Kharl goes back to his homecountry and ends up finding a new consort and killing off a bunch of white mages and Egen, the man responsible for killing his family and driving him from Brysta. I enjoyed this, but nothing special in any way. ( )

A good read. I remember telling my brother to wait a second, I had twenty pages to go and he still needed to kill three white wizards. And eat some bread and cheese and have a bad headache. lol. A good read. ( )

This is a typical Recluse novel, in a way, since it features an 'amateur' law wizard defending himself against chaos as he learns his powers. This is the second book featuring Kharl, the former cooper. Kharl was forced by the evil leaders in Brysta to leave and take a position on a ship, which lead him to serve as a mage in Austra. He's now a minor lord in Austra and is sent back to Brysta as the envoy. There of course he not only seeks revenge, but regime change in Brysta. Unfortunately, the chaos forces of Hamor have decided to destabilize the country and Kharl must fight several chaos wizards almost single-handed while still learning his powers. He also returns to Brysta hoping to rescue both his son and a young girl who helped him escape.
Like all of Modesitt's books about the magic of his world, each mage must learn what type of powers he has and how to use them entirely on his own, there's no way to teach it. In this case, Kharl also has to learn that extreme truth and order has consequences and he has to learn how to manage his sense of order. Someone who can't lie makes a bad envoy! ( )

This is L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s thirteenth book in the world of Recluce, and I would think it a better book if it didn't bear so much resemblance to the previous twelve.

Starting with the not-quite-but-nearly-bad-enough-to-make-you-cringe cover art by Darrel K Sweet, Ordermaster touches very familiar bases. Our hero, Kharl the cooper is reluctantly swept up into a political power struggle involving the forces of magical chaos that so frequently ruin a man's attempt to live in peace in his workshop making obscure pieces of craftwork. He quickly overcomes his first foe, but is then swept off to greater battles further from home. Etc. Etc.

But Kharl is a likeable enough fellow. Although , like most of Modesitt's male characters, he has an irritating habit of reading a reading a random passage from his book, pausing, frowning, pausing again, then nodding slowly, he does a fair job of keeping the reader's attention whilst plodding down his well trodden path. There's very little to dislike in this book, but readers new to the series would be best starting either with 'The Magic of Recluce', of 'The Towers of the Sunset'. ( )