Return to the world of Paksenarrion

[bibliogramma]

I loved Elizabeth Moon's books about Paksenarrion, the sheepfarmer's daughter who ran away from an ordinary predictable life to become first a mercenary and then a paladin. It's been a long time since Moon wrote those, but she has returned to the richly detailed world of Paksenarrion with a new series focused on Kieri Phelan, a key figure in the original books.

Kieri Phelan, homeless orphan who became leader of a mercenary company and later a Duke, was revealed in the first series to be the long-lost half-elven heir to the kingdom of Lyonya. Moon's new series follows King Kieri's efforts to establish himself in his new role, defend his country against dark plots within and invasion without, and restore his lost elven heritage so that he can be a whole person and the kind of king that Lyonya, a kingdom of both humans and elves, desperately needs.

Naturally, in preparation for the new series, I had to re-read all of the earlier books in this world.

Paladin's Legacy
Oath of Fealty
Kings of the North

The Deed of Paksenarrion
Sheepfarmer’s Daughter
Divided Allegiance
Oath of Gold

The Legacy of Gird
Surrender None
Liar’s Oath

The third volume in the Paladin's Legacy series comes out next month, and I am very much looking forward to reading it. Moon cannot write these books quickly enough to please me - but I'm so happy she is writing them that it doesn't matter.

Comments

[threeringedmoon]

I picked up Oath of Fealty at the library but was unable to get into it. The first chapter or so seemed to drag and I didn't identify with the characters. I loved the Pak books so I was disappointed.

[bibliogramma]

I think that re-reading the whole series just before I picked up Oath of Fealty helped me there - all the characters, and the political situation in Lyonya and Tsaia, was very clear in my mind, so it really didn't take me any effort to get into it. I'd just read about Paks at the court of Lyonya, and followed Kieri on his journey to his kingdom, and so everything just seemed to flow naturally onward.

I also enjoyed the Dorrin sub-plot, because she had actually been a character I wanted to know more about from the original series.