Overview
The saga of Recluce by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., has become one of the standard works of fantasy in the 1990s. VOYA says, "Modesitt's logical structure of the interrelationship of order and chaos, magic and technology, is one of the most through in modern fantasy. The personal growth of his characters and the depiction of their world, it well-written and credible - and involves the reader... The serious fantasy reader will revel in Modesitt's work." Launched with The Magic of Recluce, the novels of Recluce have gone on to sell over a million copies in paperback.
The most recent of the Recluce novels, Fall of Angels, introduced the engineer/smith Nylan, the only man among the leadership of the company of "angels" marooned on a high plateau in the west of Candar, and perhaps the one person most responsible for their survival. But the angels are a matriarchal band, and so Nylan must leave his companions and seek a life elsewhere. He travels down from the plateau into the world of warring kingdoms and strange magics with his companion, Ayrlyn, the healer, and his infant son. They are in search of a place to lead a peaceful life, but they look different from the locals, and their talents are most valued in battle - and so the war between chaos and order begins again.
The Chaos Balance is the seventh book of the saga of Recluce.
Editorials
VOYA -
Modesitt once again creates a vivid chapter in his ongoing saga of Recluce, the land where Order and Chaos continually struggle for dominance. As the story opens, the reader discovers that the forces of Order, stranded on this world centuries ago after a starship crash, use ordered energies to terraform the world by force, so as to provide a power source from the resulting imbalance for the use of their children's children. Nylan the Smith, protagonist of Fall of Angels (Tor, 1996), who has left the Black Tower's warrior matriarchy to find a life of peace for his family, must channel the forces of Chaos and return the world to balance so that he and the others resisting Order's power-and in the long run, the world itself-can survive. As he does in all of his work, Modesitt skillfully interweaves with the nonstop action and the fast-moving plot, well-rounded characters, a compelling and believable alien world, and above all, philosophical discussions of power and the consequences of its misuse. Another fascinating example of world building, which adds to our understanding of Recluce, and a worthwhile addition to any YA collection. VOYA Codes: 5Q 4P S (Hard to imagine it being any better written, Broad general YA appeal, Senior High-defined as grades 10 to 12).School Library Journal
YA-This eighth book in this series continues the story of Nylan as he leaves Candar and the angels with his companion, Ayrlyn, to seek a new home and peace. In their travels, encounters with local inhabitants cause conflict as value systems clash. This book is an intricate part of the series and will be best understood and enjoyed by readers of the previous titles. It combines technology and the hierarchical and logical structure of science fiction with elements of magic and imaginary powers of fantasy.Romantic Times
A writer of exceptional fantasy, Mr. Modesitt leaves the reader in no doubt about the price of power and the bittersweet triumph of the human spirit in this splendid new Recluce adventure.Kirkus Reviews
Addition to Modesitt's independently intelligible fantasy series about planet Recluce and its warring Order and Chaos magic. Chronologically, the events here follow those of Fall of Angels (1996). Surrounded by aggressive macho cultures, the "angels" under Ryba have developed a clean and orderly but oppressive feminist dictatorship. Engineer, smith, and Order mage Nylan can no longer tolerate being used by Ryba as a stud and source of new weapons, so he departs with his son Weryl and his lover, the healer and singer Ayrlyn. But the male-dominated, expansionist empire of Cyador, with its unmatchable Chaos magic, must somehow be restrained; and so Nylan agrees—reluctantly—to help the primitive, unwashed macho swaggerers of Lornth.A sturdy addition to a superior series, this time presented without narrative foibles.