Everand Logo

Welcome to Everand!

  • Discover millions of ebooks, audiobooks, and so much more with a free trial

    Only $11.99/month after trial. Cancel anytime.

    Imager's Challenge
    Imager's Challenge
    Imager's Challenge
    Audiobook18 hours

    Imager's Challenge

    Written by L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

    Narrated by William Dufris

    4/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Imager's Challenge takes up immediately after the conclusion of Imager. Still recovering from injuries received in foiling the plots of the Ferran envoy, Rhenn is preparing to take up his new duties as imager liaison to the Civic Patrol of L'Excelsis. No sooner has he assumed his new position than he discovers two things. First, the commander of the Civic Patrol doesn't want a liaison from the infamous Collegium and soon has Rhenn patrolling the streets of the worst district in the city. Second, Rhenn receives formal notice that one of the High Holders, the father of a man Rhenn partly blinded in self-defense, has declared his intention to destroy Rhenn and his family.

    Rhenn's only allies are the family of the girl he loves, successful merchants with underworld connections. In the end, Rhenn must stand off against gang lords, naval marines, Tiempran terrorist priests, the most powerful High Holder in all of Solidar, and his own Collegium-and find a way to prevail without making further enemies and endangering those he loves.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherTantor Media, Inc
    Release dateOct 27, 2009
    ISBN9781400181810
    Imager's Challenge
    Author

    L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

    L. E. Modesitt, Jr., is the bestselling author of the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce, Corean Chronicles, and the Imager Portfolio. His science fiction includes Adiamante, the Ecolitan novels, the Forever Hero Trilogy, and Archform: Beauty. Besides a writer, Modesitt has been a U.S. Navy pilot, a director of research for a political campaign, legislative assistant and staff director for a U.S. Congressman, Director of Legislation and Congressional Relations for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a consultant on environmental, regulatory, and communications issues, and a college lecturer. He lives in Cedar City, Utah.

    More audiobooks from L. E. Modesitt, Jr.

    Related to Imager's Challenge

    Titles in the series (12)

    View More
    View More

    Related audiobooks

    Fantasy For You

    View More
    View More

    Related podcast episodes

    Related articles

    • Article

      SCARS On The SOUL

      Jan 12, 2020

      I’m standing in a fiercely lit changing room, waiting for Joao-from-Portugal to bring me smaller jeans and a bigger top. I used to think ‘Joao’ was a totally exotic name until I visited Lisbon and realised that every second man in Portugal is called

      2 min read

    • Article

      The Sticky Tar Pit of Time

      Sep 11, 2019

      The Sticky Tar Pit of Time
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Turn

      Aug 14, 2019

      HERE’S a story. In college I entered the spring semester of my freshman year on academic probation. There wasn’t one reason this happened. There were many. I had signed up for a computer science class called Digital Security with no programming knowl

      5 min read

    • Article

      Anti Hero

      Apr 7, 2022

      Anti Hero
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Woman At Home

      Jan 29, 2019

      From the journals of Samuel P. Perceval,bookseller: Covent Garden, Dec. 15, 1974 This spring, I found a curious letter sewn into the hem of a coat belonging to my late great-aunt Florence. Crudely enveloped in what appeared to be a page torn from

      5 min read

    • Article

      The Art Of Conversation

      Nov 1, 2023

      The Art Of Conversation
      4 min read

    • Article

      Roger’s PROFANISAURUS

      Aug 5, 2021

      profanisaurus@viz.co.uk aroma diffuser 1. n. A scientific device that breaks “essential oils” down into smaller molecules, dispersing them into the air for a pleasant or calming effect on the gullible. 2. n. The arsehole. Barbie’s minge sim. Somethin

      8 min read

    • Article

      Cruel Means, Bitter Ends

      Nov 10, 2021

      “In order for this speech to mean anything to me, I’ll need to dispense with the usual demagoguery and, instead, make an attempt at honesty. With this in mind, there is one thing I have to make clear. I’m not in this race to serve your interests, but

      12 min read

    • Article

      Une Affaire Dangereuse

      Feb 1, 2018

      Une Affaire Dangereuse
      10 min read

    • Article

      Prey

      Mar 10, 2024

      As I drove slowly toward the mob of angry protestors and my meeting with 200, I thought of 199. The ashes of a once hard man, staring at me with wide eyes that pleaded for hope like a dog begging for treats. I’d somehow found a way to give him that h

      41 min read

    • Article

      Why Do My Eyes Look Like Nipples?

      Aug 25, 2021

      Jem Clarke is in his very, very early fifties, is five foot zero inches tall and has never left the family home in Cleethorpes, which he still shares with his parents... ‘It’s a shame there’s not a nicer word for nipples,’ my Great-Aunt Jessie once t

      3 min read

    • Article

      Equinox

      May 18, 2022

      In this strange world, where identities change with the rising and setting of the sun, supernatural forces are at work – and they’re causing trouble… St Leonars prison was an appropriately imposing building. It rose out of the surrounding shacks and

      5 min read

    • Article

      Prey

      May 10, 2021

      As I drove slowly towards the mob of angry protestors and my meeting with 200, I thought of 199. The ashes of a once hard man, staring at me with wide eyes that pleaded for hope like a dog begging for treats. I’d somehow found a way to give him that

      41 min read

    • Article

      Performance

      Nov 10, 2022

      “Wait here,” the guard said as he shut the door behind him, leaving me by myself. The floor inside the lab was polished, and the air smelled of disinfectant, and yet the room felt unclean. Leaves shook on a tree outside the window, making shadows on

      18 min read

    • Article

      Sexual Tension

      Jun 5, 2023

      Sexual Tension
      13 min read

    • Article

      In Praise of Darkness

      Aug 15, 2018

      HEATHER LANIER is the author of the nonfiction book Teaching in the Terrordome as well as two poetry chapbooks. Her essays have appeared in Salon, the Sun, Fourth Genre, Brevity, and elsewhere, and her TED talk on the incomplete stories we tell ourse

      8 min read

    • Article

      Always In Memory

      Sep 1, 2022

      Always In Memory
      6 min read

    • Article

      The Escape Of Koravitch

      Sep 30, 2019

      The Escape Of Koravitch
      16 min read

    • Article

      Caught Out

      Oct 2, 2022

      Caught Out
      9 min read

    Related categories

    Reviews for Imager's Challenge

    4/5

    144 ratings7 reviews

    What did you think?

    Tap to rate

    Review must be at least 10 words

    • 4/5
      This is the second book in a series regarding Rhennthyl, who is an imager. The story includes a multiplicity of problems that Rhenn has to overcome. He has the capability to imagine things into existence or modify matter at will. He is intelligent and has a romance with a beautiful woman who is a Pharsee. The story covers how he and Seliora deal with the challenges that they overcome. The author provides commentary on religion, politics, and life. I liked the story and the wisdom incorporated into the storyline. It is a long book in a series of long books, so there is a significant time investment involved in reading these books. The author could have shortened the stories by providing less detail about outfits, food, and physical appearances but these details paint a picture of the story.
    • 4/5
      This is the second book in ‘The Imager Portfolio’ series. Like the first, it is set in the city of L’Execlsis in the country of Solidar. The technology is at about the level of Victorian England, the main methods of transport being horse-drawn cabs and railways. The latter are mostly used for freight. Society is well-organised and hierarchical with very wealthy landowners High Holders at the top, Merchants and manufacturers rising in importance, working folks and slum dwellers called Taudis at the bottom. The Collegium Imago – the College of Imagers – is a power in the land but by no means the only one and they have to tread carefully.

      Imagers can manipulate matter with their minds and ‘image’ into existence objects that were not there before, albeit with a cost in energy and a cost, too, for the surrounding matter. They can do this over a limited distance so, for example, image caustic soda into the eyes of someone shooting at them. Some can also image force fields to use as shields and make themselves invisible.

      After the events of ‘Imager’, our hero, Rhennthyl, is promoted. He will now be the liaison between the Imager Collegium and the Civic Patrol, essentially the police force of L’Excelsis. The officers in the Patrol don’t like him but he fares better on the streets with the ordinary cops. Rhenn has made a deadly enemy in High Holder Ryel, one of the most powerful men in Solidar. Certain slum leaders, called Taudischefs, are also out to get him but one is his friend, more or less. His girl-friend, Seliora, and her family are also strong allies. They are furniture manufacturers who made it out of the slums but still have some useful contacts therein. The College of Imagers, to which Rhenn belongs, seems mostly interested in keeping him quiet to avoid trouble with the High Holders and the Council. Not much support there.

      The plot proceeds at Mister Modesitt’s usual steady pace. Rhenn’s daily life is narrated: his early morning runs, his meals, his patrols, his meetings with his girl-friend: everything. Meals are lovingly described and, every time he meets Seliora, we learn what she is wearing today. We are also privy to his own thoughts via the medium of first person narration. Over the course of many pages, the reader is drawn into the life of the protagonist and wants to know how it all turns out.

      It is not flashy storytelling but it works and is even enjoyable. Modesitt is fantasy’s Anthony Trollope whose work was once described by Nathaniel Hawthorne as ‘solid fare, like beef and potatoes’. The author’s heroes are decent hard-headed chaps – hard hearted, too, when necessary – with magic powers. Their friends are ordinary people. Modesitt had a career in politics and is much concerned with how a society works economically and politically. He gives the novels a very realistic background and it is this solid under-pinning that makes his work different from most other fantasies. Stylistically, he is slightly too fond of tags to avoid the ‘he said, she said’ trap but not to any jarring extent. His usual alternative is ‘I offered’ and ‘he returned’. James Blish would have him boiled in oil but I don’t really mind. The book is written in very clear prose and reading it induces a state of mild contentment. Like eating meat and potatoes really.

      There aren’t too many surprises in the plot because as we follow Rhenn’s thoughts, it isn’t too hard to guess what he might do next. However, when he is surprised we are, too. This is notable when he gets some idea of how other people see him. There is also a nice revelation right at the end of the book.

      I spend a lot of time reviewing short stories, where one is thrown into a strange world for a few pages and then, with the next story, taken into one entirely different. For me, it is nice, cosy even, to settle into one well-wrought fantasy world for a hundred thousand words or so of easy, pleasant reading. Judging by the popularity of Modesitt’s many books, I am not alone.
    • 4/5
      Excellent world building. Lots of explanation in the process and perhaps some unnecessary regarding the political tensions with other countries as lent nothing to this book. Being a long series, it likely will be brought up in another book, but probably will be all re-explained again. Definitely was rooting for the relationship of Rhenn and Seliorca and enjoyed seeing him advance in his Imager career.
    • 4/5
      I first read this about 5 years ago when it came out & gave it 3 stars. I'm bumping it up to 4 stars. Modesitt weaves a great mystery through his unique magical fantasy world. It's very realistic in many ways as it explores balances of power, money, influence, & public perceptions. Power certainly comes in many forms & isn't the panacea it is in simpler novels. The method of magic, imaging, is uniquely handled & the growth of the main character is excellent.

      This book should definitely be read after the first, if you possibly can. He fills in a bit, but the situation & character growth won't come across nearly as well. This world is every bit as complex as his Recluce series with a similar, if slightly higher level of technology. Highly recommended.
    • 3/5
      As with the first book in the series, LE Modesitt has become too verbose for his own good. Why do I need to know every time the main character eats what he is eating, and what fictitious wine is best paired with it?Things take far too long to develop and in a cliched way as well. At this stage, you want to finish the series but desperately wish that Modesitt would write tight and forget the BS that he has laced the tale with. Now his works are becoming all rather the same. Meet Hero. He has failed (remember in Recluce almost every hero is cast out to go find themselves) He must choose a new path that he will master and become the best at. This journey is slow and sure, steady, but in the end rewarding.It is what we are seeing here. Perhaps it is time to think of a new formula.Slightly better than average. It would be much better if it was 2/3rds the length which would have been easily done. More Action. Less BS. This series will be a never again because of all the pages that you rush over, that have little value to the tale, the plot, the theme.
    • 3/5
      2.75 stars

      This new series by Modesitt is just not striking a chord with me, not like the Recluse Saga or the Spellsong Cycle did. I kept reading because I wanted to discover what happened, but not because I cared about Rhenn or any of the other characters. In that respect, it read more like a mystery rather than a character driven fantasy novel. And I still don't care for the magic system, which masquerades as psychic powers rather than something wondrous.

      If Modesitt set out to make a social or political statement with this series, I'm not sure he's succeeding. Since the story is told in the first person (through Rhenn's eyes only), I'm only getting Rhenn's perception of the world and how his life is affected (negatively as far as he's concerned according to his monologues). Of course, he relates his conversations and debates with his peers, colleagues and mentors (often didactically for the latter). Some of the paradigms I can agree with or at least relate to.

      I'm not feeling compelled to continue this series after reading this second installment.
    • 2/5
      Whilst I enjoyed this book I found too many echoes of previous Modesitt novels and the pace rather slow.