Imager's Battalion

Imager Portfolio, Book 6

By: L. E. Modesitt Jr.

Narrated by: William Dufris

Length: 18 hrs and 24 mins

Publisher's summary

The sequel to The New York Times best-selling Princeps follows magical hero Quaeryt as he leads history's first Imager fighting force into war. Given the rank of subcommander by his wife's brother, Lord Bhayar, the ruler of Telaryn, Quaeryt joins an invading army into the hostile land of Bovaria, in retaliation for Bovaria's attempted annexation of Telaryn. But Quaeryt has his own agenda in doing Bhayar's bidding: to legitimize Imagers in the hearts and minds of all men, by demonstrating their value as heroes as he leads his battalion into one costly battle after another.

Making matters worse, court intrigues pursue Quaeryt even to the front lines of the conflict, as the Imager's enemies continue to plot against him.

©2012 L. E. Modesitt, Jr. (P)2013 Tantor

Critic reviews

"A wholly absorbing entry in this highly addictive series." ( Kirus Starred Review)

Great Character, great World, great Story but the

Even after 5 books in the series, I read through book 6 in record time. very entertaining, very enjoyable and builds well on existing characters, story line and the general story world.

You are part of the lives of the main characters and you can relate to the decisions made and reason for courses of action; brilliant.

The only disappointment is the American Cliff Hanger Ending, where the hero... well let's not give it away. So far though the author has 'rounded off' their story with a final chapter after the highlight of the story which showed how our hero's went on from there and made me look forward to the next book. With this book there has been a departure from the rounding off and after the big final scene, the book kinda ends with a implied 'more to come next season'.

I personally really dislike this. Eventually, every series has to end and finishing a book without a proper finish and an implication what may be next leaves me cold and not really looking forward to the next book.

I will get the next book but .....

Still, all said and done, the Imager Series is brilliant and worth reading and re-listening. Maybe, it will be made into a Movie some time, it would be worth while!

Seeming Endless Battle

This is the 3rd about Quaeryt; It picks up directly where Princeps left him. Being familiar with the Modesitt habit of this I re-read Scholar and Princeps before hearing Battalion. I would suggest this to anyone working on this books.

While I enjoy the Battalion I found it rather dragged on. The theme and the settings seemed all so similar and Quaeryt himself seemed to move very little. Modesitt ability to write a battle scene seem to lack energy after a while; despite William Dufris attempts to inject energy. It almost felt like Dufris himself was rushing and tripping over many of the descriptions in an attempt to get past them to get to the meat of the battle.

The new side characters seem very thin and more bit players rather than the important I felt they should have developed. While they don't do much one feels that as a Quaeryt direct command that there should been more too them. They also seemling have so little impact on Quaeryt that they are just a liability and not an assent.

Then there is Vaelora. Or rather she too seems to be more a cameo than a regular even in letter. I wishes most the book that Moddesit would give us a flash side ways to Vaelora.

In many way I would this book to be more preachy with less cause then the other Imager books. It does for the die-hard fan given some valuable background to the Unnamer. In many ways I felt Moddesitt could improve the book markedly by a more heavely parallel between Rollon and Quaeryt.

I think personally this is the weakest of the Imager books and possible would have make a better short novel then a full book. Given that, though it's much better then many many other books you might buy.

not the best book in the series but good

had the feeling of a middle book but it gives one the story of how or why things were the way things were with the protagonists in earlier books and books to follow.

well done

wow a. that was amazing. a little more explanation as to what happened to the enemy at the end, but other than that it was perfection. loved it!!!

Great another wonderful story

I love the characters and the store line. The world created is so intriguing and alive. I also like the narrater and the way he reads and does the voices giving true feelings to each character. Thank you for giving us this set of book to enjoy.

Very much a "middle" book in a series.

A fast-paced, military campaign procedural. The story opens about a year after book 1, as the protagonist is embarking on an invasion of Bovaria and ends abrubtly after the last battle. Along the way, Quaeryt does a lot of thinking about the future of Imagers in Lydar, while mastering the art of a battle tactician.

Really good read

Great narrator and a good story. It is a must to start at the beginning of the portfolio.

The imagers are kicking ass.

The imagers are finally coming into thier own. Great story, from a great author. Can't wait for the next installment.

imagination

imagers smoke and pepper now ,loved it and recommend it to all my underdog friends

More of the same

L. E. Modesitt, Jr. offers up another volume in the Imager Portfolio that differs little from its predecessor. As Bhayar’s forces invade Bovaria Quaeryt is now a subcommander but little else has changed. Quaeryt still reads about Rholan and gives sermons to the troops, he still figures out new ways for imagers to safely use and grow their abilities, and he still exchanges letters with Vaelora.

So there really isn’t much new to review here. If you have been enjoying the Imager Portfolio since the switch to Quaeryt as the main character then you should dive right in because this is more of the same. If like me, you preferred Rhennthyl as the main character, then this book is another step in a storyline that remains just a little too bland. It continues to keep me interested but I never get excited about it.