Modesitt: the forever hero
The forever hero is a three-into-one book, comprising dawn for a distant earth, the silent warrior and in endless twilight. This was Modesitt's first major set of books, so I was looking forward to seeing how his style developed over all those years.
Well, in a lot of Modesitt's books I've read till now, the main character constantly doubts himself. He doesn't perform well enough, he's to inexperienced, etc. All the while saving or destroying towns/countries/planets like there's no tomorrow. Not in this book. Gershwin, the main character, can and does trust in his own abilities. Well, he needs each and every one of them as he tries to put Earth back together again. Which is currently a smoldering, poisoned, leveled wasteland.
Gershwin is blessed with a very long lifetime, which adds a different perspective to the story. You don't see that often in books so just for that it is a nice read. I don't know if this long lifetime is the reason or if it is because it is Modesitt's first book, but the pace of the book is not high. It's definitively not a low pace, but it just keeps going on and on in roughly the same tempo.
The ending? In style, definitively in style. It fits with the book.
Advisable? Yes, if you like Modesitt's other books. If you disliked the whining of the main character in other Modesitt stories but liked the books nevertheless: take this one. If you disliked the cryptical conversations in some of his other books (things that aren't spelled out but which you cannot really understand yourself either): take this one, it's not so bad here :-). If you like Modesitt in general: take this one.
At some 750 pages it is thick enough to keep even some relatives of mine occupied for more than a day :-)
