I don't understand how so many awesome things could take place in this trilogy and it still be one of the most boring, dry stories I've ever read. If the author had taken as much time on the character interactions and emotional content as she did over lovingly detailing every muddy field and dense woodland Paks had to march, ride, stumble or otherwise traverse in some fashion, then this would have been a shining beacon of dialogue and deep insight in to the inner workings of the human mind. Sadly she didn't though, so it was full of boring or thoroughly unlikeable individuals I never much cared for (I'm looking at you every single judgemental, hypocritical Marshal of Gird. I hated the entire second book just because there's so many of these jerk-arses for "good" in it). I've read that others consider Paksenarrion to be a strong female character, but I'd have to disagree. Being able to wield a sword and having no sexual desire what-so-ever doesn't make her strong, or even particularly interesting. Personally I found that she was virtually a blank place holder of a character for most of the series, having absolutely no wants or desires beyond being a good soldier and doing what she's told to do in order to move the plot along (then later being a good paladin and moving the plot along under the guise of doing the will of the gods). Good friends of hers die throughout the series and she learns she can never return to her family because it would make them a target for evil attentions, yet after a sentence of "then she cried" it's never spoken of again and she appears no worse than she was before. Even when truly horrific things happen to Paks I never really got a sense of her suffering, even when I was being directly told how much she hated her existence at that time. I feel this is an error in the writing and not on my part as a reader. It's not my job to decide the emotional emphasis for the scene if the author doesn't make an effort to show me what the character is feeling or going through at that precise point in the story.When the story wasn't being boring, indulging in endlessly dragging scene descriptions, or sucking at character building, it was having weird sojourns in to D&D adventures. At the beginning of the second book it literally sounded like the author was writing up the notes on a game she'd played in. For some reason her Lawful Good warrior (Paks) decided to raid a dungeon an elven ruin with a half-elf rogue-wizard she'd just met (of dubious alignment) and along the way somehow managed to purge the surrounding land of a lingering evil. This interlude had absolutely nothing to do with the rest of the book or the series at all, except that the elves liked her slightly more, not that the ungrateful bastards ever really showed it or trusted her judgement at face value at any point afterwards. I should note that the elves in this story aren't really seen much for the most part, but every time they do appear they try really hard to be inscrutable, all knowing entities who have lived hundreds of human lifetimes and so are wise, so very wise. Yet they never give a straight answer to anything and actively mess with peoples minds to cause actions (or inactions) to occur based on what they feel is best (even if they're not going to hang around afterwards), just made them seem like petty, spiteful jerks. Much like the Girdsmen in this series (who somehow manage to have a very Christian flavour despite emulating their patron saint Gird, protector of the innocent, by arming themselves to the teeth), they claim to work for the greater good and be on the side of the High Lord and the pantheon of "good" gods, but on the whole they just seem to be narrow minded individuals who only pay lipservice to the idea of goodness and dispense help only to those they consider to be "deserving".So to conclude things here before I go off on a complete ranty tangent, no, I really didn't like this series. I know it's considered by some to be one of those great fantasy successors to Tolkien, and I guess in some ways it is (Tolkien could also linger overly long on just the wrong thing *cough*TomBombadil*cough*), but mostly I just don't see it. I want to be clear and say I didn't absolutely hate the series though. There were a lot of things that took place that I thought would have been interesting if they'd also been invested with any emotional weight at all (and there are a few scenes like that, but they stand out from the pages and pages of surrounding text because the rest is so bland), but on the whole I just found this an incredibly tedious read that I wont be rereading in the future.
Hints more than Spoilers:My first unforgettable impression was that Moon had a crazy-realistic grasp of what life would feel like as a pawn in a military troop. Paks is a stubborn, passionate, true-to-herself sort of person - she is so great! But she doesn't know these people over her at all, she doesn't know their character or goals or why they are marching over a mountain pass, she is just doing the best she can from where she is. From her point of view the mud is mucky, the fights in the yard hurt, the stew tastes delicious, and she makes some good friends and enemies. It was so easy to picture myself in her place.Paks grows and adapts. I was thrilled when she left the comfort of the familiar over inner convictions. She takes what help she can get, but her Elfen help is no help at all, which is again, so true to reality and it thrilled me with the danger. There are elves and counter-elves who are dangerous because of how long they live and how much they know. There's an intricate belief system with churches that have fighting platforms to train local militia. There are dwarves, dragons, ogres... and if I say anything at all I feel like I'll prove my ignorance to hard-core followers of Paks' world, but as new fan, it is all so intricate and fun and dangerous.So, Paks tangles with the elves and ignorantly passes on a message to opposing religious leaders, which gets me to my favorite part of the story, the Kuagan. They are so different, a complete freshly created religion surrounding nature. The followers of Gird make more sense sort of like modern churches who follow someone's specific teaching to follow God, if that makes sense, but the Kuagan are so different even when they're recognized as following the same God. I was immediately intrigued with the quiet wood in the middle of town, where entering the first line of trees blocks out all other sound. (And not just b/c I'm an Oregonian. Ha.)Just when things were bad enough (or rather, almost looking up), Paks loses her own grip on reality. I don't know about anyone else, but this was so realistic for me. At the time I blamed the size of the volume and living more in Paks world than mine. Maybe so. But Moon took me right through insanity and then out the other side. When Paks found healing, I was sobbing.*sigh*I wouldn't say you have to read The Deed of Paksenarrion before the current books, the new series stands by itself and Paks is actually a smaller character in 'em. But I would say that this is one of those books for the library, one of those must-haves, one to reread.
What do You think about The Deed Of Paksenarrion (1992)?
Terrible. I hoped that the author’s experience in real combat would make this an interesting novel, but instead it just bogged the story down with boring and completely unnecessary details. She feels the need to describe every type of mud, but Paks’ training to be a soldier still somehow feels like a montage. Add to that unrealistic dialog, a plot that *still* hadn’t started at page 131, evil characters who are VERY VERY evil and good characters who are VERY VERY good, and you have yourself a piece of drek. I feel no need to finish the book (because A)the characters have no personalities whatsoever, B)the main character is a boring Mary-Sue, and C)there is no plot), let alone the series. At least Mercedes Lackey’s Arrows of the Queen had a feel of joy to it; this is just one long slog through cliché-land.
—Wealhtheow
Out of all the books I have read, this is probably(ok IS) my favorite. I actually was slow and bought the omnibus having not read any of the 3 books. I bought it because I have read and liked Elizabeth Moon's other books. I actually need to buy another copy as mine is so worn and tattered, held together by cardboard and duct tape. Elizabeth Moon is a very strong writer with the ability to make you see her words in your minds eye not just on the page. Paksenarrion is the heroine of this trilogy and I am not sure if it is her strong sense of honor and duty which appeals to me or the fact that as a female veteran I can empathize with her so much. This is my first real review and since it is my favorite book more emotional than factual. If you like fantasy and military books this one combines some of the best of both. I will honestly say there is a little drag in the middle(I skip it in rereads sometimes) but for the most part even as many times as I have read it, the flow is fast paced and dynamic and you always want to root for Paks and her friends.
—Monika
I want to say first that I've read hundreds if not thousands of books and the largest percentage of them are probably fantasy. I love this book and rate it as one of my top 3 or 4 favorite novels. I can't recommend it too highly. I really don't think I can recommend it highly enough. Please read this book. I keep multiple copies on my shelf and have loaned out (read given away) many copies. This one is great.I read the omnibus edition of this book. It’s actually a trilogy. The Deed of Paksenarrion contains Sheepfarmer’s Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold. I find it a truly exceptional high fantasy read. I rate it five stars as it’s in many ways (in my opinion of course) the best of it’s type. In a time when “attempts” at epic fantasy are a dime a dozen, a good (or great) one should be noticed.I don’t want to include any spoilers in this (and I know some actually look for them)***(note that I edited in a spoiler tag below. I decided that I had included a spoiler and came back to hide it under a warning. You may want to read the book before you read the part I hid.)*** but, let me mention what the book is actually about. It follows the life and career of a young woman who wants to be a soldier (the author Elizabeth Moon was military) from her beginning training throughout her life (view spoiler)[to her development into a paladin. (hide spoiler)]
—Mike (the Paladin)
