This is the fourth book in L.E. Modesitt, Jr.‘s “Corean Chronicles” series. The previous three books, Legacies, Darknesses, and Scepters, form one continuous narrative; I’ve reviewed them all in the past and won’t recapitulate them here. The current book is set in the distant past, and concerns events that set the scene for those in the previous books. This is a typical Modesitt gambit; he’s the only author I know who habitually writes his series backwards. Few authors write prequels all that well; I have to assume that Modesitt plans the whole series out ahead of time, and simply (“simply”, hah!) writes the later volumes first.

I won’t go into the plot; by the nature of Modesitt’s scheme, to do so would be to reveal spoilers for the earlier books. I will say, though, that I enjoyed it rather more than I expected to; in fact, it might be the most satisfactory of the series to date.

I confess, I had low expectations for this book. I found the first three books to be enjoyable but rather slow, and the climax of the third book wasn’t as interesting as I’d hoped. Having finished the trio, I wondered if Modesitt was beginning to lose it. And when Alector’s Choice was published, I rather expected that it was something of a potboiler, just one more application of the same slow formula–but in fact, it wasn’t.

The usual thing in a Modesitt fantasy is that you’ve got this guy. On the surface, he’s an average joe….but as the book progresses, he discovers that he has powers he didn’t suspect. During the course of the book, he is forced to learn to use them to defend himself and his loved ones during a series of crises which frequently leave him overextended and exhausted. The book is told almost entirely from his point of view, sometimes in first person but more usually (I think) in third person; however, the main narrative is usually interspersed with a sequence of short vignettes which describe the doings of his enemies. Where the main narrative includes a wealth of detail and context, these vignettes are usually rather obscure; and they are usually told in a detached third-person, with no specific viewpoint character. It’s often not clear, early in the book, just how they fit in.

Alector’s Choice has a different structure, and one I’m not sure he’s used before. Instead of one viewpoint character, there are two. One’s story matches the template I gave above; the other doesn’t. There are interesting parallels between the characters, as well as significant differences (one represents the elite class and one an under class); and though their stories overlap they have little direct contact, and then only near the end of the book. The difference in their viewpoints adds considerable interest.

In short, Modesitt’s trying something new; and I’m rather looking forward to the next book, Cadmian’s Choice.

This might be considered in some sense a sequel to P.G. Wodehouse‘s book Money for Nothing, which I read and reviewed quite a long time ago now, featuring as it does the same slick pair of American grifters, the husband and wife team of Soapy and Dolly Molloy. In this book they’ve come to England and are presently staying at stately Shipley Hall, once the seat of the Uffenhams but now the site of Mrs. Clarissa Cork’s utopian community, where they are enticing Mrs. Cork into buying some phoney oil shares. All is well at Shipley Hall…except for the strange behavior of the butler, Cakebread, who has been found rooting around in an astonishing variety of rooms. Little do they know that Cakebread is really Lord Uffenham, an absent-minded peer who having put the family fortune into diamonds and hidden them for safety was later unable to find them again. Having none of the ready at hand, all having gone for the diamonds, he was unable to keep up the old place and was forced to rent it out. Meanwhile, of course, he’s looking for the diamonds. And looking for him is one private detective hired by Mrs. Cork to protect her guests’ valuables, a gent named J. Sheringham Adair. Except, of course, Adair isn’t Adair; he’s a young barrister and author of thrillers who took Adair’s place due to an unfortunate incident with some rock cakes and the timely appearance of Lord Uffenham’s beautiful niece.

And that’s just the opening chapters.

In short, it’s classic Wodehouse and well worth your time.