Imager - 4 stars

     Imager by L.E.Modesitt, Jr. is the first book in the Imager Portfolio, a series of books revolving around the imagers of Solidar. It's set in a world that could be classified as steampunk (a blend of magic and Victorian age technology), but has a far more complicated plot than most steampunk novels I've read. While they are generally full of fast-moving action and brilliant clashes between opposing sides, Imager takes a different route. It has vibrant and unique characters, but not conspicuous ones. It has action, but that action takes time to wind itself up to its full strength and speed. I found the change refreshing and highly entertaining. Imager was another book I had difficulty tearing myself away from to get jobs done.

     Rhennthyl, the eldest son of a wool merchant, was a very talented journeyman painter until his master was killed in an explosion. Out of a job and with no way to support himself, he realizes that he has the ability to image - he can visualize things and make them real. The Collegium, a school, home, and workplace for people with talents like his takes him in and he begins learning how to image. It doesn't take Rhennthyl long to learn two things: he is a very talented and very strong imager, and he is the target of several assassination attempts. Although he doesn't know why someone is trying to take his life, or who that someone is, he has no choice but to try and find out as much as he can. With the help of his lady friend Seliora, his tutor Master Dichartyn, and his own intuition and skills, he gradually uncovers more of the mystery and finds that its more complex that he could ever have imagined.

     The first book ends in a cliffhanger - thankfully Rhennthyl isn't in any immediate danger, but I know it's just around the corner. I found the story to be engaging, especially as the plot picks up pace with more assassination attempts. Rhennthyl was an interesting character and quite unique. Unlike many characters that could be considered interesting, he has no noticeable major flaws and is a strong, determined, and practical young man. To make up for that, however, he spends most of the book struggling with the fact that he doesn't have enough information - and some of that information is being withheld from him by his instructor, Master Dichartyn. I had to sympathize with his repeated frustrations. 

     The world of the Imager Portfolio is complex and detailed - the names of decidedly foreign and suggest some sort of European culture. The design of the world extends to even the little things like the days of the week and the months of the year. There are names for wines, places to eat out, foods, even the method for measuring time is different! In some books this would be too much to remember and would make things too confusing for a good story, but Modesitt does a very good job of balancing those details and actually uses them to make the sense of complex intrigue even more obvious throughout the book. Complex worlds are something I admire, and I definitely admire Modesitt's way of handling the world he created and making it fit with the story he was telling. 

     Imager was a fairly slow-paced book to start out with, and it never really achieves the breakneck speed of some steampunk novels, but what it lacked in fast-moving action scenes it made of up for in a plot that has more twists and turns that I can count. For those who are interested in a thought-provoking story, the Imager Portfolio is one I'd recommend. It will require digestion and thorough reading, but the story was highly rewarding and entertaining. I'm looking forward to reading the next several books.

     Another thing I have to say about Imager is that although I label it as "teen", "adult", and "epic" this is only mean to convey the language level and the length. There's nothing inappropriate in these stories - in fact, they're cleaner than some books for 8-12 year-old's that I've read. So although my labels may indicate otherwise, Imager is a good, clean book that younger readers could enjoy safely - as long as they were willing to stick with a slow moving, complicated story.

Link to author website: http://www.lemodesittjr.com/