Death of Chaos by L.E. Modesitt Jr.

After all the various characers introduced throughout the Recluce series, I still believe Lerris' storyline remains the core of the series. I don't think Modesitt is exceptional plotwise but it is in characterization that he shines. Which is why Lerris' story arc is so appealing to me: its written in first person.

the Death of Chaos has got to be one of the better books in the series, as it acquires an almost Eriksonian quality towards the climax, where it grabs hold of the reader and won't let go. Although its true that in many of his books Modesitt tends to redeem a shaky middle with a satisfactory ending, the Death of Chaos is an exception. The middle and climax were both well written; the former gave an interesting view of Lerris' daily life, the latter a memorable, nerve-racking moment.

Unfortunately, the author's attention to minute detail, as previous reviewers have noted, repels the reader a little, making what would have been an exceptional ending only satisfactory. Its difficult to describe exactly what caused this, since it is fairly subjective. But personally, what happened was after being captivated by the climax, I was still caught at the start of the ending scene, when suddenly a piece of irrelevant detail jarred me out of state. Once again, overdescription is the culprit, the one that plagues many Modesitt novels. I haven't read any of the author's recent work, but hopefully Mr Modesitt has toned it down somewhat.

That being said, all in all, an exceptional book in the Recluce series, possibly THE best Recluce installment. Highly recommended.

4.5/5

The Death of Chaos was a very good book--probably my favorite, so far, in the Saga of Recluce. The chaos/order balance had been causing problems since the fall of angels and its time had finally come. This sad ending to those dependent on the balance was inevitable and, I thought, taught a valuable lesson. I thought that the end was well developed and was appropriately foreshadowed. I was glad that the characters were able to make amends before the final battle and ended with relatively lighter consciences. A must-read.

After defeating Antonin and Sephya, Lerris, a young Order Master, settles down and becomes a wood crafter in Kyphros with his consort Krystal, the Kyphrian army subcommander.  His life quickly becomes unsettled again when Kyphros's neighbors go to war with each other.  The turmoil and conflict of the continent, however, are more than they seem, because the Emporer of Hamor is the cause of the problems.
Through the story, Modesitt introduces Lerris's parents, the Brotherhood of Recluce, and many more characters.  The story was fun until the ending which was pretty overdramatic and depressing.  I didn't like how Modesitt left Lerris and Tamra as he did in the end.
But the story was good and complex, and should be an enjoyable read.