Imager's Battalion

Imager Portfolio #6

by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Quaeryt, now holding the rank of subcommander in the Telaryn army of Lord Bhayar, leads history's first imager fighting force into a retaliatory war against the hostile nation of Bovaria, which recently attempted the annexation of Telaryn. But Court intrigues pursue Quaeryt to the front lines of the conflict as the imager's enemies continue to plot against him. In the midst of all this, Quaeryt must somehow teach his men to control the powerful and dangerous imaging skills at their command.

Yet despite the risks, Quaeryt pursues his own agenda: to legitimize imagers in the hearts and minds of all men, demonstrating their value as he leads his battalion into one costly battle after another.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Epic Fantasy, Military Fiction, Magic, Science Fiction Fantasy, Audiobook

509 pages, Hardcover

First published January 22, 2013

About the author

L. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt, Jr. is an author of science fiction and fantasy novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce. He graduated from Williams College in Massachusetts, lived in Washington, D.C. for 20 years, then moved to New Hampshire in 1989 where he met his wife. They relocated to Cedar City, Utah in 1993.

He has worked as a Navy pilot, lifeguard, delivery boy, unpaid radio disc jockey, real estate agent, market research analyst, director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant for a Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the United States Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer and writer in residence.
In addition to his novels, Mr. Modesitt has published technical studies and articles, columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first short story, "The Great American Economy", was published in 1973 in Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact.

-Wikipedia

Reviews

[Bradley · Rating 4 out of 5]

Honestly, I was really liking the previous slant of the last few books with this character. Spy, troubleshooter. Having him become a military leader with a bunch of Imagers under him is good, as far as Modesitt goes, because he does tend to have a LOT of his balanced MCs taking up the mantle of battle leaders, but I kinda wanted this to be slightly more unique.

But, all told, even though there is not much new in here and it feels a lot like the Recluse series in the magic and uses, it was still quite entertaining. No complaints. War, war, war.

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was in a funk yesterday, just ticked off at life in general & not feeling great physically, either. It was supposed to be a pretty day, but wound up being in the 40s with an amazingly raw & cutting wind. I just didn't feel like being an adult, so I sat around all day & just read this book - all 500 pages from start to finish. I finished it at midnight. (It's rare that I stay up until 10pm since I always wake up about 4am. Yes, even this morning. Ugh.)

This was a great retreat from the world. Quaeryt's story is going strong. After stopping the Bovarians attempt at an invasion, Bhayar now attacks along the river straight to the hear of the Bovarian empire. Quaeryt is the single most important element in this attack, but Bhayar must keep his distance due to politics. It's frustrating both to Quaeryt, the reader, & everyone else, but very realistic. Issues of government, the Nameless religion/philosophy, & such are well placed in plenty of action. Quaeryt slowly forms his ideas for what the future of imagers & how he'll bring his plans to fruition.

I'm of two minds about the reading order of this series. This one is directly after book 5, Princeps, but the next time I read this series, I'm going to start with book 4, Scholar, & work my way through book 11 (not out yet) & then go back to the first 3 books, which take place about 700 years after this one. Like his Recluce series, Modesitt builds the understanding of the magic & issues of the world in the published order, but I think a chronological read would be great after the first time. There is a lot of history in the making & how it plays out in the future is fascinating.

On to the next, Antiagon Fire!

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

“I want a land where Pharsi, scholars, and imagers can be what they will, under the same laws as everyone else.” “You are either mad … or a lost one.” “Is there any difference?”

A fun story, well-told, but lots of repetition--and war. One continuous series of battles with the climax mirroring that of the previous volume. Every skirmish and every staff meeting, not to mention the bureaucratic in-fighting, related in excruciating detail.

“He doesn’t forget, Quaeryt.” Neither do I. Ever.

Book of Rholan as Modesitt’s philosophic hand puppet. Much of the philosophy--in fact the basic plot--was foreshadowed in the first three books of this series, which occur hundreds of years after this book.

Editing quirks: “In less than a fraction of a quint …” Twice. “Rain began to come down.” What else? Dozens of blotting head and adjusting brim cap.

“It’s hard not to think about the consequences when you’re the one who causes the deaths of so many.”

[David Newcombe · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not one of his better ones, appears to have been put in as part of a 5 book series and that it needs to be there to pad out the series or perhaps I am being too harsh.

Certainly got bored with the endless battles where qware it is put at the front just to discover some other technique to save the day, techniques that generally kill thousands without having the same affect on him

over 90% of the book seems just to be riding then fighting

[Daniel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Veliki ulozi, velike bitke, puno muka teskih odluka i pritajenih pretnji i moguce izdaje. Sve u svemu prica fino napreduje.

[Polo · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is a continuation of Princeps, focusing on the life of the Scholar and Imager Quaeryt. Through the actions and deeds of the characters in this story, the consequences of greed and power, pose questions regarding what is right and what is wrong, and the areas of gray that fall in-between. The politics and religion for me became a mirror for the state of our current world, with an addition of a well-defined magic system and a sprinkling of mysticism.

I like the protagonist, Quaeryt, and his strategic mind, his kindness and genuineness. The more Quaeryt learns about himself, life and others, the more he realizes how little he truly knows, which endeared him to me. There were parts of the book that moved slow at times, and then the book ended rather abruptly. It ended in a way that left me ready to pick up the next book in the series!

In order to grasp, understand and appreciate this book, in my opinion, it's imperative to read the two prior books (Scholar and Princeps) in the series.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

very addictive read - want to save it for a while but I am afraid i will read it very soon

Finished Imager's Battalion by LE Modesitt (3rd Quaeryt book and 6th Imager overall) and it was again un-putdownable so despite my resolution to hold on to it for a little more (it's January 2013 pub date), I *had to* read it; of course now that I finished it I want book 4, Antiagon Fire asap

Excellent stuff, same structure as books 1/2 (Scholar/Princeps) though this one is mostly war, Imagers (magic, powerful but few magicians) against guns (musketeers and canon and lots of expendable soldiers) as Quaeryt leads 5th Battalion, the vanguard of the Southern Army of Telaryn commanded by his friend from Tilbor, Commander Skarpa, into Bovaria against the forces of cruel Rex Kharst.

From here some spoilers for previous books so will include in spoiler brackets, though no spoilers for this one:

After Qaeryt and Skarpa defeated the Bovarian invasion so decisively at Ferrravyl in the previous book, the Bovarians are on the defensive and unprepared as they lost all their invading army, but they still can muster 40+ regiments if given time, while Telaryn can manage 20-30 at most in addition of having all the logistical problems of an invading army in enemy territory, though luckily Rex Kharst is not that popular, only extremely feared

Also the hopes of the Pharsi nation (subjugated and persecuted by Kharst) rest on Quaeryt's shoulders too as his command is mostly Pharsi refugee soldiers and officers in addition of course to the few mostly untrained Imagers that he has to shape into war-practice too...

And not to make matters easier, his wife and Bhayar' youngest sister, Vaelora, now pregnant has her own job at court to co-rule with her sister-in-law Aelina, as Lord Bhayar is with the main Army of the North since he staked everything on the invasion too..

And the Telaryn Comannder in Chief, Marshal Deucalon doesn't like Quaeryt or Skarpa in the least so they get the minimum amount of soldiers and the maximum amount of hardship possible without triggering Bhayar's ire, while Sub-Marshal Myskil, former close confidant of governor Rescalyn and presumably involved in his plot to take over Telaryn and depose Bhayar, still remembers Quaeryt's so elegantly breaking the plot, while leaving a dead Rescalyn as big war hero of Telaryn


A great ending to boot and again, I cannot emphasize enough how good this series keeps being...

FBC rv

http://fantasybookcritic.blogspot.com...

[Kurt Cagle · Rating 3 out of 5]

This, the sixth book in the Imager series, is typical Modesitt - the protagonist fighting against impossible odds with powers well beyond the ken of mortal man. It was not the author' best - this is the story of a campaign, and the protagonist, Quaeryt, uses his exceptional imaging ability to ultimately defeat not just his immediate foes but eventually ... well, okay, no spoilers.

Overall, my sense is that Modesitt has a formula that works for him, but he's definitely beginning to get into a rut with this. The story of the humble man with exceptional powers who eventually becomes a major player is one that he has told innumerable times, to the extent that here, in a middle book without either character creation nor real denousement, you definitely see the story becoming threadbare, for all the details.

I've loved the philosophical discovery and richness of themes and details in most of his stories, but there is little here beyond a fairly uninteresting mystery. Had the story been compressed to about a third the length then incorporated into the logical next stage - which I'd speculate would be about the likely conflict between Quaeryt and his brother-in-law, the King, then I would have recommended this higher. As it was, this seemed like an unnecessary middle act, less of interest than Quaeryt's experience as governor (which was interesting though the demotion at the end felt contrived).

I am looking forward to the next (and hopefully last), book in the series, then would hope that he tries something new - perhaps the tale of a female Recluse black staff.

[Keilani Ludlow · Rating 4 out of 5]

What can I really say? More of the same. Quaeryt has become a sub commander and is still trying to help Lord Bhayar win the war against the evil invader, and so on and so forth. He still has to deal with intrigue from those superior officers and position holders under Lord Bhayar. He still has to teach other imagers, trying to determine who can be trusted and who cannot and what to teach each. He still is carefully laying the groundwork for a specific place/status for imagers and scholars. He still has a loving but mildly odd relationship with his wife. He still has to perform amazing feats of imagery which are both not enough as they can’t save everyone, and too much as they kill lots and lots of people and he hates being forced into that position. He still theorizes on who Rholan is and what the nature of God is and isn’t.

If you’ve read the series, you know the drill. It’s the same thing, just further along. Don’t get me wrong, I like the series. I’m just ready for something new to happen. I like this series (all of the Imager) better than any of his other fantasy except perhaps the Corean Chronicles, I’m just ready for this guy to step it up a little and the plot to move along, enough with the battling already.

And the names, oh the names!!!!

[Jim · Rating 4 out of 5]

April 2017 Review

June2014 Review Another excellent addition to the series. We're still following Quaeryt & likely will be in the next book, too. Definitely read these in published order.

I was a bit disappointed with the ending in some ways, others not. It was a bit too abrupt & I'm not sure it really solved some of the issues that were harped on in the book. I guess I'll find out in the next one, Antiagon Fire. Any discussion of it would be a spoiler, so please drop by the Modesitt group to do so.
https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/...

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

Great end to the 4 book series. I'm a sucker for somewhat tragic endings. Once I was towards the end it was all I could do to put it down and sleep.

With that being said, I think I have enjoyed the recluse series better. It is nice to get 4 books on one characters, and the format is very similar, but to me it is missing a bit of that magic.

[James · Rating 5 out of 5]

It was good! So why the hell couldn't it have ended with a little more information? I am only placated in the fact that his next book, Antiagon's Fire, may be coming out in May. I hope it does, or for the first time, I will be dis-satisfied with Mr. Modesitt.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quaryt, the scholar-imager, is recalled from a governorship to join the army as the leader of a special battalion of imagers and soldiers. Fighting not just the enemy he must train a new group of imagers and aid his ruler in achieving victory despite the hazards he faces from his magic.

[Alexander Smith · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was good until the the last few chapters. Modesitt does this in a few of his books. He spends plenty of time developing the story, and characters, and then rushes the ending.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 3 out of 5]

3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Quaeryt, magician and scholar, has succeeded as advisor, governor, and mayor, and now is tasked with using his schools to further his king's conquest of a neighbouring land.

Review
The first two volumes of this sub-series, detailing Quaeryt’s shift from scholar and advisor to political figure, were a welcome reprieve from the tedious minutiae of the initial trilogy (set in this book’s future). Here, unfortunately, we begin to shift back into tedium.While the topic is more interesting – Quaeryt’s training of imagers (magicians) and his maneuvering for a future lyceum for their training – Modesitt’s approach of day-by-day description makes it a struggle to remain interested. Similarly, his penchant for quoting and considering long, vague passages of religious philosophy (about the Nameless god) adds nothing to the story. Those sections add to Modesitt’s seeming reluctance to commit to almost anything, exemplified by Quaeryt constantly encountering things (often food or ale) that is ‘not as good as x, but not as bad as y’ or ‘better than it could have been, considering’. The only really firm ground is that Quaeryt is committed to his vision (we never really know why) of a future for imagers and willing to do almost anything to achieve it. He’s also committed to his wife, though we very rarely see them interact in any truly intimate way.

Modesitt compounds the problem by treating imaging (magic) as a black box. You can image a large stone bridge, a feeling of confidence, the absence of a bridge (deleting it from reality), a pile of dirt from here to there, iron darts to locations that can’t be seen, an invisible shield against projectiles, an invisibility cloak, etc. Imaging is a panacea, with the one caveat that using it too much can cause headaches or even death. I usually enjoy magic systems, but the only interesting thing here is that Quaeryt personally takes some big steps – about which he will doubtless do some vague worrying in the next book. Even the one practical limit – that imaging requires energy input (often in the form of heat from the environment) is only vaguely described, and its parameters seem … flexible.

All that sounds (somewhat) worse than it is. The book is moderately paced, and Quaeryt is less annoying than some of Modesitt’s recent protagonsits. But certainly this part of the series is losing the magic that it partially regained in the previous Quaeryt books. I’m apprehensive about those that follow. This book is, to damn it with faint praise, palatable, but not much more.

I’m also apprehensive about a planned reading/re-reading of all the Recluce books I have – dozens of them – uncertain whether Modesitt (like many successful authors before him) has lost the plot (literally) or maybe the Recluce books aren’t as good as I once thought.

[Yev · Rating 4 out of 5]

The previous books have had war as part of their narrative, but this was a military campaign from start to finish. The war to unite the continent had begun. I think it suffered somewhat for that as the other books had more of a variety to keep them fresh. While the abilities of imagers were primarily used for destructive purposes, they were shown to be constructive as well. I would've liked there to be more variety to use their use, as it's rather limited overall. I guess once you have a highly successful tactic there isn't really much reason to try much else. There were various teases about a past civilization and even further back in the past, but it seems they'll remain only that.

Quaeryt has been changing a lot over the course of his story and that's especially the case here. Maybe it's because he's mostly a military commander now is why his personality has changed so much. It's better for him as to accomplish his goals, though for me it makes for a less enjoyable read. The POV isn't as closely held on him, but that's mostly because he's consistently eavesdropping on conversations which allows for conversation without him being strictly present. That's one of several unfortunate habits. Now that assassins are being used against him and his allies he continues reassess whether casual assassinations were really for the best or not. At the end other end of the scale I have to wonder how much his single-handed atrocities are going to affect him in the next book, if at all really. His body count by the end of this book is the several tens of thousands, though it's all very impersonal and at a distance. Very powerful imagers are like pilots dropping weapons of mass destruction on a target, or as a more modern case may be, like a remotely operated UAV with hellfire missiles.

This was the weakest of the Quaeryt books thus far, though it's looking like the next one may even weaker, which is disappointing, but it should still be sufficiently enjoyable. I understand trying to be realistic about how long wars can take, but I would've preferred it to be less so in that regard about this and possibly not have rest of the series be war. It would be nice to see what comes afterward, though even if it doesn't, which would be disagreeable, it's still worth reading.

Rating: 3.5/5

[Jon]

So, the thing this book reminds me of greatly is grinding out levels in MMORPGs. Quaeryt is now a subcommander in King Bhayar's army, on the move towards the heart of Bovaria, where they will attempt to defeat the Kharst's forces. He continues to try to improve the skills of his small band of imagers along the way, and they fight in small skirmishes against ambushing forces, for the most part, until near the end of the campaign, when Quaryt and his band may be required to sacrifice everything for the sake of Telaryn.

Quaeryt's marriage to Bhayar's sister, Vaelora, continues happily along, despite their separation. She must remain behind in the capital city, Solis, with Bhayar's wife, Aelina, to keep the High Holders and Bhayar's ministers from building their own empires while the king is in the field with his armies. He and Vaelora keep in touch by letter, discussing obliquely all matters political, and not so obliquely their love for one another. The political gamesmanship goes on in the field as well, when the field marshall in charge of the army and his cronies try to put Quaeryt's battalion in harm's way as much as possible, hoping to rid themselves of one who has so much influence with Bhayar.

Not the most inspired novel in the series, but a necessary novel to get Quaeryt where Modesitt wants him, I suppose.

[Mary Soon Lee · Rating 5 out of 5]

"Imager's Battalion" is the sixth book in Modesitt's Imager series, and the third centered on Quaeryt, a scholar who also possesses a powerful magical imaging talent. All six of the Imager books share a deliberate, detailed, thoughtful approach. They are not books to hold up as exemplars of masterful prose. They are not pushing the boundaries of the fantasy genre. They are not filled with the flamboyance and wit of, for example, Scott Lynch's fantasy. But I care about their protagonists. I cared enough about Quaeryt to sit in the hallway until 1:30 AM to read to the end of "Imager's Battalion." It's a long time since I've done that with a book.

[Ethan Mayfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

While not a bad read, the books in this series are definitely becoming more and more repetitive. I'm still a fan of how "cozy" they feel despite the fact that the backdrop for this novel is war. Conversations between characters are always polite and charming, and the political drama that tends to supersede the actual enemies that are getting faced made for a more nuanced story.
Still, this book didn't necessarily do anything to set itself apart from any of the previous installments, and I'm frankly a little shocked at how little happened in the entirety of books 4-6 with regard to showcasing the history of the integration of imagers into societal power. I was expecting this stuff with Quaeryt to take 2 books at most.

[Aaron Dettmann · Rating 3 out of 5]

Solid Modesitt Jr. fare. I think I enjoy his books so much because I really like the idea of incremental advantages and gains leading to big changes. The main characters in Modesitt's books always do the little bit that they can, hoping to gradually improve life for everyone (before using their powers in a completely unfair way to win whatever battle they're in).

The best part of this book was that despite some hints, Quaeryt never led a Nameless service! Yay, no formulaic services that are all the same! Maybe Modesitt Jr. heard back from other people that felt the same way about his earlier books in this series!

[Groucho42 · Rating 3 out of 5]

All war,except for short breaks of religious nonense. It would have been much better if, instead of focusing solely on Queryt and the war the chapters had interleaved with Vaelora and politics back a that capital.

It starts right after Princeps and is solely about the invasion of Batavia, Bolivia, oh right, Bovaria. Too simplistic but still has Modesitt's style.

Best part was actually the chapter heads. There's an image of scroll work and a leaf surrounding the chapter numbers, but it always looked like an owl to me. Made me smile.

[Jaipal · Rating 3 out of 5]

What can I say. It's an L.E. Modesitt Jr series. I'm reading this after a long break so it felt very familiar (he has a tendency to follow the same formula) and yet enjoyable.

The story now has Quaeryt leading and training the first Imager fighting force into war, to unite the various feuding states under Lord Bhayar.

Typical in his writing style, Quaeryt has to deal with enemy soldiers, incompetent commanders, dishonest nobles and factors while committing atrocities for the greater good.

As is other books, it is an enjoyable read and perhaps that is why I keep on reading them.

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

This volume of the Quaeryt story line is almost purely military. With his wife back in the capital, Quaeryt is free to develop his military imaging skills. The plot develops along expected lines and the character development focuses on the conflict between Quaeryt’s military duty and his scholarly and religious predilections. Politically, there is conflict with local landholders and military bureaucracy.
Modesitt, L. E., Jr. Imager’s Battalion. Imager Portfolio No. 6. Tor, 2013.

[Yablon · Rating 4 out of 5]

4 instead of the 5 stars I'm inclined to give the rest of the series because Modesitt's slow and deliberate writing pace isn't quite as gripping when applied to a book which focuses entirely on a war.
The action is still thrilling and I do love the world built in the scenes in between but the lack of variety is marked step down from the last book in the series which quite frankly had a bit of everything.

[Tee Dubose · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm reading this series slowly. Its hard to get over some classic male writer things like.... marrying the beautiful idealistic insightful intelligent...but not as much as me....oooo I'm so wise...oooo I'm a reluctant hero.
Having said that....I like the books or more specifically the world building. No one does quite like Modesitt. Creative detailed and complete with cultural identities that are consistent throughout the series.

[Evalyn · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quaeryt!!!! Shaelyt!!!! Gah! The last hour of this book had me in pieces and tense... I find that I'm enjoying the book so much more with the Vaelora out of the picture. Like usual, Modesitt had a ton of repetition (a lot of small details that for some odd reason Modesitt feels we need to be reminded of over and over again - like how Quaeryt doesn't believe in the Namer and such) but I really enjoyed this overall.

[Kristin · Rating 3 out of 5]

Worth reading. I like this world. The story was plodding though until the end, which seems to happen with all of these books. And then it ends right after the climax with basically no epilogue. If I want that, I need to read the next book. Which is kind of frustrating.

At the same, this is kind of what I need right now. A good book that isn't too much of a page turner.

[Pedro Marroquín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Buen libro en el que la magia del protagonista la usa para ganar batallas, todo tipo de batallas y escaramuzas. Solo se te hace algo pesado las continúas conversaciones con los demás militares sobre la inacción del mariscal al que deben ayudar. B

[Steve Pillinger · Rating 5 out of 5]

This was a very satisfying story, as the imagers under Quaeryt at last come into their own as a fighting force—without which Lord Bhayar could not have won his campaign. The ending is particularly dramatic.

[Eric Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you don't like war dominating the story, find a spoiler review, because this is mostly that. I don't mind a good war story, which this was, and it continued a very good story line. If you've made it this far in the Quaeryt story line, you should enjoy Imager's Battalion.