Imager's Challenge

October 12, 2009
In this second installment of Modesitt's serpentine political fantasy series (following 2008's Imager), the imager Rhennthyl has been made a Maitre D'Aspect and Liaison to the Civic Patrol of L'Excelsis. As a covert security operative, Rhennthyl must ferret out corruption. He expects guidance from the Collegium, but the more involved he becomes in the patrol, the more the masters distance themselves. When Rhennthyl makes enemies of one of the high holder families, the Collegium's refusal to become involved leaves him no options but to take matters into his own hands. Though the story drags occasionally as Rhennthyl ponders every aspect of his predicament and the Masters give constant professorial lectures, Modesitt's steady prose guides Rhennthyl and the reader through the hierarchical foot-dragging and feudal power-mongering.

This brief yet overwritten story features an interstellar police force called "The Imagers." The heroes, who are reminiscent of Jedi Knights, have the power to imagine things like force fields and invisibility shields into existence. Hero Rhenn must protect his family from a vengeful foe. The attention the story pays to pomp and circumstance makes the book slow listening in parts, especially the beginning, in spite of the herculean efforts of narrator William Dufris. But author Modesitt redeems himself with the battle scenes. Dufris is effective at helping the listener imagine the exotic locales and characters Rhenn faces, and he easily creates distinctive voices for the plethora of characters. M.S. (c) AudioFile 2010, Portland, Maine