Recluce Tales: Stories from the World of Recluce - L.E. Modesitt Jr.

 

Recluce Tales: Stories from the World of Recluce is a selection of short fiction from L.E. Modesitt Jr, set in his long running Recluce universe. The stories fill in gaps in the chronology between the published novels, and focus either on side-characters from those stories, or entirely new perspectives. The short version is that these tales add context and texture to the larger tapestry; though they do stand on their own, they also benefit from a knowledge of the existing series. 

So, why would you read this? Well, I’ll start with this. There’s a tale here from the very start of the world of Recluce. A world settled by people from outside, from other dimensions, other quantum strands, whose ships have been shifted into this space, whose technology is slowly failing, who have no choice but to set themselves at the task of building a new society. But detail on that first group of settlers, those who founded an Empire, whose antecedents ruled, large sections of the world as Cyador...detail on those people has been extremely sparse. A historical artifact here. An ancient “chaos tower” there, still creakingly humming with old science, no longer replicable, in deep decay. But nothing tangible. The first story in this collection, The Vice Marshal’s Trial, changes that for us. From internal monologue, from snatches of half heard discussion and asides, we draw ourselves a portrait of a people in crisis, a divided leadership, and a sense of poignant loss. And at the same time, there’s a story here. Not a gentle one, perhaps, but inexorable, the story of a person stepping onto an unfamiliar path, trying to be as much themselves as they can and survive. Modesitt has always excelled at giving Recluce a human face, and in showing that what may seem like good and evil, or diametrically opposed sides, are, well, people. Flawed and struggling in the structures of their time.

So it is with the first story in this collection, and so it is with the rest. They show off hidden corners. They tell us what happened to the forgotten characters, or the trailing ends of different stories. Even while the mainline books were giving us a larger story, these vignettes are more intimate in their brevity, and show that other stories are, perhaps, just as important. At least ot the people living them. Slices of life from every era of Recluce are here - from the Rational Stars, to the end of Cyador, to the rise of Recluce, and the end of the balance. Perhaps a handful of pages, perhaps a little more, flashes of life and love and tragedy intertwined, giving us stories that show us what happens outside the spotlight, and that there’s still truth to be found there.

I think you could read these without knowing the world of Recluce. They have Modesitt’s perfectly honed prose, which builds the prosaic into the numinous. They have the characters who feel whole, even in these flashes of their lives. And it has enough of Recluce, of the world of Candar, to feel real, feel whole. And from this you’ll find stories which can bring out tears and laughter, right enough. Though they may feel a little lacking. But if you come to it with that longer history in mind, you’ll know their contents and shapes - what has or will happen. And that can make both these new stories and those already told take different shapes - a joy indeed.

This is an interesting collection, and one that I think a first time reader could dip into in order to get a feel for the Recluce series, and Modesitt’s style of writing. But it’s also something for those who want to delve into these offcut gems, which will make the mainline tales shine all the brighter.