I can see the seeds of themes that would later appear in other works like the Recluce saga in this. However, I've tried to read this twice, and it feels like an early, clumsy effort compared to so much of Modesitt's later work that I enjoy so much. The dialogue feels stilted and unrealistic, and the narrative is pretty jumpy. ( )

Human with unusual powers is banished to planet where gods rule. He struggles to remain humble human, love authentically and be "normal". Eventually he is forced to confront the gods and ends up changing the very structure of civilization in the galaxy.

Not what I expected. Modesitt is one of my favorite sci-fi authors, but this books was rather disappointing when compared with most others that I've read. Whereas most of Modesitt's characters can be seen to be trying to do the right thing, Martel seems to more often try to avoid doing anything at all. For almost two-thirds of this book, the protagonist came across as contemptible, someone who doesn't care enough about anything or anyone to stand up and be counted... and he never really quite escapes that thought either. I also noticed that the story was often disjointed and confusing, it seems that Modesitt's writing matured greatly after this book was written back in the 80's.

Overall, any fans of Modesitt's should probably read this book, but it probably won't be the most enjoyable read, and the reader might find it difficult to actually finish, depending upon their expectations at the outset. ( )

This is a very strange book. Somewhat disjointed, lots of ellipses in the text, and all that. Often, I wasn't sure why Martel was doing something, or even what he was doing. And the time travel always complicates things.Martel may be an example of a too powerful character...at the end, there, just about nothing was any threat. ( )

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