From The Forest (Saga Of Recluce book 23) by L E Modesitt Jr. (book review).
‘From the Forest’ is the latest book to be issued in The Saga of Recluce’ by L.E. Modesitt, Jr., but actually the first in the series chronology, at least so far. It goes back to the first century after the founding of Cyador by people who came from the Rational Stars, our universe, and found themselves somehow translated into a world where different physical laws apply. By using the forces of order and chaos, which can be manipulated in Recluce, the founders managed to restrain the Accursed Forest and build a nation. Chief among them was a magi known as the First, whose works such as roads and a great canal still dominate the landscape.
Our hero for this book and the next three, I gather, is a young man named Alyiakal, son of a Majer in the Mirror Lancers of Cyador. The story starts shortly before he’s due to go off for his own military training, having discovered that although he has some abilities with chaos, they don’t amount to much and are mixed up with an innate talent for order. Old Recluce readers will know that the combination makes for the most powerful mages. It might turn out that way for Alyiakal, but not yet. Before he departs his hometown, he encounters a girl from the Accursed Forest and finds that he has some sort of rapport with it as well. This may prove important later.
After that, the book focuses on his military career with the Mirror Lancers, an important arm of the state. Cyador is ruled by three groups: mages, Mirror Lancers and merchanters or businessmen. The Mirror Lancers defend the borders of Cyador so, after completing his officer training, Alyiakal is posted to remote Pemedra to fight bandits who raid the local farms. There, he develops his abilities with order and chaos and does well in combat. Like Superman, when he’s in Clark Kent mode and survives danger, he has to pass this off as luck because his powers are secret. Alyiakal is the typical Modesitt hero: quiet, hard-working, dutiful, humourless, ruthless, and a little sly. He gets to know a classmate’s sister, Saelora, and begins a long-distance romance with her, but his remote posting and dangerous life make marriage impossible for now. There’s a quiet spell in the middle of the book where he meets her in the flesh and does some courting before going off to the next dangerous outpost.
‘From the Forest’ is written in the present tense, which I found slightly odd but, apart from that, is absolutely typical of the author’s Recluce work, so his fans will like it. I did it myself and regretted not having the next volume to hand when I finished the last page. The point of these large fantasy epics is to immerse yourself in an entirely different world and forget about this one. The effect is gently soporific in a pleasant way. They make a nice change from the short, sharp shock of short stories, which are my usual reading, and I look forward to the sequel.
Eamonn Murphy
February 2024
(pub: TOR, 2024. 464 page hardback. Price: $26.99 (US). ISBN: 978-1-25087-728-4.
UK release pub: St. Martin’s Press, 27 Feb 2024. Price: £25.99 (UK). ISBN: 978-1-25087-728-4)
check out website: www.tor.com
