Assassin’s Price

3 stars, Metaphorosis reviews

Summary
Prince Charyn, once a ne'er-do-well, has set out to better himself through study, guided by the hired music teacher and bedwarmer his mother procured for him. But threats against the family are coming hard and fast, seemingly driven by privateers decimating the country's merchant ships. Can Charyn learn statecraft well and quickly enough to keep the country together?

Review
I can't recall a time I've been as happy to reach the end of a series. Of course, there have been very few times I've bought so many books in a series all at once. When I have (or books by a single author), it seldom works out well. And of course, this isn't the end of the series at all. In fact, it's clear that this book is just one half of a longer narrative, and that longer narrative is just the second half of a quartet. But this is the last of the Imager books that was out at the time I made my purchase five years ago, and it's taken me this long to get this far.

Despite having read 92% of the series, and despite my loathing of leaving things incomplete, and despite this being only half the story of Charyn Regis, there is very little chance of me going on to the next book. From what I've seen (risking spoilers in other reviews), that book finishes up the Charyn story, but doesn't do anything to resolve the broader mysteries of the origins of imaging, the Pharsi, or the mysterious powerful forces called up by Quaeryt in the middle subseries – the only things I remain interested in.

To give it its due, this book is much less tedious than most of its predecessors. It switches to a new viewpoint character, a non-imager who is only 75% the same as previous protagonists, unlike the near 100% overlap of the series' first three main characters. And more happens, so there's less time for repetition and overexplanation (though still quite a bit). But still plenty for irrational decisions seemingly intended only to provide willing villains for the sequel.

I guess if you've gotten this far deliberately (as opposed to my purchasing mistake and dogged tenacity), you'll enjoy the story. It has all the political wrangling, all the ‘ends justify the means' and ‘you made me do it' rationalization of violence, less vague philosophy, more action, less black-box magic, and thankfully a lot less lager drinking (though still plenty). It doesn't really do anything to wrap up or resolve the broad Solidar storylines; it's just another adventure in the world, and very similar to the rest. A world where a pretty big kingdom covering large island or small continent is run by one king, three ministers, and, of course, imagers who are capable of pretty much anything – a view expressed with some surprise in the book itself. If you love the series and want more Solidar, here it is. If you're looking for exciting or intriguing fantasy, look elsewhere.

I used to really like Modesitt's books, but this series and the latest Recluce books have completely beaten that out of me for the time being. I think I'm going to let a lot of time go by before I have the courage to open up one of my old favorites and see whether he's changed or I have. For the time being, I'm glad there's no more imaging in my future.