Legacies - L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

After giving up Yogi, I decided to go with a book I thought I'd enjoy; the first in a series by an author I like. L.E. Modesitt, Jr. has written the Saga of Recluse series (my favorite fantasy series) and the Spellsong Cycle series in addition to the Corean Chronicles, some one-off novels and science fiction. For some reason, I stayed away from the Corean Chronicles under the impression that it was more science fiction. I'm not a huge fan of science fiction - I find myself skimming through descriptions of space travel, planet locations, technology in ways that I don't in fantasy. Something inherently easier to understand in using a horse for transportation - at least it takes less time to read about the horse.

Legacies is told from the point of view of a young man (he's in his early 20s at the end of the book) who, of course, has magical Talent and is wise/mature beyond his years. Definitely a cliche in the fantasy genre. I enjoyed the book, but found myself reading over battle after battle. Overall, he is learning something new each battle, but it was an overwhelming amount of war for me. I like my fantasy with more small scale skirmishes and less full on clashes.

On the other hand, this series is definitely set to last for a while. After the first book, I still don't understand the hierarchy and politics of the different lands; while I understand the Talent of the main character, it is still left to determine whether there are others with similar facilities. The way the information about the land emerges is well done - through conversation and observation. Many of the fantasy genre just give a few paragraphs here and there narrating what they think you need to know. In this book, it comes out through questions to his grandfather, mother, friends, captors, etc. in addition to his thoughts about what he sees around him.

It wasn't something I couldn't put down, but it was one that had me thinking about how it would evolve as I was reading. One I would find myself thinking about when I wasn't reading it. I think I'll pick up the next in the series. If nothing else, I think Higgy would enjoy it.