L. E. Modesitt Jr.

L. E. (Leland Exton) Modesitt Jr. (; born 19 October 1943) is an American science fiction and fantasy author who has written over 75 novels. He is best known for the fantasy series The Saga of Recluce. By 2015 the 18 novels in the Recluce series had sold nearly three million copies. By 2019 there were 22 Recluce novels. In addition to his novels, Modesitt has published technical studies and articles, columns, poetry, and a number of science fiction stories. His first short story, "The Great American Economy", was published in 1973 in Analog Science Fiction and Science Fact. In 2008, he published his first collection of short stories, Viewpoints Critical: Selected Stories (Tor Books, 2008).