Just finished book 1, The Magic of Recluce.
First, thanks to Seaking and all the other MR people who recommended this. None of my friends had read this and only one had heard about it all. But trusting in the wisdom of you all, I took the plunge and bought the first book from Amazon. I'm glad I did.
I have to admit, I wasn't too thrilled with this in the beginning. It kinda starts off slow and the main character, who is also the narrator, didn't thrill me much either. He comes across as a typically whiny kid, bored, and well, kinda whiny. But stick with it...there's a reason for it all.
Once the plot develops and the "action" starts, it gets interesting. The narrator's character (Lerris) becomes more interesting and sympathetic and the world really comes to life. The magic system is original and makes sense in the context of the world. While there are the standard good (order) v evil (chaos) themes, there is enough grey to make it more complex, less neat. After just reading the first book, I have a feeling a lot of things are going on in the background that are yet to be explained and I'm looking forward to the next one.
One thing that annoyed me about an otherwise well written book, is the author's habit of using sound-effects, frequently. Every time Lerris's horse whinnies, the author writes "Wheeeee". It sounds like the horse is having fun, (I kept imagining it going down a water slide or somefing) when that is not the intention at all. Just a minor quibble but one that yanked me out of the story more than once.
Still, a very high recommendation for those who haven't read it.
