Synopsis

In L. E. Modesitt, Jr.'s The Magic Engineer, Dorrin, a young scion of Order magicians, is interested in forbidden knowledge—the working of machines.

He is the Leonardo da Vinci of his age, but his insights violate the rules of the Order magic of Recluce, and in order to pursue his invention he must go into exile—in the lands of Chaos.

Tortured by the knowledge that to preserve Order he must create new devices for war, Dorrin stands between Recluce and the forces of the Chaos that seek to destroy it.

"An intriguing fantasy in a fascinating world."—Robert Jordan, New York Times bestselling author of The Wheel of Time series

Reviews

Goodreads review by Bradley on January 26, 2021

Returning to Recluse is again a sheer delight. Classic, easy storytelling, development of the core ideas of his magic system, and a great exploration of the balance between Chaos and Order. Specifically, this man, totally devoted to Order magic, devoted his life in exile to creating machines, from st......more

Goodreads review by Kara on August 10, 2011

I am "on a mission", if you will, to re-read the Recluce saga in order, because I most of the first eleven books when I was younger and then lost touch with the series, and now I'm "reconnecting with my fantasy roots". Note, however, that this is one series where the order—at least at first—doesn't......more

Goodreads review by Mark on February 27, 2008

"The Magic Engineer" is the third book in L. E. Modesitt Jr.'s "Recluce" series. It is also the best Recluce novel I've read so far. It's a solid 4 star effort. The novel itself is written in the same familiar present tense style with which Modesitt's readers should be familiar at this point (e.g. "......more

Goodreads review by Jim on September 03, 2017

It was great to read this right after The White Order since the main character of that book, Creslin, is a small, but continuing presence in this one. It was a shame the narrator didn't use the same voice for him, though. Still, the comparisons & differences between the two really made me think abou......more

Goodreads review by Gary on December 20, 2023

Those looking for elves and dragons need to look elsewhere. Book 3 in this long running series spends time dealing with the Order versus Chaos magic system as the main character, an Order blacksmith/healer comes of age and takes defensive measures against the White Chaos makes of Fairhaven.......more