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Book completed
Jan. 8th, 2025 07:12 pmThe Magic Engineer, by L.E. Modesitt, Jr. Recluce #3. This book, which I've now read for a third time, was probably the first of Modesitt's many books where we spend a lot of time, day by day, with our main character, who often doesn't seem to be doing a lot beyond building a good life. I happen to like that, so this book suits me quite well. That is, the first time I read it, I enjoyed it a lot, but the second time I was too irritated by the present-tense perspective. This time, I read it directly after the second book and thus was more used to that aspect and could enjoy it again.
Dorrin is a young man of Recluce whose interest in machines is driving his father nuts - for whatever reason, their society has decided that machines embody chaos, and Recluce is aligned with order, so machines are bad. Dorrin naturally thinks that's nonsense, and during his exile on Candar he develops considerable skills in smithing and engineering, which he puts to good use. Modesitt clearly did a lot of research on smithing and related technologies, but he uses the arcane terminology of those fields in ways that build atmosphere for the reader who is ignorant of what he's talking about, like me, rather than bogging things down. Dorrin is also a healer and a thinker, and he builds a strong circle of friends. I especially enjoyed picturing his life in the small village of Diev, and then later when his team begins building the city of Nylan.
Dorrin is a young man of Recluce whose interest in machines is driving his father nuts - for whatever reason, their society has decided that machines embody chaos, and Recluce is aligned with order, so machines are bad. Dorrin naturally thinks that's nonsense, and during his exile on Candar he develops considerable skills in smithing and engineering, which he puts to good use. Modesitt clearly did a lot of research on smithing and related technologies, but he uses the arcane terminology of those fields in ways that build atmosphere for the reader who is ignorant of what he's talking about, like me, rather than bogging things down. Dorrin is also a healer and a thinker, and he builds a strong circle of friends. I especially enjoyed picturing his life in the small village of Diev, and then later when his team begins building the city of Nylan.