I want to stake a claim right at the top of this piece, before I get into the weeds of world-building and military logistics and the peculiar genius of Elizabeth Moon.
I read this in the early 90s and was totally blown away. I read the series again about 6 years ago (during the 'rona?) and I remember being astonished at how well it held up. Thank you for writing this post, it's very inspirational and I think next month I'm going to sit down with Hommlet and do some real hard thinking & brainstorming. (I run Tales of Argosa for my campaign)
I read it when I was younger and saw copies on the shelf at the local used bookstore. I picked them up and started reading, and like you I have been impressed at how well the series holds up.
I read this in the early 90s and was totally blown away. I read the series again about 6 years ago (during the 'rona?) and I remember being astonished at how well it held up. Thank you for writing this post, it's very inspirational and I think next month I'm going to sit down with Hommlet and do some real hard thinking & brainstorming. (I run Tales of Argosa for my campaign)
This is very true, but most of her work has been for Baen. They publish some excellent fiction, but they don’t have anywhere near the reach or cache of Tor.
I think she’s an author with a dedicated fanbase, of which I am certainly one, who deserves broader acclaim, but who is overlooked for a variety of reasons. Her books are not romantacy, grimdark, progression fantasy, or even tolkienesque. They echo a different old tradition, the Poul Anderson one, that is rewarding and worth reading, but that doesn’t command a large market.
They are often not best served by their covers either. I was going to throw in a joke about how Sheepfarmers Daughter should sell better than it does because it has one of the best covers Baen has ever produced.
The first thing I did after finishing your article was find a copy online and start it. I read four chapters at two in the morning
I hope you enjoy it.
I read this in the early 90s and was totally blown away. I read the series again about 6 years ago (during the 'rona?) and I remember being astonished at how well it held up. Thank you for writing this post, it's very inspirational and I think next month I'm going to sit down with Hommlet and do some real hard thinking & brainstorming. (I run Tales of Argosa for my campaign)
I read it when I was younger and saw copies on the shelf at the local used bookstore. I picked them up and started reading, and like you I have been impressed at how well the series holds up.
I read this in the early 90s and was totally blown away. I read the series again about 6 years ago (during the 'rona?) and I remember being astonished at how well it held up. Thank you for writing this post, it's very inspirational and I think next month I'm going to sit down with Hommlet and do some real hard thinking & brainstorming. (I run Tales of Argosa for my campaign)
Moon may be underrated, but she's been continously writing and publishing for a long time- that's something...
This is very true, but most of her work has been for Baen. They publish some excellent fiction, but they don’t have anywhere near the reach or cache of Tor.
I think she’s an author with a dedicated fanbase, of which I am certainly one, who deserves broader acclaim, but who is overlooked for a variety of reasons. Her books are not romantacy, grimdark, progression fantasy, or even tolkienesque. They echo a different old tradition, the Poul Anderson one, that is rewarding and worth reading, but that doesn’t command a large market.
I agree- Baen does excellent work but they get pigeonholed for doing a certain kind of book that is not representative of their whole line.
They are often not best served by their covers either. I was going to throw in a joke about how Sheepfarmers Daughter should sell better than it does because it has one of the best covers Baen has ever produced.