Wellspring of Chaos [Hardcover]

When the blackstaffer is found murdered, Kharl is blamed by the authorities. They know quite well that he had nothing to do with it, but Kharl's earlier good deeds puts him at odds with them. He is falsely imprisoned and he loses his wife and his children (how he loses his wife and children I will up to the reader to discover). Kharl must escape Brysta before he loses his life. He ends up taking a berth on a ship owned by one of his former customers and works as a carpenter for a time. Kharl also begins learning about his inclination towards Order (which will make sense if you have read other Recluse novels), and who he may really be.

"Wellspring of Chaos" was a good Recluse novel. For one of the few times (or maybe first) in the series, the main character is a middle aged man rather than a kid going out on his quest. This changes how Kharl reacts to things and how he thinks, though he still is a bit naïve at times. As always, "Wellspring of Chaos" is not substantially different from the other Recluse novels. They have a similar feel and if I wasn't told that Brysta is in Nordla rather than Candar, I wouldn't have been able to tell the difference. The good thing is that if you do not try to read the whole series one right after another, this is a good story with a fairly likeable protagonist and is a nice addition to the series. Similar series of events happen to Kharl that might have happened to any number of protagonists in Recluse, but Modesitt is a solid enough writer that it is easy to get engaged in the story and it doesn't matter what other novels have come before (even if there are 11 previous novels).

If you have not read any Modesitt books he brings a different perspective to fantasy writing and fantasy heros. His heros are mostly every day men and women who make extraordinary effort and decisions. The almost anti-hero. They do not look for glory, or power, but strive and search for self and self worth.

Kharl, the main character in the Wellspring of Chaos, is such a hero. But this is where Modesitt deviates from previous books. Kharl is a middle aged family man, content, hard working, and satisfied. This all changes when his world turns upside down and he is forced to reinvent himself. He needs to travel to find out who he really is and his growing order power. That is where the book becomes interesting.

Pros- explores other cities and countries previously mentioned not limited to fairhaven and recluce.
Kharl, maybe because he's more mature, does not stubbornly fight his order senses like other Modesitt heros.
Really gets into the philosophy of order and order powers.

Con- for those not familar with the recluce books his philosophies of order and chaos may make the book move slowly in between action sequences
Kharl's exploration of different countries/cities might seem too brief and the allusion to previous books might be missed.

While this is a stand alone read, it was definitely more interesting knowing the history of Recluce and order/chaos.

I hope Modesitt continues the next book with Kharl as he learns more about his powers and confronts his past.

A good, unique addition to the Recluce series.