Shaykitteh's World of Books

Finally... A book about Hamor!

Throughout the Recluse saga, Hamor has been the Big Brother lurking off to the side. First, they get dragged in during the Creslin's story, used by the Chaos Wizards of Fairhaven to waste ships in a hopeless attempt to whittle down the number of people who are living on Recluse. Hamor is also mentioned as "one of the places you don't want to go" during The Magic of Recluse, when Lerris is exiled. However, this is the first book that we've actually seen into Hamor itself.

The novel is set somewhere between the founding of Nylan and the destruction of Fairhaven. Rahl, a scrivener's apprentice, doesn't quite fit the mold of what Recluse wants him to me, so he is exiled to Hamor. There, he finds that mages of all types are welcome, as long as they are registered... Hamorian-born unregistered mages are considered outlaws, and though Rahl is a outlander and not required to register as a mage since he is working for an outlander company, he takes smart route and registers as an outland mage. However, things aren't as straightforward as they would seem in the company that he works for, and he finds himself drugged and dumped at the Luba quarries, with no memory of who he is and no powers.

A big part of this novel is Rahl finding himself and taking responsibility for his actions. It's well written, as is the rest of the Recluse Saga, but it's a different county with different rules, and in a way that makes this duology (Natural Ordermage and Mage-Guard of Hamor) feel fresh and lively.