love this series of books

I have the hardback books but due to sight problems I decided to try the audio books and I'm glad I did! They are great and I could listen to the narrator all day! A must for fans of the books

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2 people found this helpful

Disappointing

Audiobook read by Jennifer van Dyck.
I'd read good things about this series, so I really wanted to like it, but on balance I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. Paksenarrion runs away from home to join a mercenary army rather than marry a local farmer. This book is the account of her first three years as she learns her trade in an army run by Duke Phelan. There's a LOT of detail about the minutiae of like in the military. (And I mean a LOT.) Paks flourishes. The training is good. The Duke looks after his soldiers, and Paks learns her trade well. She's gradually given small promotions and becomes one of the Duke's trusted minions. The good thing about this is the detailed and immersive worldbuilding, though it's in a generic medievaloid setting. The description is excellent, but, as a minion in the Duke's mercenary force, Paks doesn't have much agency, Sure, though naive at first, she learns her trade, is doggedly loyal, gains some loot, and always does her best, but... (You knew there would be a but, didn't you.) This is lacking in story. Paks doesn't really have much of an arc, though there are hints of one to come. She doesn't have much of an emotional journey either. Things happen to Paks, then other things happen, and then more things happen. The army marches here, the army marches there, Paks takes part in (well written) battles, and in sieges. She loses comrades, and saves comrades. I understand that the trilogy (The Deed of Paksenarrion) was written as one massive book and split into three, so this (long as it is) is mostly set-up. There's an incident at the beginning which I expected to pay off at the end, but it doesn't. (I don't know whether it will in subsequent books.) The narrator's occasional attempts at accents doesn't work particularly well for me. Because of her American accent , Paks often sounds like Pox, which is a bit unfortunate.

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2 people found this helpful

Narrator not suited to the book

The narrator would be more suited to the likes of Little Women than this. She is far to prim for narrating Paks' character

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2 people found this helpful

great story with an awful narrator

great story with an awful narrator, the narrator injected a number of awful accents thus spoiling the enjoyment.

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4 people found this helpful

One of the best fantasy

A well written story and a good comming of age book, loved it as a kid and have reread it several times and it is still good as an adult.

The only annoyance is that Paksenarrion is a bit of a 'Mary Sue'... But since this book is older than the expression I guess that exonerates it completely.

Book has everything, sorrow, laughter, excitement, gripping characters.

Read it!

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Good story, bad narration

Wish I’d read this as a paper book or narrated by someone else. The narration was so monotone that it was hard to follow and lost all narrative pacing. A description of a landscape, thick of battle, intimate moment, or even rape was all delivered exactly the same. Super disappointing. I was listening to it while crocheting so it was fine for it to just be noise in the background but want to read the actual book so I know what the story is supposed to be like.

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Good,

I enjoyed this book and I am looking forward to the next installment of this series.

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Not as good as reading the book

I love the books of this series, so was slightly disappointed to find the audio a little samey. The narrator has a good voice, but I found it hard to tell the difference between the characters. This wasn't helped by the author seeming to reuse several names an awful lot.

Having said that, it's a rip-roaring high fantasy adventure, and not at all run of the mill. You get magic and Knights in shining armour, but only from a distance as Paks, former shepherd, runs away to join a mercenary company.

The author's own military background gives the story depth and detail, the misery of campaign as well as the solidity of bonds formed is brought across strongly. It's interesting to consider the hardships faced by a mercenary company operating under essentially medieval conditions.

The heroine is occasionally a bit TOO perfect, and remains resolutely stubborn and naive right through to the end, but it is a solidly entertaining story nonetheless.

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the third time

I'm never going to give you up.
never gonna let you down
loved it for the 3rd time

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An interesting coming of age story with a great se

Style
Written in the style so come to the fantasy genre, Elizabeth Moon tells a gripping tale in a fine fashion. It does nothing orignal in how the story is told, but what it does is exceptionally good. The few changes in perspective freshen the narrative at points. The fact that the story is mainly told from one perspective though, keeps it grounded and easy to follow.

Story
The world that is introduced in this first book of the series, is deeply immersive and intersting. I get a great sense of a world we could easily see Conan striding through, or any such hero of high adventure. This almost dark age or even classical feel adds a lot more then a more generic fantasy setting.

You will follow the tale of Pox, a sheepfarmer's daugther, and her adventures in becoming a mercanary. This coming of age story, is well told. The female protagonist does not follow a sterotypical route some female character could take, and this is great to see.

The other supporting characters are well told and rounded, with some great villians to finish the piece.

Final Thoughts
This is a good book. It doesn't need to push the bounds of literary style to show that it is a fine read for any fan of fiction.

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