Elizabeth Moon ...

[Metal-Demon]

Has anyone read her series "The Deed Of Paksennarion"?

Awhile back I bought the 3-in-1 compendium and really enjoyed her writing style ... I loved the character (a gritty, but naive female soldier) and thought the book was very much original in it's take on the fantasy genre.

[Alynna Lis Eachann]

I've put it on my "To Read" list. It's so hard to find good female leads in fanatsy, even in these "enlightened" days. It sounds interesting.

[duchess of malfi]

I haven't read that one, but absolutely love her novel Once a Hero, that features a gritty young female officer, who has to deal with issues of past abuse.

[Metal-Demon]

I highly recommend "The Deed of Paksennarion" ... it's a great book, and not at all what I had expected.

[Zahir]

I in general loved her Familias Regnant books, which include Once a Hero (the Esmay Suiza books are IMO better than the Haris Serrano ones). But honestly, I felt the last one just wrapped things up too quickly and neatly.

[taraswizard]

Of course this last year Elizabeth Moon was awarded the Nebula by SFWA for The speed of dark, a book somewhat out of the mold of her previous work; nevertheless, a wonderful book.

[Zahir]

Just finished the first book in her new SciFi series, Trading in Danger and am quite pleased. Might get the second one this week.

[Dragonlily]

I just finished SASSINAK, which she co-wrote with Anne McCaffrey, and was disappointed with the lumbering pace, quite uncharacteristic of McCaffrey. Obviously she must have learned a lot since then.

[Nav]

I read the Serrano Legacy a few years back and while it isn't as dark or intense as the Gap, it's good, character-driven sci-fi that's not afraid to get its hands dirty. I'm not sure which half of the series I liked best. I preferred Heris as a character, as I felt Esmay was too much of an overt feminist role-model, however the Suiza books had some of the best storylines in them. Brun Meager's kidnapping by the New Tex Militia I remember as being quite harrowing in places.

I thought there were perhaps a couple more books in the series though, as it seemed like Barin's friendship with Meharry the younger would lead to them being posted on a ship together. I liked the ending though, especially Heris' choice and the scene back in Diamond Sim's.

I recently finished Speed of Dark too, which is a fascinating book although I found it hard being in the character's head at certain points.

This interview with Elizabeth provides some insights into her research and personal experiences with autism that went into Speed of Dark.

I also found this rather strange interview on Quantum Muse.