Rating: 
Summary: Engaging military fantasy.
Review: I'd seen this book highly recommended several places and finally got around to picking it up. I loved it! There were several places throughout the book where I just couldn't put it down. I just had to see what happened next. Rather than have this high tension environment throughout the book, Ms. Moon has interspersed scenes that are more relaxed and contemplative, which makes for a very well rounded read.I absolutely loved the prolog. Those first two pages set the tone for the entire book. I'm halfway through the second book, DIVIDED ALLEGIANCE, as I write this and I can say that it continues in this tone of storytelling. The best thing about this book is Paks, the main character. In the first page of the first chapter, I was immediately sympathizing with her. She wants action and adventure, not to marry some pig farmer's son. She wants it so bad that she will defy her father's wishes and run away from her family and everything she's ever known. I was hooked right away. Throughout the book, we experience with her all the joys of military life: recruitment, training, marching, her first battle. These are all done vividly and realistically, making the reader feel as if they are actually there. Paks' feelings and thoughts become ours. Not only is Ms. Moon's characterization brilliant, but her story is engaging, too. I get the impression that most of this book was just set up material for the rest of the series. There were numerous small things that were hinted at in this book that I'm sure will turn out to have great impact later on. On its own, this book is a brilliant military fantasy. The villain they end up chasing around the country, though not actually shown until the very end, is expertly developed. The things he does to prisoners, his tactics, and the way he treats his subjects all combine to make for a nasty villain. I really enjoyed this book. If you like fantasy, but are looking for something different than the usual fare, this will definitely satisfy you. Brilliantly developed and engaging characters, great narration, and an exciting story all add up to take the reader on a thorougly rousing ride.
Rating:
Summary: An entertaining read
Review: If you like tales of ordinary people doing extraordinary things (as I do) then you'll probably enjoy this trilogy. Paks is a refreshingly genuine female character who works hard to be who she wants and it's this struggle that elevates her from the dullness "nice" characters often suffer from. Unfortunately when I read the first two books the third wasn't published here (UK - it is now) and I have never been so eager to read a sequel in my life! I was itching to get it and had it imported. On the down side it is a little formulaic and I find the constant parallels in modern fantasy with Tolkien increasingly tiresome. The level of realism is sound in so far as it is detailed without becoming like an essay on the problems of keeping chainmail clean or what have you. This is not an "important" book (whatever they are), but it is a damn good read.
Rating:
Summary: Justly&immediately earned a place in my permanent collection
Review: It was my older brother, oddly enough, who told me about the Paksennarion books, and he said: "Female heroes have more layers/more depth than most of the males." He was right about this one, and after years of reading SF and fantasy, I find this trilogy one of a few to which I return again and again, enjoying plot, details, setting and hero as much on each rereading as I did the first time, but with less urgency, and therefore with different eyes, learning more each time. Elizabeth Moon has done what I most love: she has taken me out of my world, plunked me down in another, and invited me to learn about the place I'm in and the people who live there. She has given me a true hero: an ordinary person with ordinary flaws doing extraordinary things. This trilogy is, in my opinion, Moon's best work by far, and when my copy gets too tattered (again), or I give it away (once more), I will replace it, as I always do, as quickly as possible.
Rating:
Summary: A well-worn friend.
Review: My library is quite extensive, and yet I find myself returning to Sheepfarmer's Daughter and the other Deeds of Paksenarion books whenever I don't have something new to read. The characterization is beautiful, the plot is convincing, the descriptions are gritty and true to life. Every time I read it, I find a new detail, a small piece of the puzzle I hadn't found on previous readings. If you haven't read this trilogy, you should --- simple as that.
Rating:
Summary: A very good fantasy triology, one of the best
Review: Paksenarrion is one of those heroes you start to love. I have lent my copy away to at least ten people and at least half of them bought their own copy after reading it! I like very much all the three books in the Paks triology and I find this the best of the work of Elizabeth Moon. Some of her space opera is also quite good, but a bit easier reading Elizabeth Moon must have used her experiences as a woman in the armed forces to write so good about wars and being a woman in a war. She also seemes to be able to put her combat experience in good use in these books. I have no problems believing in Paks and that is my ultimate proof that a book is good. I rate Moon along writers as Gavriel Kay, Mary Brown, Tolkien, Eddings, Jordan (in the first books in wheel of time series). I gave this to my niece and she loved it, so its also OK for 16 year olds. If you like good fantasy this is a book for you!
Rating: 
Summary: One of Fantasy's finest military stories
Review: Sheepfarmer's Daughter is the story of a peasant girl who runs away and joins a mercenary company. The book follows Paksenarrion through recruit training and the rigors of campaigns, showing the transformation from green civillian to seasoned veteran. This is a wonderful story if you want realistic fantasy. The military structure and feel of the book is brilliantly authentic. I had the priviledge of training at the Marine Corps Recruit Depot at Parris Island, and I can confidently state that Elizabeth Moon knows her stuff. Any veteran will find a trace of their old DI in Sergeant Stammel, and of their own shock in the first days of training in Paks' reactions. This book also manages to have a strong female character without becoming in any way pedantic, patronizing or anti male. Paksenarion is portrayed as a good recruit who becomes a good soldier. The feel of the book is that, male or female, every individual deserves a chance to reach the height of his or her potential. It manages to convey such a lofty theme while remaining true to the grit and coarse humor of an infantry platoon. All in all, this book is a terrific read, and not the usual run of the mill Tolkien retread stuff of which fantasy is too full today. The next two books in the series, "Divided Allegiance" and "Oath of Gold", are worth reading as well. Elizabeth Moon has proven herself one of the genre's finest.
Rating: 
Summary: the life of a soldier
Review: the life of a soldier. at first i thought of it as kind of dull. P joins an army ans learns the life of a soldier. contains lot of details about her learning, training, formations etc. it is quite interesting. gets very realistic. Moon is great at describing the soldier's life. battles are described a little bit different, coming from the one soldier's point of view.
Rating:
Summary: Paks is a deep, "realistic", exciting tale....
Review: The Paks trilogy is right up there with The Foundation Trilogy and Lord of the Rings for it's excellence. She is the perfect, reluctant hero; a champion not of her own choosing. Read this book and make your life just a little bit better.
Rating: 
Summary: She marched, she slept, she ate, she fought...
Review: Then she marched, she slept, she ate, she fought, she marched, she slept, she ate, she fought, she zzzzzzzzzzzzz.
Rating: 
Summary: This book was blah.
Review: This book is but the beginning of one of the greatest trilogies I have ever read. The story revolves around a young woman named Paksenarrion who runs away from home to avoid the fate her father had consigned her to. Looking for fame and adventure, she joins a mercenary company in which she spends the rest of the book with. As the book progresses, I found myself coming to care deeply for the main character even to the point of becoming heart broken when something bad happens. Elizabeth Moon gives a realistic description of military life that is simply missing from many books in the same genre. The writing is very well done and keeps a good pace. The plot is excellent and not once did I become bored with the direction of the book. I would say that this book is a must read for any person who enjoys this genre.
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