Elizabeth Moon

[thepaladin]

I note that Elizabeth Moon is completely omitted from your lists. Not surprising I suppose as her “space operas” don’t appeal much to me either. While I find them comparable to say, Andre Norton, they are nothing to “write home about” as they say. Still, there are 3 books that (admittedly in my opinion) rise almost to the level of stand-out literature.

As you can probably deduce from my screen name, I’ve long been fascinated by the paladin character. On the whole you almost had to go into historical works to find good and straight treatment of the paladin. Galahad, Roland, these you can find. Lancelot the flawed and fallen paladin is the more frequent model used by modern writers. Interestingly Michael Moorecock makes a connection with these and others at least obliquely in his “Eternal Champion Cycle”. There is what looks like an attempt at an almost direct connection between Elric and Roland.


Most often today the parody is the chosen approach to the paladin. The idea of a champion dedicated to good (or dare I say it, God. Especially the “Christian” God.) is not so much “in favor” at the present time. Tolkien wasn’t worried about that of course. Aragorn, Frodo, and especially Sam are arguably models of the paladin. C. S. Lewis’s Ransom , while a not so subtle Christ figure is also a paladin. Today however in the hands of writers such as Mercedes Lackey the paladin is more often treated as a buffoon than a character to be handled seriously.

Enter Elizabeth Moon and “Paksenarrion”. While I’m sure there are those who will totally disagree with me, I find this trilogy (The Sheep Farmer’s Daughter” , Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold ) one of the best works of high fantasy (or simply fiction for that matter) post Tolkien. If you haven’t read it, try it. While the second in the set is slightly flawed compared to the first and third (the subject matter it deals with is heavier and thus requires more a critical look) It is still well above the norm. This is (I believe) quite simply the best handling of a very difficult character I’ve read in modern literature.

That of course always causes me to wonder what happened in most of her other works. I suppose it could simply be that they are aimed at a younger audience and therefore far simpler. A lot of authors write what I used to call “rent books”. It seemed maybe the rent was due and they needed some income. A rather pompous thing for me to say if you think about it as I haven’t been published (yet I hope).

So, that's my take on Elizabeth Moon. She wrote one of my favorite books (The trilogy here being considered one book. There are several single volume editions) and some of the ones I’ve found most forgettable. I hope that the magic of Paksenarrion will reappear, but even if it doesn’t I still have the first “epic”.

[DavidTate]

Enter Elizabeth Moon and “Paksenarrion”. While I’m sure there are those who will totally disagree with me, I find this trilogy (The Sheep Farmer’s Daughter” , Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold ) one of the best works of high fantasy (or simply fiction for that matter) post Tolkien.

Are these the same thing as the contents of the Baen omnibus The Deed of Paksenarrion ? I have had that sitting on my shelf for a couple of years now, but have never gotten around to reading it. It came highly recommended.

[thepaladin]

Yes. The Deed of Paksenarrion is the triology in one vol. I also highly recommend it. One of my favorite all time books.

[Vomaxx]

Ms. Moon is now working on a sequel to the three Paksennarion books, although I have no idea when it may be available.

[PeterWilliam]

Indeed, the first comes out in 2010. I interviewed her a couple of months ago and asked her a few questions on them.

[kreigfoster]

I'm intrigued by the phrase "a rainbow world of relativism", though. Could you give me an example of a work you would characterize that way?

[charleshudgen]

Deed of Paksenarrion is the triology in just one volume (combines Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold). It is highly recommended and it is my current favorite to read.

[gilroy]

Hello dear all very well On the whole you almost had to go into historical works to find good and straight treatment of the paladin. Galahad, Roland, these you can find I suppose it could simply be that they are aimed at a younger