The Chaos Balance

by L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Overview

L.E. Modesitt, Jr.'s The Chaos Balance continues his bestselling fantasy series the Saga of Recluce, which is one of the most popular in contemporary epic fantasy.

Nylan, the only man among the matriarchal band of “angels” marooned on the high plateau of Candar. Forced to seek a life elsewhere, Nylan decends into a world of warring kingdoms and strange magics in search of a peaceful life with his wife and infant son. His talents, however, make him a valuable weapon—and so the war between chaos and order begins anew.

“An intriguing fantasy in a fascinating world.”—Robert Jordan, New York Times bestselling author of The Wheel of Time® series

Saga of Recluce

#1 The Magic of Recluce / #2 The Towers of Sunset / #3 The Magic Engineer / #4 The Order War / #5 The Death of Chaos / #6 Fall of Angels / #7 The Chaos Balance / #8 The White Order / #9 Colors of Chaos / #10 Magi’i of Cyador / #11 Scion of Cyador / #12 Wellspring of Chaos / #13 Ordermaster / #14 Natural Order Mage / #15 Mage-Guard of Hamor / #16 Arms-Commander / #17 Cyador’s Heirs / #18 Heritage of Cyador /#19 The Mongrel Mage / #20 Outcasts of Order / #21 The Mage-Fire War (forthcoming)

Story Collection: Recluce Tales

Other Series by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

The Imager Portfolio

The Corean Chronicles

The Spellsong Cycle

The Ghost Books

The Ecolitan Matter

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250163684
Publisher:	Tom Doherty Associates
Publication date:	06/15/1998
Series:	Recluce Series , #7
Pages:	608
Sales rank:	233,993
Product dimensions:	5.00(w) x 8.00(h) x 1.35(d)

About the Author

L. E. MODESITT, JR. is the bestselling author of more than seventy novels encompassing two science fiction series, the Ghost Books and the Ecolitan Matter, and four fantasy series, the Imager Portfolio, the Saga of Recluce, the Spellsong Cycle and the Corean Chronicles. He lives in Cedar City, Utah.

Read an Excerpt

The Chaos Balance

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By Modesitt, L. E.

Tor Fantasy

Copyright © 1998 Modesitt, L. E.
All right reserved.
ISBN: 9780812571301

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I
 
 
The Angels of darkness made the Roof of the World their home, and after deceiving the followers of light who had eagerly welcomed them, they wielded the ancient and dreadful weapons of Heaven and vanquished those who rejoiced in the light.
In those first dark years, there were none at first among the dark ones who could descend to the lower lands and bear the heat, and the lords of mankind, their true daughters, and their consorts rejoiced that this was so.
For the angels of temptation bore blades that slashed through armor and loosed arrowheads that treated iron bucklers as if they were rotten wood, and they raised a mighty stronghold called Westwind, anchored on Tower Black, that rivaled Freyja in power. And the followers of light, who had ages earlier forsaken the powers of the heavens, relinquished the barren heights to the dark angels and their evil powers.
The dark angels were women who made a mockery out of hearth and home, who reviled men and laughed as they destroyed all the armies of the Westhorns sent against them, as they forced the great lords to heap dust and ashes upon their own heads and to bend their knees and pay tribute, and to stand helplessly as their daughters were tempted from their hearths and consorts.
Yet an even more deadly evil was to flow from the Roof of the World, and none knew it, from the mighty Nylan, smith of the angels, he whobuilded the Tower Black, he who forged the blades of night and the arrows of the storms....
 
Colors of White
(Manual of the Guild at Fairhaven)
Preface
 
Copyright 1997 by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

Continues...

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Excerpted from The Chaos Balance by Modesitt, L. E. Copyright © 1998 by Modesitt, L. E.. Excerpted by permission.
All rights reserved. No part of this excerpt may be reproduced or reprinted without permission in writing from the publisher.
Excerpts are provided by Dial-A-Book Inc. solely for the personal use of visitors to this web site.

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Editorial Reviews

A writer of exceptional fantasy, Mr. Modesitt leaves the reader in no doubt about the price of power and the bittersweet triumph of the human spirit in this splendid new Recluce adventure.” —Romantic Times

“Modesitt's many fans will enjoy this, as will any reader who relished intricate plotting, sympathetic characters, and action galore.” —Publishers Weekly

“A sturdy addition to a superior series.” —Kirkus Reviews

From the Publisher

YA-This eighth book in this series continues the story of Nylan as he leaves Candar and the angels with his companion, Ayrlyn, to seek a new home and peace. In their travels, encounters with local inhabitants cause conflict as value systems clash. This book is an intricate part of the series and will be best understood and enjoyed by readers of the previous titles. It combines technology and the hierarchical and logical structure of science fiction with elements of magic and imaginary powers of fantasy.

School Library Journal

A writer of exceptional fantasy, Mr. Modesitt leaves the reader in no doubt about the price of power and the bittersweet triumph of the human spirit in this splendid new Recluce adventure.

Romantic Times

Addition to Modesitt's independently intelligible fantasy series about planet Recluce and its warring Order and Chaos magic. Chronologically, the events here follow those of Fall of Angels (1996). Surrounded by aggressive macho cultures, the "angels" under Ryba have developed a clean and orderly but oppressive feminist dictatorship. Engineer, smith, and Order mage Nylan can no longer tolerate being used by Ryba as a stud and source of new weapons, so he departs with his son Weryl and his lover, the healer and singer Ayrlyn. But the male-dominated, expansionist empire of Cyador, with its unmatchable Chaos magic, must somehow be restrained; and so Nylan agrees—reluctantly—to help the primitive, unwashed macho swaggerers of Lornth.

A sturdy addition to a superior series, this time presented without narrative foibles.

Kirkus Reviews

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