What do you think?
Rate this book
Imager Portfolio #9
Madness in Solidar
The Imager Porfolio is a bestselling and innovative epic fantasy series from L. E. Modesitt, Jr. that RT Book Reviews says “shines with engrossing characters, terrific plotting, and realistic world-building.” Begin a new story arc with Madness in Solidar.Four centuries after its founding, Solidar's Collegium of Imagers is in decline, the exploits of its founder, the legendary Quaeryt, largely forgotten. The scarcity of leardership within the Collegium forces the dying Maitre to summon Alastar, an obscure but talented senior imager from Westisle as his successor.Alastar arrives in L'Excelsis to finds the Collegium in disarray and lacking discipline, and the ruler of Solidar so hated by the High Holders that they openly refer to him as mad.To make matters worse, neither the Rex nor the High Holder have any respect for the Collegium, and Alastar, who has little political experience, finds himself in the middle of a power struggle—one which may determine the survival of the Collegium.The Imager Portfolio#1 Imager / #2 Imager’s Challenge / #3 Imager’s Intrigue / #4 Scholar / #5 Princeps / #6 Imager’s Battalion / #7 Antiagon Fire / #8 Rex Regis / #9 Madness in Solidar / #10 Treachery’s Tools / #11 Assassin’s Price/ #12 EndgamesOther series by this The Saga of RecluceThe Corean ChroniclesThe Spellsong CycleThe Ghost BooksThe Ecolitan MatterAt the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
462 pages, Kindle Edition
First published March 3, 2015
108 people are currently reading
856 people want to read
About the author
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
191 books2,590 followersL. 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
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
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews
January 31, 2022
I think I've decided that I'm not as big a fan of the Imager series as I am of Recluse. How these people use their magic winds up being way too close to how the other series uses its magic, at least in the nitty-gritty, minus the whole balance thing.
That being said, this isn't bad at all. This new sequence in the Imager takes place later than either of the two previous ones. I enjoyed the references to the founding of the Imager Isle that we saw a lot of in the last sequence, but now we're dealing with the decline, 400 years later.
One thing I can definitely say about these books: they're steady, often comforting, and really showcase the whole competence-porn angle. It may not be all that unusual from all other Modesitt books I've read, but it is still enjoyable. I do love starting fresh on a new cycle.
That being said, this isn't bad at all. This new sequence in the Imager takes place later than either of the two previous ones. I enjoyed the references to the founding of the Imager Isle that we saw a lot of in the last sequence, but now we're dealing with the decline, 400 years later.
One thing I can definitely say about these books: they're steady, often comforting, and really showcase the whole competence-porn angle. It may not be all that unusual from all other Modesitt books I've read, but it is still enjoyable. I do love starting fresh on a new cycle.
March 7, 2015
The ninth book in a series & yet full of fresh characters & problems. Fantastic. Modesitt skipped forward in time a bit, a midway point before the first few books & after the last 5. Yes, you read that right, the sets aren't in chronological order, although the books within them are. This book could be read first, I think. I find that amazing, the sign of an extremely well crafted universe.
Pretty typical hero & heroine for him with a seemingly impossible political & economic problems to solve leading to an imperfect solution. "Typical of Modesitt" pretty much sums this up, but if you like it as I do, it's darn good. I pre-ordered this book from Amazon & read it immediately upon arrival. Again, typical of Modesitt. He rarely disappoints.
Pretty typical hero & heroine for him with a seemingly impossible political & economic problems to solve leading to an imperfect solution. "Typical of Modesitt" pretty much sums this up, but if you like it as I do, it's darn good. I pre-ordered this book from Amazon & read it immediately upon arrival. Again, typical of Modesitt. He rarely disappoints.
January 10, 2020
First a warning, this is a slow moving book. It isn't boring, quite contrary it is engaging but you have to have patience and trust the book that it isn't wasting your time. The characters are well written and believable, the story is interesting with a great resolution and leaving you wanting more.
So for fans of this series an easy recommendation.
So for fans of this series an easy recommendation.
March 4, 2015
Excellent stuff as expected though it seems to be only part 1 given what we know from the Rhenn books; still enough closure and the historical mentions were great, bittersweet on occasion when talking about the later years of Quaeryt and Vaelora (through the journal of Gauwsn which Alastar gets from the Collegium chorister)
I quite liked the parts about more Ryel mischief (seems every generation there is a powerful and trouble-making Ryel), not to speak having a descendant of Vaelora and Quaeryt in the book in a main role as well as mentioning others tied into the Quaeryt series, like their first daughter who turned out to be a very powerful Imager under Rex Chayar, as well as lots of other little tidbits tying things with both the Quaeryt and the Rhenn times (here there is one superb connection which is not hidden but not overtly mentioned either, and refers to one of the main characters of this last series being most likely also the descendant of Vaelora and Qaueryt, though some 750 years later);
while there is clear recorded history (say as opposed to Recluce where most of the past is presented as legends or as oral history), it is also garbled on occasion (either by time drift or by purpose) and corroborating what we "know" from the Qaueryt/Vaelora novels to what is known in Alastar times (the novel takes place in 389 AL, where 1 AL's origin in the first Rex Regis times is also touched upon) and then with what we "know" from Rhenn times (that is in the 750-760's AL), makes this point about the partial reliability of even historical records very clearly
As opposed to Quaeryt and Rhenn, Alastar is already a powerful Imager when we start - the one maitre d'Image in whole Solidar - but also he is an outsider (born and lived all his life in Antiago, from a modest family which descends into poverty due to economic "downsizing", just a month or so in L'Excelsis when the novel starts, so unaware of many undercurrents, relationships etc), a childless widower and a man with a clear vision of what needs to be done in a way or another which both previous heroes acquire only gradually, so the book has a different tone - also it can be looked as a what comes next for Rhenn in a context where there is enough 'spectacular" conflict to make it a good story
As there is mostly intrigue and civil conflict, the book also resembles the last Rhenn novel in structure, with tension building until things start happening fast, when there is a non stop ride till the end
A highly expected novel that delivered in spades and will be in my top 10 - possibly even 5 for the year -
I quite liked the parts about more Ryel mischief (seems every generation there is a powerful and trouble-making Ryel), not to speak having a descendant of Vaelora and Quaeryt in the book in a main role as well as mentioning others tied into the Quaeryt series, like their first daughter who turned out to be a very powerful Imager under Rex Chayar, as well as lots of other little tidbits tying things with both the Quaeryt and the Rhenn times (here there is one superb connection which is not hidden but not overtly mentioned either, and refers to one of the main characters of this last series being most likely also the descendant of Vaelora and Qaueryt, though some 750 years later);
while there is clear recorded history (say as opposed to Recluce where most of the past is presented as legends or as oral history), it is also garbled on occasion (either by time drift or by purpose) and corroborating what we "know" from the Qaueryt/Vaelora novels to what is known in Alastar times (the novel takes place in 389 AL, where 1 AL's origin in the first Rex Regis times is also touched upon) and then with what we "know" from Rhenn times (that is in the 750-760's AL), makes this point about the partial reliability of even historical records very clearly
As opposed to Quaeryt and Rhenn, Alastar is already a powerful Imager when we start - the one maitre d'Image in whole Solidar - but also he is an outsider (born and lived all his life in Antiago, from a modest family which descends into poverty due to economic "downsizing", just a month or so in L'Excelsis when the novel starts, so unaware of many undercurrents, relationships etc), a childless widower and a man with a clear vision of what needs to be done in a way or another which both previous heroes acquire only gradually, so the book has a different tone - also it can be looked as a what comes next for Rhenn in a context where there is enough 'spectacular" conflict to make it a good story
As there is mostly intrigue and civil conflict, the book also resembles the last Rhenn novel in structure, with tension building until things start happening fast, when there is a non stop ride till the end
A highly expected novel that delivered in spades and will be in my top 10 - possibly even 5 for the year -
May 9, 2015
Nothing too terrible, but it certainly doesn't break Modesitt out of the rut that he's been in for a long, long time. Not bad, just severely More Of the Same. Interesting enough read, but not something that jumps out at you.
March 15, 2015
Originally published at Reading Reality
I have adored this series (The Imager Portfolio) since a friend shoved the first book, Imager, at me six years ago. The Imager Portfolio is a marvelous epic fantasy series with a couple of interesting twists. First, the heroes of the now three separate subseries solve their problems with a lot more brain than brawn. Second, although each series centers around a character who is coming into their own in one way or another, they are not traditional coming-of-age stories. In all three series, the main character is an adult (albeit a relatively young one in Imager) and knows who they are and what they plan to do with their lives. In each series, we see them grow and change when some or all of what they planned is turned upside-down. Or at least turned sideways.
Madness in Solidar takes place at the historical mid-point between the events at the end of Rex Regis and the beginning of Imager. In the story, the accomplishments of Quaryt in Rex Regis have taken on the patina of legend; all the members of the Imager Collegium know that Quaryt was their founder, but his specific accomplishments have faded into the misty past, as he intended.
Alastar, the new Maitre of the Collegium, finds that he needs to re-discover the techniques that made Quaryt into a legend, because the Collegium that Alastar has just taken over is a complete mess. While the situation for Imagers in Solidar are not quite as desperate as they were in Quaryt’s time, they are heading down that hill at speed. If Alastar can’t find a way to make the Collegium and its Imagers at least highly respected again, and soon, the days when Imagers are persecuted (and executed) are not far behind.
The Collegium is a total SNAFU. His predecessor as maitre was too sick, and possibly also too lazy and too conciliatory, to see that it was necessary for the imagers to be strong, respected and useful in order for them to maintain their place in Solidar politics. Especially since part of their charter was to use their power to maintain the balance between the Rex, the High Holders and the merchant Factors. Shy and retiring just doesn’t work when you are the fulcrum and everyone else thinks they have a lever.
Alastar represents change. He believes that the imagers have to be strong in order to survive, and he’s been left with a position of extreme weakness. Additionally, he is completely unknown, and relatively unknowing, of politics in the capital. He’s been at Westisle, where the position has not been so dire. Now he has to swim with the political sharks in order to keep the Collegium afloat.
It does not help his situation that the current Rex is not exactly the most capable man to hold the throne since the days of Rex Bhayar and the unification of Solidar, as seen in Scholar, Princeps, Imager's Battalion, Antiagon Fire and Rex Regis. The question is whether the current Rex is simply insane, or just monumentally uncaring of the effects his edicts have on his people. The High Holders, the Factors and even the military are all itching to stage a coup.
Only Alastar and the Collegium can ensure an orderly change of leadership. And only if Alastar can bring his Imagers back to the level of fear, or respect, that they held in Quaryt’s time.
Or if he can bluff really, really well.
Escape Rating A: I grab this series the minute it comes up on Edelweiss, usually months ahead of publication. Then I can’t wait to read them and have a review ready 6 months before I can publish it.
Also starting my countdown until the next book in the series.
Alastar as a main character was an interesting choice, on the one hand, he has a lot of crap to clear up, and making big changes makes for great stories. On that other hand, Alastar is in his late 30’s, making him a rather mature hero to be coming into his own power.
He’s also very much a fish out of water, as all of his experience has been off in remote Westisle, and he finds himself dropped into the middle of a huge political crap-pile. He has to straighten out the problems within the Collegium at the same time he is hoping he can get the whole country back on track. Inside the Collegium he can display his power openly, but the Imagers have not and cannot rule the country. He has to maneuver his way into being the power behind the throne, but first he has to rearrange things so that a reasonable person is sitting on that throne, without showing too much of his hand.
He’s stuck very much in the middle, or muddle, and being attacked on all sides. Not just academic attacks within the Collegium, but actual ordinance attacks as some of the more unscrupulous nobles attempt to use his predecessor’s weakness and the current Rex’ insanity as a way of removing both the throne and the College in one fell swoop.
Alastar makes both good allies and bad enemies to save the Imagers. The size of the backlash he will have to deal with in the next book will show just how much he succeeded.
I can’t wait.
I have adored this series (The Imager Portfolio) since a friend shoved the first book, Imager, at me six years ago. The Imager Portfolio is a marvelous epic fantasy series with a couple of interesting twists. First, the heroes of the now three separate subseries solve their problems with a lot more brain than brawn. Second, although each series centers around a character who is coming into their own in one way or another, they are not traditional coming-of-age stories. In all three series, the main character is an adult (albeit a relatively young one in Imager) and knows who they are and what they plan to do with their lives. In each series, we see them grow and change when some or all of what they planned is turned upside-down. Or at least turned sideways.
Madness in Solidar takes place at the historical mid-point between the events at the end of Rex Regis and the beginning of Imager. In the story, the accomplishments of Quaryt in Rex Regis have taken on the patina of legend; all the members of the Imager Collegium know that Quaryt was their founder, but his specific accomplishments have faded into the misty past, as he intended.
Alastar, the new Maitre of the Collegium, finds that he needs to re-discover the techniques that made Quaryt into a legend, because the Collegium that Alastar has just taken over is a complete mess. While the situation for Imagers in Solidar are not quite as desperate as they were in Quaryt’s time, they are heading down that hill at speed. If Alastar can’t find a way to make the Collegium and its Imagers at least highly respected again, and soon, the days when Imagers are persecuted (and executed) are not far behind.
The Collegium is a total SNAFU. His predecessor as maitre was too sick, and possibly also too lazy and too conciliatory, to see that it was necessary for the imagers to be strong, respected and useful in order for them to maintain their place in Solidar politics. Especially since part of their charter was to use their power to maintain the balance between the Rex, the High Holders and the merchant Factors. Shy and retiring just doesn’t work when you are the fulcrum and everyone else thinks they have a lever.
Alastar represents change. He believes that the imagers have to be strong in order to survive, and he’s been left with a position of extreme weakness. Additionally, he is completely unknown, and relatively unknowing, of politics in the capital. He’s been at Westisle, where the position has not been so dire. Now he has to swim with the political sharks in order to keep the Collegium afloat.
It does not help his situation that the current Rex is not exactly the most capable man to hold the throne since the days of Rex Bhayar and the unification of Solidar, as seen in Scholar, Princeps, Imager's Battalion, Antiagon Fire and Rex Regis. The question is whether the current Rex is simply insane, or just monumentally uncaring of the effects his edicts have on his people. The High Holders, the Factors and even the military are all itching to stage a coup.
Only Alastar and the Collegium can ensure an orderly change of leadership. And only if Alastar can bring his Imagers back to the level of fear, or respect, that they held in Quaryt’s time.
Or if he can bluff really, really well.
Escape Rating A: I grab this series the minute it comes up on Edelweiss, usually months ahead of publication. Then I can’t wait to read them and have a review ready 6 months before I can publish it.
Also starting my countdown until the next book in the series.
Alastar as a main character was an interesting choice, on the one hand, he has a lot of crap to clear up, and making big changes makes for great stories. On that other hand, Alastar is in his late 30’s, making him a rather mature hero to be coming into his own power.
He’s also very much a fish out of water, as all of his experience has been off in remote Westisle, and he finds himself dropped into the middle of a huge political crap-pile. He has to straighten out the problems within the Collegium at the same time he is hoping he can get the whole country back on track. Inside the Collegium he can display his power openly, but the Imagers have not and cannot rule the country. He has to maneuver his way into being the power behind the throne, but first he has to rearrange things so that a reasonable person is sitting on that throne, without showing too much of his hand.
He’s stuck very much in the middle, or muddle, and being attacked on all sides. Not just academic attacks within the Collegium, but actual ordinance attacks as some of the more unscrupulous nobles attempt to use his predecessor’s weakness and the current Rex’ insanity as a way of removing both the throne and the College in one fell swoop.
Alastar makes both good allies and bad enemies to save the Imagers. The size of the backlash he will have to deal with in the next book will show just how much he succeeded.
I can’t wait.
January 4, 2019
“No matter what he did to try to improve matters, no one was happy. In fact, most of those involved just got angry and angrier.”
This new set of tales splits the time difference between the two previous series of imager stories. The new protagonist is indistinguishable in voice and actions than Rhenntyl and Quaetyl, which will be fine with most readers. The factions are pretty much the same, with everyone blind to everyone else’s needs and willing to believe and do the most outrageous things for their side.
“The problem with great power, the Maitre said, is that, to be believed, it must be exercised. If it is not exercised, people forget its greatness, but when it is exercised, they complain that they did not know. Or they say that they had no idea how great it was.”
The long-dead Gauswin’s journal becomes Modesitt’s philosophic hand puppet this time. Make no mistake, I agree with most of his prejudices, it’s just that he’s so heavy handed with their delivery.
“Almost all young people believe that somehow they are different from us and from their parents, and that the cautions and restrictions we apply are stupid and willful, and that they really know better.”
AS usual, when the protagonist decides what needs doing, he starts killing people--vigilante justice. Suddenly Modesitt goes all PC. Not that the previous books were objectionable, it’s just noticeable that he’s bending over backwards to be correct now.
“Most people don’t look beyond what they have seen, and few believe anything they hear if it isn’t in accord with what they wish to believe.”
This new set of tales splits the time difference between the two previous series of imager stories. The new protagonist is indistinguishable in voice and actions than Rhenntyl and Quaetyl, which will be fine with most readers. The factions are pretty much the same, with everyone blind to everyone else’s needs and willing to believe and do the most outrageous things for their side.
“The problem with great power, the Maitre said, is that, to be believed, it must be exercised. If it is not exercised, people forget its greatness, but when it is exercised, they complain that they did not know. Or they say that they had no idea how great it was.”
The long-dead Gauswin’s journal becomes Modesitt’s philosophic hand puppet this time. Make no mistake, I agree with most of his prejudices, it’s just that he’s so heavy handed with their delivery.
“Almost all young people believe that somehow they are different from us and from their parents, and that the cautions and restrictions we apply are stupid and willful, and that they really know better.”
AS usual, when the protagonist decides what needs doing, he starts killing people--vigilante justice. Suddenly Modesitt goes all PC. Not that the previous books were objectionable, it’s just noticeable that he’s bending over backwards to be correct now.
“Most people don’t look beyond what they have seen, and few believe anything they hear if it isn’t in accord with what they wish to believe.”
April 28, 2017
I love the world, and the stories told in it, but I feel like we're just telling the exact same story over and over again. I know it's a great way to avoid the ability power creep in his characters, but still. Perhaps it's time for me to let this series go.
March 29, 2015
Originally published at Risingshadow.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Madness in Solidar is the 9th novel in the excellent Imager Portfolio series. It begins a whole new chapter in the series and thus it's an excellent entry point to new readers who haven't read any previous novels. Madness in Solidar is an intriguing addition to the Imager Portfolio (in my opinion it's one of the author's most entertaining novels to date).
I've mentioned a couple of times that L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Saga of Recluce novels are almost like a guilty pleasure of mine. The same applies to Imager Portfolio series, because it's one of the best and most entertaining fantasy series available for adult readers. I'm a fan of this series, because who else but L. E. Modesitt, Jr. could write a detailed fantasy series like this one?
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. has his own unique writing style and he has honed it to perfection. Although he has written many fantasy novels, his novels are always well written and interesting. Madness in Solidar is a perfect example of his ability to write fascinating stories to readers who want depth, style and details from their fantasy novels.
Madness in Solidar is - without a doubt - one of the most entertaining fantasy novels published this year. I was pleased with it, because it was everything I expected it to be. It was a satisfyingly complex yet entertaining fantasy novel with intriguing power struggle, fascinating magic and excellent characterization.
If there are readers out there who haven't read any Imager Portfolio novels, I think it's good to say a few words about the world and the imagers before I write anything about the story and the contents of Madness in Solidar. The happenings take place in the world of Terahnar, where a small number of people are imagers. Imagers are people who have the power to create objects through visualization. The world in this series is close to our own world, but there are differences.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- Alastar, the new maitre of the Collegium, meets Rex Ryen who wants him to help him with a building project and make certain that the High Council doesn't vote to oppose increase in tariffs on High Holders and factors that he intends to impose next year. The treasury is almost empty and a tariff increase is necessary.
- The position of the Collegium has deteriorated over the years and the imagers must toughen themselves in order to survive. The ancient imagers were powerful, but now the powers of the imagers have decreased, because they've pampered themselves and haven't pushed themselves hard enough to develop their powers.
- Soon Alastar finds himself in a difficult situation, because he's in the middle of a power struggle...
The characterization works well in this novel. In my opinion the protagonist, Alastar, is a well-created protagonist who has his own ambitions, goals, motives and feelings. The author has made him a believable character. The minor characters are also well-portrayed and it's interesting to read about them.
What makes Alastar an especially intriguing protagonist is that he's a bit older and more powerful Imager than others. He's also an outsider and feels a bit out of place at the Collegium. He faces many problems, because he has to participate in a political power play and he has to try to develop the powers of the imagers.
Rex Ryen doesn't have much respect for the Collegium and he'd like the imagers to do what he wants them to do. For example, he wants the Collegium to remove the strongest High Holders. Rex Ryen causes quite a lot of problems to Alastar, because Alastar notices that he's not the most capable man to hold the throne.
It's wonderful how well the author uses different characters and settings in his stories. The world in this fantasy series is one of his best creations, because it's reminiscent of France during the time of Renaissance and Enlightenment. It's a world that feels instantly familiar, but differs from our own world.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. is one of the few fantasy authors who are capable of writing about politics in a fascinating way (he doesn't alienate readers by writing about political happenings, but manages to make his readers interested in them). His ability to create political tension is in full bloom in this novel, because he has created a complex political structure that feels totally believable and realistic. Such well-created and fascinating political complexity is difficult to find in modern fantasy novels, so this novel is a rare treat to fantasy readers.
Magic is handled in a good way, because the author writes fluently about imaging and what happens when the characters use their powers. He also pays attention to what may happen if one is careless with imaging and doesn't take everything into consideration, because it's possible to kill or hurt oneself badly by imaging something in a wrong way.
One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is that the author writes fluently about how certain people feel about the imagers, their powers and their doings. He handles this issue surprisingly well, because he manages to create a realistic vision of a city that is inhabited by different people with different goals and ambitions.
The author writes perfectly about how Alastar pushes the young imagers to work harder. The training is hard and even dangerous, because it's possible that not all of the young imagers will survive the training, but Alastar has no other choice but to train them hard. He's willing to do almost anything to make the imagers more powerful (if the imagers can't become more powerful, the future doesn't look very promising to them). He wonders about what made the ancient imagers so powerful, because the new imagers can't match their powers.
It's possible that some readers may consider Madness in Solidar to be a kind of a growing up story. In a way it is a growing up story, but it's not your usual kind of a growing up story, because Alastar is already an older and experienced man. He's an adult man who has a lot to learn about politics and relationships between different people in L'Excelsis. He faces quite a lot of different problems.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. has a talent for drawing the reader into the middle of detailed plots and political intrigue. In Madness in Solidar he creates an absorbing story by slowly revealing more details about the city, its inhabitants and its politics, and he makes the reader care about the happenings. When you begin to read this novel, you'll soon find yourself immersed in the story.
Reading this novel was a satisfying reading experience for me, because the characterization was excellent and the story was intriguing. The author knows how to deliver a well written story and pays attention to all the necessary elements that make up a good and intelligent story. There's quite a lot of depth and intelligent storytelling in this novel.
If you're a newcomer to L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Imager Portfolio series, you should consider reading Madness in Solidar, because it gives you an excellent example of the author's writing abilities and writing style. Madness in Solidar is a perfect entry point to Imager Portfolio series. If you enjoy reading this novel, I strongly urge you to read the previous novels, because you won't regret reading them. If you're already familiar with this series, I can recommend this novel to you, because it's immersive and well written entertainment.
Excellent fantasy entertainment!
L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Madness in Solidar is the 9th novel in the excellent Imager Portfolio series. It begins a whole new chapter in the series and thus it's an excellent entry point to new readers who haven't read any previous novels. Madness in Solidar is an intriguing addition to the Imager Portfolio (in my opinion it's one of the author's most entertaining novels to date).
I've mentioned a couple of times that L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Saga of Recluce novels are almost like a guilty pleasure of mine. The same applies to Imager Portfolio series, because it's one of the best and most entertaining fantasy series available for adult readers. I'm a fan of this series, because who else but L. E. Modesitt, Jr. could write a detailed fantasy series like this one?
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. has his own unique writing style and he has honed it to perfection. Although he has written many fantasy novels, his novels are always well written and interesting. Madness in Solidar is a perfect example of his ability to write fascinating stories to readers who want depth, style and details from their fantasy novels.
Madness in Solidar is - without a doubt - one of the most entertaining fantasy novels published this year. I was pleased with it, because it was everything I expected it to be. It was a satisfyingly complex yet entertaining fantasy novel with intriguing power struggle, fascinating magic and excellent characterization.
If there are readers out there who haven't read any Imager Portfolio novels, I think it's good to say a few words about the world and the imagers before I write anything about the story and the contents of Madness in Solidar. The happenings take place in the world of Terahnar, where a small number of people are imagers. Imagers are people who have the power to create objects through visualization. The world in this series is close to our own world, but there are differences.
Here's a bit of information about the story:
- Alastar, the new maitre of the Collegium, meets Rex Ryen who wants him to help him with a building project and make certain that the High Council doesn't vote to oppose increase in tariffs on High Holders and factors that he intends to impose next year. The treasury is almost empty and a tariff increase is necessary.
- The position of the Collegium has deteriorated over the years and the imagers must toughen themselves in order to survive. The ancient imagers were powerful, but now the powers of the imagers have decreased, because they've pampered themselves and haven't pushed themselves hard enough to develop their powers.
- Soon Alastar finds himself in a difficult situation, because he's in the middle of a power struggle...
The characterization works well in this novel. In my opinion the protagonist, Alastar, is a well-created protagonist who has his own ambitions, goals, motives and feelings. The author has made him a believable character. The minor characters are also well-portrayed and it's interesting to read about them.
What makes Alastar an especially intriguing protagonist is that he's a bit older and more powerful Imager than others. He's also an outsider and feels a bit out of place at the Collegium. He faces many problems, because he has to participate in a political power play and he has to try to develop the powers of the imagers.
Rex Ryen doesn't have much respect for the Collegium and he'd like the imagers to do what he wants them to do. For example, he wants the Collegium to remove the strongest High Holders. Rex Ryen causes quite a lot of problems to Alastar, because Alastar notices that he's not the most capable man to hold the throne.
It's wonderful how well the author uses different characters and settings in his stories. The world in this fantasy series is one of his best creations, because it's reminiscent of France during the time of Renaissance and Enlightenment. It's a world that feels instantly familiar, but differs from our own world.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. is one of the few fantasy authors who are capable of writing about politics in a fascinating way (he doesn't alienate readers by writing about political happenings, but manages to make his readers interested in them). His ability to create political tension is in full bloom in this novel, because he has created a complex political structure that feels totally believable and realistic. Such well-created and fascinating political complexity is difficult to find in modern fantasy novels, so this novel is a rare treat to fantasy readers.
Magic is handled in a good way, because the author writes fluently about imaging and what happens when the characters use their powers. He also pays attention to what may happen if one is careless with imaging and doesn't take everything into consideration, because it's possible to kill or hurt oneself badly by imaging something in a wrong way.
One of the most interesting aspects of this novel is that the author writes fluently about how certain people feel about the imagers, their powers and their doings. He handles this issue surprisingly well, because he manages to create a realistic vision of a city that is inhabited by different people with different goals and ambitions.
The author writes perfectly about how Alastar pushes the young imagers to work harder. The training is hard and even dangerous, because it's possible that not all of the young imagers will survive the training, but Alastar has no other choice but to train them hard. He's willing to do almost anything to make the imagers more powerful (if the imagers can't become more powerful, the future doesn't look very promising to them). He wonders about what made the ancient imagers so powerful, because the new imagers can't match their powers.
It's possible that some readers may consider Madness in Solidar to be a kind of a growing up story. In a way it is a growing up story, but it's not your usual kind of a growing up story, because Alastar is already an older and experienced man. He's an adult man who has a lot to learn about politics and relationships between different people in L'Excelsis. He faces quite a lot of different problems.
L. E. Modesitt, Jr. has a talent for drawing the reader into the middle of detailed plots and political intrigue. In Madness in Solidar he creates an absorbing story by slowly revealing more details about the city, its inhabitants and its politics, and he makes the reader care about the happenings. When you begin to read this novel, you'll soon find yourself immersed in the story.
Reading this novel was a satisfying reading experience for me, because the characterization was excellent and the story was intriguing. The author knows how to deliver a well written story and pays attention to all the necessary elements that make up a good and intelligent story. There's quite a lot of depth and intelligent storytelling in this novel.
If you're a newcomer to L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s Imager Portfolio series, you should consider reading Madness in Solidar, because it gives you an excellent example of the author's writing abilities and writing style. Madness in Solidar is a perfect entry point to Imager Portfolio series. If you enjoy reading this novel, I strongly urge you to read the previous novels, because you won't regret reading them. If you're already familiar with this series, I can recommend this novel to you, because it's immersive and well written entertainment.
Excellent fantasy entertainment!
July 24, 2020
Begins another sequence of stories in the Imager Portfolio series. Alastar, hauled to the capitol city from his familiar home branch of the Collegium of imagers, is made Maitre of the Collegium and plunked down in the seat of imager advisor, to the Rex derisively called "Rex Dafou," the "mad king". The Rex is in a standoff over tariffs with his High Holders. When the Rex demands that the Collegium kill as many High Holders as it takes to make them accept unrealistically high tariffs, Alastar knows that either the Rex’s army or the High Holders will soon attack the Collegium. And he will have to let them. Only then can he fight back. The world has forgotten what imagers are capable of.
Rarely is a writer so prolific and so readable as Modesitt.
Rarely is a writer so prolific and so readable as Modesitt.
June 5, 2019
Enjoyable series. Will start the next one soon. He doesn't do sexual tension or romance well. Fortunately, the quality and enjoyment of the book does not suffer.
Why don't the main characters in this series name their horses? Instead of "the mare " or "the gelding". The characters are obviously fond of them.
Why don't the main characters in this series name their horses? Instead of "the mare " or "the gelding". The characters are obviously fond of them.
June 22, 2020
This adventure, ‘Madness In Solidar’, takes place four centuries after Rex Regis, the last volume in ‘The Imager Portfolio’ wherein the mighty Quaeryt, the hero of five books, managed to establish a Collegium of Imagers. These are people who can ’image’ things into existence in a limited way, depending on their individual strength. They can also image concealments to make themselves invisible, though not inaudible and put shields up to protect their person from arrows, knives, sticks and stones and so forth. They can image a stone into your head and kill you or hot iron into a cannon to make it explode. They are weak after such acts but can be restored by lager! I would have been a great Imager in my youth. Like all oddities, they are regarded with suspicion by right-thinking people and, in the centuries before the founding of the Collegium, were usually either enslaved or killed.
The protagonist is Alastar, an unknown Imager from Westisle, appointed as the new leader of the Collegium. Alastar is a widower and the ‘Prologues’ scattered through the book are flashbacks to his youth. He was poor. The Collegium is like a monastery or a boarding school, except that some Imagers marry and the staff and pupils come from all kinds of background from the poor and illegitimate to the sons or daughters of High Holders or wealthy factors and every social stratum in between. The technological level is late mediaeval.
Alastar is trying to preserve the Collegium in the midst of a crisis in Solidar. The Rex is impetuous and arrogant, maybe even a bit mad and almost broke and wants to raise taxes. The High Holders – landed nobility – are jealous of their status and prerogatives and don’t want to pay higher tariffs. The factors, businessmen, don’t want to pay higher tariffs either but do want the government to spend more money on roads and ships to defend them from piracy. For a United Statesman, Modesitt is surprisingly contemptuous of businessmen, the new gods of our society. Most of his heroes are in government service of one kind or another, military or police, though some come from artisan background. The very contemporary principle upheld in this book is that rich people should pay their fair share of taxes in order to keep the state running properly.
Alastar is new to his post and unfamiliar with the capital city and so much of the first half of the novel consists of him having meetings with the various interest groups, High Holders, Rex and Factors. As he also chats with the Imagers of various ranks, getting to know them, this is a very talky book even by Modesitt’s standards. However, most of the conversations are interesting and advance the plot. In between meetings, Alastar is reading an old journal to learn the ancient history of the Collegium and more about the founder, Quaeryt. This is another familiar device. Quaeryt himself spent a lot of time reading a book about the founder of the religion of the Nameless. Usually, the insights gained from the book tie into the main story and help our hero figure out what to do.
When my old English literature teacher was trying to make us spotty adolescents appreciate T.S. Eliot he used to say, ‘The imagery is terrific.’ While the imaging is interesting here, as usual, I can’t say that Modesitt’s imagery is terrific. He’s just not that kind of writer. What he has is the plain-speaking old-fashioned clarity of an Asimov, Heinlein or Clarke. You always know exactly what’s going on, right down to how the egg toast is burnt and the bacon greasy. This kind of prose may not be ‘poetic’ but it’s much easier to read and, for most of us, content is more important than style. When you get clarity, content and style you have a great writer. They are rare.
An enjoyable read. I have my usual reservations about the callousness with which some opponents are murdered, partly because it’s not in a fair fight. They haven’t got a chance. However, this quibble is not enough to stop me from reading more Modesitt. His recurring theme of how one might organise and run a fairly decent society is a large one that deserves consideration by intelligent people, even, dear readers, those like us who retreat from the real world into fantasy, now and then.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
The protagonist is Alastar, an unknown Imager from Westisle, appointed as the new leader of the Collegium. Alastar is a widower and the ‘Prologues’ scattered through the book are flashbacks to his youth. He was poor. The Collegium is like a monastery or a boarding school, except that some Imagers marry and the staff and pupils come from all kinds of background from the poor and illegitimate to the sons or daughters of High Holders or wealthy factors and every social stratum in between. The technological level is late mediaeval.
Alastar is trying to preserve the Collegium in the midst of a crisis in Solidar. The Rex is impetuous and arrogant, maybe even a bit mad and almost broke and wants to raise taxes. The High Holders – landed nobility – are jealous of their status and prerogatives and don’t want to pay higher tariffs. The factors, businessmen, don’t want to pay higher tariffs either but do want the government to spend more money on roads and ships to defend them from piracy. For a United Statesman, Modesitt is surprisingly contemptuous of businessmen, the new gods of our society. Most of his heroes are in government service of one kind or another, military or police, though some come from artisan background. The very contemporary principle upheld in this book is that rich people should pay their fair share of taxes in order to keep the state running properly.
Alastar is new to his post and unfamiliar with the capital city and so much of the first half of the novel consists of him having meetings with the various interest groups, High Holders, Rex and Factors. As he also chats with the Imagers of various ranks, getting to know them, this is a very talky book even by Modesitt’s standards. However, most of the conversations are interesting and advance the plot. In between meetings, Alastar is reading an old journal to learn the ancient history of the Collegium and more about the founder, Quaeryt. This is another familiar device. Quaeryt himself spent a lot of time reading a book about the founder of the religion of the Nameless. Usually, the insights gained from the book tie into the main story and help our hero figure out what to do.
When my old English literature teacher was trying to make us spotty adolescents appreciate T.S. Eliot he used to say, ‘The imagery is terrific.’ While the imaging is interesting here, as usual, I can’t say that Modesitt’s imagery is terrific. He’s just not that kind of writer. What he has is the plain-speaking old-fashioned clarity of an Asimov, Heinlein or Clarke. You always know exactly what’s going on, right down to how the egg toast is burnt and the bacon greasy. This kind of prose may not be ‘poetic’ but it’s much easier to read and, for most of us, content is more important than style. When you get clarity, content and style you have a great writer. They are rare.
An enjoyable read. I have my usual reservations about the callousness with which some opponents are murdered, partly because it’s not in a fair fight. They haven’t got a chance. However, this quibble is not enough to stop me from reading more Modesitt. His recurring theme of how one might organise and run a fairly decent society is a large one that deserves consideration by intelligent people, even, dear readers, those like us who retreat from the real world into fantasy, now and then.
Eamonn Murphy
This review first appeared at https://www.sfcrowsnest.info/
April 6, 2015
Madness in Solidar by L.E. Modesitt, jr
This is a continuation of the Imager Portfolio. Quaeryt is ancient history and little remembered. The Collegium he established has declined in power and authority. The Rex is not respected and once again the High Holders are grasping for power.
This continuation of a story generations afterward is a frequently used plot of Modesitt. It allows the story to stand alone but provides a richer experience if you have read the series.
Alastar is a typical Modesitt protagonist. He is thoughtful and slow to wrath. His goal is to keep both his Imager charges safe and his nation from disaster. He is added by Alyna, a Pharsi descendent of the Vaelora of Quaeryt. Alyna is a strong female protagonist who supports Alastar.
The cast of characters do not have the sheer power demonstrated by Quaeryt in the earlier books. Their Imaging power has deteriorated along with or perhaps is the cause of their decline in political power.
As in past books, there is some philosophical pontificating which does not detract from the story. Modesitt showcases political intrigue and greed without drawing any parallels to modern society. He allows his reader to make the obvious connections.
Melding self awareness with the humbling recognition that your body, soul and
The common thread, as I stated in previous Modesitt reviews is the lone soul fighting for self identity in a harsh world. The aloneness is tempered by a supportive wife and extraordinarily loyal comrades.
I highly recommend.
Site: http://www.lemodesittjr.com/
This is a continuation of the Imager Portfolio. Quaeryt is ancient history and little remembered. The Collegium he established has declined in power and authority. The Rex is not respected and once again the High Holders are grasping for power.
This continuation of a story generations afterward is a frequently used plot of Modesitt. It allows the story to stand alone but provides a richer experience if you have read the series.
Alastar is a typical Modesitt protagonist. He is thoughtful and slow to wrath. His goal is to keep both his Imager charges safe and his nation from disaster. He is added by Alyna, a Pharsi descendent of the Vaelora of Quaeryt. Alyna is a strong female protagonist who supports Alastar.
The cast of characters do not have the sheer power demonstrated by Quaeryt in the earlier books. Their Imaging power has deteriorated along with or perhaps is the cause of their decline in political power.
As in past books, there is some philosophical pontificating which does not detract from the story. Modesitt showcases political intrigue and greed without drawing any parallels to modern society. He allows his reader to make the obvious connections.
Melding self awareness with the humbling recognition that your body, soul and
The common thread, as I stated in previous Modesitt reviews is the lone soul fighting for self identity in a harsh world. The aloneness is tempered by a supportive wife and extraordinarily loyal comrades.
I highly recommend.
Site: http://www.lemodesittjr.com/
May 8, 2015
I always look forward to books in this series but this one was not up there with the best. We are starting with a new chapter and we have to learn new confusing character names and a new situation. There is only action in the middle and end of the book. One problem remains unresolved (a troublesome student). Oh how I miss the powerful imagers and rulers, the military setting.
Here, what was set up at the end of the last book has fallen apart. Everyone is squabbling, the Collegium has not exerted its power, and it feels as if no one is in charge. Most of the book deals with petty problems and petty people.
As usual, there is an excess of emphasis on descriptions of food, furnishings, and clothing. There is quite a bit of repetition, except sometimes the accounts do not line up. "No, the Rex never ordered any killings." "Yes the Rex ordered killings."
There is a bit of romance between the main character and a clone of Vaelora: smart, independent, and strong.
I hope the author takes us somewhere else next time.
Here, what was set up at the end of the last book has fallen apart. Everyone is squabbling, the Collegium has not exerted its power, and it feels as if no one is in charge. Most of the book deals with petty problems and petty people.
As usual, there is an excess of emphasis on descriptions of food, furnishings, and clothing. There is quite a bit of repetition, except sometimes the accounts do not line up. "No, the Rex never ordered any killings." "Yes the Rex ordered killings."
There is a bit of romance between the main character and a clone of Vaelora: smart, independent, and strong.
I hope the author takes us somewhere else next time.
August 9, 2017
By this point everyone knows what they are getting but its wearing thin now. The intrigue as usual is great, was very invested in the mystery and MC trying to figure out what was going on. Its the characters though that I had little feeling for. We have a deliberative MC with a Farci love interest...Just like all the other books, from there I was able to guess accurately how that relationship would go and it made empty characters somehow worse. He is sardonic and she is Wry; that's it. I get that Author is trying show that his women are strong but he does not show it he tells it, and he tells it events that most women would call out as pandering; how many times must MC tell his girlfriend that she is smarter than he lets(insert sardonic smile). Oh and apparently image Isle is not ready for a women even though only about 3 characters have been shown to be sexist and they are all dead.
A plus, no long descriptions of food, MC does not go on a killing spree...unless pushed.
A plus, no long descriptions of food, MC does not go on a killing spree...unless pushed.
June 27, 2023
2 stars, Metaphorosis reviews
Summary
Alaster, newly arrived from Westisle as the Collegium of Imagers' new Maitre, finds that he must deal with an unreasonable, egotistical Rex as well as difficult and dangerous army, Holders' Council, and factors - all of whom threaten the Collegium.
Review
In the first subseries of the Imager Portfolio, about Rhenn, Modesitt starts with an interesting new world and premise, engaging characters, and a promising storyline. That’s the basis on which I bought nine other books in the series. Unfortunately, subsequent books in the subseries immediately bogged down in quotidian tedium.
The second subseries, about Quaeryt, started better – more action, more motion. Unfortunately, after a book or two, it bogged down in repetitive vague philosophy and repetitive gestures at relationships.
In this third subseries, about Alastar, Modesitt skips the introductory honeymoon period and goes straight to the bog of quotidian tedium mixed with repetitive vague philosophy, with a soupcon of relationship gestures to subtract spice. I found myself bored by chapter three (of over forty). This is a book, from the get-go, about political maneuvering, which follows the now-familiar Imager pattern of whining about other people followed by a simplistic solution of using magic to kill everyone.
It really is simplistic. For one, the king (‘Rex’) appears to have absolutely no staff of his own to run a huge kingdom. He relies entirely on imagers that he has up to now ignored, but who suddenly become responsible for taxes, infrastructure, military strategy, budgeting, etc. His actions – and those of most key actors – are far from credible. At the same time, every one of them has the same basic plan – kill all opponents so that their successors will obey. That’s evil – unless, of course, imagers do it, in which case it was forced on them by circumstances and the only possible solution. Protagonist Alastar nominally engages in a lot of self-reflection, but, when lightly challenged even by other imagers, refuses to budge a millimeter from his positions. He does, though, spend a lot of time explaining things that no one has asked about – especially if it’s repetitive.
As a person with some knowledge of governance, the governance aspects of this world are especially troubling. Not only is there no bureaucracy to speak of, there’s a lack of basic understanding. A key element of the story is setting tariffs – raising the percentage paid to the rex. This is explicitly described as a percentage – yet the argument is that, because there’s not enough revenue, the tariff must rise – and continue to rise in years to come. It may be, of course, that the rate is too low. And it may be that the absolute revenue should rise in years to come. But the rate shouldn’t constantly rise – eventually it would reach 100% and be ludicrous. This may seem like a petty point – but it’s the linchpin around which the story is built, and it’s arguably wrong.
There are all sorts of other flaws in the story – the Collegium of imagers is constantly under threat, yet not once does its leader think to send a message to the Collegium’s other main location, from which he himself came. But in addition to these flaws, there’s disappointment. The first two subseries are, in part, about discovering what magic can do. Here, we have imagers discovering the very same things – for the third time. While Modesitt posits that Quaeryt deliberately let some things slip from public knowledge, Alastar spends a lot of the book thinking about why (which was thoroughly explained in the previous subseries, and repeated at length here). A journal from Quaeryt’s time replaces the book about Rholan as a source for vague philosophy for characters to quote and discuss. Very little of it is interesting, especially because the solutions they arrive at are always the same – ‘shame we had to kill all those people, but they deserved it’.
Summary
Alaster, newly arrived from Westisle as the Collegium of Imagers' new Maitre, finds that he must deal with an unreasonable, egotistical Rex as well as difficult and dangerous army, Holders' Council, and factors - all of whom threaten the Collegium.
Review
In the first subseries of the Imager Portfolio, about Rhenn, Modesitt starts with an interesting new world and premise, engaging characters, and a promising storyline. That’s the basis on which I bought nine other books in the series. Unfortunately, subsequent books in the subseries immediately bogged down in quotidian tedium.
The second subseries, about Quaeryt, started better – more action, more motion. Unfortunately, after a book or two, it bogged down in repetitive vague philosophy and repetitive gestures at relationships.
In this third subseries, about Alastar, Modesitt skips the introductory honeymoon period and goes straight to the bog of quotidian tedium mixed with repetitive vague philosophy, with a soupcon of relationship gestures to subtract spice. I found myself bored by chapter three (of over forty). This is a book, from the get-go, about political maneuvering, which follows the now-familiar Imager pattern of whining about other people followed by a simplistic solution of using magic to kill everyone.
It really is simplistic. For one, the king (‘Rex’) appears to have absolutely no staff of his own to run a huge kingdom. He relies entirely on imagers that he has up to now ignored, but who suddenly become responsible for taxes, infrastructure, military strategy, budgeting, etc. His actions – and those of most key actors – are far from credible. At the same time, every one of them has the same basic plan – kill all opponents so that their successors will obey. That’s evil – unless, of course, imagers do it, in which case it was forced on them by circumstances and the only possible solution. Protagonist Alastar nominally engages in a lot of self-reflection, but, when lightly challenged even by other imagers, refuses to budge a millimeter from his positions. He does, though, spend a lot of time explaining things that no one has asked about – especially if it’s repetitive.
As a person with some knowledge of governance, the governance aspects of this world are especially troubling. Not only is there no bureaucracy to speak of, there’s a lack of basic understanding. A key element of the story is setting tariffs – raising the percentage paid to the rex. This is explicitly described as a percentage – yet the argument is that, because there’s not enough revenue, the tariff must rise – and continue to rise in years to come. It may be, of course, that the rate is too low. And it may be that the absolute revenue should rise in years to come. But the rate shouldn’t constantly rise – eventually it would reach 100% and be ludicrous. This may seem like a petty point – but it’s the linchpin around which the story is built, and it’s arguably wrong.
There are all sorts of other flaws in the story – the Collegium of imagers is constantly under threat, yet not once does its leader think to send a message to the Collegium’s other main location, from which he himself came. But in addition to these flaws, there’s disappointment. The first two subseries are, in part, about discovering what magic can do. Here, we have imagers discovering the very same things – for the third time. While Modesitt posits that Quaeryt deliberately let some things slip from public knowledge, Alastar spends a lot of the book thinking about why (which was thoroughly explained in the previous subseries, and repeated at length here). A journal from Quaeryt’s time replaces the book about Rholan as a source for vague philosophy for characters to quote and discuss. Very little of it is interesting, especially because the solutions they arrive at are always the same – ‘shame we had to kill all those people, but they deserved it’.
June 19, 2022
Chronologically this is the middle subseries. The second began before the current calendar and ends at roughly 0 A.L. This one began at 398 A.L. The first began in 743 A.L. Once again various historical characters mentioned in the first three books took center stage. I briefly looked back at those books and noticed some discrepancies in them, not so much that the official histories were wrong as it seems some small changes about the history were made in third book versus the first. One, which was entirely trivial, was that a character's name had a single letter changed. Maybe that was simply a transcription error over the centuries.
Unlike the first two subseries which featured a protagonist who developed his powers and personality over the course of the series, this one has a 38 year old Alastar who was already the most powerful contemporary imager and their leader. He was already fully established from the beginning. There wasn't really so much character development as just learning about him. He already knew who he was and did what needed to be done at the proper time without hesitation or concern no matter how drastic he had to be. As with the prior protagonists he also had a powerful love interest, who at 23 is considerably younger than him.
Over the centuries the Imagers had become lax, complacent, and not fulfilling their function as they were supposed to. All external affairs had been neglected and in some ways their organization has slowly changed to have a parasitical relationship with their society. This had caused much resentment in others. The duration of their entire lives would have to be spent to restore equilibrium, if not their reputation, and it would come at grievous cost.
Almost all the immediate problems could be traced back to one thing, tax policy. The fate of the country literally depended on whether the various factions could agree on how much in taxes should be raised, if at all. The government's coffers were always nigh empty. The grossly bloated army which served almost no functional purpose was a significant cause. Another cause for concern was infrastructure, particularly roads and sewers, and a questionable use of eminent domain.
I was amazed by how little overall happened and also how quickly it had when anything did happen. Even more so I was amazed that I didn't mind at all. It was all very smooth comfort reading. Nothing bothered me about it, but there weren't really any high points either. That makes it difficult for me to rate, and I'm not satisfied with a rating, but it'll do.
Rating: 3.5/5
Unlike the first two subseries which featured a protagonist who developed his powers and personality over the course of the series, this one has a 38 year old Alastar who was already the most powerful contemporary imager and their leader. He was already fully established from the beginning. There wasn't really so much character development as just learning about him. He already knew who he was and did what needed to be done at the proper time without hesitation or concern no matter how drastic he had to be. As with the prior protagonists he also had a powerful love interest, who at 23 is considerably younger than him.
Over the centuries the Imagers had become lax, complacent, and not fulfilling their function as they were supposed to. All external affairs had been neglected and in some ways their organization has slowly changed to have a parasitical relationship with their society. This had caused much resentment in others. The duration of their entire lives would have to be spent to restore equilibrium, if not their reputation, and it would come at grievous cost.
Almost all the immediate problems could be traced back to one thing, tax policy. The fate of the country literally depended on whether the various factions could agree on how much in taxes should be raised, if at all. The government's coffers were always nigh empty. The grossly bloated army which served almost no functional purpose was a significant cause. Another cause for concern was infrastructure, particularly roads and sewers, and a questionable use of eminent domain.
I was amazed by how little overall happened and also how quickly it had when anything did happen. Even more so I was amazed that I didn't mind at all. It was all very smooth comfort reading. Nothing bothered me about it, but there weren't really any high points either. That makes it difficult for me to rate, and I'm not satisfied with a rating, but it'll do.
Rating: 3.5/5
November 3, 2017
Reader thoughts: Alastar is considerably older than the other imager characters. Rhenn was low twenties. Quaeryt was upper twenties. Alastar is 38 (and 52 in the next book). That makes it harder for me to connect to him.
Also, not much seemed to be happening in this book compared to most of the others. There's already a collegium; Alastar just has to prove that imagers are useful. Oh, and he has to force the High Holders and Factors and Rex to all get along . . . even if he has to kill them to do it. It seemed a bit high handed, although I understood the reasons.
There wasn't any new imaging, and Alalstar never really got hurt. So, the excitement level felt lower. There were lots of threats, but mostly it was Alastar actually acting on those threats.
How should imagers be useful to the Rex and worth his golds? They can image roads. Big Whoop. What else? They can threaten High Holders. Surely there is a more practical use for imagers than paving roads and threatening the nobles?
Writer thoughts: It must be hard to write an insane character. LEM does well with this, with both Rexes in this book. The insanity isn't so extreme as to be unrealistic, but it's not so mile that people can negotiate around it. It's just enough to put the entire city in jeopardy. I wonder how LEM balanced that. Researching types of insanity?
Also, not much seemed to be happening in this book compared to most of the others. There's already a collegium; Alastar just has to prove that imagers are useful. Oh, and he has to force the High Holders and Factors and Rex to all get along . . . even if he has to kill them to do it. It seemed a bit high handed, although I understood the reasons.
There wasn't any new imaging, and Alalstar never really got hurt. So, the excitement level felt lower. There were lots of threats, but mostly it was Alastar actually acting on those threats.
How should imagers be useful to the Rex and worth his golds? They can image roads. Big Whoop. What else? They can threaten High Holders. Surely there is a more practical use for imagers than paving roads and threatening the nobles?
Writer thoughts: It must be hard to write an insane character. LEM does well with this, with both Rexes in this book. The insanity isn't so extreme as to be unrealistic, but it's not so mile that people can negotiate around it. It's just enough to put the entire city in jeopardy. I wonder how LEM balanced that. Researching types of insanity?
December 8, 2017
One of the better entries in the more recent books in the Imager Portfolio.
I'm a big fan of LE Modesitt, Jr, and I read the first three books in the Imager Portfolio eagerly. Then things seemed to take a downturn and, while still enjoyable, the books weren't as good. Everything turns around with this book.
Alastar has just taken over the Collegium as Maitre. He inherits mad King who is hated widely, Lord Holders who have no respect for the King or the Collegium, and undertrained imagers. He sets to work right away, but there's only so much a maître can do immediately. Even the powerful have to pay the price of using power.
With characters who aren't quite as stereotyped as in recent books and a strong plot, this is a solid entry in the Imager Portfolio, and I look forward to reading more about Alaster and the new Collegium.
I'm a big fan of LE Modesitt, Jr, and I read the first three books in the Imager Portfolio eagerly. Then things seemed to take a downturn and, while still enjoyable, the books weren't as good. Everything turns around with this book.
Alastar has just taken over the Collegium as Maitre. He inherits mad King who is hated widely, Lord Holders who have no respect for the King or the Collegium, and undertrained imagers. He sets to work right away, but there's only so much a maître can do immediately. Even the powerful have to pay the price of using power.
With characters who aren't quite as stereotyped as in recent books and a strong plot, this is a solid entry in the Imager Portfolio, and I look forward to reading more about Alaster and the new Collegium.
February 19, 2018
I may just have read too many L.E. Modessit books at this point so inevitably they would at some point feel stale, but this one was the first time I really felt ho-hum about one of his books. It was difficult to follow the machinations of the characters, and even with the big reveal at the end it was still muddled over who exactly was who and why that mattered to the plot. But the thing that really grated on me was the constant references to Quaeryt and Valeora. Referring back to the past is a common characteristic of his books but its always been done subtly and well - this one just felt ham-fisted and annoying from Alastar reading through Gauswn's journals looking for references to Quaeryt to Alyna being a descendant of Valeora. It's just too much and detracts from the actual story of Alastar trying to rebuild the Collegium
May 10, 2017
This is the ninth novel in Modesitt's fantasy series, "The Imager Portfolio," and the first centered on Alastar, newly appointed as head of the Collegium of Imagers. As I had both hoped and anticipated, I enjoyed this book very much. Indeed, I enjoyed it distinctly more than the three Nebula-nominated novels that I read recently. I note that "Madness in Solidar" contains more political maneuvering and less action than some of Modesitt's books. I like the conceit of imaging magic. I appreciate the hero being in his late thirties, rather than a youngster. But mostly I love the immersiveness of Modesitt's writing and the likability of his main character. I am moving straight on to book ten in the series.
August 16, 2020
Bumps forward again, four hundred years after the events of books 4-8. I don't remember the first three to know where this new set of books comes in relation to that. The Collegium has been lazy for centuries, living off the king while not doing much of everything. The previous leader dies and in comes our hero. He moves from the school out in Westisle to the main school in L'Excelsis and is dumped in the middle of political mayhem in the capital. Of course, our uber mensch will handle it. That's not new with Modesitt.
What's also not new is the author's focus on societal details. He's an excellent world builder. Sometimes he focuses too much on that, but not in this book. It's a good read.
What's also not new is the author's focus on societal details. He's an excellent world builder. Sometimes he focuses too much on that, but not in this book. It's a good read.
February 22, 2019
Modesitt, L. E., Jr. Madness in Solidar. Imager Portfolio No. 9. Tor, 2015.
Madness in Solidar is set centuries after the time of Quaeryt, the founder of the and before the time of Rhennthyl, the new story line that begins with Madness is Solidar features Alastar, an imager drafted to lead the Collegium that is being squeezed between the merchants, landholders, and royal aristocracy. Steam technology is on the rise and rifles have replaced muskets. Alastar finds he has to restore military discipline and military skills that imagers have forgotten. The quality is consistent with the rest of the series. Modesitt is a pro with more than 60 novels to his credit
Madness in Solidar is set centuries after the time of Quaeryt, the founder of the and before the time of Rhennthyl, the new story line that begins with Madness is Solidar features Alastar, an imager drafted to lead the Collegium that is being squeezed between the merchants, landholders, and royal aristocracy. Steam technology is on the rise and rifles have replaced muskets. Alastar finds he has to restore military discipline and military skills that imagers have forgotten. The quality is consistent with the rest of the series. Modesitt is a pro with more than 60 novels to his credit
August 18, 2020
My second attempt to finish this book was successful. It certainly is my least favorite of the Imager Portfolio -- so far and I truly hope it is not a portent of things to come. Compared to the earlier books of the series, this one was next to boring.
The Collegium on Imageisle has fallen into the malaise of inaction for over 100 years. When the current Maitre dies, a new Maitre arrives to breath life and a reckoning that High Holders, Factors, the army and even the Rex do not want. It is time for the Imagers to again be an important part of the political life of Solidar.
The Collegium on Imageisle has fallen into the malaise of inaction for over 100 years. When the current Maitre dies, a new Maitre arrives to breath life and a reckoning that High Holders, Factors, the army and even the Rex do not want. It is time for the Imagers to again be an important part of the political life of Solidar.
July 6, 2018
Even though the basic thread of the story, which takes place a few hundred years after the last story, is similar to others in the Imager series (powerful Imager has to deal with ruler, military, high holders, factors, etc. while protecting the small imager population), I still enjoy these stories. The fantasy part of the story is important but a minor part of the overall conflicts that happen in this world, that the newly appointed master imager must weave his way through.
March 13, 2017
Reading them all
Ok.......I've now read 9 of the imager novels. Read them previously but not in sequence. Time for a series comment:wow. Not only are there enough lose ends in each for many more books.....they are well written, well thought out and thoroughly enjoyable. These are must read for any SF...or fantasy buff.
Ok.......I've now read 9 of the imager novels. Read them previously but not in sequence. Time for a series comment:wow. Not only are there enough lose ends in each for many more books.....they are well written, well thought out and thoroughly enjoyable. These are must read for any SF...or fantasy buff.
July 12, 2018
I seem to be reading this series out of order, but so far each book is a good stand alone story and I don't feel lost by not knowing what happened before in the previous book... which is not always the case in a series. That said a very good book of balance of power where magic is the pivot between a King and his nobility and the business men who do all the money making.
May 19, 2019
I always find it hard to move to a new character in this series. And add always I didn't really like the new guy for the first half of the book.
I loved the first 3 books and by the end of the last set I loved them to. It was hard to say goodbye to then and get into the new ones.
But I'm looking forward to the next 3 books.
I loved the first 3 books and by the end of the last set I loved them to. It was hard to say goodbye to then and get into the new ones.
But I'm looking forward to the next 3 books.
August 2, 2020
The plot moves forward at a good clip and keeps you wondering what will happen next. But I can't get past the writing, which is very "he did this, he did that, he said and did these reasonable things, he ate, he slept, he awoke and repeated"...very wooden/mechanical and feels like it is written for the reading level of a 12 year old.
July 30, 2017
Modesitt is brilliant, as usual. He does not try to outdo one character in the series with another, nor carry them forward until you are sick of them. Instead each one is carefully developed and he leaves them behind while you still crave another novel!
Displaying 1 - 30 of 99 reviews