L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

While I enjoy the (some would say formulaic) nature of Modesitt's "Recluce" series, its clear to see why that and his one off science fiction is really his bread and butter.
Imager is supposed to be a brand new fantasy world/epic series. What it ultimately feels like is a low stakes knock-off of his own Recluce series. We lose the overarching themes of order, chaos, and balance with nature, the interplay between those concepts and 'good' and 'evil' and motivation, and are instead left with a world and magic that feels similar but stripped of anything approaching a thought provoking ideology. Even the magic feels the sames, but with essentially no risk/reward...no intrinsically limiting factors to the otherwise mad power fantasy of this entirely internal system of magic and imagination. I'm going to read the second book, just because I have it, but I would skip this series entirely.… (mer)

So this is book 23 of the Saga of Recluce. I faithfully read every one them, generally soon after publication, despite them having become totally predictable. Before starting this book, I've made a checklist of 23 points I expect to see based on my experience with Modesitt so far, shall we see how many can be ticked off? Note that this is book 1 of a 2 or 3 book sequence featuring Alyiakal, so some of these points may come in the sequel not this book.

1) Character studies hard, at the behest of a strict parent or guardian
2) Character studies even harder on their own account in order to get ahead
3) Character acquires considerable talent in random practical skill
4) Character enrolls in army boot camp / mage school / vocational training and resolves to work hard and succeed.
5) Character thinks about how much money they have / are paid
6) Character acquires copy of Book of Magic
7) Character eats spicy food and finds it tasty but slightly too hot
8) Character meets their one true love interest, and subsequently never looks twice at any other person
9) Character expresses a preference for either a) lager or b) dark ale, in contrast to their companions
10) Character meets their first antagonist, a stronger mage / solider / scholar whom they have to
placate.
11) Character eats a meal in a restaurant with a) table service and b) tipping, and overhears snippets of a conversation about them
12) Character reads a paragraph of their book, pauses to think, nods slowly in understanding, and goes back to reading
13) Character discovers / teaches themselves some magic skill that is lost / unknown to the wider group
14) Character is involved in some fight / contest
15) Character sadly and reluctantly decides they need to murder someone
16) Character sneaks around, breaks into somewhere, murders one or more people, and gets away with it
17) Character is promoted
18) Character is placed in a position of responsibility and succeeds in part thanks to the random practical skill acquired in their childhood, but mostly because of their diligent attitude and hard work
19) Character discovers some threat / menace / obstacle to progress of society, and sadly and reluctantly decides they need to kill a large number of people in order to stop it
20) Character flights a large group of people, wiping out an army / fleet and kills one or more powerful mages
21) Character permanently changes climate / geography / fundamental nature of the world
22) Character founds new society (or fundamentally changes existing one)
23) Character settles down peacefully with one true love

And for the outcome: spoilers, obviously, to follow!

... spoilers coming....

1) Character studies hard, at the behest of a strict parent or guardian
Yes, chapter 1

2) Character studies even harder on their own account in order to get ahead
Yes, chapter 2

... Modesitt's characters are always so *dutiful*. They never take a day off, or give up on a hard, thankless job for which they receive nothing but hostility and being put in threatening situations where they might die. Alyiakal's motivation in this book is particularly unclear, it's just taken for granted that he's enrolled in the army and will strive to get ahead. Why, exactly? Why doesn't he just drop out at the earliest opportunity and work in a shop or something? One might argue he's driven by his father but Alyiakal hardly thinks about him, social pressures are presumably present but hardly mentioned, by the middle of the book he has no family and few friends and none of them put any pressure on him... presumably he's read the earlier books and knows he's going to end up as Emperor so has to put the hours in to get there?

3) Character acquires considerable talent in random practical skill
Yes, first in chapter 5 he shows a bit of skill in drawing that comes in useful when he needs to make maps, but then later in chapter 15 acquiring healing skills fits this one even better.

4) Character enrolls in army boot camp / mage school / vocational training and resolves to work hard and succeed.
Yes, chapter 8

5) Character thinks about how much money they have / are paid
Yes, chapter 11, but actually Alyiakal makes almost no mention of money in this book, since he spends almost all his time in the army and doesn't need to buy anything except gifts for his significant other. So only half a point.

6) Character acquires copy of Book of Magic
Yes, Chapter 1, although he rarely refers to it afterwards preferring to learn his magic by deduction and experimentation, something I really should have anticipated by reference to books 2,3,4,5,6,7,10,11,12,13,14,15,16,17,18, 19, and 22, whose characters do the same. Only half a point here.

7) Character eats spicy food and finds it tasty but slightly too hot
Yes, chapter 9

8) Character meets their one true love interest, and subsequently never looks twice at any other person
Yes, but...

... I had hopes for this one being a break from Modesitt's normal troupe. Alyiakal meets a girl in chapter 2 who is interesting and obviously unsuitable for a future Emperor. Is there actually going to be a bit of drama coming up? He even sleeps with her, which is rare for a Modesitt character before the midpoint of the novel. But then [sigh] she disappears from the narrative, and we're back to normal Modesitt mode in chapter 9, when Alyiakal starts corresponding with some girl and of course she turns into the typical Modesitt love interest, strong and independent whilst being of course totally driven in her own area, paired up with the main character through a sense of mutual respect and complete lack of any sense of humor or indeed any character trait at all beyond diligent hard work and loyalty to family.

I know one shouldn't make inferences about the author from their work, but I'd be prepared to bet that Modesitt has been happily married since the early 90s when the series started, to a partner he loves and respects and who respects him, and has never looked twice at anyone else. It's all so *wholesome*. Even when one of his characters does sleep around a bit (Rahl in book 14), he stops by chapter 2 and later enters a respectful monogamous relationship with a woman who works diligently in her own field to become competent and respected, and.... you get the idea.

Anyway Alyiakal and his utterly forgettable hardworking and diligent friend are not yet a couple, so perhaps in book 2 something will happen to disrupt the normal path? Maybe she'll be run over by a cart, or kidnapped by pirates, and Alyiakal will end up with someone more interesting? One can but hope...

9) Character expresses a preference for either a) lager or b) dark ale, in contrast to their companions
No! Real shocker here in chapter 9, he prefers wine to either!!

10) Character meets their 1st antagonist, a stronger mage / solider / scholar whom they have to
placate.
Yes, chapter 8 (with the person becoming hostile in chapter 11), but the character then disappears from the narrative, leaving the playoff for the sequel. I'd put money on them turning out to be a traitor though, since they a) have an unfair advantage in getting ahead and b) sleep around - both sure signs of being a Bad Person in Modesitt's world.

11) Character eats a meal in a restaurant with a) table service and b) tipping, and overhears snippets of a conversation about them
Yes, but in two parts, chapter 20 for the overhearing about themselves whilst eating, but in an officer's mess not a restaurant, while the table service and tipping comes in chapter 46.

(Seriously, has Modesitt never been somewhere where tipping is not polite or expected? Never set foot in a McDonald's or somewhere you need to order at the counter?)

12) Character reads a paragraph of their book, pauses to think, nods slowly in understanding, and goes back to reading
No - as per point 6, Alyiakal doesn't really get his learning from books.

13) Character discovers / teaches themselves some magic skill that is lost / unknown to the wider group
Yes, hints of it in chapter 31, and then breakthroughs start in chapter 52.

14) Character is involved in some fight / contest
Yes, chapters 11,15,23,27-28, then I gave up tracking.

15) Character sadly and reluctantly decides they need to murder someone
Not yet. But I'm pretty sure this will come in the sequel.

16) Character sneaks around, breaks into somewhere, murders one or more people, and gets away with it
Chapter 24 for sneaking about, the rest I'm sure will come in the sequel.

17) Character is promoted
Yes, chapter 36, although (strangely) it's not directly mentioned. And then again in chapter 98.

18) Character is placed in a position of responsibility and succeeds in part thanks to the random practical skill acquired in their childhood, but mostly because of their diligent attitude and hard work
Yes, the 20s. And all through the book, basically.

19) Character discovers some threat / menace / obstacle to progress of society, and sadly and reluctantly decides they need to kill a large number of people in order to stop it
Not yet, almost certainly the sequel.

20) Character flights a large group of people, wiping out an army / fleet and kills one or more very powerful mages
Not yet, almost certainly the sequel.

21) Character permanently changes climate / geography / fundamental nature of the world
Not yet, possibly the sequel.

22) Character founds new society (or fundamentally changes existing one)
Not yet, almost certainly the sequel.

23) Character settles down peacefully with one true love
Not yet, almost certainly the sequel.

So, final score:
- Hits: 12 and 2 half points
- Misses: 2 (Alyiakal didn't read his book and nod slowly, and he prefers wine to ale)
- Waiting for the sequel: 7

...and yet, somehow, I still enjoy reading these books? Even I'm not even sure why, at this point.… (mer)