Several years back a friend told me about this book urgently suggesting I read it. I'm easily turned off by strange words in both titles and first paragraphs and while I wrote down the title, I didn't jump all over finding it. Well, I was lucky my friend was persistent (with the urgency of a Firefly fan) because I eventually picked it up at the library. And then, I loved it so much, I bought my own copy. And then for good measure, I bought a couple copies for family members.
What makes The Deed of Paksenarrion so great? In my opinion, it is the ONLY novel to ever give J.R.R. Tolkien a run for his money in the fantasy genre. It doesn't have the "Bestseller" moniker printed across the cover, so I can only assume that people saw the title and said 'meh'. Don't let the title fool you, it is an epic fantasy so vivid and detailed and huge in scope that it is truly worthy to be compared to the master of fantasy himself.
The novel follows the story of a young woman, Paks who is betrothed to a pig farmer. She has other ideas and runs away from home to join a mercenary company. But her longing is to be greater than a mercenary and to fight for good the way the heroes of her grandfather's time did takes her down a path no one would expect.
What begins as a soldier's story quickly evolves into an epic tale of good and evil, right and wrong, as Paks leaves the mercenary company and shows gifts that may indicate she has been chosen by the gods for some purpose. As with all great books, Elizabeth Moon gives Paks some crushing defeats and major disappointments. Those painful moments define her character and make the moments of victory so much the sweeter.
Moon deftly weaves the story of Paks and brings a rich tapestry of event and emotion to the story. The story seems larger than its genre to me. I believe that it would be enjoyable to some who don't regularly read fantasy in the same way that The Lord of the Rings is.
You'll hear me say on this blog. "This is a book I've re-read." When I say that it shows a truly special story because with the thousands of books left to read, I only revisit the very best, the ones that have tugged on my heart or my imagination. So far, I'm up to at least four readings of The Deed of Paksenarrion. I consider it a top ten in favorite books.
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