Wellspring of Chaos
core novel 2004 The Saga of Recluce
Record
| First published | 2004 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.10 (4,735 ratings, collected 2026-08-27) |
| Page count | 410 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780765309075 |
Synopsis
Wellspring of Chaos, the twelfth novel in L. E. Modesitt Jr.'s Saga of Recluce, follows Kharl, a skilled cooper living a modest, orderly life in the city of Brysta, whose situation is upended after he intervenes to protect a neighbor's daughter from harm. That act of conscience leads to Kharl being blamed for the murder of a young Recluce mage, forcing him to flee the city with the murdered mage's staff and her book of magical principles in hand, objects that thrust him unwillingly into the unfamiliar world of order magic. With his old life in Brysta closed off to him, Kharl must adapt to the very different demands of becoming a novice in this new craft, even as the circumstances of his flight tie him to the wider currents of Order and Chaos running through the Recluce world.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Saga of Recluce
- Series: The Saga of Recluce core; position 12 of 26 in the series' recorded order
- Author: L.E. Modesitt Jr.
Notes
- From the series record (The Saga of Recluce): One continuous, internally chronological world across many reading-order sub-arcs; the whole published run to date is Core Canon, per the author's own single ordered list. Ongoing; a further volume (Last of the First) is announced for 2026 and is not yet published, so it is not registered (Constitution Article 2).
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Saga of Recluce: position 12 of 26: previous Scion of Cyador (2001) · next Ordermaster (2005)
Sources
- L.E. Modesitt, Jr. official site: The Saga of Recluce
- https://www.lemodesittjr.com/the-books/saga-recluce/wellspring-chaos/
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