Surrender None

I am a big fan of fantasy and science fiction novels especially if they are long and have several books in the series. I really enjoy a series of books that I can immerse myself in and I first picked up an Elizabeth Moon novel because it was long and part of a multi-novel series. I continue to read her books because I find them engrossing and highly enjoyable. ( )

story of Gerd, prequel to Paksenarrion

Moon, Elizabeth. Surrender None. 1990. Legacy of Gird No. 1. Orbit, 2000.
The Gird trilogy is a prequel to 1988’s The Sheep Farmer’s Daughter and its trilogy. The world here is straight-up fantasy, heavily influenced by the iconography of Dungeons and Dragons and its ilk, with mages, gnomes and warriors of various kinds. Our hero, Gird, is a sturdy peasant who signs on as an ostler and guard to a caravan but soon finds himself touched by a deity and leading a peasant army against a powerful evil king. It would be forgettable if that was all it was, but Gird is a more nuanced character than one might expect. He must wrestle with the ethical dilemmas provoked by his actions. He grows morally as the novel progresses in a way most genre characters never approach. I am told there are many spoilers to the next trilogy, but I have not read it, so be cautioned. ( )

This is a prequel novel set in the same world as the Deeds of Paksenarrion. This book goes far back in time and tells the story of Gird, the farmer turned rebel and hero. As such, its important to the Paks universe, completing a major element of the history of the world. I enjoyed this, I liked the plot and the character of Gird, even with all of his faults. That may be one of the best characteristics of this book, Moon makes a hero who isn't perfect, isn't briliant and doesn't always win, yet persists. Well worth reading if you enjoy her other fantasy. ( )

Not really quite 4 stars, but close. I was surprised. I've only read her SF series, Vatta's War, before & thought she was pretty good, but not a great writer. This fantasy had a lot more depth, though. It was very well done & not your typical sword & sorcery or epic fantasy. It concentrated on areas that most fantasies gloss over; the common people & many of the everyday issues they face. I really liked how she managed to bring all these issues into sharp focus without bogging down into too much boring detail. The story flowed because of the details she provided, not in spite of them. Fantastic.

The hero of the story isn't very special in any but the most human sense. He's a peasant who makes his share of mistakes, has trouble learning to read & write at the most basic level, but is an honest, hardworking man. He marches through his life, often with few choices & no real clue as to which is best. He just tries to do the next right thing. It makes for an understated, but staggering life of achievement.

I have not read Moon's "Deed of Paksenarrion" trilogy. This is the first of 2 prequels & I think that's what caused the only jarring notes in this book for me - the reason I didn't really want to give it 4 stars, but a bit less. The story focuses on a non-magical, pretty ordinary man who is forced into successful rebellion against the ruling class that has some magic. The magic is quite limited through out until close to the end where he starts getting visions. At the very end, he & the gods perform a huge magic. This is quite important, probably to the trilogy, but I found it jarring in the context of the rest of the book, which was so based on an ordinary man, human societies & typical behavior. I would have liked the story better if it had stuck to the strictly human.

Because of the ending, I can see where this leads to the next prequel, [b:Liar's Oath|933547|Liar's Oath (Legacy of Gird, Book 2)|Elizabeth Moon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179584608s/933547.jpg|200917], but I'm not in a rush to read it. I probably will, eventually. ( )