skwolcott's review
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
craftingrama's review
2.0
I want to say it was a really good book except that the extremely short chapters and the phenomenal amount of verbal sound effects had me cussing so much that it made it difficult to totally enjoy it.
heyt's review
4.0
Justen's story is the fourth in the Recluse series and my favorite to date. Here we see more of the world of Recluse being fleshed out while tying more closely to the first of the series. Justen's tale, unlike those before it, is not just a self-knowledge quest tale but also one in which we see what just what that knowledge empowers him to do in the world.
katmarhan's review
5.0
9/10
An excellent installment in the Recluce series. Romance, magic, subterfuge, war, characters that were not quite as stubbornly naive or dense as in some of the other books.
An excellent installment in the Recluce series. Romance, magic, subterfuge, war, characters that were not quite as stubbornly naive or dense as in some of the other books.
vaderbird's review
4.0
5 star - Perfect
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
4 star - i would recommend
3 star - good
2 star - struggled to complete
1 star - could not finish
ladybugglynn's review
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
rajathon's review
5.0
This one has been my favorite so far. Finally some balance in the war between Chaos and Order.
kaisermatthias's review
4.0
It's another fun romp in the world of Recluce and the over-narrative is definitely taking shape at this juncture. I'm excited to see how things shake out for the descendants and long-lived in future installments.
jdhacker's review
adventurous
funny
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Doing a re-read of these in the publication order as I've acquired some hardback editions.
This is second of two books focusing on Justen, and are really the first two that are as strong as my childhood memories recall. The initial books in the series have much weaker writing than I remembered. So The Magic Engineer plus The Order War are nice turning points.
Also, there's some neat stuff here that seems pretty topical in that it relates to the mutual/community aid movement today as well as the permaculture practices that are starting to get a new day in the sun.
This is second of two books focusing on Justen, and are really the first two that are as strong as my childhood memories recall. The initial books in the series have much weaker writing than I remembered. So The Magic Engineer plus The Order War are nice turning points.
Also, there's some neat stuff here that seems pretty topical in that it relates to the mutual/community aid movement today as well as the permaculture practices that are starting to get a new day in the sun.
bokashi's review
3.0
Ah, to be able to balance power and turn back technology before it destroys us. Or so goes the premise of this installment. I still wish there was some depth to the white magicians other that a lusting for power and self preservation. But one can’t expect too much.