The Recluse universe is based on an Order/Chaos balance. Some people have abilities to use these forces, generally one or the other, although there are a few Grays. Order is Black, Chaos is White. Order wielders tend to be healers & builders, Chaos users tend to destruction.This is the 8th book written in the series & while Modesitt recommends the books be read in the order he wrote them, I'll agree only for the first read. On a re-read, I preferred them in chronological order. In that case, this is the 6th, so far. If read in published order, this is the first book written from a Chaos point of view. Up until now, the White Wizards, Chaos wielders, have been the bad guys. Suddenly, Modesitt gives us the other side of the story & he does it well. 'Real' world challenges face his heroes. They aren't all powerful & can only buck the system at great personal cost. The first two books of the series, in chronological order (10 & 11 in published order) also are written from the Chaos point of view, but the time is far removed (400 years previous) from the next book. They have little in relation, being separated by the width of a continent & centuries. While there is a schism between those of Order & Chaos, it isn't a militant one as it is at this time.I wouldn't recommend starting the series with this book, but you can. It's as good as the rest of the books in the series, made a bit better by the startling change in perspective that adds a lot of depth to his series.For more information on the series, see this web site: http://www.travelinlibrarian.info/rec... ( )

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In The White Order, we start to see this world from the other point of view. A young boy has talents with Chaos magic, but must also undergo ordeals. Homeless and hungry he finds a place, and eventually enters the wizard society.

There, he has to master his powers or die, and even worse, survive the individualistic power struggles of the society he is now part of.

http://notfreesf.blogspot.com/2007/02... ( )