Moon can write fights and battles. And that's about it, sadly. I have trouble with main characters who are being led by the story and Paks is that times a million. In this book she's full on paladin and doesn't display any initiative or individuality, she has no goals, she just follows her gods and does what they tell her. It's boring.The story is also predictable and yet it keeps up the tedious exposition for things that weren't established before and don't seem to be really needed. It tries to...

I spent the first two chapters of this book crying. Why, you ask? Because the second book left Paks in such a hopeless, lonely place and in the first couple of chapters Master Oakhollow takes her in and is SO KIND. He demonstrates a kindness that’s often missing in our world today.I had difficulty setting the book down—I really wanted to know what happened. But I just couldn’t give it 5 stars, despite these two factors. Once she was healed, Paks went right back to being a Mary Sue character, who...

I LOVED this series. The world building was wonderful, the characters were compelling, and I cried. A LOT. Poor old Paks goes through many trials before the completion of this trilogy - many of which were painful to read but were completely necessary as both an affirmation to Paks as a character and me, as a reader - that Paks absolutely deserves to be the hero in this story. Sigh. Really. So why the four stars? I took one off because the ending felt rushed and left me feeling unsatisfied. Like

(given this is book 3 in a series, it might contain some mild spoilers, consider yourself warned)I was psyched to start this book: At the end of book 2, we went somewhere peculiar and unexpected and Paksenarrion could be found at the metaphorical rock bottom of the ocean. The first half was (by far) the best part of the book: Paks struggling to get through the days, her finding her way back to Brewersbridge and getting helped by my favourite Kuakgan. That whole part was actually really cool.The

I was a little disappointed with the end of the this series. Paks just becomes too perfect - great fighter, beloved of the gods. The end really pissed me off - this great strong female character has been built up, and then to save the day, she basically (without trying to give to much away) passively sacrifices herself to save the day. Except because she's so good and perfect it's all OK in the end. Everyone lives happily ever after, and Paks continues through the world making things better wher...

Book three of the trilogy, and this book simultaneously has some of the best bits and some of the worst bits.Best: the whole first part, wherein a broken Paksenarrion finds her way back to Brewersbridge. The sensitivity of the writing in this part is always a huge pleasure to read. Her fear, her phobia and illness, both mental and physical, is so perfectly portrayed in just the right words.As soon as Paks is with the rangers in the Ladysforest the shortcomings of this volume make themselves felt...

4 stars--I really liked it.This is Classic high fantasy. Moon writes excellent military fantasy, and is exceptional at pacing and plotting. Paks' journey was a delight to read, and both the writing style and characterization remind me a lot of Tolkien--a bit removed, clear standards of good and evil, lots of archetypes, and so on. (The similarities are intentional, I'm sure.)As a warning, there is a lot of torture in this book (some of it sexual) that made me a bit squeamish. Other than that, I

I take what I said about the ending of the last book back. In fact, it was perfect for this conclusion. In fact, this has been one of the best conclusions to a trilogy I've read in a while. Overall, it takes elements from the previous two and ties them all together to make a great story in three parts.Paks grows considerably as a character, and her final trial is both painful to read yet almost had me standing up and cheering at its conclusion. How she persevered through it is a succinct and per...

Final book in the Deed Of Paskenarrion original trilogy. After the events of the last book, Paks is at an all time low. She returns to the town of Brewersbridge where she spent so much time after leaving the Duke's Company. But even though people there would know her and welcome her, she still shies away from people. Instead she is in so much despair that she finds herself in need of serious help. She does receive it from a earlier character who manages to hep her to return to herself in a gradu...

Awesome series! The first two books were very good, 4 stars, but this last book really upped the level, so that I'd give the series as a whole 5 stars. No more meandering! We get right to it. The world-building is very detailed and the characters are developed to the point where you really care about them. Paks, the main character, grows tremendously throughout the series, which I always appreciate.Some additional things that point to a well-written book are that while the plot was rather predic...

I'm so disappointed the framing device set up in the first book was never brought back up! I love framing devices, really sad that it was forgotten.I knew this book series was about a paladin. I'm not sure where I got that knowledge from, general genre osmosis I guess. I don't think I can name another fantasy book about a paladin. And I don't think I will seek one out, either. The overt religious aspects paralleled Christianity and it made me uncomfortable. I even took a break from this book for...

The completion of what to my mind is one of the best epic fantasy trilogies of all time. It compares well to LotR and I can't recommend it highly enough. I gave a longer review of the omnibus edition The Deed of Paksenarrion, check it out if you like. I love these books and can't recommend them highly enough.This book continuing to tell of the "deed" of Paksenarrion culminates in another series of events that are so well written that they can be very, very hard to read. I've read some who were g...

Very good, brought the series together wonderfully (almost as if it was fated); I just could have done without (view spoiler)[ the Aslan scene near the end. (hide spoiler)] You know the one, the Giant Metaphor Scene. It became a little too Epic. Loved the character development and the deeper insight into the lives of the citizens.Will have to revisit the review after a re-read.

“What has hurt you will leave scars. But as a tree that is hacked and torn, if it lives, will be the same tree - will be an oak if an oak it was before - so you are still Paksenarrion. All your past is within you, good and bad alike.”It is a mark of the quality of the writing that, writing this review two months later, I still remember the utter despair I felt at the start of this book. I didn’t weep, but it was a close call.Oath of Gold is the last in the Deed of Paksenarrion series, though the...

So very good. I highly recommend this series.

More of the great re-reading kick. I've re-read this trilogy a couple times--this time, I just skipped to my favorite book of the three. Paks is a fabulous character. She's incredibly human--her strengths and flaws are far more subtle than most authors manage to accomplish. She grows up over the course of the three books, but keeps her essential nature. She's loyal and good-hearted, but headstrong and not exactly the cleverest. Not annoying dumb, but she has a certain simplicity that begins as n...

No Spoilers.This trilogy wraps up very nicely as Paks, our heroine, discovers her true self, powers and, purpose as more is discovered of plot and further character development of our main players is uncovered, including their pasts with some plot twits thrown in.This is a satisfying series in the traditional sense, and I highly recommend this trilogy. I only wish our author would write more of this character, although there is a series of books in the same world, where Paks has only a supportin...

I choose this series based upon the reviews I read. I consider myself a well rounded reader since I have never limited myself to one genre. However, I will say that Fantasy is my true love and I am always drawn back to this style of writing. So, when I picked up this series I was extremely excited due to the fact that I have found a lot of Fantasy to be either formulaic or bogged down with politics. After reading the first book I was "meh" about the book but I kept telling myself it has to get b...

Oath of Gold is by far the plottiest book in a trilogy that tends towards the episodic. Almost (but not quite) from the beginning, the adventures all center around Duke Phelan and his heritage, as discovered and restored by Paks. It's stronger for it - less of a history and more of a story, even if a bit on the shopworn side. Even when it was written, lost princes and magic swords were not exactly fresh. But it does a decent job of bringing together many disparate threads and is generally satisf...