Complete at Last in a Single Hardcover Volume—the Finest Trilogy ofEpic Fantasy in a DecadePaksenarrion, a simple sheepfarmer’s daughter, yearns for a life of adventure and glory, such as was known to heroes in songs and story. At age seventeen she runs away from home to join a mercenary company and begins her epic life . . . Book One: Paks is trained as a mercenary, blooded, and introduced to … trained as a mercenary, blooded, and introduced to the life of a soldier . . . and to the followers of Gird, the soldier’s god. Book Two: Paks leaves the Duke’s company to follow the path of Gird alone—and on her lonely quests encounters the other sentient races of her world. Book Three: Paks the warrior must learn to live with Paks the human. She undertakes a holy quest for a lost elven prince that brings the gods’ wrath down on her and tests her very limits.
At the publisher’s request, this title is sold without DRM (Digital Rights Management).
“Engrossing . . .” —Anne McCaffrey
“A tour de force . . .” —Jack McDevitt
“Worldbuilding in the grand tradition, background thought out to the last detail.” —Judith Tarr
“Superlative . . .” —Booklist
“Brilliant . . . the excitement of high heroic adventure . . . will enchant the reader.” —Bookwatch
Elizabeth Moon has degrees in history and biology, served as a commissioned officer in the U.S. Marine Corps, was elected to public office, and spent six years as a paramedic on a rural Texas ambulance service. Her much acclaimed novels include The Deed of Paksenarrion, an epic fantasy, the “Heris Serrano” series; and two nationally bestselling collaborations with Anne McCaffrey, Sassinak and Generation Warriors. Her recent novel Remnant Population was acclaimed by Anne McCaffrey (“. . . marvelously empathic insights . . . pure satisfaction . . .”) and Ursula K. LeGuin (“. . . a book full of pleasures.”) and was a Hugo Award finalist. Her last novel was Change of Command, to which Against the Odds is a sequel. Moon lives outside of Austin, Texas with her husband and their son.
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This classic work of military fantasy, depicting the development of a paladin from her humble beginnings as a private in a mercenary army, is just as good now as it was when I first read it in the late 80’s. I love the omnibus edition particularly because Book 2’s ending is *brutal* and it’s really, really good to turn the page and immediately move on from the nadir of the character’s growth arc and into the triumphant bits. But Paks is engaging, her world is large and full of fascinating myths, history, and races, and her story hits just as home as it did when it was written. Totally still worth the read (or the re-read, if you’re ancient like me. *grin*)
I’ve been reading SF and Fantasy for 50 years. For 10 of those years, I was the SF reviewer for the Greensburg/Pittsburgh PA Tribune-Review. In all those years, The Deed of Paksennarion was and is the finest fantasy trilogy (swords and sorcery genre) I have read – and probably ever will read. Author Elizabeth Moon was a Marine Corps officer, and while she never fought with a sword, much that happens in the military never changes – the hurry-up-and wait, follow orders, but not TOO blindly, chain-of-command, a month of boredom followed by a few hours of mind-ripping fear. All those Moon brings vividly to life as she follows Sheepfarmer’s Daughter Paksenarrian Dorthansdotter from her life as a farm-girl to the joy and pain of being a Paladin. This is a three-book trilogy – Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold. My highest possible recommendation.
I absolutely loved this book. I’ll never forget the characters. Powerful storytelling.
I cannot say enough about this trilogy. Truly a classic in fantasy literature.
Could not put it down!
If I could give it more than 5 stars I would.
My first introduction into the Military Fantasy subgenre.
I consider this one of the finest fantasy series written in the 1990’s. I cannot tell you how many times I have reread it.
There are some people who don’t like this book with its initial focus on military training. That didn’t bother me. This book more than anything else inspired my ‘Paladin Chronicles’ series. It has ‘mud in the eye’ type of realism, strong female protagonist, portrayal of the religious Paladin and the fight of good versus evil.
This is one of the best fantasy series that I have ever read. Moon’s books are comparable, and easily so, to anything by C.S. Lewis or by Tolkien, just to list a couple of classics. The world building is some of the best ever, and the characters are both fully developed and unforgettable. There is a philosophical intelligence rarely found in any literature, and it is important to understand that even as each of Elizabeth Moon’s Paksenarrion books is both absorbing, fast-paced and full of adventure, each is also literature rather than mere fiction or fantasy. These books will become, over time, literary classics.