Recluce

The White Order

The White Order HC The White Order ARCL.E. Modesitt's bestselling fantasy novels set in the world of Recluce are among the most popular in contemporary fantasy. Rich in detail, Modesitt's Recluce books are a feast of wondrous marvels. Booklist notes, "Modesitt's elaborate and intelligent working out of a system of magic and a system of technology parallel to it is becoming more the lifeblood of the Recluce books with every new volume...his saga continues to gain in popularity."

The White Order is the story of Cerryl, a boy orphaned when the powerful white mages killed his father to protect their control of the world's magic. Cerryl, raised by his aunt and uncle, is a curious boy, attracted to mirrors and books, though he is unable to read. When he is old enough, Cerryl is apprenticed to the local miller. The miller's daughter teaches Cerryl to read his father's books, and it seems that the talent for magic has been passed from father to son. When Cerryl witnesses a white mage destroy a renegade magician, the miller realizes the boy will not be safe there, so Cerryl must be sent to the city of Fairhaven to find his destiny.

Thus Modesitt takes one of the most enduring and mythic themes in fantasy and makes it his own. The White Order is a powerful new addition to the Recluce saga, guaranteed to add many new readers to Modesitt's devoted following.

Whoops!

Look carefully at the map on the end pages of the hardcover edition. The map is of Leidwhar, the world of the Soprano Sorceress, not that of Recluce.

According to Lee:
"I was told it was a production error. The second printing has the right map in it, and there will be — I'm told — a way for readers to obtain a replacement "map" poster, but as of the moment I don't know the details on this."

Publicity Information

The press release from TOR that came with the ARC is available here in .pdf format.

Praise for The White Order

"A powerful new addition to the Recluce saga. Cerryl, a boy orphaned when the powerful white mages killed his amateur-magician father, witnesses a white mage destroying a renegade magician. Realizing that he is no longer safe where he is, Cerryl goes to the city of Fairhaven to find his destiny -- to become one of the great magicians of his age. 384 pp. Author tour. Targeted ads."
--Ingram Advance

"More than a story about the battle between good and evil, the Saga of Recluce is as rich and complex a creation as Tolkien's Middle-Earth.... Up until now, both in flashbacks and flashforwards, the conflict in the parallel world has seemed to be between 'good' Order and 'evil' Chaos. With the present novel's focus on Cerryl's training in white magic, Modesitt changes this emphasis. In doing so, a brilliant new facet appears."
--Bookpage

"Another entry in Modesitt's popular Recluce series, one that upholds the saga's reputation for intelligence and increasing originality.... This volume in the series stands unusually well on its own as a classis and competent coming-of-age story."
--Booklist

"Modesitt skillfully combines credible characters, an exceptionally well-realized alien world, plenty of action, and as usual, philosophical discussions of power and the consequences of its misuse, into the fast-moving plot."
--VOYA

Read the review from the April/May 1998 issue of
Barnes & Noble Explorations (.pdf)