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

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,

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

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1 person found this helpful

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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What a tale!!

One of the most engaging, dynamic and descriptive stories I've listened to in a long time. Listened from start to finish over 2 days and was sorry when it ended.

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A bit Mary Sue but loved it

This book may not be for everyone but personally I loved the detail and how you felt immersed in Paks’s life as she trained to be a fighter. The author seemed to really know her stuff. People got realistically injured, tired and too weak to fight instead of being superhuman. On the downside Paks is one of those too good characters that can do little wrong. It didn’t matter much but I would have liked to see a bit more inner emotional depth e.g when friends she trains with die.

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3 people found this helpful

My favourite book series

this is my favorite book series of all time. this was the first time i had it in audio book and in the beginning i struggled a bit then i realized it was because the narrator was a bit tio fast so when i lowered the speed it was just as good as always!

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Enjoyable story, wrong narrator

I didn't make it to the end of this audiobook. I was enjoying the story so stuck with it for around 50% but the narrators delivery just didn't work for me.

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