Imager by L. E. Modessit, Jr.

Modesitt has held a special place in my heart for a long time.  Legacies has been a favorite read since 2010.  That doesn’t feel all that long, until I realize that for the better part of a decade, I have consumed Modesitt’s books with ardent fervor.  

A good friend recommended that I turn my attention towards the Imager series, suggesting that I would need to grab the first few books.  One just might not be enough, he counseled.  He was not wrong.

Imager does not use blood, guts, or enormous battles to capture your attention.  It builds a slow and subtle fire within, each revelation about the world adding onto the next, until you feel that you are walking the streets of the city where the action takes place.  The entire book, the whole thing, takes place in a handful of locations about a single city.  Take a moment to let that sink in.  When was the last time that any fantasy series did something so bold?  Brandon Sanderson’s Mistborn comes to mind, but even they strayed from that path at one time or another. 

Modesitt does not blind us to what is happening to the world at large, instead letting us experience the tidbits and snippets the main character can glean.  Their adventure is our adventure, and you learn about the deep and complex system of magic in lockstep with the fish-out-of-water narrative.  Make no mistake, although you shall not wade through puddles of gore, there is plenty of action to be had.  Intrigue of an almost frustratingly deep nature, and a school of magic that takes an interesting avenue on a well known troupe.  

All in all, despite several instances of what I can only describe as word-count fluffing, the book is absolutely worth the read.  If you enjoy a slow and smokey character and world building experience, with a deep and unique system of magic, then this is the book for you.  My friend recommended it to me, and I fully intend to emulate his example.