The Magic Engineer

Returning to Recluse is again a sheer delight. Classic, easy storytelling, development of the core ideas of his magic system, and a great exploration of the balance between Chaos and Order. Specifically, this man, totally devoted to Order magic, devoted his life in exile to creating machines, from st......more

I am "on a mission", if you will, to re-read the Recluce saga in order, because I most of the first eleven books when I was younger and then lost touch with the series, and now I'm "reconnecting with my fantasy roots". Note, however, that this is one series where the order—at least at first—doesn't......more

"The Magic Engineer" is the third book in L. E. Modesitt Jr.'s "Recluce" series. It is also the best Recluce novel I've read so far. It's a solid 4 star effort. The novel itself is written in the same familiar present tense style with which Modesitt's readers should be familiar at this point (e.g. "......more

It was great to read this right after The White Order since the main character of that book, Creslin, is a small, but continuing presence in this one. It was a shame the narrator didn't use the same voice for him, though. Still, the comparisons & differences between the two really made me think abou......more