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He posits an interesting world where Order (Black) & Chaos (White) are separate forces that can be manipulated by humans. Those who wield each, don't generally play well with those who use the opposing force. There is a balance, so both forces gain more play in the world as the other side becomes stronger. Some people are focuses of one or the other, too. It leads to interesting situations.

The world is complex with very real politics, economics, & issues. That's what I like best about them since parallels can easily be drawn to our reality. It's not boring, but full of twists, betrayals, & problems. What's even more real are the way he treats peasants & crafters. Wood & metal working are very well described. Well enough that I'm glad I don't use hide glue & have modern finishes.

Throughout the series, his heroes & heroines have to take care of their horses which occasionally slow the frantic pace since they're not just cars with hooves. They get tired, have to be fed, given breaks, & have their stalls mucked out. None of them seem to care for the smell of horse all that much which is rather odd to me. I like it, a good thing since it's the perfume of preference for my wife.

In this book, he tells the story from the Order side. He continues this for the next 6 books in published order, until book 8, "The White Order" finally gives us the Chaos side of the story. This is the first of the series published, but is currently next to the last or so in the chronology. He recommends his books be read in the order he wrote them & I have to agree for the first read, but a second round in chronological order is better, though. I've read some books several times. Very enjoyable, a highly recommended series.

Since this book is listed first in the GR 'Saga of Recluce' list I'm going to put chronological order list here. I wished GR had a chronological list for this series & Rindis made it here. Thanks, Rindis! I didn't know how to create it, just this way & Listopia. I created one there, but it can get messed up.

Note, this list is subject to change. Modesitt is constantly adding to the series (Amazingly keeping it fresh, too.) & I'll put in the short stories as best I can, too. If anyone can add to or help make this better, please leave a comment about it & I'll tweak as needed. Update: The author himself gave me the chronology for the short stories & has checked this.

Current Recluce Chronology (18Jan2018)
Books are whole numbers, short stories are fractional.
Recluce Tales: Stories from the World of Recluce are all the Recluce short stories, although some can be found elsewhere, too. I'll note that if I know it. In the book, they're in chronological order save for one & I've inserted them here in their proper places in the list here. Books are grouped by characters/story arcs. (Many thanks to Modesitt for placating my obsessive need.)
0.5 - "The Vice Marshal's Trial" Year -300, takes place roughly 300 years before the beginning of Magi'i of Cyador & is about one aspect of the founding of Cyador.
0.6 - "Madness" Year -200, is set about a hundred years after the above. It takes place on the opposite side of Candor, a bit of the early history of Lydiar.
0.7 - "The Forest Girl" slightly after the above, back in Cyador, a glimpse into the life of Alyiakal & the Great Forest.

0.8"The Choice" - Year -50, takes place about 50 years before the start of Magi'i of Cyador, a glimpse into the history of Toziel & his consort, the emperor of Cyador in Lorn's time.
1 - Magi'i of Cyador - Year 0 - Lorn must become a Mirror Lancer officer of the White Empire of Cyador, hiding his talents as a magus, while fighting barbarians and the Accursed Forest, and falling in love with the merchanter Ryalth.
2 - Scion of Cyador - Year 8 - Now an overcaptain, Lorn - and Ryalth - must discover how to keep Lorn from falling prey to plots from ambitious senior officers, merchanters, and Magi'i who plot various coups to take over the Malachite Throne, and stop a barbarian invasion.
2.1 - "The Most Successful Merchant" starts before the two Lorn books, is contemporaneous with them, but ends later.

3 - Fall of Angels - Year 401 - Ryba's and Nylan's ship Winterlance breaks the order-chaos barrier into new universe; they and 24 female marines planetfall to the Roof of World, survive local attacks, build Tower Black and Westwind, and begin the Westwind guards.
4 - The Chaos Balance - Year 403 - Nylan and Ayrlyn leave Westwind. They seek refuge in Lornth, which comes under attack by Cyador, the first white empire. Nylan must discover the secret of the accursed forest to save Lornth and his son.
4.3 - "Heritage" takes place immediately after The Chaos Balance with the Empress leaving Cyador for new lands.
4.5 - The Stranger - begins early in Fall of Angels, but ends several years after The Chaos Balance. It adds to the story of a character who wandered off. Also found in Speculative Horizons.
5 - Arms-Commander - Year 415 - Saryn and Ryba face invasion of Westwind by Gallos, Suthyan treachery, and a lords' rebellion in Lornth that threatens peace between the Regency and Westwind, and only Saryn can make the difference and pay the price.

6 - Cyador's Heirs - Year 425 - Lephi and Lerial, grandsons of the fallen Emperor of Cyador struggle to help their father, Kiedron, maintain the Duchy of Cigoerne, established in Hamor after the fall of Cyad.
7 - Heritage of Cyador - Year 433 - Lerial, now a full captain in the Mirror Lancers of Cigoerne, is dispatched to neighboring Afrit to to help repel a possible invasion that threatens not only Afrit, but Cigoerne as well.

8 - The Mongrel Mage - Year 675 - Beltur is raised as a White wizard, but learns what he really is in Alparata, Spidlar as the Prefect of Gallos is dissatisfied with the status quo.
9 - Outcasts of Order - Year 677 - Beltur discovers he's a frighteningly powerful Order mage & everyone fears or wants to use him.
10 - The Mage-Fire War From Modesitt's website: I’ve finished the sequel to Outcasts of Order, which will be the third and final book about Beltur [yes, I know it’s the first time I’ve ever written three books about a character in the Saga of Recluce]. It’s entitled The Mage-Fire War, and it’s scheduled for publication and release in July of next year.... 9July2018 book released Aug2019

11 - Fairhaven Rising Year 704(? Takes place 16 years after The Mage-Fire War Taelya, Beltur’s adopted niece, is now a white mage undercaptain in the Road Guards of Fairhaven.

11.7 - "Songs Past, Songs for Those to Come" - Year 880 - is a bit about a bard who is often referred to, but rarely shown.

12 - The Towers of the Sunset - Year 900 - Creslin, son of the Marshall of Westwind, flees an arranged marriage; is enslaved by the White Wizards, escapes, and enters a marriage of convenience to Maegara, the white witch; they escape Candar to a desert isle where they create the island nation of Recluce.
12.1 - "Sisters of Sarronnyn, Sisters of Westwind" is contemporaneous with above. Also in Viewpoints Critical: Selected Stories.

13 - The White Order - Year 1190 - Cerryl, orphan son of a renegade white mage, works his way toward the heritage which fate - and the Guild of the White Order - have denied him. He becomes an apprentice scrivener in Fairhaven, only to discover the white wizards are observing his every move... and may take his life.
14 - The Magic Engineer - Year 1200 - Dorrin is exiled from Recluce because of his love of forbidden machines; he, Kadara, and Brede travel through Candar and settle in Spidlar; the White Wizards of Fairhaven raise mountains and build roads through them to unite Candar under chaos-rule; Dorrin tries to build machines, many turned to war uses by Brede, as the three fend off chaos.
14.5 - "Artisan" begins in the early part ofThe Magic Engineer and ends roughly eighteen years after the book ends. Fills in Dorrin's story a bit.
15 - Colors of Chaos - Year 1205 - Cerryl finds that he had only begun to discover the problems facing Fairhaven and the White Order and now must cope with dangers from all over Candar, from Recluce, and from within Fairhaven itself, including the jealousy and instability of the High Wizard himself.
15.3 - "Armsman's Odds" takes place near the end of the above, but the motivation for the story takes place before The White Order.

15.6 - "Brass and Lacquer" takes place a hundred-fifty years after the end of Colors of Chaos. Set in Recluce with a junior engineer named Talysen.

15.9 - "Ice and Fire" is set in the same general time frame as the next book & seems like a good way to segue into it, although it is set in Austra.
16 - Natural Ordermage - Year 1500 - Rahl is an apprentice scrivener in Land's End who refuses to believe he has order skills - until he finds himself facing charges of misuse of order and possible exile - or even death - before he is trained and sent to Hamor, where the dangers and challenges he faces are far greater than he realized could be possible.
17 - Mage-Guard of Hamor - Year 1503 - As a junior mage-guard, Rahl must return to Recluce with his mentor to tell the magisters of the destruction of their trading center in Swartheld... and then go back to Hamor where he is transferred to the army charged with putting down a rebellion against the Emperor... in a conflict where nothing is what it seems.

17.7 - "A Game of Capture" Year 1648 - set in Recluce.
18 - The Order War - Year 1650 - Justen, a Black engineer, and his brother Gunnar volunteer to help Sarronnyn fight off the White Wizards of Fairhaven; Justen is driven into the Stone Hills, then rescued by a druid to face greater trials. He defies the Council of Recluce and builds a weapon horrifying both the Council and the White Wizards in his efforts to destroy Fairhaven.
18.1 "The Price of Perfect Order" is the exception in terms of the chronological order in "Recluce Tales". It takes place around the time of the above, but appears in the book after 'The Assistant Envoy' (17.1).

19 - Wellspring of Chaos - Year 1710 - Kharl, a cooper in Brysta, rescues a young woman Blackstaffer, only to find that he has earned the wrath of the heir to one of the Lords of the Quadrant who rule Nordla. With a black staff he does not understand and white wizards opposing him he must find a way to leave Brysta or die - yet what of his family and his cooperage?
20 - Ordermaster - Year 1712 - Kharl has become the Lord's Mage of Austra, only to find himself facing a rebellion by nobles dissatisfied with Lord Ghrant's efforts to curtail their excesses and corruption. And if he succeeds in keeping the young ruler on the throne, he will face an even greater challenge back in Nordla.
20.1 - "The Assistant Envoy's Problem" takes place immediately after the above & features some of the same characters.

20.7 - "Black Ordermage" - Year 1810 - Cassius' origins. Also in Viewpoints Critical: Selected Stories.
21 - The Magic of Recluce - Year 1850 - Young, bored, woodworker Lerris leaves Recluce on his dangergeld exile; he travels Candar and finds the gray wizard Justen; he escapes danger and becomes a woodworker again; he fights the great white wizard Antonin; then finds love and understanding with Krystal, subcommander of Kyphros.
22 - The Death of Chaos - Year 1855 - Lerris, Krystal, and all of Candar are threatened by both the growing power of the Emperor of Hamor and the growth of Chaos; Hamor attacks Candar, and then Recluce; in the end Lerris must attempt to destroy Hamor's power and the power of Chaos, or face the proverbial fate worse than death.
22.2 - "Burning Duty" is told some twenty years after The Death of Chaos, but the events take place during the last part of The Magic of Recluce. Those chairs that were too well made.
22.4 - "Worth" is set just after the end of The Death of Chaos & cleans up Wrynn's story a bit.
22.6 - "Fame" is set about eighty years after The Death of Chaos about how great people are remembered.