Review: Sheepfarmer's Daughter (The Deed of Paksenarrion Series Book 1) by Elizabeth Moon

Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I’d give this book 4.5 ⭐ if I could.

I first read this book in 1997 and when I had a craving for a fantasy novel I pulled it off my bookshelf (my actual physical bookshelf which has only 4 shelves these days).

Paksenarrion Dorthansdottor is the daughter of a sheepfarmer. She has been promised as a bride and a dowry paid, despite her telling her father she didn’t want to marry. To escape the marriage, she runs away, age 18 and goes to find the recruitment fair for a mercenary company. She signs up with Duke Phelan’s company, one recommended by her cousin, and becomes a recruit.

One of the best parts of this book is that is follows our hero through her first few years as a soldier. She is no mighty warrior. She is 6ft tall with strong limbs and long blonde hair, but she doesn’t have men swooning at her feet wherever she goes. She works hard, has dreams of glory, makes friends and messes up by being too eager and too inexperienced. This book follows a campaign where Paks starts to show her leadership qualities and her strength of character. It also shows someone might have plans for her in the future, even if Paks just wants to live her life with her friends in her Duke’s company.

The world that Elizabeth Moon builds is beautifully constructed. We can imagine everything from the cities to the forests. There are races of beings that Paks sees for the first time and we can share in her amazement. She came from a tiny village far in the north and has no experience outside farm life when she joins up, which allows us to experience all the wonders of the world, created by the author, through her eyes.

I also enjoyed the fact that Paks is inexperienced. We see the battles and parts of the campaign that she is involved in, but we don’t see the full picture. We see the world through her eyes and she is only a lowly private. She’s trusted with a couple of important missions after she proves herself, so we see those parts of the campaign, but we get to understand that most soldiers don’t really know what’s going on a lot of the time.

I’ve got so sucked into this world that I know I’m going to race through the series again, in the way I remember doing the first time round, over 20 years ago. It really is an excellent read.

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