Alector's Choice takes place several thousand years before the events chronicled in the Legacies Trilogy, at the time when Corus is ruled by the Talent-magic of the Duarchy. The Myrmidons of Justice command the skies riding their fearsome pteridons. As the Alector Colonel of Myrmidons, Dainyl is the fourth highest ranking military officer of the Duarchy. Alectors are a race apart from the normal inhabitants of Corus, from another world. But there is a rebellion brewing against them. Captain Mykel is a young officer potentially Talented and unaware that, should he ever discover that Talent, his life is forfeit. For Mykel is not an Alector, and only Alectors are allowed to use Talent. The rebellion spirals out of control, spurred by treachery, corruption, and greed -- and aided by the re-appearance of the ancient soarers, a fragile humanoid race of flying beings thought to have become extinct. A terrible war is brewing, and one, or both of these men are the only ones who might stand against it.
Reviews:
tarshaan (Ireland) (2009/07/19): usual Modesitt fare, enjoyable but not particularly subtle or deep. As always he could have used a decent editor - the setup phase of the book should have been done in 50 pages, not 350, and the 'Views of the Highest' sections (fortunately only ever a page or two at a time) should have been excised completely. However once he got into stride it moved fairly fast and engagingly for the last couple hundred pages.
It's listed as book 4, however it's set several thousand years before the first three, and is really the start of a separate trilogy, not a continuation of the series. Don't let this put you off if you haven't got the first three.
