Book: Imager's Battalion by L.E. Modesitt
Novel: Imager's Battalion by L.E. Modesitt. Book 3 of 5 in the Second Imager series.
The plot isn't terribly surprising. It's mostly linear and somewhat retreads territory the author covered in his Mage-Guard books. But I read Modessit mostly for his insights on the political machinations of human societies, and to see how a powerful character deals with the situations he faces. Queryt is one of the author's more balanced and generally likeable characters. Yeah, he's trying to accomplish something great, and since he has intangible power (imaging) he sometimes does truly awful things, but he never does it without realizing the costs, and his goals are truly admirable.