Antiagon Fire

Imager Portfolio #7

by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

The hard-won battles fought in Imager's Battalion have earned Quaeryt a promotion to commander, as well as an assignment to convince the Pharsi High Council in the nation of Khel to submit to Lord Bhayar's rule, which is key to Bhayar's ambition to unite all of Solidar. Joined by his pregnant wife Vaelora, who is also Bhayar's sister, Quaeryt leads an army and a handful of imagers deeper into the hostile lands once held by the tyrannical Rex Kharst, facing stiff-necked High Holders, attacks by land and sea—including airborne fire launched by hostile imagers from the land of Antiago—and a mysterious order of powerful women who seem to recognize the great destiny that awaits Quareyt and Vaelora, as well as the cost of achieving it.

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

461 pages, Kindle Edition

First published May 28, 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]

The writing is solid and I've never had a problem with the ongoing military campaigns, for the most part, in any of Modesitt's books, but I do have a few concerns:

The MC started off more talky and clever in the first books in this cycle and gradually became a hard-ass military commander in this one. The justification? Setting up a safe space for all Imagers by way of world domination (or something close to it).

Do I really fall into this line of reasoning?

No, not really. But the book itself was still entertaining. I just wish there was more of what made me enjoy the previous ones and not this whole empire-building stuff. It's literally invasion time.

[Jim · Rating 3 out of 5]

Quaeryt got on his high horse & rode through this one. Pretty interesting with a lot of action. Not sure all the imaging made as much sense, though. Definitely growing in strength, but some of it didn't ring true. A good story, but not quite up to some of the others. A bit of a needed place holder, I think. He had to run around & do too much.

[Bryan Brown · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is a weaker entry in the Imager series. I was disappointed to see that the romance fell a bit flat during most of the book. I kept thinking that either Quyaert or Valoria would bring this up. They seemed to really fail in communication which felt wrong after so many of the letters between the two in the other books in the series. It projected a sense of isolation onto both characters which weakened them both. I would hope this is corrected in the next book. There is something to build on at the end of this story with the relationship. It's hard, I know. But getting through healthily requires a lot of open communications. I really hope they can do that. I really like them as a couple.

Speaking of next book. This story felt like a bridge that is prolonging the no good deed ever goes unpunished. In fact a merchant sail captain said explicitly in the story that great evil is often brought about by the best of intensions. I can't help but think that is foreshadowing. Quyaerts reply that people often live to see the trouble of their decisions but often don't live to see the good of them is likely also foreshadowing.

In spite of my lower rating I am going to read the next book and I am very interested to go back and read the initial Imager trilogy once this prequel story arc is done to see how it all does fit and to see what good results did happen because of this war.

And am I the only person who calls Quyaert Qwerty in my mind?

[J L's Bibliomania · Rating 3 out of 5]

There are some actors who it is said can make it a pleasure to listen to ANYTHING, be it the phone book or the part of The Book of Numbers that reads:

5. The Israelites set out from Ramses and encamped at Succoth.
6. They set out from Succoth and encamped at Etham, which is on the edge of the wilderness.
7. They set out from Etham and turned about toward Pi-hahiroth, which faces Baal-zephon, and they encamped before Migdol.
8. They set out from Pene-hahiroth and passed through the sea into the wilderness; and they made a three-days journey into the wilderness of Etham and encamped at Marah.
9. They set out from Marah and came to Elim. There were twelve springs in Elim and seventy palm trees, so they encamped there. (Numbers 33:5-9)

There are some authors that can make anything a pleasure to read, especially if you are in the right mood. Just as the passage above is a catalog of the Israelite’s journey through the desert after their departure with a bit of description and a few short vignettes, Antiagon Fire, The Seventh Book of the Imager Portfolio, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. is in many ways a catalog of the journeys of Quaeryt and his entourage of Imager Undercaptains and two regiments. There are fewer meals of yellow cheese than some Modesitt books, and very little character development, but somehow, Modesitt makes it enjoyable to go from place A to place B with a sprinkling of bridge building and occasional smiting along the way.

[AtlantaTwin · Rating 3 out of 5]

About 2/3 of the way through the book, I found myself not wanting to listen anymore because of the reasoning behind justifying the war. Taking rule over many lands to apply the same set of laws and eliminate all future fighting: seriously? Just because people are different doesn't make their way of living wrong and worthy of domination. Modesitt tries to further justify this war by showing the other rulers as using iron fists on their people; this makes gracious Bahyar shine in contrast. However, at the time Quaryet is making the decisions to move forward with war, he has no knowledge of these other rulers' behavior. The merchant captain said it well when he said all great acts are justified with reason.

[Marlie · Rating 2 out of 5]

I have to admit that the shine is wearing off this series for me. In this book, Quaeryt faces a series of challenges as he attempts to carry out his lord's orders. This is exactly the same plot as the last 2 books, and since it takes Quaeryt half a page to solve any problem put in front of him, it turns the book into a long slog. The rest of the book is padded with discussions on the practicalities of outfitting an army, and training students. In summary this book is a long series of repetitive scenes where Quaeryt spends a chapter leading his army somewhere, gets ambushed, uses imaging to take care of most of the problem, and then tallies the casualties.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

Ovo mi je za sada omiljena knjiga u ovom serijalu. Dobijamo uvid kako je tesko kontrolisati neku zemlju koja je tek osvojena posto ovako nesto skoro nikada nije opisano u knigama. Isto tako dobro je prikazana i sva moralna dilema oko upotrebe sile za dobijanja prave stvari odnosno kada koristimo izgovor da bi sebe ubedeli da ono sto radimo je ispravno. u svakom slucaju preporuka.

Idemo dalje na zavrsetak serijala.

[Liviu · Rating 5 out of 5]

Initial thoughts March 11, 2013

I finished Antiagon Fire by LE Modesitt, 4th Quaeryt Imager book (and next to last with Rex Regis ending his saga), book tbp in May (the 3rd book Imager's Battalion has been recently released btw) and it was as good as the previous three; same structure and same kind of topics, lots of action, intrigue and all the favorite characters back; as a small spoiler (the title kind of makes it clear though), Quaeryt and his imagers finally meet opposing imagers in battle. This series has become one of my huge favorites and i will be sad when the last volume is published later this year or early in 2014, though the author did not preclude returning to Terahnar at another point in its history.

Antiagon Fire together with Imager's Battalion form an impressive 3-4 installment that deals with the wars of unification proper which start towards the end of volume 2 and they are for the moment the top sff offering of the year. I will also note that Vaelora has a more important role here as she becomes a co-envoy with Quaeryt and starts manifesting some of the hinted powers in earlier volumes, though most of the book still follows Quaeryt solving issue after issue and after a while finally taking overt action on his own to bring about the desired outcome.

More characters are introduced who may be of interest later, there is much more background on Khel and the Bovarian conquest, more High Holders that see or not the wisdom of submission to Bhayar, as well as the strange land of Antiagon quite different behind its literal (the border with Bovaria is walled) and metaphorical walls (Antiagon Fire and Imager power) than anything we've seen so far

As mentioned the structure of the novel is similar to what came before as is the ending at a definite stopping point, but the last 150 pages or so here are even more intense than in any of the previous books, while also there is more variety than in Imager's Battalion which had high holders and such but was dominated by war and battles.

Again want to emphasize that this series is just superb and while I have huge expectations for the last volume, I will really be sad that it ends as I wouldn't mind reading much more about Quaeryt, Vaelora and their times.

FBC rv (above edited, arranged etc)

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

[Ron · Rating 3 out of 5]

Another rousing tale on the imager world. Much repetition of action and angst from previous stories.

“What else can we do but accept what we cannot change?”

Laced with aphorisms which give the tome a sense of wisdom. Many are restatements of well-known adages. Book of Rholan is a boring, intrusive injection of sermonizing.

“What is force? What’s the difference between persuasion and force?” “You know very well, dearest. So does every woman.” “There sometimes is a narrow line….” “Only men think it’s narrow.”

The preceding is perhaps the best dialogue between the primary protagonist couple. Not sure what effect Modesitt seeks, but it comes off as false.

“Justice is what men do, while law is what codes and powers require them to do, and that is invariably less than what they should do or what the Nameless requires of them.”

Sadly, lots of clunky and on-the-nose passages. Gives readers the impression of being written fast and not edited enough. Example: “The subcommander caught sight of Quaeryt and rode straight to the dwelling, where he reined up, immediately dismounted, tied his horse to one of the hitching rings, and stepped up onto the porch.” Everything after “dwelling” is superfluous.

“[I] keep saying I’ve had to do what I’ve done, but sometimes I’m not very good at persuading my dreams to consider things that way.”

[D.w. · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is the fourth book in this part of the Imager Series. We are still focused on conquering the entire continent, and so we see once again the formula that Modesitt employs. We can't succeed at conquering all of the world. A few of our friends die along the way, a few others pose a challenge. The enemies our hero knows to exist go unchallenged. The King is manipulated along the way.

It is a formula we have seen throughout the three previous books. And so we are used to it. There is a weird pacing of speed in some areas, and then lethargy in other areas. That some things can happen quickly, while others move slowly through the army on campaign. Certainly as students of WWII we would have seen some the same. Lighting strikes and slow consolidations.

Here the impetus that the series began with slows a little and the inability of our hero to really communicate all his thoughts just further causes a distance for us to place our own words into his mind. For that it could be better. For that a series that could have been wrapped up by now, it could have been better.

[Daniel Doyle · Rating 2 out of 5]

I'm not sure what happened from Imager's Battalion to Antiagon Fire, but this book fell flat. I enjoy the philosophies Modesitt offers throughout his books, even though I am not a big fan of organized religion, but something was off with his formula this time around. With each chapter I was waiting for some exciting character growth, but those opportunities were few and far in between prolonged travels to unite all of the lands.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

At this point in the series, I feel like time has slowed down. This book felt almost like a rewrite of the last two, just with slight increases in rank all around. I still enjoy seeing what will happen, but it feels less dynamic than the beginning of the series.

[Eve · Rating 3 out of 5]

I love this world, but oh baby, what is you doin? Three stars is generous. Your world and your magic deserve better than the boring plodding along. Women everywhere deserve better than your female characters.

[Eamonn Murphy · Rating 3 out of 5]

‘Antiagon Fire’ is the seventh book in ‘The Imager Portfolio. The first three books were about the rise to power of an imager named Rhennthyl. The fourth book and those following are a prequel which tell the story of Quaeryt and his rise from being a scholar and secret imager to commander of mighty conquering armies. Imagers can create objects seemingly out of nothing – actually using molecules from nearby materials. They can move objects from place to place and even ‘image’ them away completely. A powerful imager like Quaeryt can topple buildings if conditions are right, although it’s a mighty effort that can sometimes near kill him.

The series is set in the continent of Lydar and, as usual with fantasy novels, there is a handy map to guide you. There are five states in Lydar: Khel, Bovaria, Tilbor, Telaryn and Antiago. Quaeryt is a friend of Bhayar, Lord of Telaryn, who has so far conquered Tilbor and Bovaria and plans to form the whole continent into one state. Quaeryt thinks this is a good idea to ensure peace and prosperity for all and has the additional aim of securing a better future for imagers who, because of their powers, are feared and usually lynched if discovered. Now married to Lord Bhayar’s sister, Vaelora, he is sent with her to negotiate with the high council of Khel in order to bring that land under Bhayar’s domain, hopefully without a war. The main selling point is that Khel was previously under the control of Bovaria and its ruler was a cruel tyrant. Bhayar is much nicer. However, the high council are reluctant to subject themselves to another overlord.

Matters are further complicated by Antiago, a state to the south-west of the continent that has never been invaded because of its large fleet, strong defences and Antiagon fire, a sort of napalm that can be launched from catapults with devastating results on troopers mostly equipped with mediaeval weapons. There are muskets and cannon but not very many. The technological level of the society is about that of Civil War England.

‘Antiagon Fire’ features a likeable cast familiar from Quaeryt’s previous adventures: Bhayar; Vaelora; reliable old Skarpa, now a submarshal of Southern Army; Zhelan, the practical Major of First Company and, of course, Quaeryt’s little troop of Imager Undercaptains, some of whom are getting quite powerful now under his tuition. Modesitt, once a military man himself, conveys well the comradeship of battle companions and is also good on the logistics and practicalities of moving big armies around, supplying them and dealing with changing weather and landscapes. The background to all his works is convincingly solid.

To be honest, the stories of L.E. Modesitt, Jr. do not proceed at a cracking pace and are not filled with high excitement. The narrative is rather stately, like a great galleon proceeding slowly but steadily on its course but almost imperceptibly gathering speed. The lack of swiftness is more than compensated for by the weight and substance of the work. As well as the solid backgrounds referred to above, there is a lot of thinking by the characters about the rights and wrongs of their actions. It’s war, after all, and there are casualties. A constant theme of Modesitt is the hero being practical and strong enough to do what must be done, no matter the cost. This has to be carefully balanced with some humanity. The ability to make tough decisions and justify any means to achieve your ends is one that has been a source of pride to a few men in our own history, notably Heinrich Himmler. There’s a fine line to be tread when you are the strongest kid on the block, both by the fictional heroes of Americans proud of their pragmatism and toughness – the classic John Wayne or Robert A. Heinlein stance – and by the USA itself in the real world. With great power comes great responsibility, as a Spider-Man once said.

‘Antiagon Fire’ is a good contribution to the series and another big novel from Modesitt which is not afraid to tackle big themes. I continue to request his books for review because I enjoy them. Imbued with a mighty work ethic, he continues to pound them out at a fast clip so catching up with the back story if you come in late is a not inconsiderable task because they all run to several hundred pages. It would be unwise to start reading the series with this one but you could skip the first three, for now, and begin with ‘Scholar’, book four of ‘The Imager Portfolio’. Quaeryt’s story begins there and will continue in the forthcoming ‘Rex Regis’. I look forward to reading it.

[Forrest · Rating 2 out of 5]

Two things struck me as I was preparing for this review: First, I somehow managed to skip Imager’s Battalion during my utter failure of a Cannonball Read 5. I read the book, but I never got a review up. Second, I think I ran out of useful things to say about the series back at book five. The things that I liked are still good, and the elements that are weaker don’t seem to be improving. If anything, the series’ increasing focus on military action reduces the immediacy of Quaeryt’s story and undermines the relationship readers have been building over the course of the last three books. While the increased presence of Quaeryt’s wife, Vaelora, is a welcome and well executed addition, more and more Quaeryt feels like a background character in his own story.

To fill in some blanks, Imager’s Battalion took Quaeryt from the world of politics into the military, placing him in command of the first squad of Imagers ever used in true military service. Charged with the invasion of the hostile nation of Bovaria, Quaeryt and the army he accompanies face down an escalating series of challenges while balancing the need to subjugate with the desire to be fair to the citizens they encounter. Antiagon Fire follows much in the same vein, as a newly promoted Quaeryt is sent as an envoy to the people of Khel in an attempt to prevent further war. Along the way, he is attacked by forces from the 3rd remaining nation, Antiago, prompting another conflict.

In some ways, Antiagon Fire is extremely predictable. The large majority of the second half reads identically to Imager’s Battalion; an escalating series of conflicts with military forces. The only nod to progress is the inclusion of enemy Imagers in the Antiagon forces. The repetition weights the plot with too much tactical minutia, as depiction of combat increasingly becomes depiction of Quaeryt giving orders and watching them get executed. Modesitt’s style already favors overly detailed narration which exacerbates the series’ decline into ‘arm-chair general’ style battle reports. Even when the action gets interesting, Quaeryt has a tendency to knock himself unconscious at the climax of combat, further divorcing the reader from the flow of battle.

Aside from the continued focus on military writing, Antiagon Fire also explores some of the more interesting worldbuilding elements that Modesitt has set up over the series. These sections are better, particularly a sequence of scenes in the country of Khel, where we start to unravel the layers of prophesy surrounding Quaeryt and Vaelora. Vaelora’s presence in these scenes is powerful and helps justify the otherwise awkward dynamic between her and her husband. She really comes into her own as a savvy politician and negotiator, tapping her own brand of magic to carve out a distinct space for herself in what has been almost exclusively Quaeryt’s story. Unfortunately, she is left behind before the book shifts back to military action, and her refreshing presence is lost from the stagnant final chapters.

Beyond these changes there isn’t much to review. Modesitt has maintained his borderline neurotic eye for detail, with a significant part of the novel still made up of the daily dining and living habits of the protagonists and their retinue. As I remarked as far back as Imager’s Intrigue, these day-to-day moments are the calling card of the series as a whole. While I increasingly tire of their interruption of the flow of the story, it is hard to picture the series without them. And though it is damnation with faint praise, this minutia is still less repetitive than the combat scenes. Other elements are just as stagnant, from the now-tired intellectualist and egalitarian rhetoric, to the Mary-Sue like abilities of the protagonist. Things are very much business-as-usual’ in Solidar.

About the only thing that keeps me going on the Imager Portfolio at this point is inertia. That and a vain hope that Modesitt will return to Rhennthyl’s arc and its more engaging, superspy/wizard machinations. The books haven’t quite sunk to the level of paycheck novels, but they are getting closer. That being said, there is some hope for improvement. The state of affairs at the end of this book make it very unlikely that the next story will be as military centric. Combined with Vaelora’s growing role and a promised end to Quaeryt’s arc in Rex Regis, and there may be something to salvage from this series after all.

[Jon]

As soon as Quaeryt has recovered from his latest escapades - eliminating the entire leadership of Bovaria in one mighty ice storm - his job well done is rewarded with another job. He and Vaelora are sent as her brother's personal representatives to Khel, to attempt to convince the High Council there to join the rapidly unifying kingdom. Someone had a joke once about reading The Lord of the Rings trilogy that went, "...walking, walking, walking..." and I felt a bit like that with this book, wherein far too much time was spent on the journey through the countryside on the way to Khel, meeting with factors, meeting with townsfolk, rescuing fair maidens, bringing high holders to their knees, and fighting a series of minor skirmishes.

When they finally do get to Khel, the High Council there won't meet with them unless they pass a trial by combat sort of ritual, which seems to me to go far too quickly and smoothly; Quaeryt doesn't even break a sweat. Despite his success, the council decides to delay joining Bhayar's allies at this point, as they are not convinced that they cannot get a better deal later on, despite it being pointed out to them that it is highly likely that their position will be far more precarious later.

Returning from Khel to the borders of Bovaria, Quaeryt and his favorite commander, Skarpa, decide to run an end around play and go ahead and launch a surprise attack into Antiago, which will, if it succeeds, bring down another of Bhayar's enemies and bring Khel to the point of being the last holdout much more rapidly. This campaign takes place in the last fifty or so pages of the book, and it seemed to me that Modesitt really rushed through things here. The book is, after all, called Antiagon Fire, and it seemed like the majority of it should have dealt with that part of the campaign to me. Maybe that's why they don't let me write these things, eh?

Again, Quaeryt nearly single-handedly destroys the entire capital city, its ruler and all of the nobles by creating a massive earthquake. One problem with this whole subset of the series is that the imagers of Quaeryt's band, including himself, are far too powerful, destroying and creating massive structures near effortlessly. In the first batch of the Imager Portfolio stories, which take place at a future time, imagers are far more limited in their powers, so it makes one wonder how things got from here to there, so to speak. Also, it brings up the problem that I often see in paranormal novels with characters who come into great power too quickly, it just leaves so little room for growth and discovering new, interesting powers. With the amount of power Quaeryt has, there doesn't seem to be any reason why Bhayar doesn't just detail a large enough squad of men to protect him, then send him to any capital city that refuses his entreaties and ...Boom!

I think Modesitt may be growing as bored with this series as I. Unfortunate, as I really loved where it seemed to be headed in the first couple of books. Thanks be that I'm not buying any of them, they show up rapidly at the public library.

[Jaipal · Rating 3 out of 5]

The book is readable but the formula is reminiscent of other L.E. Modesitt Jr novels. Unlike the previous book, there are more administration and nation building as the main character, Quaeryt is sent to pacify the highholders and factors as well as treat with the neighbouring lands. As usual, he demolishes any enemy arrayed against him while problem solving his way using magic.

It's an okay read and that is the reason I come back to his books. It's an easy read and there are some interesting world building. However, the plot seems to follow a similar formula he employs in his books.

[Yev · Rating 3 out of 5]

Antiagon Fire was the weakest of the series thus far. The vast majority, 70% or so, is Quaeryt being on a pacification campaign. He travels from place to place reminding the local powers that his lord's forces has already won and that they really ought to stop being so recalcitrant, or as it's described by characters, being stiff-necked. That isn't a term I've really seen outside of biblical references. The last 30% is Quaeryt deciding to conquer a nation on basically a whim with whatever little forces he has with with him.

Strangely,  several of the characters have arguably become less developed over time and less individuated. Maybe that's a statement on the military causing homogeneity of personality over time, but I don't think that's what was intended. This is also evident in Quaeryt as he becomes ever more monomaniacal. It's a similar character arc to the starting trilogy and I assume it will end in the same way. There's one book left with him and wrap it all up.

I was disappointed with this book, but it still made for a fine read and I assume the last will be as well. Hopefully it's not almost all about conquering the last remaining nation. This probably should have been a trilogy as well rather than a quintet, but I'll reserve my final judgement until after I finished the fifth of the Quaeryt books.

[Dennis Fahey · Rating 2 out of 5]

Nothing new...

This entire series consists of repeating the following over and over again, ad nauseum; " hero confronts a new problem/enemy/threat. Hero contemplates, attempts what no person in memory has ever done,....and accomplishes the seemingly impossible", then takes a snack and a nap and does it all over again. Of course each time the danger is worse, his efforts even more incredible.
The only thing that changes is the enemy or their numbers, the town/city/country/location of his feats, and the weather and geography.
Well written but monotonous series after book one.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

The seventh book of the Imager series. Quaeryt and his pregnant wife are sent as envoys to the country of Khel to encourage them the Pharsi to become part of of a united Solidar. This was hard to put down and is full of action.

[Mary · Rating 5 out of 5]

So descriptive and powerful. Sad ending (don't want to spoil it for those who haven't read it yet).

[Christopher M · Rating 1 out of 5]

Author falling back into the same trap he did with the first trilogy in this series.

[Metaphorosis · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Quaeryt, soldier, scholar, and mage, has suffered the effects of overuse of magic. Yet his quest to help king Bhayar conquer the rest of Lydar leads him to rely on magic more and more.

Review
I saw recently that, in an older interview, L. E. Modesitt says he never writes the same series twice. In the last couple of Recluce books I read, a powerful magician details every day of his attempt to use magic to conquer enemies and gain ground, while his quiet but powerful wife tolerates him. The mage explains to everyone he meets that he’s a healer and a mage. Each occupation wears traditional colours.

In the Imager series, on the other hand, a powerful magician details every day of his attempt to use magic to conquer enemies and gain ground, while his quiet but powerful wife tolerates him. The mage explains to everyone he meets that he’s a policeman/scholar and a mage/soldier. Each occupation wears traditional colours. Very different.

The Imager books cover a period of several hundred years. Across all that time, colour-coded occupations have apparently not changed a bit. As protagonist Quaeryt travels across an entire island/continent through four books (so far), everyone (and I mean everyone) expresses surprise at his brown-green clothing, and he takes time to explain that he’s both a scholar and a soldier. Never once does Modesitt assume that we, the readers, have heard this before and can predict the conversation. No; for the sake of verisimilitude, he tells it again.

This is a common tactic in the book. There are no end of meetings in which he tells his officers something, then tells his wife that he told the officers something (in the process of which he tells it again), then tells another officer the same thing, then meets with the original officers (who remind him what he told them), then asks about the thing he told them. I genuinely believe the book would be half its length (or less) without the repetition.

This repetition is also why I need to take a break from the series. While this book improves in its latter half, I was intensely frustrated with the first half, where a good part of the ‘let me explain my clothing’, happens. By this point, Quaeryt has explained his clothing to half the population of the entire island, one by one – and we’ve been witnesses to each encounter. It’s infuriating and exhausting.

Imaging (magic) has also become more and more of a black box, able to do virtually anything, at the cost of a serious headache and maybe some skin bleaching. The chief item of interest about the series has been Quaeryt discovering how magic works, and the mysterious Pharsi legends that seem to refer to Quaeryt. Yet when he does finally meet with reclusive, powerful Pharsi who clearly know more about magic than he, he … says, ‘Nice to meet you’, and goes on his way. No followup, no questions, no curiosity. Nothing.

I’m also intensely tired of Quaeryt’s relationship with his wife, Vaelora (who is king Bhayar’s sister, and the king told them to get married, and Quaeryt is grateful for it, as we hear over and over and over again). No matter what he says, they end up in a misunderstanding – 75% of which is Vaelora thinking he’s hinting about sex. We’re told they love each other dearly, but to my mind there’s very little sign of it in how they interact.

The series could also be subtitled, A Directory of Lydarian Lagers. Every time Quaeryt drinks a lager – and we’re there every time he does in preference to ale – we hear about how good or mediocre it is. We’ve crossed the continent getting lager reviews at every inn and household. Also hearing about how heavy and hard to move cannon are, though it’s less clear why we need to hear that quite so much, since they’re almost never in evidence.

As you’ll have picked up by now, I think that the series suffers severely from, ‘successful author syndrome’, in which no one dares to edit the work of an author who’s sold a lot of books. But I dearly wish that some editor would finally pluck up the courage to at least take away Modesitt’s ability to type an ellipsis…

All that said (and I could say more – or just repeat it a few times), the second half of the book somewhat rescues it. There’s more happening, and less tedium. Yes, it’s a variation of what we’ve seen before. No there’s no real reason for the invasion that is the end goal. But at least there’s something going on. And, because Quaeryt kills a lot of people without meeting them, he doesn’t get to explain his uniform to them. Small blessings.

I’m a cheap, disciplined reader. I bought these books, so I’m going to read them (after a break to recover my fortitude). But if you’re not as masochistic, I urge you to stop now. Maybe get books one and four of the series. My advice is to skip this one and most of the others.

[Pedro Marroquín · Rating 4 out of 5]

Otro capítulo de la vida del fundador del Colegio de los Imager. Después de su última conquista, va hacia un nuevo territorio para intentar llegar a un acuerdo con ellos. Allí se da cuenta que primero tendrá que acabar con el tirano del sur, que usa también imagers. Y ni corto ni perezoso, va, ve, vence. Libro entretenido, solo que tiene como una cataplasma las conversaciones del matrimonio protagonista sobre un antiguo profeta/santón y sus opiniones sobre cómo gobernar (que en realidad son capítulos en los que el autor mete sus ideas políticas). B+

[Thomas · Rating 4 out of 5]

Modesitt, L. E., Jr. Antiagon Fire. Imager Portfolio No. 7. Tor, 2013.
Quaeryt continues to develop his skills as an imager and as a military commander as he and his wife are sent on a dangerous diplomatic mission. In Modesitt’s work, politics, religion and war are often connected at the hip. This is not the strongest novel in the series, but in for a dime, in for a dollar. I needed to read it so I could understand the next one that ends the Quaeryt cycle.

[Groucho42 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Better than the last one, as it's not all about war. This one has Queryt and Vaelora heading to Khel to talk to their council about accepting Bhayar as a new ruler, but fun with the title country also happens. The inclusion of Vaelora has a more robust story about politics and the evolution of empire. The next one is the capstone, so it's clear what'll happen. We'll just see if it's a good conclusion.

[Mark · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoy this series, but I can't say there is anything special about this book over the previous books. If you like Modesitt, you will enjoy this as it advances the story of Quaeryt, the imager, as he helps unify the kingdom for Lord Bhayar. I am hoping for some twists in the next book in the series, Rex Regis.

[Travis · Rating 3 out of 5]

Writing is good, but there is a noticeable lack of depth in the relationships other than between the main character and his wife. However, that relationship now comes across like the couple from the old TV show Hart to Hart - they're an awesome couple with an equally awesome relationship, have lots of witty banter, and are just so simply marvelous.

[Elorin Achiad · Rating 5 out of 5]

Battletorn Antiago

The book follows Quaeryt and Vaelora through Khel and Antiago as they carry out Bhaylar's orders. The couple tries to make the most of their orders and uncover some logic while protecting the soldiers in their care through the politicking of the army officers surrounding them.

[Ryan D · Rating 1 out of 5]

Dearest. Wince. Quince paste. Sigh.

The early books were quite good, I just can't make myself finish the imager series or any of the recent (post 2015ish) books. Awful interpersonal dialogue; opaque, hackneyed, repetitive character interactions. Such good premises, but the outer husk of inedible prose is too much.