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Imager Portfolio #1
Imager
Although Rhennthyl is the son of a leading wool merchant in L'Excelsis, the capital of Solidar, the most powerful nation on Terahnar, he has spent years becoming a journeyman artist and is skilled and diligent enough to be considered for the status of master artisan—in another two years. Then, in a single moment, his entire life is transformed when his master patron is killed in a flash fire, and Rhenn discovers he is an imager—one of the few in the entire world of Terahnar who can visualize things and make them real.
Rhenn is forced to leave his family and join the Collegium of Imagisle. Because of their abilities (they can do accidental magic even while asleep) and because they are both feared and vulnerable, imagers must live separately from the rest of society. In this new life, Rhenn discovers that all too many of the "truths" he knew were nothing of the sort. Every day brings a new threat to his life. He makes a powerful enemy while righting a wrong, and he begins to learn to do magic in secret. Imager is the innovative and enchanting opening of an involving new fantasy story.
Rhenn is forced to leave his family and join the Collegium of Imagisle. Because of their abilities (they can do accidental magic even while asleep) and because they are both feared and vulnerable, imagers must live separately from the rest of society. In this new life, Rhenn discovers that all too many of the "truths" he knew were nothing of the sort. Every day brings a new threat to his life. He makes a powerful enemy while righting a wrong, and he begins to learn to do magic in secret. Imager is the innovative and enchanting opening of an involving new fantasy story.
432 pages, Audio CD
First published March 17, 2009
323 people are currently reading
6710 people want to read
About the author
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
191 books2,596 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
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 561 reviews
October 1, 2009
Modesitt's writing is like clockwork: predictable, dependable, unexciting. He creates boring, detailed fantasy worlds and peoples them with walking shadows. The “characters” aren’t even caricatures—that would require Modesitt to give them some sort of personality. The main character, Rhen, exists in this book only to lecture and be lectured about government, and to eat very detailed meals. I do not need to know what fictional wine each and every character has each and every meal, and yet Modesitt seems to think that sort of detail is far more important than, say, a plot.
Speaking of plots, there really isn’t one. I forced my way through this book, but at some point put it down and just couldn’t bear to pick it up again, even though I was only ~50 pages from the end. Because I just didn’t care about the thin veneer of intrigue that Modesitt periodically remembered to include, and I found the main character so incredibly despicable (not in an authorially intended way, alas) that I hoped the “mysterious assassin” killed him. This is a terrible book. I recommend it to no one.
Speaking of plots, there really isn’t one. I forced my way through this book, but at some point put it down and just couldn’t bear to pick it up again, even though I was only ~50 pages from the end. Because I just didn’t care about the thin veneer of intrigue that Modesitt periodically remembered to include, and I found the main character so incredibly despicable (not in an authorially intended way, alas) that I hoped the “mysterious assassin” killed him. This is a terrible book. I recommend it to no one.
February 14, 2019
March 7, 2017: Reading again as a buddy read with A Land of Fantasy Addicts group. Unfortunately, this isn't working well for them. Why? Is this book more of a guy-thing? Maybe, although several women GR friends of mine like it a lot, but I think they're a bit older. Perhaps some maturity helps with the harsh realities that Rhenn faces?
I admire Rhenn. Life deals & he plays his cards as best he can without any whining even though he's surrounded by selfish bastards. He's always walking a fine line, the epitome of an Imager. For all their power, they're a minority & must watch themselves. Public perception is extremely important - more important than lives sometimes. Scary, but believable. It certainly happens often enough in our own world, although we tend to just murder reputations & careers. There's plenty of that in this world, too. Modesitt's attention to politics & economics is always interesting.
I'm even more captivated by the philosophy that runs through the books. They come in 2 forms. The first is that each chapter has a number with an aphorism that describes the chapter in some respect. It's worth leafing back to read that again at the end of the chapter to think about again. The second is the religion/philosophy of 'naming'.
The Unnamed is good while the Namer is evil. While we must name things, label them, lending these too much weight leads us into dangerous assumptions. We're often treated to weekly services that contain a homily relating to this & they're always worth thinking about. Modesitt did a great job with this fictional religion.
I pretty much cover the rest in my earlier reviews. I liked this even more this time through so I bumped it up to 5 stars from 4.
Again, I'm sucked in & on to the next book knowing that the first 3 in this series are a trilogy. While there are other books in the series, they deal with 2 other characters so far. Here is the series list in published order, the reading order as recommended by the author.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/4620...
Rhenn's story is told here, chronologically in books 1-3. It's best to read these first because we learn just what imaging is along with him. They take place starting around 755 A.L.
Quaeryt's story is told chronologically in books 4-8 & it takes place 'hundreds of years earlier' (around 0 A.L.?) than Rhenn's story & isn't known by name or anything to Rhenn which reinforces just how anonymous the imagers are.
Alastar's story is told chronologically in books 9-12 which take place sometime between Quaeryt & Rhenn's time again separated by centuries. Books 9 & 10 focus on Alastar & his issues while 11 & 12 focus on Charyn, the Rex around 400 A.L., with Alastar playing a supporting roll. It's neat how they & Rhenn know only a powerful, unnamed imager & looks on his works with awe. The history that Alastar, Charyn, & Rhenn know isn't completely accurate. How & why are a thread that runs through the series. This happens in the Recluce series, too. I find it fascinating.
As usual, I've got to read Imager's Challenge immediately. While this book is fairly well contained & resolves a few big issues, it's obviously only part of Rhenn's story. There's a lot more to come, many unresolved issues.
--------------------
June 2014: I really liked this again (4 stars) although I'd forgotten many of the details in the past 5 years. Modesitt continually engages me with his minimalist approach & attention to the details in his magic systems. Great world, too.
Each chapter starts with a fairly profound statement, something that sets the tone for the chapter. About 3/4 of the way through, "Professional interrogators should study mothers." The unexpected humor really pops.
I'm going to start the second book immediately.
--- Dates & Times ---
There are five two-month seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Harvest, and Fall.
There are ten months, each thirty-five days long: Ianus, Fevier, Maris, Avryl, Mayas, Juyn, Agostas, Erntyn, Feuillyt, and Finitas
The week is seven days long and based on the French equivalents: Lundi, Mardi, Meredi, Jeudi, Vendrei, Samedi, Solayi.
An hour is termed a "glass", and roughly 100 minutes of our time. Each day has twenty glasses, with the tenth glass of the day being noon, and the tenth glass of night being midnight. A quint is a fifth of a glass.
17Oct2009: A wonderful new world by Modessit, same characters, but that's not shocking. He only has a few, like Heinlein. I find his books interesting for the differences in the magic & imaging is a very different type. While it has strict, logical limits, it has its dangers & the structuring of society around it is very neat.
As usual, the plot revolves around power, its misuse & 'realities' of life. It's complex, engaging & another neat exploration of a new world. I stayed up way too late reading it, but didn't mind at all.
Thanks for the book, Jon. Now I'm reading 'Haze' his other new one. It's SF.
I admire Rhenn. Life deals & he plays his cards as best he can without any whining even though he's surrounded by selfish bastards. He's always walking a fine line, the epitome of an Imager. For all their power, they're a minority & must watch themselves. Public perception is extremely important - more important than lives sometimes. Scary, but believable. It certainly happens often enough in our own world, although we tend to just murder reputations & careers. There's plenty of that in this world, too. Modesitt's attention to politics & economics is always interesting.
I'm even more captivated by the philosophy that runs through the books. They come in 2 forms. The first is that each chapter has a number with an aphorism that describes the chapter in some respect. It's worth leafing back to read that again at the end of the chapter to think about again. The second is the religion/philosophy of 'naming'.
The Unnamed is good while the Namer is evil. While we must name things, label them, lending these too much weight leads us into dangerous assumptions. We're often treated to weekly services that contain a homily relating to this & they're always worth thinking about. Modesitt did a great job with this fictional religion.
I pretty much cover the rest in my earlier reviews. I liked this even more this time through so I bumped it up to 5 stars from 4.
Again, I'm sucked in & on to the next book knowing that the first 3 in this series are a trilogy. While there are other books in the series, they deal with 2 other characters so far. Here is the series list in published order, the reading order as recommended by the author.
https://www.goodreads.com/series/4620...
Rhenn's story is told here, chronologically in books 1-3. It's best to read these first because we learn just what imaging is along with him. They take place starting around 755 A.L.
Quaeryt's story is told chronologically in books 4-8 & it takes place 'hundreds of years earlier' (around 0 A.L.?) than Rhenn's story & isn't known by name or anything to Rhenn which reinforces just how anonymous the imagers are.
Alastar's story is told chronologically in books 9-12 which take place sometime between Quaeryt & Rhenn's time again separated by centuries. Books 9 & 10 focus on Alastar & his issues while 11 & 12 focus on Charyn, the Rex around 400 A.L., with Alastar playing a supporting roll. It's neat how they & Rhenn know only a powerful, unnamed imager & looks on his works with awe. The history that Alastar, Charyn, & Rhenn know isn't completely accurate. How & why are a thread that runs through the series. This happens in the Recluce series, too. I find it fascinating.
As usual, I've got to read Imager's Challenge immediately. While this book is fairly well contained & resolves a few big issues, it's obviously only part of Rhenn's story. There's a lot more to come, many unresolved issues.
--------------------
June 2014: I really liked this again (4 stars) although I'd forgotten many of the details in the past 5 years. Modesitt continually engages me with his minimalist approach & attention to the details in his magic systems. Great world, too.
Each chapter starts with a fairly profound statement, something that sets the tone for the chapter. About 3/4 of the way through, "Professional interrogators should study mothers." The unexpected humor really pops.
I'm going to start the second book immediately.
--- Dates & Times ---
There are five two-month seasons: Winter, Spring, Summer, Harvest, and Fall.
There are ten months, each thirty-five days long: Ianus, Fevier, Maris, Avryl, Mayas, Juyn, Agostas, Erntyn, Feuillyt, and Finitas
The week is seven days long and based on the French equivalents: Lundi, Mardi, Meredi, Jeudi, Vendrei, Samedi, Solayi.
An hour is termed a "glass", and roughly 100 minutes of our time. Each day has twenty glasses, with the tenth glass of the day being noon, and the tenth glass of night being midnight. A quint is a fifth of a glass.
17Oct2009: A wonderful new world by Modessit, same characters, but that's not shocking. He only has a few, like Heinlein. I find his books interesting for the differences in the magic & imaging is a very different type. While it has strict, logical limits, it has its dangers & the structuring of society around it is very neat.
As usual, the plot revolves around power, its misuse & 'realities' of life. It's complex, engaging & another neat exploration of a new world. I stayed up way too late reading it, but didn't mind at all.
Thanks for the book, Jon. Now I'm reading 'Haze' his other new one. It's SF.
September 13, 2011
Okay, I've proved before I don't mind swimming upstream. I see a lot of 3 and and even 2 star ratings here among the 4s and a few 5s.
This is not the kind of book I would say I usually like...relatively slow to take off, heavy on character with a plot that sneaks into the book gradually.
But for some reason I loved this book. I went so far as to sign up for Audible.com today so I wouldn't have to wait for an order to come in or the library book to come to me before I could get book 2.
This book in a way put me in mind of the opening volume of the Recluse series..the world here is rich, detailed, complete and the story doesn't drag as you find all that out. I was drawn in and stayed drawn in all the way through.
It reminded me how well Mr. Modesitt can write. Very seldom have I been disappointed by anything he's written.
5 Stars. I like it, I recommend it.
This is not the kind of book I would say I usually like...relatively slow to take off, heavy on character with a plot that sneaks into the book gradually.
But for some reason I loved this book. I went so far as to sign up for Audible.com today so I wouldn't have to wait for an order to come in or the library book to come to me before I could get book 2.
This book in a way put me in mind of the opening volume of the Recluse series..the world here is rich, detailed, complete and the story doesn't drag as you find all that out. I was drawn in and stayed drawn in all the way through.
It reminded me how well Mr. Modesitt can write. Very seldom have I been disappointed by anything he's written.
5 Stars. I like it, I recommend it.
January 1, 2022
I admit I like to read L.E. Modesitt Jr. more for how he always makes me feel while reading his works than the core of the stories he writes. It's a matter of taste, perhaps, and maybe it's because he always seems to comfort me.
In this new (to me) fantasy series, Imager is simple on the front. If you image something in your head, strong enough, you can make it appear with some interesting, rather scientific consequences. Chemicals you might use get sucked out of what they were in, nearby, making some rather startling accidents.
But beyond that, the novel follows a very comforting formula, from total beginner to improving better than your peers to finding a sympathetic love interest to succeeding in battle and politics and generally leveling up while keeping a level-head.
I mean, this is Modesitt to all degrees. I'm always happy to read these because *how* a thing is done is often much more important than *what* is being done. And this book makes me happy.
A very strong start.
In this new (to me) fantasy series, Imager is simple on the front. If you image something in your head, strong enough, you can make it appear with some interesting, rather scientific consequences. Chemicals you might use get sucked out of what they were in, nearby, making some rather startling accidents.
But beyond that, the novel follows a very comforting formula, from total beginner to improving better than your peers to finding a sympathetic love interest to succeeding in battle and politics and generally leveling up while keeping a level-head.
I mean, this is Modesitt to all degrees. I'm always happy to read these because *how* a thing is done is often much more important than *what* is being done. And this book makes me happy.
A very strong start.
August 2, 2020
This was written around 1990, so it’s sort of between the Terry Brooks-style of fantasy and the newer Sanderson-style of fantasy. In some ways it’s very traditional, with the slow buildup and magic. But it is closer to 1700s technology than the Middle Ages.
Rhen is an apprentice portrait artist in a family of businessmen and -women. Eventually he ends up with the imagers, those who can create something out of nothing. The implications of this ability are frightening and dangerous and serious. By the last half of the book, Rhen is dodging assassins.
The book is not heavy on action in general. It’s a lot of training, family relationships, political discussions, and even some religious sermons. This is a book where you know what everybody is eating every meal. I found all the discussions interesting and intelligent, but I expect they won’t be for everybody.
The world is meticulously planned out, I can tell. (I remember Modesitt saying at a comic con that he has to do this before writing. He was stunned when another writer said he just makes stuff up as he goes along.) The detail is impressive.
Professional interrogators should study mothers.
Clean content.
Rhen is an apprentice portrait artist in a family of businessmen and -women. Eventually he ends up with the imagers, those who can create something out of nothing. The implications of this ability are frightening and dangerous and serious. By the last half of the book, Rhen is dodging assassins.
The book is not heavy on action in general. It’s a lot of training, family relationships, political discussions, and even some religious sermons. This is a book where you know what everybody is eating every meal. I found all the discussions interesting and intelligent, but I expect they won’t be for everybody.
The world is meticulously planned out, I can tell. (I remember Modesitt saying at a comic con that he has to do this before writing. He was stunned when another writer said he just makes stuff up as he goes along.) The detail is impressive.
Professional interrogators should study mothers.
Clean content.
May 16, 2021
I thought this was a decent fantasy. The concept of the 'imager' and all that comes along with this special power was very creative. The story was very transparent and didn't require to much thinking. I enjoyed the story overall and thought it was OK. At this point I know there are 12 books in the 'Imager Portfolio' series but I probably won't read anymore. Thanks.
September 13, 2011
I picked this up as an audiobook from my trusty library because I enjoyed The Magic of Recluce by this author. Although I think I liked The Magic of Recluce a little more, this was a very good book.
Mr. Modesitt's style is fairly distinctive. He writes what I would call 'grounded fantasy'. He is detail-oriented, and spends a lot of time building his world and setting the scenes. He is clearly a 'foodie', because he describes food in great detail, and it sounds very scrumptious to me. I obtained a very comprehensive visual of this world in which Rhennthyl lives, rather like Renaissance era Europe, although with some later historical touches.
The concept of people who are able to visualize things into being, and how they become part of a Collegium was interesting. I felt that the process could have been a little more dynamic when described (the scenes were a bit one-dimensional at times), but it definitely had me listening.
Although I liked the spy novel-esque vibe, this book is probably a bit more political than I like my reading to be, with a focus on the tangled situations between various governments, the one in which this book is set, and nations that they danced around conflicts with. However, I can't say that it was extraneous to the plot of this story. In fact, The Imager Collegium plays an integral war in keeping the political situation balanced by protecting the Council (who runs the country), and resolving situations in a discreet fashion that allows the status quo to continue. At times, I did feel my mind wander a little bit when the discussions in this book delved too deeply into waters of political intrigue, because this reader is just not wired to be very interested in such subject matter. I liked seeing Rhennthyl think on his feet to navigate these shark-infested waters, though.
Rhennthyl is a protagonist that I appreciated reading about. He doesn't have an easy road, despite his formidable abilities (hard-earned and honed) as an imager. I liked that he does have to struggle a little bit, work hard, and think hard, even though he advances very quickly in the hierarchy of Imagers from a primary. He felt like an everyday sort of guy, not excessively intelligent, nice, or charismatic. Just normal. Enough of all those things for me to like him, though. The guy was in a tough situation, as the Collegium was basically dangling him out as bait for the assassins who were plotting to kill young imagers. I have to say that he held his own, and managed to extricate himself from many a bad situation.
I found the romance between Rhennthyl and Celiora (spelling might not be right since I listened on audio) to be well-written and very important to this storyline. She is a good match for him. She is wise, insightful, loving, and independent and strong. He's the kind of guy who wouldn't do well with a softer, malleable woman, and Celiora is the opposite of that in all the best ways. If things progress the way I believe they will, Celiora will be a great mate for Rhennthyl.
This was a fairly long audiobook, but I was happy to keep listening. Although Modesitt's writing might be a bit too detail-oriented for some readers, I like how he builds the foundation of how his magic system works, using quite a bit of proven science that makes sense, and a concept that I found interesting. I also loved the artistic aspects, as Rhennthyl starts his training as an artist, and continues to maintain that artistic sensibility.
I mentioned above, the only shortcomings with this novel were the sometimes dry political aspects, and the less than dynamic action sequences (I'm a bit of a tough customer when it comes to that). Otherwise, I think this is a very good fantasy book, that I would recommend to those who might be interested in this sort of storyline. I'm adding the next book to my wish list.
Mr. Modesitt's style is fairly distinctive. He writes what I would call 'grounded fantasy'. He is detail-oriented, and spends a lot of time building his world and setting the scenes. He is clearly a 'foodie', because he describes food in great detail, and it sounds very scrumptious to me. I obtained a very comprehensive visual of this world in which Rhennthyl lives, rather like Renaissance era Europe, although with some later historical touches.
The concept of people who are able to visualize things into being, and how they become part of a Collegium was interesting. I felt that the process could have been a little more dynamic when described (the scenes were a bit one-dimensional at times), but it definitely had me listening.
Although I liked the spy novel-esque vibe, this book is probably a bit more political than I like my reading to be, with a focus on the tangled situations between various governments, the one in which this book is set, and nations that they danced around conflicts with. However, I can't say that it was extraneous to the plot of this story. In fact, The Imager Collegium plays an integral war in keeping the political situation balanced by protecting the Council (who runs the country), and resolving situations in a discreet fashion that allows the status quo to continue. At times, I did feel my mind wander a little bit when the discussions in this book delved too deeply into waters of political intrigue, because this reader is just not wired to be very interested in such subject matter. I liked seeing Rhennthyl think on his feet to navigate these shark-infested waters, though.
Rhennthyl is a protagonist that I appreciated reading about. He doesn't have an easy road, despite his formidable abilities (hard-earned and honed) as an imager. I liked that he does have to struggle a little bit, work hard, and think hard, even though he advances very quickly in the hierarchy of Imagers from a primary. He felt like an everyday sort of guy, not excessively intelligent, nice, or charismatic. Just normal. Enough of all those things for me to like him, though. The guy was in a tough situation, as the Collegium was basically dangling him out as bait for the assassins who were plotting to kill young imagers. I have to say that he held his own, and managed to extricate himself from many a bad situation.
I found the romance between Rhennthyl and Celiora (spelling might not be right since I listened on audio) to be well-written and very important to this storyline. She is a good match for him. She is wise, insightful, loving, and independent and strong. He's the kind of guy who wouldn't do well with a softer, malleable woman, and Celiora is the opposite of that in all the best ways. If things progress the way I believe they will, Celiora will be a great mate for Rhennthyl.
This was a fairly long audiobook, but I was happy to keep listening. Although Modesitt's writing might be a bit too detail-oriented for some readers, I like how he builds the foundation of how his magic system works, using quite a bit of proven science that makes sense, and a concept that I found interesting. I also loved the artistic aspects, as Rhennthyl starts his training as an artist, and continues to maintain that artistic sensibility.
I mentioned above, the only shortcomings with this novel were the sometimes dry political aspects, and the less than dynamic action sequences (I'm a bit of a tough customer when it comes to that). Otherwise, I think this is a very good fantasy book, that I would recommend to those who might be interested in this sort of storyline. I'm adding the next book to my wish list.
October 8, 2009
3.5 stars
I enjoyed the evolution of Modesitt's writing style in this new series. Yes, the story is quite similar to what he used in the past with the Recluce saga. The lack of onomatopoeia helped limit disruptions to the narrative.
The imaging magic system failed to impress me and seemed more a psi power like telekinesis. The government institutions, religions and philosophies debated and discussed both in a teacher-student setting or as the protagonist's internal dialogue provoked thought and posed questions I pondered long after closing the book.
I enjoyed the evolution of Modesitt's writing style in this new series. Yes, the story is quite similar to what he used in the past with the Recluce saga. The lack of onomatopoeia helped limit disruptions to the narrative.
The imaging magic system failed to impress me and seemed more a psi power like telekinesis. The government institutions, religions and philosophies debated and discussed both in a teacher-student setting or as the protagonist's internal dialogue provoked thought and posed questions I pondered long after closing the book.
April 29, 2020
Fantasy in an era where guns exist along with steam ships and trains. No elves or dwarves or dragons.
I really enjoyed this book.
I really enjoyed this book.
September 11, 2009
"Imager" is the first book in a new fantasy series by the insanely prolific L. E. Modesitt Jr., whose works I usually enjoy very much --- and this one was no exception, despite the fact that it's so recognizably his work that it verges on the predictable. Actually, I'm sure that some Modesitt fans could have predicted the early part of this novel's plot just by looking at the map: hmmm... looks like a city with a bunch of artist studio's, and in the center there's something called "Imager's Isle"... so maybe we have yet another craftsman (see:The Magic of Recluce") who discovers he has some strange power and ends up in a magical training organization of some sort? Bingo.
However, I'm being unfair. Modesitt Jr. displays his usual care and love of detail in the worldbuilding - so much detail that this book will probably be too slow for some readers, but if you appreciate someone who takes the time to describe a fantasy world in such detail that it almost seems real, Modesitt's your guy. As usual, extensive meditations on the ethics of the protagonist's various actions are included, showing (as always) various shades of gray. As usual, the dialogue is often filled with subtlety and understated humor. The magic system appears very simplistic at first but there are strong hints that more detail is hidden below the surface. Also very promising: this first book, while by no means boring, covers only the early parts of the main character's career and a small part of the world. In short, I'm more interested in reading book 2 of this series (when it comes out) than I was after the first book of Modesitt's last fantasy series, the Corean Chronicles (which I took a break from after book 3). (Caveat: I usually like his SF much, much more than his fantasy.)
So... I'd recommend this one to fans of the author as well as to newcomers who may want to check out his style. It's a solid example of his style of writing, and a promising start to a new series. But I'd still suggest some of his stand-alone SF before any of his fantasy (The Parafaith War, Archform: Beauty, Adiamante, The Ethos Effect and Flash are all great).
However, I'm being unfair. Modesitt Jr. displays his usual care and love of detail in the worldbuilding - so much detail that this book will probably be too slow for some readers, but if you appreciate someone who takes the time to describe a fantasy world in such detail that it almost seems real, Modesitt's your guy. As usual, extensive meditations on the ethics of the protagonist's various actions are included, showing (as always) various shades of gray. As usual, the dialogue is often filled with subtlety and understated humor. The magic system appears very simplistic at first but there are strong hints that more detail is hidden below the surface. Also very promising: this first book, while by no means boring, covers only the early parts of the main character's career and a small part of the world. In short, I'm more interested in reading book 2 of this series (when it comes out) than I was after the first book of Modesitt's last fantasy series, the Corean Chronicles (which I took a break from after book 3). (Caveat: I usually like his SF much, much more than his fantasy.)
So... I'd recommend this one to fans of the author as well as to newcomers who may want to check out his style. It's a solid example of his style of writing, and a promising start to a new series. But I'd still suggest some of his stand-alone SF before any of his fantasy (The Parafaith War, Archform: Beauty, Adiamante, The Ethos Effect and Flash are all great).
August 23, 2016
Edit: it was really bad. Every time I remember this book I feel lowkey angry for wasting a few hours of my life reading it. I've rarely been more baffled trying to understand how anyone likes a book as I am with this book.
Well, it wasn't *really* bad, but it wasn't good either.
The pros: the good prose, the impeccable attention to detail, and the fact that it was decent enough for me to finish all 432 pages. That's pretty much it, actually.
The cons:
-There was virtually no plot to speak of. At first I was interested in the main intrigue of the story and wanted to know how it would all come together in the end, but the plot developed so unnecessarily slowly that I became disinterested as it went along. We don't need to be walked through every step of the protagonist's day, every day, without so much as one new plot-relevant detail in sight. If a day is just the same as the last day, skip past it, please. The same story could have been told more effectively in half the length. If the second book continues on in the fashion of the first, I'm betting the first two or even three of these 430+ page volumes could've been combined into one book.
-The characters were lackluster. The protagonist occasionally had some real personality shine through from beneath his bland veneer, but aside from that...
-The worldbuilding was extremely thorough but utterly uninspired. There was nothing striking, unique, or particularly fascinating about it. Every meal, location, distance, and outfit was considered, and I love that kind attention to detail, I really do; but without creativity to back it up, it's just not very interesting.
-The dialogue was very weak, especially when compared to the generally refined and effective prose. Almost every conversation was stilted and unnatural, sometimes to the point of being confusingly unclear. Also, there were several instances where the protagonist would be thinking something and another character would respond to him as if he'd spoken it aloud. I was so confused the first time this happened, but I sort of put it down to the fact that a person's thoughts are sometimes very easy to read from their face/body language. But then it kept happening, with no explanation, leaving me scratching my head every time and wondering if I'd somehow misread something. What can I say, there are lots of secretly telepathic people in Solidar and none of the characters seem to notice? I know that if I were Rhenn I'd be wondering how everyone kept reading my mind.
-I felt like the authour had a lot of opinions about Politics, Human Nature, and Life that he was shoving down the reader's throat. Obviously an authour's personal beliefs, opinions, and biases will always show in their writing to some extent, but with this book I felt like I was being preached at--a sort of unpleasant, cynical preaching that had me rolling my eyes more often than not.
Overall, this book had a lot of wasted potential. The premise could have been exciting if only the plot had been more fleshed out and the story hadn't meandered and dragged so much. I feel like maybe L.E. Modesitt Jr. has written more inspired books in the past, but that this one was just something his publisher demanded, so he trudged through writing it despite having no real inspiration or desire to do so. After reading this book, that's the only explanation I can think of that would account for his great fame and popularity. I probably won't bother to continue with this series.
Well, it wasn't *really* bad, but it wasn't good either.
The pros: the good prose, the impeccable attention to detail, and the fact that it was decent enough for me to finish all 432 pages. That's pretty much it, actually.
The cons:
-There was virtually no plot to speak of. At first I was interested in the main intrigue of the story and wanted to know how it would all come together in the end, but the plot developed so unnecessarily slowly that I became disinterested as it went along. We don't need to be walked through every step of the protagonist's day, every day, without so much as one new plot-relevant detail in sight. If a day is just the same as the last day, skip past it, please. The same story could have been told more effectively in half the length. If the second book continues on in the fashion of the first, I'm betting the first two or even three of these 430+ page volumes could've been combined into one book.
-The characters were lackluster. The protagonist occasionally had some real personality shine through from beneath his bland veneer, but aside from that...
-The worldbuilding was extremely thorough but utterly uninspired. There was nothing striking, unique, or particularly fascinating about it. Every meal, location, distance, and outfit was considered, and I love that kind attention to detail, I really do; but without creativity to back it up, it's just not very interesting.
-The dialogue was very weak, especially when compared to the generally refined and effective prose. Almost every conversation was stilted and unnatural, sometimes to the point of being confusingly unclear. Also, there were several instances where the protagonist would be thinking something and another character would respond to him as if he'd spoken it aloud. I was so confused the first time this happened, but I sort of put it down to the fact that a person's thoughts are sometimes very easy to read from their face/body language. But then it kept happening, with no explanation, leaving me scratching my head every time and wondering if I'd somehow misread something. What can I say, there are lots of secretly telepathic people in Solidar and none of the characters seem to notice? I know that if I were Rhenn I'd be wondering how everyone kept reading my mind.
-I felt like the authour had a lot of opinions about Politics, Human Nature, and Life that he was shoving down the reader's throat. Obviously an authour's personal beliefs, opinions, and biases will always show in their writing to some extent, but with this book I felt like I was being preached at--a sort of unpleasant, cynical preaching that had me rolling my eyes more often than not.
Overall, this book had a lot of wasted potential. The premise could have been exciting if only the plot had been more fleshed out and the story hadn't meandered and dragged so much. I feel like maybe L.E. Modesitt Jr. has written more inspired books in the past, but that this one was just something his publisher demanded, so he trudged through writing it despite having no real inspiration or desire to do so. After reading this book, that's the only explanation I can think of that would account for his great fame and popularity. I probably won't bother to continue with this series.
July 20, 2012
I am a long time fan of Modesitt. So it is difficult to put up less than five stars. But after diving into book two and comparing these two against other novelist(s), the story quality just isn't there to make this a stand out novel. It pains me to say that.
Part of that may stem from the first person perspective. We never get to see what makes the antagonist tick. We get to meet the villain in the final chapter as our hero defeats him in fairly quick order. Until then, we get hints of shadowy subterfuge.
Pacing is another problem. Modesitt's way to slow it down after an action sequences: 1) Meet girlfriend at her house/hero's parent's house/the college/eatery or ride in a coach, 2) Introduce other family members between our hero & his girlfriend, 3) Chat about religion/politics/wars, but invariably much of the chatter was inane ramblings about nothing consequential, 4) The dialogue while informative/useful begin to wear me down with all the geo/political/religious info dumps, 5) Did I mention food? I heard more about food in these 1.5 books, than I've learned from watching "Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives."
If "Imager" is on your to read list, I'd hold off until you have read these first:
A Game of Thrones
Feast of Souls
Furies of Calderon
Magic Casement
The Sum of All Men
Part of that may stem from the first person perspective. We never get to see what makes the antagonist tick. We get to meet the villain in the final chapter as our hero defeats him in fairly quick order. Until then, we get hints of shadowy subterfuge.
Pacing is another problem. Modesitt's way to slow it down after an action sequences: 1) Meet girlfriend at her house/hero's parent's house/the college/eatery or ride in a coach, 2) Introduce other family members between our hero & his girlfriend, 3) Chat about religion/politics/wars, but invariably much of the chatter was inane ramblings about nothing consequential, 4) The dialogue while informative/useful begin to wear me down with all the geo/political/religious info dumps, 5) Did I mention food? I heard more about food in these 1.5 books, than I've learned from watching "Diner's Drive-Ins and Dives."
If "Imager" is on your to read list, I'd hold off until you have read these first:
A Game of Thrones
Feast of Souls
Furies of Calderon
Magic Casement
The Sum of All Men
July 14, 2014
This was my first Modesitt novel and I found it absolutely awesome. A great, fun read in a truly unique fantasy setting. I found Modesitt's writing style to be very fluid and his descriptive phrases at once thorough and precise. The world is built beautifully with lots of attention to detail. There's even a map of the city included with the book, although I don't believe I ever had to reference it.
April 1, 2012
This book subtly gripped me from the beginning. It wasn't a boat ride and it wasn't a lightning bolt; I simply was continually pleased to continue reading and continue reading, until the hook was set.
The setting of the story has some technology--steam engines, pistols--but it doesn't feel that way. That is, it still feels more like a fantasy story, despite the era being somewhere between Renaissance and Enlightenment.
Some heroes in fiction get the orphan-to-demigod treatment of "He can do THAT??? Nobody's been able to do that since So-and-so the Great so many centuries ago! And he's just starting!!" This has some elements of that, but it doesn't hit you over the head with it. It is much more realistic, intelligent and believable.
Rhennthyl is a great protagonist. You'll root for him every step of the way.
Readers may also look forward to a well woven and intelligent romance.
This is a great work from an accomplished author. Don't miss it!
I recommend it especially for artists and lovers of intellectual fiction.
The setting of the story has some technology--steam engines, pistols--but it doesn't feel that way. That is, it still feels more like a fantasy story, despite the era being somewhere between Renaissance and Enlightenment.
Some heroes in fiction get the orphan-to-demigod treatment of "He can do THAT??? Nobody's been able to do that since So-and-so the Great so many centuries ago! And he's just starting!!" This has some elements of that, but it doesn't hit you over the head with it. It is much more realistic, intelligent and believable.
Rhennthyl is a great protagonist. You'll root for him every step of the way.
Readers may also look forward to a well woven and intelligent romance.
This is a great work from an accomplished author. Don't miss it!
I recommend it especially for artists and lovers of intellectual fiction.
October 20, 2020
Very long winded and pointlessly detailed. Spends way too much time detailing about Rhenn daily school life, the minutiae of imaging and national politics. Skimmed most of it because it had very little to do with Rhenn and his imaging skills.
I liked that Rhenn has a strong sense of self. He knows what he wants and is willing to sacrifice to fulfill those goals even if he has to suffer. He is a bit jaded and looks down on his father's commercialism.
Not interested in continuing series or ever read a book by this author ever again.
I liked that Rhenn has a strong sense of self. He knows what he wants and is willing to sacrifice to fulfill those goals even if he has to suffer. He is a bit jaded and looks down on his father's commercialism.
Not interested in continuing series or ever read a book by this author ever again.
November 26, 2009
Still in the mood for secondary world fantasy I tried a bunch of books and this series attracted my attention; I absolutely loved both books published so far with Rhenn a great character and the novel a true immersive experience
December 25, 2014
L.E. Modesitt Jr's books are not for the casual reader of fantasy. It took a loft of effort to not say "the faint of heart" (but did I just say it anyway? Who knows). However, the first statement is far truer because these books are deceptively hard to put down once you acclimate to Modesitt's style. This, like many other household names in Sci-Fi/Fantasy, takes some getting used to, but it is also what defines Modesitt's plethora of books as "good reads." His style requires thoughtfulness and a willingness to appreciate dialogue as a means of fleshing out characters as well as the plot. It can be slow, but that honestly allows for the more exciting bits to be truly exciting. I can understand how a first-time reader of a work like this may be turned away by the pacing and style - it's certainly not a mile-a-minute book. Patience and thoughtfulness are something Modesitt values in his characters - and his readers as well.
He does have staple characters to draw from - many of his male protagonists are very similar, but they also have little things that make them unique. And aren't the little what define us as well? I think so. His main characters have always been quietly moralistic to some degree - Rhenn certainly is - so it's an excellent contrast, or rather, challenge to the politics of power he's tasked with learning in this book.
Modesitt continues his trend of making his readers think about power, where it resides, how it can be (mis)used especially in relation to the morality of it. Coupled with imaging, learning about the two from Rhenn's point of view can lead one to think untowardly of Solidarity, the country where the book is set. Modesitt never really let's you stop asking questions - the Imager Maitres' deep queries are as much for the reader as they are for Rhenn. You'd think learning to image would be simple, based on how nonchalantly Modesitt introduces it. For an author so obviously experienced with the arts, or craftwork of some kind - seriously, his staple characters are all artisans or craftsmen of some sort - imaging seems very mundane at first. Luckily, as is usually the case with Modesitt, still waters run deep; imaging is complex and, like most magic systems he crafts, not explained in great detail (as tends to be a more popular trend in contemporary fantasy).
I won't go further on in describing the book, beyond saying that it is absolutely worth your time and effort. Modesitt delivers yet another world lovingly constructed to carry his players through the next game. I mean, I must admit, I've never seen a world or society so strongly based on French language or (I'm assuming here, though I don't doubt Modesitt did his research) French culture (that food though... Made me hungry every time I sat down to read!).
Read it, you won't regret it.
He does have staple characters to draw from - many of his male protagonists are very similar, but they also have little things that make them unique. And aren't the little what define us as well? I think so. His main characters have always been quietly moralistic to some degree - Rhenn certainly is - so it's an excellent contrast, or rather, challenge to the politics of power he's tasked with learning in this book.
Modesitt continues his trend of making his readers think about power, where it resides, how it can be (mis)used especially in relation to the morality of it. Coupled with imaging, learning about the two from Rhenn's point of view can lead one to think untowardly of Solidarity, the country where the book is set. Modesitt never really let's you stop asking questions - the Imager Maitres' deep queries are as much for the reader as they are for Rhenn. You'd think learning to image would be simple, based on how nonchalantly Modesitt introduces it. For an author so obviously experienced with the arts, or craftwork of some kind - seriously, his staple characters are all artisans or craftsmen of some sort - imaging seems very mundane at first. Luckily, as is usually the case with Modesitt, still waters run deep; imaging is complex and, like most magic systems he crafts, not explained in great detail (as tends to be a more popular trend in contemporary fantasy).
I won't go further on in describing the book, beyond saying that it is absolutely worth your time and effort. Modesitt delivers yet another world lovingly constructed to carry his players through the next game. I mean, I must admit, I've never seen a world or society so strongly based on French language or (I'm assuming here, though I don't doubt Modesitt did his research) French culture (that food though... Made me hungry every time I sat down to read!).
Read it, you won't regret it.
September 28, 2014
I think this might be a book you have to read at the right time. Here's why. Plot-wise it was slow. So slow, that you could almost miss that it was there at all. In some ways, it felt like the book was setting up for the main plot, to follow in the rest of the series (?). So, if you need a heavily plot-driven book, that can make reading it difficult. However, don't take that to mean the writing was weak, because it wasn't.
This book was almost more a discussion of different points of ethics, thinly veiled as fantasy. It addressed a variety of different ethical problems, as well as analytical critical thinking discussions, in the mode of the main character learning how to become an imager. In doing so, it caused me to stop and reflect, or nod in agreement as I had recently done some similar learning. As I am a critical thinker and like ethical discussions, I found the main character interesting, as well as his conversations. To be clear, whether he was be lectured by a teacher or not, almost all of his conversations were some form of learning experience or thinking exercise for him, and for the reader if they allow themselves.
While I personally liked the characters, I can see how others might think the characters and their relationships were pretty flat. There is very little expression of emotion or true feelings of connection between the characters, except for maybe between the main character and his girl. Strong emotions definitely are not evident in the book, as most of the characters tend to keep themselves very contained, and how the author uses point of view does not allow the reader the get a deeper sense of what is going on in the characters.
So. If you like ethical and philosophical exercises, and can see the merit of a book driven by a subtle plot, than feel free to read this book. If you need more overt action and lively plot, step away.
This book was almost more a discussion of different points of ethics, thinly veiled as fantasy. It addressed a variety of different ethical problems, as well as analytical critical thinking discussions, in the mode of the main character learning how to become an imager. In doing so, it caused me to stop and reflect, or nod in agreement as I had recently done some similar learning. As I am a critical thinker and like ethical discussions, I found the main character interesting, as well as his conversations. To be clear, whether he was be lectured by a teacher or not, almost all of his conversations were some form of learning experience or thinking exercise for him, and for the reader if they allow themselves.
While I personally liked the characters, I can see how others might think the characters and their relationships were pretty flat. There is very little expression of emotion or true feelings of connection between the characters, except for maybe between the main character and his girl. Strong emotions definitely are not evident in the book, as most of the characters tend to keep themselves very contained, and how the author uses point of view does not allow the reader the get a deeper sense of what is going on in the characters.
So. If you like ethical and philosophical exercises, and can see the merit of a book driven by a subtle plot, than feel free to read this book. If you need more overt action and lively plot, step away.
February 16, 2012
Imager by L.E. Modesitt, jr
This is the first book in the Imager series. In the spirit of the terrific Recluse series, the Imager series debuts a new world of similar interest. Imagers, much like mages in the Recluse series seem both powerful and powerless. This book deals with a budding artist journeyman who tragically discovers he is an Imager. His discovery leads to a career change, romance, intrigue and danger.
Medesitt’s protagonists have a modest, self depreciating nature. They are seldom the swaggering, boastful heroes found in many fantasies. The author spends a great deal of time defining the character of the protagonist. The carefully crafted persona is generally likeable and easy to identify with. This story is no exception. Rhen is a most enjoyable character who is coming of age in the story. His new occupation as a walking, talking Xerox machine provides a wealth of story materials.
Modesitt also infuses political commentary and philosophy as part of his story line. Time Gods World, The Forever Hero and Order Master all illustrate philosophic musings. There are times where the author seems to pontificate a bit but it always fits the story line.
The common thread, as I perceive it, in Modesitt’s stories is the lone soul fighting for self identity in a harsh world. Imager is excellent and I will be reading the sequels.
I highly recommend.
This is the first book in the Imager series. In the spirit of the terrific Recluse series, the Imager series debuts a new world of similar interest. Imagers, much like mages in the Recluse series seem both powerful and powerless. This book deals with a budding artist journeyman who tragically discovers he is an Imager. His discovery leads to a career change, romance, intrigue and danger.
Medesitt’s protagonists have a modest, self depreciating nature. They are seldom the swaggering, boastful heroes found in many fantasies. The author spends a great deal of time defining the character of the protagonist. The carefully crafted persona is generally likeable and easy to identify with. This story is no exception. Rhen is a most enjoyable character who is coming of age in the story. His new occupation as a walking, talking Xerox machine provides a wealth of story materials.
Modesitt also infuses political commentary and philosophy as part of his story line. Time Gods World, The Forever Hero and Order Master all illustrate philosophic musings. There are times where the author seems to pontificate a bit but it always fits the story line.
The common thread, as I perceive it, in Modesitt’s stories is the lone soul fighting for self identity in a harsh world. Imager is excellent and I will be reading the sequels.
I highly recommend.
June 3, 2009
As others have noted, this book followed a relatively predictable pattern. To be perfectly honest, for the first third of the book I felt like I was reading one of the early Recluce books. This isn't necessarily a bad thing, especially as this is a pattern and formula that has worked so well for Modesitt for so long.
I am not one who likes spoilers in reviews, so I prefer to leave them out of my own reviews. That said, this time around we find ourselves with a new hero, and while the story follows the Recluce formula, it is most definitely NOT a Recluce novel. I have gotten so used to the whole wandering hero in Modesitt's books that I was rather taken aback to find that this hero is part of the establishment in the book. Definitely a change in the formula, but one that works quite well for this novel.
In the end I enjoyed the book tremendously, but couldn't give it a full five stars simply because the formula was so obvious. Regardless, I put down this book wishing that I already had the next one on my nightstand so that I could just roll from one to the next. A quality read through and through, and a book well worth reading.
I am not one who likes spoilers in reviews, so I prefer to leave them out of my own reviews. That said, this time around we find ourselves with a new hero, and while the story follows the Recluce formula, it is most definitely NOT a Recluce novel. I have gotten so used to the whole wandering hero in Modesitt's books that I was rather taken aback to find that this hero is part of the establishment in the book. Definitely a change in the formula, but one that works quite well for this novel.
In the end I enjoyed the book tremendously, but couldn't give it a full five stars simply because the formula was so obvious. Regardless, I put down this book wishing that I already had the next one on my nightstand so that I could just roll from one to the next. A quality read through and through, and a book well worth reading.
February 4, 2010
Modesitt is one of the authors I read. Always. He's one of the people whose work I admire to the point that I'll read *anything* he puts out.
Imager starts a new saga every bit as interesting and intriguing as his Spellsong or Recluse universes and creates a new magic system balancing art and politics on the tip of a knife. If you're familiar with Recluse, then you'll see shades of this earlier work in Imager. If you liked that universe as much as I did, you'll enjoy this new work.
My only complaint has to do with the Kindle Store and not the book itself. This is one of those $15 titles on the Kindle. I didn't realize it when I clicked the button and I'm a little peeved at Macmillan over it. It would be nice if -- when you get to the end of the Kindle sample chapter and it shows you the "buy it now" link -- the link would say "buy it now for $xx" so I don't get a surprise in the confirmation email.
Imager starts a new saga every bit as interesting and intriguing as his Spellsong or Recluse universes and creates a new magic system balancing art and politics on the tip of a knife. If you're familiar with Recluse, then you'll see shades of this earlier work in Imager. If you liked that universe as much as I did, you'll enjoy this new work.
My only complaint has to do with the Kindle Store and not the book itself. This is one of those $15 titles on the Kindle. I didn't realize it when I clicked the button and I'm a little peeved at Macmillan over it. It would be nice if -- when you get to the end of the Kindle sample chapter and it shows you the "buy it now" link -- the link would say "buy it now for $xx" so I don't get a surprise in the confirmation email.
December 7, 2018
“So you’re saying, Master, that if I want to be impartial, I should not be a protraiturist, but an imager?”
In the obvious comparison with J. K. Rowling’s wizard, Modesitt has better world building, more believable magic and a more human protagonist. He slows the story with too many sermons. Most readers care less about his philosophy than his characters and story. He should have, too.
“One can never prepare for everything, but when one prepares for what one can, it’s much easier to deal with the unexpected.”
Too much exposition, even though disguised as instruction. Slows the story and renders the whole thing tiresome. Despite that, it’s a ripping good story and I have already started the next volume.
“To every man, his cause is the one most just.”
Nice cover art. Overused the word “just.”
“Virtue or morality can’t be practiced by a group, but only by an individual.”
In the obvious comparison with J. K. Rowling’s wizard, Modesitt has better world building, more believable magic and a more human protagonist. He slows the story with too many sermons. Most readers care less about his philosophy than his characters and story. He should have, too.
“One can never prepare for everything, but when one prepares for what one can, it’s much easier to deal with the unexpected.”
Too much exposition, even though disguised as instruction. Slows the story and renders the whole thing tiresome. Despite that, it’s a ripping good story and I have already started the next volume.
“To every man, his cause is the one most just.”
Nice cover art. Overused the word “just.”
“Virtue or morality can’t be practiced by a group, but only by an individual.”
April 6, 2012
The book features an enjoyable premise (the ability of certain people to "image" material objects into existence), as well as the foundation of an interesting Victorian-era France-like setting, but too much of it reads like Imaging 101, and what action exists grows quickly repetitious. Add to that a lackluster narrator and superfluous details of every stripe, and I'll have to admit I finally gave up and started skimming the last third or so.
November 1, 2014
I just finished reading this book...for the fourth time.
This book – really, this whole series – has elicited more than its fair share of negative commentary. There seem to be plenty of people who don't care for the Imager series. I was surprised at that at first; obviously I'm a fan of the book if I'm reading it multiple times, right? But then I started reading the reviews. (Well, the thoughtful and well-reasoned ones anyway.)
And I'll tell you what: the big complaints – namely, that the book is plodding, boring, uses too many foreign words and names, and is overly detailed – are all absolutely correct. The series has a tendency to take us through Rhenn's days...whether anything is happening or not. There isn't a great deal of action, and what is there, even when Rhenn's very life is at stake, is unusually calm.
Rhenn's name (short for Rhennthyl, by the way – Modesitt does love his Ys) is probably about as “normal” as it gets, which may make it hard for some readers to follow along; it seems to be easier to keep characters straight when the names mean something to us. Also, the world is a great deal more “made up” than a lot of fantasy novels, and some of what isn't made up out of whole cloth comes from French rather than English. The world has seven days of the week, but it also has 10 months, 20 hours in a day, 5 seasons and 35 days in a month – and the days of the week and the months have their basis in French (which I do not speak). The money system is a fairly standard copper/silver/gold one, but it can be difficult to translate their respective values into real currency. And it's not just the names or the world's structure – reading this book does require one to expand their vocabulary. If you're not good at context clues, you'll go nuts!
It's possibly one of the most detailed books I've read, ever. Modesitt describes every meal (often with funky vocabulary – they eat “fowl” rather than “chicken.”), he made up an entire liquor store worth of fictitious wine, and the types, colors, and qualities of clothing is frequently remarked on. We're also treated to details on the layout of the city, heights, weights, colors of bricks, names of bistros...I could go on. At length.
The dialogue has an unusually high percentage of small talk. It has an unsually LOW percentage of strong emotion; even when Rhenn is angry or being treated blatantly unfairly, he's calm and reasoned.
This book is most definitely a cerebral one! The whole series treats us to great swaths of commentary on philosophy, sociology, politics, governance, and economics – generally presented as conversations between Rhenn and his Imager superiors as he learns. Much of this book is devoted to Rhenn's learning how to think.
I'd guess that many people would find the descriptions above off-putting, and yet...I rated the book five stars?
I sure did. The Imager series has actually made it onto my short list of favorites. Even I would agree it's a bit odd; I'm not a particular fan of Modesitt's other work, which I tend to rate somewhere between “meh” and “stinky,” and as the years go by I find myself getting more and more fussy and critical, and yet I still love Imager as much as I did the first time I read it. The slow pace and serene interactions make Imager a wonderful choice to revisit when life is stressful and I want a relaxing tale. Even at its most action-y, my pulse stays nice and placid. All those details? They support a rich world I've come to love in a way that allows me to totally immerse myself; hearing about the day-to-day in addition to the thrilling adds a level of verisimilitude that's not common in your average fantasy. I've always liked structure to my magic, liked learning the rules, and you can't say that this book lacks structure in any sense. And while I have also loved and continue to love many many “light reads,” even those that people deride for being too fluffy (Mercedes Lackey can never write too many books!), it's sometimes a nice change of pace to delve into something so thought provoking...whether or not I agree with the author's conclusions on philosophy and government and such.
I don't just love this series in spite of its flaws, I love it because of them. If you're on the fence, I certainly recommend getting the sample from Amazon to see whether Solidar draws you in, but you might find, just as I did, that something so different is just what the doctor ordered.
This book – really, this whole series – has elicited more than its fair share of negative commentary. There seem to be plenty of people who don't care for the Imager series. I was surprised at that at first; obviously I'm a fan of the book if I'm reading it multiple times, right? But then I started reading the reviews. (Well, the thoughtful and well-reasoned ones anyway.)
And I'll tell you what: the big complaints – namely, that the book is plodding, boring, uses too many foreign words and names, and is overly detailed – are all absolutely correct. The series has a tendency to take us through Rhenn's days...whether anything is happening or not. There isn't a great deal of action, and what is there, even when Rhenn's very life is at stake, is unusually calm.
Rhenn's name (short for Rhennthyl, by the way – Modesitt does love his Ys) is probably about as “normal” as it gets, which may make it hard for some readers to follow along; it seems to be easier to keep characters straight when the names mean something to us. Also, the world is a great deal more “made up” than a lot of fantasy novels, and some of what isn't made up out of whole cloth comes from French rather than English. The world has seven days of the week, but it also has 10 months, 20 hours in a day, 5 seasons and 35 days in a month – and the days of the week and the months have their basis in French (which I do not speak). The money system is a fairly standard copper/silver/gold one, but it can be difficult to translate their respective values into real currency. And it's not just the names or the world's structure – reading this book does require one to expand their vocabulary. If you're not good at context clues, you'll go nuts!
It's possibly one of the most detailed books I've read, ever. Modesitt describes every meal (often with funky vocabulary – they eat “fowl” rather than “chicken.”), he made up an entire liquor store worth of fictitious wine, and the types, colors, and qualities of clothing is frequently remarked on. We're also treated to details on the layout of the city, heights, weights, colors of bricks, names of bistros...I could go on. At length.
The dialogue has an unusually high percentage of small talk. It has an unsually LOW percentage of strong emotion; even when Rhenn is angry or being treated blatantly unfairly, he's calm and reasoned.
This book is most definitely a cerebral one! The whole series treats us to great swaths of commentary on philosophy, sociology, politics, governance, and economics – generally presented as conversations between Rhenn and his Imager superiors as he learns. Much of this book is devoted to Rhenn's learning how to think.
I'd guess that many people would find the descriptions above off-putting, and yet...I rated the book five stars?
I sure did. The Imager series has actually made it onto my short list of favorites. Even I would agree it's a bit odd; I'm not a particular fan of Modesitt's other work, which I tend to rate somewhere between “meh” and “stinky,” and as the years go by I find myself getting more and more fussy and critical, and yet I still love Imager as much as I did the first time I read it. The slow pace and serene interactions make Imager a wonderful choice to revisit when life is stressful and I want a relaxing tale. Even at its most action-y, my pulse stays nice and placid. All those details? They support a rich world I've come to love in a way that allows me to totally immerse myself; hearing about the day-to-day in addition to the thrilling adds a level of verisimilitude that's not common in your average fantasy. I've always liked structure to my magic, liked learning the rules, and you can't say that this book lacks structure in any sense. And while I have also loved and continue to love many many “light reads,” even those that people deride for being too fluffy (Mercedes Lackey can never write too many books!), it's sometimes a nice change of pace to delve into something so thought provoking...whether or not I agree with the author's conclusions on philosophy and government and such.
I don't just love this series in spite of its flaws, I love it because of them. If you're on the fence, I certainly recommend getting the sample from Amazon to see whether Solidar draws you in, but you might find, just as I did, that something so different is just what the doctor ordered.
February 22, 2023
For what it is, this book took wayy too long for me to finish. I’ve been keen on reading this book for a while now but honestly was pretty disappointed. It wasn’t overtly offensive in any way, I just found everything really bland and monotonous.
So, a few major issues I had with this book: the pacing was slow, there was a lack of an Overarching Crisis, there was too much and too little exposition at the same time, and the characters were so flat with such similar-sounding names that I couldn’t tell most of them apart.
The pacing of the book was just so slow. It often felt like so many chapters passed without a ton of things happening. I could skim through so many of them without really missing much. It was also made even more slow because I couldn’t quite figure out what was the crux of the story, that one big question or problem that all the events of the story is leading towards or looking to resolve. Because there wasn’t that focal point, everything else happening in front of me just felt pretty pointless and draggy. I had thought at first that it might have been linked to the accident caused by Rhenn at his portraiturist master’s place, but then later on it was quickly resolved (or at least the narrative leads us to think so for most of the book with no intimation of anything suspicious). There’s some vague war-ish things happening in the background but we really just hear a lot, a lot, so much conversation about it and nothing much else.
That leads me to the other big issue of the book: there’s so much info-dumping. There’s a world to build and lore to give, but the way this book does it reminds me of dialogue from an RPG when the main character is talking to NPCs. For example:
”What made you decide on me?”
“A number of things. I will tell you. That I promise you, but not now. [etc. etc. etc.]”
“Is it also that it’s safer to have an imager do it?”
“That certainly is something that makes it easier, but that’s never been an imager trained as a portraiturist, and we’re vain enough that we’d like an accurate resemblance.”
“I can see that.”
“Keep following Master Draffyd’s instructions [etc. etc. etc.]”
“That’s true, sir.”
Almost all the conversations between Rhenn and Master Dichartyn go pretty much like that, sort of this bland back and forth dialogue that made me feel like I was reading a transcript from a game where you can only pick one out of a few statements/questions to ask an NPC. The parts where I went [etc. etc. etc.] are basically Master Dichartyn infodumping things on to Rhenn and therefore us the reader, and it was just so much and so repetitive to read after a while. We only really saw Rhenn either a) dating, b) getting into a Dangerous Situation on the streets, or c) in the classroom. That’s pretty much it for the entire book.
The names of the characters were honestly also so similar to each other and all of them felt flat to me that I couldn’t for the life of me tell them apart. Yet, there were so many names so I just felt a little overwhelmed and demotivated a lot of the time when there were so many characters being talked about at once. The only characters I really remembered was Rhenn, our protagonist, Master Dichartyn his mentor, and Seliora his love interest. Everyone else is a huge blur.
The writing style is pretty simplistic although that in itself is not a big problem. I was in the mood for a simple writing style when I started this book so to me that was actually a point in its favour. The problem I had with the writing here was more that it was monotonous and didn’t quite engage me.
The climax of the book was also… not really much of a climax. Sure, some action happened, but it didn’t feel like anything bigger than any of the other action bits in the rest of the book. I didn’t know what the stakes were and honestly didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters. I was honestly surprised that the book ended on that note, I had hoped for a bigger crisis and resolution to round things up.
Tbh, I’m not likely to continue on this series. I might give Modesitt’s other series, Magic of Recluce, a go since I already own a physical copy, but really hope that it engages me more than this one did.
So, a few major issues I had with this book: the pacing was slow, there was a lack of an Overarching Crisis, there was too much and too little exposition at the same time, and the characters were so flat with such similar-sounding names that I couldn’t tell most of them apart.
The pacing of the book was just so slow. It often felt like so many chapters passed without a ton of things happening. I could skim through so many of them without really missing much. It was also made even more slow because I couldn’t quite figure out what was the crux of the story, that one big question or problem that all the events of the story is leading towards or looking to resolve. Because there wasn’t that focal point, everything else happening in front of me just felt pretty pointless and draggy. I had thought at first that it might have been linked to the accident caused by Rhenn at his portraiturist master’s place, but then later on it was quickly resolved (or at least the narrative leads us to think so for most of the book with no intimation of anything suspicious). There’s some vague war-ish things happening in the background but we really just hear a lot, a lot, so much conversation about it and nothing much else.
That leads me to the other big issue of the book: there’s so much info-dumping. There’s a world to build and lore to give, but the way this book does it reminds me of dialogue from an RPG when the main character is talking to NPCs. For example:
”What made you decide on me?”
“A number of things. I will tell you. That I promise you, but not now. [etc. etc. etc.]”
“Is it also that it’s safer to have an imager do it?”
“That certainly is something that makes it easier, but that’s never been an imager trained as a portraiturist, and we’re vain enough that we’d like an accurate resemblance.”
“I can see that.”
“Keep following Master Draffyd’s instructions [etc. etc. etc.]”
“That’s true, sir.”
Almost all the conversations between Rhenn and Master Dichartyn go pretty much like that, sort of this bland back and forth dialogue that made me feel like I was reading a transcript from a game where you can only pick one out of a few statements/questions to ask an NPC. The parts where I went [etc. etc. etc.] are basically Master Dichartyn infodumping things on to Rhenn and therefore us the reader, and it was just so much and so repetitive to read after a while. We only really saw Rhenn either a) dating, b) getting into a Dangerous Situation on the streets, or c) in the classroom. That’s pretty much it for the entire book.
The names of the characters were honestly also so similar to each other and all of them felt flat to me that I couldn’t for the life of me tell them apart. Yet, there were so many names so I just felt a little overwhelmed and demotivated a lot of the time when there were so many characters being talked about at once. The only characters I really remembered was Rhenn, our protagonist, Master Dichartyn his mentor, and Seliora his love interest. Everyone else is a huge blur.
The writing style is pretty simplistic although that in itself is not a big problem. I was in the mood for a simple writing style when I started this book so to me that was actually a point in its favour. The problem I had with the writing here was more that it was monotonous and didn’t quite engage me.
The climax of the book was also… not really much of a climax. Sure, some action happened, but it didn’t feel like anything bigger than any of the other action bits in the rest of the book. I didn’t know what the stakes were and honestly didn’t really care what happened to any of the characters. I was honestly surprised that the book ended on that note, I had hoped for a bigger crisis and resolution to round things up.
Tbh, I’m not likely to continue on this series. I might give Modesitt’s other series, Magic of Recluce, a go since I already own a physical copy, but really hope that it engages me more than this one did.
July 9, 2016
Summary
Painter Rhenn finds he can image and becomes an imager (magician). Someone tries to kill him and he has to find out who.
Story and writing style
Unfortunately, the writing style is a bit stilted and clumsy sometimes, particularly the dialogue: some bits feel as if they were written by a child. The endings of chapters are often irrelevant and abrupt.
Overall, the book is repetitive. Lots of descriptions of everybody's clothing, food and wine. Lots of descriptions of every day in Rhenn's life. If you have to write down that nothing much happened, and that Rhenn's day was much the same as the previous ones, perhaps you can skip to one of the days when something does happen. Searching for murderers is also not as exciting as it sounds. It amounts to finding all your old acquaintances and asking them if they have seen something, after which they answer at most that there was a man asking around.
On top of that I found the words Modesitt uses for some everyday things contrived. He uses french names for days and months. Why? The society is not french in any way, so it seems to me to be just an artificial way of making the world a bit more exotic.
Characters
,
Character
, Robot
Characters? I should have said character, because there really is only one, Rhenn, and he is flat and uninspiring. The book is mostly about what he does, hardly about what he feels. He accidentally blows up some people, and although the word guilt is mentioned a few times, it is just a token emotion, it doesn't have any substance. He does worry about what will happen to him because of it, but even that he doesn't do with any intensity. He doesn't have any friends, his relationship with Seliora is insipid, and he is never horrified (when he first has to kill someone in cold blood for instance) or afraid. Perhaps I shouldn't have said character either, I should have said robot. Let me rectify that...
As to the other people, none of them are worth knowing. The only one who doesn't feel like she was made from cardboard is Seliora's grandmother. Somehow Modesitt manages to get her character to come across, even though she hardly makes an appearance. So he is capable of it! Would have been nice if he had applied this to everyone else as well...
Overall
The book is boring. And I like slow-moving fantasy with descriptions of every day life. The problem is, Imager is taking this WAY too far... A pity, because the book does have potential. It could have been a nice cosy book to curl up with on the couch, if only it hadn't been so BORING! Sigh...
Painter Rhenn finds he can image and becomes an imager (magician). Someone tries to kill him and he has to find out who.
Story and writing style
Unfortunately, the writing style is a bit stilted and clumsy sometimes, particularly the dialogue: some bits feel as if they were written by a child. The endings of chapters are often irrelevant and abrupt.
Overall, the book is repetitive. Lots of descriptions of everybody's clothing, food and wine. Lots of descriptions of every day in Rhenn's life. If you have to write down that nothing much happened, and that Rhenn's day was much the same as the previous ones, perhaps you can skip to one of the days when something does happen. Searching for murderers is also not as exciting as it sounds. It amounts to finding all your old acquaintances and asking them if they have seen something, after which they answer at most that there was a man asking around.
On top of that I found the words Modesitt uses for some everyday things contrived. He uses french names for days and months. Why? The society is not french in any way, so it seems to me to be just an artificial way of making the world a bit more exotic.
Characters? I should have said character, because there really is only one, Rhenn, and he is flat and uninspiring. The book is mostly about what he does, hardly about what he feels. He accidentally blows up some people, and although the word guilt is mentioned a few times, it is just a token emotion, it doesn't have any substance. He does worry about what will happen to him because of it, but even that he doesn't do with any intensity. He doesn't have any friends, his relationship with Seliora is insipid, and he is never horrified (when he first has to kill someone in cold blood for instance) or afraid. Perhaps I shouldn't have said character either, I should have said robot. Let me rectify that...
As to the other people, none of them are worth knowing. The only one who doesn't feel like she was made from cardboard is Seliora's grandmother. Somehow Modesitt manages to get her character to come across, even though she hardly makes an appearance. So he is capable of it! Would have been nice if he had applied this to everyone else as well...
Overall
The book is boring. And I like slow-moving fantasy with descriptions of every day life. The problem is, Imager is taking this WAY too far... A pity, because the book does have potential. It could have been a nice cosy book to curl up with on the couch, if only it hadn't been so BORING! Sigh...
March 21, 2021
3/21/2021 Notes:
Yay for libraries!
I own books #1-3 of the series but only read the first two. My library has the whole series on audio. =)
The re-read was fun, and I'm curious to see how the series will unfold.
Yay for libraries!
I own books #1-3 of the series but only read the first two. My library has the whole series on audio. =)
The re-read was fun, and I'm curious to see how the series will unfold.
January 11, 2022
This is a social science fantasy magic school spy thriller. That isn't entirely accurate, though it's close enough to get a general idea. Modesitt has a contentious writing style and there are many valid criticisms about what he does with his books and series, but I don't have any interest in arguing the matter. This is the sort of book, as his are in general, where you read it for how it makes you feel. If that doesn't work for you, then I advise against reading his works. There isn't really much of a plot, yet it isn't literary in any way. Imager is written in first person, but there's minimal inner life explored and emotional experiences are put aside for a cool, reasoned, rationality. The characters are exemplified by a couple personal traits at best. So what is there then? The first 15% covers the protagonist's life from 12-24 years old. The other 85% covers his daily life over a relatively small span of time.
The setting is something like a Florentine Republic government with French cultural references that has early Victorian Era technology set on an Australia-like continent, at least in terms of size. They have steam powered trains, various sorts of guns, warships, but not automobiles or electricity. For the most part terms are altered as to not be the same as their real world counterparts, which depending on your preferences regarding neologisms, may be annoying, but I didn't mind. Each chapter starts with an epigraph, usually a sentence long. I found them to generally be moderately amusing. There's a romance subplot, but it doesn't progress beyond kissing, of which there's a lot. She doesn't state that pre-marital sex is unacceptable, but it's very close to that. The school has a lot of lecturing about various subjects, which range from comparative religion and government, to economics, sociology, medicine, philosophy, and much else.
The magic system is inherent, compensatory, not quite equivalent exchange, and at will. The imagers imagine stuff and it happens, within the limitations of their personal power and the vague rules that govern reality. By the end of the book it remains relatively limited in practice, but its theoretical usage is almost unlimited. The briefly mentioned stories of the past, which are apparently covered by later books in this series, note its previous genocidal and unrestrained usage. It's stated that a full third of the imagers die during the course of their training. The more talented they are, the more likely they're to die early. Imagination can be a very dangerous power in the wrong minds. This is all treated rather matter-of-factly. The institution itself is like a cross between an university, an intelligence agency, and a government official protection service.
Does this book deserve its rating? I don't know and I don't care. Overly questioning it may ruin my enjoyment and I'd rather not do that.
The setting is something like a Florentine Republic government with French cultural references that has early Victorian Era technology set on an Australia-like continent, at least in terms of size. They have steam powered trains, various sorts of guns, warships, but not automobiles or electricity. For the most part terms are altered as to not be the same as their real world counterparts, which depending on your preferences regarding neologisms, may be annoying, but I didn't mind. Each chapter starts with an epigraph, usually a sentence long. I found them to generally be moderately amusing. There's a romance subplot, but it doesn't progress beyond kissing, of which there's a lot. She doesn't state that pre-marital sex is unacceptable, but it's very close to that. The school has a lot of lecturing about various subjects, which range from comparative religion and government, to economics, sociology, medicine, philosophy, and much else.
The magic system is inherent, compensatory, not quite equivalent exchange, and at will. The imagers imagine stuff and it happens, within the limitations of their personal power and the vague rules that govern reality. By the end of the book it remains relatively limited in practice, but its theoretical usage is almost unlimited. The briefly mentioned stories of the past, which are apparently covered by later books in this series, note its previous genocidal and unrestrained usage. It's stated that a full third of the imagers die during the course of their training. The more talented they are, the more likely they're to die early. Imagination can be a very dangerous power in the wrong minds. This is all treated rather matter-of-factly. The institution itself is like a cross between an university, an intelligence agency, and a government official protection service.
Does this book deserve its rating? I don't know and I don't care. Overly questioning it may ruin my enjoyment and I'd rather not do that.
January 24, 2014
I picked up this book (and the first of L.E. Modesitt's Recluce books) on a whim last week. Although I was dubious about whether I would enjoy Modesitt, I have to say that both books impressed me, particularly Imager. In Imager, Modesitt describes a country much like 19th century France (if you don't have a background in French, Modesitt uses French words for the days of the week, so it may do to peruse those before starting just to avoid confusion), ruled by a mixture of mercantile concerns (in the cities, especially) and lingering nobility (primarily in the countryside). The story follows Rhenn, the eldest son of a well-to-do merchant who (at the outset of the story) is pursuing a career as a portrait artist but is hampered by his own honesty and the jealousy of his seniors. However, unexpected events cause his life to take a different twist and he discovers that he possesses a talent for Imaging. Imaging is, in Modesitt's world, a magical ability to create something by imagining it. There really isn't much more than that to the skill in terms of rules, just the larger and more complex something is, the harder it is to imagine and some people have more strength than others (I will say that the arbitrary qualities of the magic system is the greatest weakness of the world of Imager, as there's never any real explanation of why it's possible). Imagers are a tiny minority among the populace and much feared due to their abilities thus Rhenn leaves his old life behind and joins the Collegium, which is a sort of mix of Hogwarts, MIT, and the CIA, a school to train Imagers so that they provide useful services for their nation (and thus avoid being seen as dangerous monsters by the public or the government). As Rhenn finds a place at Collegium, he is drawn into various political and international intrigues (Modesitt's background in government comes through in his more reasonable "realpolitik"-driven plot) as well as threats from within Collegium itself. I won't say that Imager is anywhere near perfect (as the magical school thing has been done to death, there's some thinly veiled criticism of the war in Iraq (which makes the book seem a tad preachy but mostly just dated), and the magic system, again, is rather arbitrary (especially compared to the Order/Chaos magic in Recluce)), but Modesitt has a talent for portraying the earnest craftsman character (as seen here with Rhenn the ex-Portratist and in Recluce with Lerris the sometime woodworker), and I had a really good time getting to know the characters and watching Rhenn's struggles and adventures. It's not exactly the sort of book I'd rave about, but it's the kind of book that I'd comfortably haul out and read over again in a year or so (which is why my first act this afternoon was to rush off to the library and pick up the next two books in the series).
Note: it actually was exactly 11 months later that I read this for the second time (and enjoyed it just as much)
Note: it actually was exactly 11 months later that I read this for the second time (and enjoyed it just as much)
April 9, 2014
(Originally reviewed on Otherwhere Gazette)
How neat would it be if all you had to do was concentrate and you could make objects? Not temporary objects or illusions, but real physical things, even gold coins or other precious metals?
That’s pretty much the entire system of magic in L. E. Modesitt Jr.’s Imager. Imagers are people with the ability to create whatever they can mentally visualize. Obviously, there are a number of possibilities that come out of that ability. For example, imagers can kill people by imaging poison directly into their bloodstream. or defend themselves or others by imaging an invisible wall between themselves and the danger.
However, those neat abilities come with a price. Imagers are feared by ordinary people, and must sleep alone in lead-lined rooms in case they image in their sleep. Even married imagers can’t sleep with their spouse. In Solidar, all imagers must belong to the Collegium Imago, or they’ll be killed on discovery, and any use of imaging in committing a crime also carries the death penalty. In other nations, imagers don’t even have the opportunity to join an organization like the Collegium, imagers are killed or exiled immediately.
That’s why I am a fan of Modesitt’s. First in his Recluce series, and now in the Imager Portfolio, he shows both the good and the bad side of magical abilities, showing that it’s not all throwing fireballs around and using magic to solve every problem with no negative repercussions. Imagers face real problems, often more than the ordinary people around them, because of their power. This, along with the quality of the worldbuilding that Modesitt puts into his books, makes them feel like they’re as real as the world around us.
Admittedly, that complex worldbuilding does make Imager start off slow, as he introduces you to the characters and the world. Your patience will be rewarded, though, in a deeper understanding of how this world and the nations in it work, which helps you understand why the characters react the way they do.
If you want a book with a simple yet complex system of magic, richly drawn societies, and characters facing both the good parts and bad of having special abilities, give Imager a try.
How neat would it be if all you had to do was concentrate and you could make objects? Not temporary objects or illusions, but real physical things, even gold coins or other precious metals?
That’s pretty much the entire system of magic in L. E. Modesitt Jr.’s Imager. Imagers are people with the ability to create whatever they can mentally visualize. Obviously, there are a number of possibilities that come out of that ability. For example, imagers can kill people by imaging poison directly into their bloodstream. or defend themselves or others by imaging an invisible wall between themselves and the danger.
However, those neat abilities come with a price. Imagers are feared by ordinary people, and must sleep alone in lead-lined rooms in case they image in their sleep. Even married imagers can’t sleep with their spouse. In Solidar, all imagers must belong to the Collegium Imago, or they’ll be killed on discovery, and any use of imaging in committing a crime also carries the death penalty. In other nations, imagers don’t even have the opportunity to join an organization like the Collegium, imagers are killed or exiled immediately.
That’s why I am a fan of Modesitt’s. First in his Recluce series, and now in the Imager Portfolio, he shows both the good and the bad side of magical abilities, showing that it’s not all throwing fireballs around and using magic to solve every problem with no negative repercussions. Imagers face real problems, often more than the ordinary people around them, because of their power. This, along with the quality of the worldbuilding that Modesitt puts into his books, makes them feel like they’re as real as the world around us.
Admittedly, that complex worldbuilding does make Imager start off slow, as he introduces you to the characters and the world. Your patience will be rewarded, though, in a deeper understanding of how this world and the nations in it work, which helps you understand why the characters react the way they do.
If you want a book with a simple yet complex system of magic, richly drawn societies, and characters facing both the good parts and bad of having special abilities, give Imager a try.
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