That fellow's name wasn't "Beltur", was it? Anybody have the book at hand that could look it up and set my mind at ease?

[lmodesitt]

Spoiler: show

The spirit's name was Perditis

Spoiler: show

Exactly how else could Beltur have delivered his "message"? In a way that would have been convincing and that wouldn't have killed even more troopers? That message was absolutely necessary, because the Duke would have continued to send troopers... and Beltur and Montgren don't have any left.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

[JTass]

Spoiler: show

The spirit's name was Perditis

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

I've always wondered about that. That's the only instance in the entire Recluce Saga that I can recall that involves a spirit or the power of a non-living being. I was never quite able to make it fit with the way magic/order/chaos seem to work in that universe.

Also; I've always been curious about the backstory there. Will we ever find out who Perditis was?

[lmodesitt]

Not anytime in the near future, and I can't comment beyond that.


L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

[JTass]

Can I assume from your response that he is a subject matter of a future Recluce novel or short story collection?

[lmodesitt]

No. I can't comment because I really haven't thought of even writing about him at present. I do have a general idea of who he is and why he ended up where he did, but have no plans to write more about him at the moment. I don't want to say more because, should I choose to write about him or that period in Fairhaven's history from the "white" POV, I don't want to be limited or misleading from what I might say now.


L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

[JTass]

Ah, gotcha. Thanks for the clarification.
I read your response as having a totally different implication.

[CodeBlower]

Mr. Modesitt,

I disappeared for a little while but I just wanted to state -- a year and a half later -- that I deeply appreciate your responsiveness to our queries and such on this forum.

I just finished the next installment and can't wait for more..

[lmodesitt]

It's going to be a while before there's any more in the world of Recluce. That's because I've been working on an entirely new series -- "The Grand Illusion." The first book is Isolate and will be out in hardcover this coming October.

The second is Councilor and is scheduled for release late in 2022, and I'm working on the third book, as yet untitled.

L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

[Mythbhavd]

I'm looking forward to reading the new series. I'm currently reading Fairhaven Rising. I haven't had a chance yet to read Quantum Shadows, but that's because I want to take the time to actually interact with the material. My area of study is theology and apologetics and I'm always interested in reading your views on theology and philosophy. Recently, I've been so busy with work related reading that I haven't been able to give Q.S. the time it deserves.

[CodeBlower]

Yeah, "Quantum Shadows" is sitting here because I knew "Fairhaven Rising" was coming. Now that I've finished with that .. and caught up on my sleep I missed from finishing that ..