Cadmian's Choice: The Fifth Book of the Corean Chronicles (Corean Chronicles, Book 5)

This is the 5th book of a series but was initially written as the 2nd with books four, five and six coming out first. I found books four through six to be among the more enjoyable reads I've come across. The stories like all of Modesitt stories have too much pondering, preaching and pedantic musings but the story line is excellent, with great character development and the ability to expose human hopes, feeling and fears while giving the dominant players just enough extra skills to survive a number of challenges. I couldn't put them down and found myself irritated that I couldn't have the whole series at once. As it was I did only minimal eating and sleeping while seeking to satisfy my desire to consume the novels.

The book arrived fast, in excellent condition as promised and well packaged to protect it during the shipment. I'd read the library version of the book but wanted a copy for myself as I am a Modesitt fan and like that series.

Cadmian's Choice (2006) is the fifth Fantasy novel of the Corean Chronicles and the second in the prequel trilogy, following Alector's Choice. In the previous volume, Dainyl returns to Elcien to find that his wife is pregnant with a girl child. The next day, Dainyl arrives at headquarters only to be told that more pteridons have been lost while he was gone. Later, Dainyl briefs the Duarch of Elcien on the professed reasons for the rebellion, but both remain puzzled. As Mykel delivers Rachyla to her father's estate, she tries once again to persuade him to rebel against the alectors. He refuses, but does accept the invitation to have his men stay on the estate overnight. When Mykel returns to Elcien, he is confirmed as Majer of the Third Cadmian Battalion. In this novel, Colonel Herolt assigns the battalion to duty in Hyalt to suppress armed groups in the hills to the west of the town. The Third Battalion will be shipped by sea to Southgate. There the battalion will take over training of two locally recruited companies and will accompany them to Hyalt. Mykel is also charged with rebuilding the Cadmian compound outside Hyalt for the local companies. When the Third Cadmian and the local companies arrive in Hyalt, Mykel has them camp on the site of the old compound. After talking to the local townsmen, Mykel begins to suspect that there are not any local bandits. He learns that the regional administrator has new weapons and uniformed troops to operate them. He suspects that the massacred Cadmian troops had been murdered by these uniformed alectors. Submarshall Dainyl is sent on an inspection tour of the Eastern region. He meets Submarshall Alcyna and High Elector Brekylt and is convinced that they are plotting against Duarch Khelaryt. As Dainyl travels via the Tables, various Recorder try to kill him within the system or at his destination; everyone underestimates the strength of his shields. With all the deaths following his travels, Dainyl is getting a reputation, but the murder attempts keep coming his way. In this story, both Mykel and Dainyl have further contacts with the Ancients. Both are told to try harder to accommodate themselves to Acorus. Dainyl is told to start drawing his power from Acorus, but he hasn't yet learned how. Mykel, of course, is already gaining power from the planet, but he discovers how to draw power locally rather than from his birthplace. Both are becoming much more powerful than their enemies believe possible. The Ancients -- or Soarers -- do not seem to be particularly interested in either Dainyl or Mykel. They provide specific advice, but in a vague manner. Mykel seems to understand the point better than Dainyl, but then the Submarshall started with more power than Mykel. Since Dainyl knows that Mykel is a rogue talent, at various times he considers turning in the Cadmian, but always sees reasons to protect the lander. Indeed, Majer Mykel is a good leader of men, often accomplishing things

I really like this series, as well as the Ordermaster and Spellsong Cycle, from Modesitt. It is a little confusing to someone who hasn't read the others in the series, so I advise anyone who hasn't read them to start at the beginning--Legacies. This one is a sequel to Alector' Choice, and I loved that one too.

On Corus, Majer Mykel, commander of the Third Battalion, a rifle unit, hides his psychic "Talent" similar to that of the ruling Alectors because he fears the reaction of the Alectors hierarchy learning a human shares their abilities. However, he may have to expose himself for the good of his people. He has learned that renegade Alectors plan to use forbidden weapons to prevent the transfer of people especially those in power from the Alector dying home world to Corus. He turns to Myrmidons-West Submarshal Dainyl an Alector though he has misgivings about this or any official; Dainyl reciprocates his deep distrust of the major. However, Dainyl knows he must act now to prevent the rebels from using these weapons, but to do so he needs Mykel's help. While both the Alector and the human ponder the risk of trusting one another, the mysterious Ancients, assumed extinct, contact both of them with a message saying each group must cooperate to survive. The key to the delightful fifth Corean Chronicles is the powerful cast who make Corus seem genuine and more important the relationship between the ruling Alectors and the human natives real. Interestingly, it is the appearance of the Ancient Ones, the original natives of the planet who everyone assumed died out ages ago that adds a fantastic twist to this exciting tale. The distrustful uneasy peace between Dainyl and Mykel add to a fabulous science fiction fantasy saga. Harriet Klausner