Legacies

By L.E. Modesitt Jr.

Book Overview

The first book of the Corean Chronicles One of the towering creators of contemporary fantasy fiction takes us to a new land of wonders. The Corean Chronicles begin with Legacies, a grand new fantasy novel in which L. E. Modesitt, Jr., author of the bestselling Recluce fantasy series and the popular Spellsong Cycle, opens the door into a marvelous new world. Millennia ago, a magical disaster caused the fall of a great worldwide civilization, the end of a golden age. New civilizations have fought their way up from the ancient destruction and chaos, knowing little of the lost world that preceded them or the details of its fall. Corus today is a world of contending countries, of humans, but also of strange animals and supernatural creatures. It is a place of magical powers, and of a few people who are talented enough to use them. Alusius, the heroof the story, is one. Although born into a successful herder family, Alusius never knew his father, who was killed in action while serving in the Militia. So he is raised on a Nightsheep ranch by his mother and grandparents, and schooled at home. As a child, he shows very strong Talent. He is warned gravely that he must never reveal this outside the home lest he spend his life in servitude to some rich and powerful person. But as he grows to young manhood, Alusius must serve in the Militia like his father beforehim. When his country is invaded by the slave armies of The Matrial, an immortal ruler in a nearby land, Alusius is captured and enslaved. A time of changes has come upon all of the world of Corus. If the evil surrounding The Matrial is not brought to an end, those changes will not be happy ones. Gradually, Alusius realizes that he and his Talent have a central role to play.

• Format: Hardcover
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0765305615
• ISBN13: 9780765305619
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Tor Books
• Length: 560 Pages
• Weight: 1.79 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.7" x 6.3" x 9.6"

Customer Reviews

Legacies... an intriguing beginning

I liked this book. The writing of this fantasy is plain and simple, no complicated words or phrases: but the story is told with the skill of a master taleteller and (just as important) with an easy readability. I found myself eager to get back to it whenever I found a spare moment. I found I liked the central figure (Alucius) and his special "talent". Also, there seemed to be just the right balance of magic, suspense, love, friendship and battles to make this work a pleasure to read for any fantasy/adventure fan. Recommended!

Modesitt finally gets the fantasy coming of age story right.

Throughout his plethoric catalog (42 going on 44 as of this writing), the majority of Modesitt's work repeatedly returns to the good-old-teenager-coming-of-age novel. Sometimes it works. Several of the Recluce novels, the two Timegod books, the first Parafaith War book, the first book of the Forever Hero are all good novels. Other times they're awful. Unless you are filling out a collection, several of the later Recluce novels, Spellsong III, and a couple of his other stand alones are just not good work. However, in Legacies he comes up with his best fantasy coming of age novel, period.The plot revolves around a simple country boy with the ubiquitous gifts you'd expect in a world-saving hero - in this case, Talent to use nature's magic. Essentially, the plot has him get drafted, get captured, and figure out how to escape. Nothing terribly extraordinary; in fact, Recluce and the world revolving around concepts of order and chaos is probably a more original creation.Where Modesitt gets it right is his exploration of how this character, Alucius, really starts thinking about what makes right and wrong in his world and taking consequences for his actions and leadership. As usual, Modesitt isn't afraid to preach a bit, but unlike say the Ethos Effect it works. Rural versus urban, women versus men, slavery versus freedom all get a fairly balanced treatment. What makes this different is usually Modesitt will touch on one or the other but not to the degree that any real teen in that situation would have to deal with; here, this kid has to confront them all.As usual, unfortunately Modesitt has a few plot and worldbuilding holes. I found the former to be annoying - the motivation of his characters, especially the development of romance, often makes no sense. Unlike other reviewers, I actually found the worldbuilding holes to be intriguing; perhaps it was a book-selling trick (the second book, Darknesses, contains many of the answers) but you really get a sense that while Modesitt may know, Alucius doesn't and shouldn't yet.By now, you either hate Modesitt's style or love it; if you hate it, this won't change things. Still, Modesitt's best fantasy novel in years, and probably his best coming of age story ever. Recommended especially for teens given the topics.

5 Star Book

This is a an excellent book in the best Modesitt tradition. I had to force myself to put it down or I would have read it in one sitting.I'd rank it as his best since The Magic of Recluce and The Magic Engineer. He does a great job of creating a character that you can easily empathize with. I haven't been able to do this since his characters in those two books, and that is not just because I'm male. As always his setting is well developed without any internal or external contradictions.The one thing that has annoyed me about several of his books is the constant male bashing. All of his books are very good, but it does get wearisome continually reading about how evil men are and how we can only resort to violence. This seems to be the central theme in several of his Recluce books and the Spellsong Cycle. I've often wondered if Modesitt is a woman writing under a pseudonym.However, putting aside this one fault, anyone can enjoy his works. He is one of the few authors who can effectively go back and forth between fantasy and scifi. Lois McMaster Bujold and David Weber are also in that select few.

Excellent beginning to new fantasy series

A herder needs a certain amount of the 'talent,' the psychic ability that puts him apart from other men. Young herder Alucius has more talent than most--and he fully expects to put it to use on his family's ranch. When war breaks out, he is drafted into the local militia. His talent, together with his grandfather's training, serves him well there, but the Matrites are too numerous and too strong for even his psychic powers. Alucius finds himself enslaved into the very army he had attempted to defeat. Author L. E. Modesitt Jr. creates a compelling future world--devastated by ancient magic battles and still struggling to recover. Each of the nations that are now clawing themselves into existence believe that they have learned the reason for the ancient destruction and that their path is the only way to prevent its recurrence. Unfortunately, each solution stands in opposition to one another. Modesitt delivers a highly sympathetic character in Alucius, but also lets the reader sympathise with other nations' goals and fears. Modesitt delivers plenty of action, with an emphasis on the personal rather than large scale troop movements. Alucius's battles with himself, his personal discoveries and his gradual coming of age, form the basis for this compelling novel. Fans of Modesitt's fine Recluse series will add LEGACIES to their must-read list.