Rex Regis by L.E. Modesitt, Jr.

Rex Regis appears to be the final installment in the Imager Portfolio, which is a little sad, as I was truly enjoying the series. I'd hoped, however, that it would go back to the future, and continue where Imager's Intrigue left off. In this book, Modesitt goes about methodically wrapping up loose ends in the war with Bovaria, so that Bhayar's rule over the combined realm of Solidar can proceed smoothly, and so that Quaeryt can become the first maître of the Collegium.

Quaeryt and Vaelora leave Antiago behind and ride slowly north back to Variana, stopping along the way to meet with high holders and factors and to impress on them the importance of being loyal to their new ruler, Bhayar. Once they arrive, Quaeryt and his imagers begin the constructive (rather than destructive) work of building and repairing roads and structures in the new capital of the empire, and also constructing the new home for the Collegium on the Isle of Piers. Bhayar appoints the couple as his chief administrators, with the power to get the business affairs of the new country on a firm footing.

The only fly in the ointment seems to be a couple of Bhayar's senior commanders who have ideas of their own about how things should go now that Rex Kharst has been eliminated. All the other minor plotters can be dealt with quickly, but Quaeryt eventually has to be dispatched to make sure the plot is real and to defuse it if he can.

Not a lot of action or tension in this book; it's just a wrap up and deals with mundane issues that Modesitt needed to get off his chest.

It will be interesting to see what series he tackles next.