I have to pick a favorite??? I don't think I can do that. Every time I look at my bookshelf, I see all these books that I love and have read multiple times. So I'm going to pick one for today. If you ask me again a month from now, I may have forgotten all about this and I'll end up picking something new.
The Order War, by L.E. Modesitt Jr.
The Blurb (www.goodreads.com)The deadly White Wizards of Fairhaven, wielding the forces of chaos, have completed their great highway through the Westhorns and now threatened the ancient matriarchy of Sarronnyn, the last bastion of order in Candar. The ruler of Sarronnyn appeals to the Black order wizards of Recluce for help. Justen - a young Black Engineer in the city of Nylan - joins the relief force. Despite their success in destroying more than half the White armies, Sarronnyn falls to the White Wizards, and Justen is chased into the most inhospitable desert in Candar.
These trials are but the beginning, for the White Wizards have all Candar in their grasp. Justen must fight both Recluce and Fairhaven, as well as the highest powers of order and the forbidden technology to harness chaos itself in his efforts to halt the conquest of the chaos wizards.
Here's the thing about this book: When I was in Jr. High (?), a guy my dad worked with either quit or got fired and left a bunch of books in his locker. Dad thought I might like them so he boxed them up and brought them home. This was one of the books in that box, and I've read it at least a dozen times. It was the first real fantasy novel I'd ever read. Up to that point I'd been reading mostly hard sci-fi and some lighter fantasy type children's books. I loved the story and the characters from the very beginning and I had no idea that it was part of a larger series. To this day I haven't read a single other book from the Recluce Saga, because I was always afraid that it would ruin it for me.
Oooh, I need to reread these as it's been a while. I figured if you read any of this series it would be Fall of Angels, as Modesitt tries to meld sci-fi and fantasy together as the foundation of his world. I'm not altogether sure how well it worked, but it was interesting to read, at least.
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