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Jul 29, 2019jimmersive rated this title 3 out of 5 stars
Disclaimer: I've read most of his books. Missed the previous one in this mini-cycle. It follows Charyn, now ruler. Charyn has no magical talents, which is rare (a first?) for a protagonist in Modesitt's fantasy novels. There are imagers in this book, but it feels like he took deliberate steps to make them very minor characters, and no imaging acts take place. There is a looming presence of unease. Solidar never has enough money, everyone wants more power, and bad things happen off-screen — that is the excitement level of the novel. I would not recommend this book to a new-to-Modesitt reader as a good introduction into his fantasy novels. (It is closer to his science fiction/fiction writing, which is generally more dry — but his science fiction has other things going for it.)