The Saga of Recluce
| Author | L. E. Modesitt, Jr. |
|---|---|
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Genre | High fantasy |
| Published | 1991–present |
| Media type | Print (hardback & paperback) audiobook |
The Saga of Recluce is a series of fantasy novels written by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.. The initial novel in the series, The Magic of Recluce (from which the series derives its name), was published in 1991. The series is still in publication with the latest, Heritage of Cyador, published in November 2014. In 2015 Modesitt stated that the then 18 novels in the Recluce series had sold nearly three million copies.
The 18 books of the series describe the changing, often confrontational, relationship between the descendants of two technologically advanced cultures, representatives of whom have been marooned on a sparsely inhabited world and regressed to the level of the existing inhabitants' primitive technology. Themes of gender stereotyping, sexism, ageism, racism, ethics, economics, environmentalism and politics are explored in the course of the series, which examines the world through the eyes of its protagonists.
The series is published outside of internal chronological order. The first book published in the series occurs near the end of the overall story, with subsequent books jumping further into the past to expand on elements of history. The author recommends reading the books in publication order. As of the eighteenth novel, Heritage of Cyador, the saga covers eight different time periods and eleven major story lines. The stories demonstrate the progression of real-life events into myth and legend over the progression of centuries, as the characters in one book will be known as heroes or mythical figures in other, chronologically later books. Additionally, certain characters appear in multiple books, the protagonists in one novel, appearing as a supporting characters in others.
Within the Recluce universe, all matter has inherent properties called "order" and "chaos". Magic manifests as a person's ability to manipulate these properties through thought. The feats which are feasible depend on the user's (genetically limited) potential, on developing those abilities, and on the laws that govern the interaction and balance between the two forces in nature. Generally, those who manipulate order are called (black) mages. Those who manipulate chaos are called (white) wizards. Rare individuals (grays) can manipulate both. There are personal costs to using magic, both immediate and long term.
The novels were not published in the order in which events occurred in-universe. This table provides both the publication order and the in-universe chronological order (Recluce Year). The author has stated that publication order is the appropriate reading order.
All of the novels take place in the same fantasy universe, spanning a time period of almost two thousand years.
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