The Towers of the Sunset

I've generally liked the Recluce series, and while other readers obviously disagreed, I thought this was the best of the series. It is set in a jarringly different world than that of the first book, and it takes quite some time to figure out that this second book is a prequel set in the very distant past (although later books in the series will go back even earlier in history, again in a surprising direction).

The use of present tense is unusual, but didn't really bother me. In Modesitt's world characters make difficult choices and have to live with the consequences. Much of the this author's work seems to have an underlying sense of sadness, and I thought it rang true for the two main characters in The Towers of the Sunset.

7/10
This entry in the Saga of Recluce takes the reader to the founding of Recluce as a haven for wizards of order and others. Creslin and Megaera, betrothed and tied together by their life force, battle family, expectations, wizards, assassins, and each other as they find their way to love and learn the price of power and the costs of the decisions they feel compelled to make. The magic system of this world continues to fascinate me. The sound effects in the text are intrusive and the characters are, at time, incredibly obtuse. Yet the story is imaginative and entertaining while posing serious questions about the use of power.

Both this and The Magic of Recluce read very much like first novels—there's potential, but they're not polished. I enjoyed Magic of Recluce, but I wasn't ready to get out of that part of the chronology... though I was grateful for having fewer sound effects.

This book seemed like there was a story that Modesitt wanted to get out, but it didn't happen very well. I didn't feel like the world had been fleshed out enough for a backstory (yet), and I spent most of the book wanting to sock the main characters.

I did not enjoy the florid song lyrics (also, no reliable meter? sigh), nor did I enjoy the sound effects. Both are very distracting. Calling women "bitches" more often than not? C'mon, Modesitt, you're an author. Surely you have better show more words... or you can at least mix it up once in a while. To be fair, all of these complaints hold for the first book as well.

The story overall I ended up liking more as time went on. Still not as interesting as Magic, but it was a nice mental break. I'm glad to see that the third book draws more on the background provided in this book, so we'll see how the rest of the series plays out. show less

This is the book that made me almost give up on Recluce before I started. It's written in present tense, which is true of many of the books in the series, but is particularly jarring here. Creslin's a bit of a cipher, when he's not whining, and Megaera only stops whining to throw a tantrum. The worldbuilding is scanty, and Creslin is so powerful he sucks all of the drama out of the action scenes. There are a couple of nice moments, but on the whole this is my least favorite of all the Recluce novels.

Excellent character study
March 5, 2017
Format: Kindle Edition
Excellent character study. I like how details of the plot are revealed bit by bit by jumping from one set of characters to another. The fantasy world of Recluce is believable, likeable, and so interesting! I highly recommend this book.

An interesting look back into the past to the founding of Recluse. As is usual with his books, this is all about strong characters and the law vs. chaos trials they go through.

how the Island of Recluce began. Characters are hard headed and asinine. Seems to be a trait Modesitt enjoys.