Steve
asked
L.E. Modesitt Jr.:
What is the best reading order for the Imager Portfolio and the Saga of Recluce: publication order or chronological order?
L.E. Modesitt Jr.
The best INITIAL reading order for either series depends more on what kind of reader you are than what I believe. Reading either series in publication order is likely to provide a "gentler" introduction to the world, but I've learned that some readers are uncomfortable "jumping" around in time, and anyone who is either uncomfortable with moving from one time-period to another, sometimes from one book to another, or who strongly prefers a straight time-line should probably read the Saga of Recluce chronologically beginning with MAGI'I OF CYADOR.
Also, since the first Recluce book -- THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE -- was the first fantasy novel I ever wrote, it's not as polished as later entries in the series.
The twelve books of the Imager Portfolio deal with three distinctly different time periods in the history of Solidar. The first three books published deal with events in the "final modernization" of Solidar. The next five books deal with how the continent was unified seven hundred years earlier, and the last four deal with the middle period -- a transition period from an agragrian society dominated by a hereditary ruler, landed aristocrats, and a religious system prone to corruption to a commercial and largely law-governed society.
Because there are fewer temporal "shifts" in the Imager Portfolio, I believe that, for most readers, the publication order is the best initial reading order, but, in the end, it comes down to what works best for each reader.
Also, since the first Recluce book -- THE MAGIC OF RECLUCE -- was the first fantasy novel I ever wrote, it's not as polished as later entries in the series.
The twelve books of the Imager Portfolio deal with three distinctly different time periods in the history of Solidar. The first three books published deal with events in the "final modernization" of Solidar. The next five books deal with how the continent was unified seven hundred years earlier, and the last four deal with the middle period -- a transition period from an agragrian society dominated by a hereditary ruler, landed aristocrats, and a religious system prone to corruption to a commercial and largely law-governed society.
Because there are fewer temporal "shifts" in the Imager Portfolio, I believe that, for most readers, the publication order is the best initial reading order, but, in the end, it comes down to what works best for each reader.
More Answered Questions
Heidi Martin
asked
L.E. Modesitt Jr.:
I love your writing, I have many of your books! I love the Corean Chronicles! Did you intend to keep us 'in the dark' to the reasons why Dainyl did the things he did? I felt he had an understanding on how the world worked that wasn't shared, he acted on intuition, but didn't go back to analyse what was going on. Do you intentionally just tell the story/actions and allow us to fill in what motivates a character?
Rae Sullivan
asked
L.E. Modesitt Jr.:
Will there be a book on Bilbryn the Imager under Rex Caldor mentioned in Imager’s Intrigue?
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