Customer Reviews

The Legacy of Gird (Trade Paperback)

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Well folks to be honest with you I didn't enjoy Surrender None or Liar's Oath as much as the Paksenarrion Series. I found the charcter development took too long. I kept thinking "let's get on with the story" thru out the whole book.The main characters of Gird and Luap were obviously ment to be more real and less like the god-like beings of Paksenarrion's times. But they could be very shallow and it's sad to say, boring. The Paksenarrion series had a steady development of characters and regular adventures throughout the series. Surrender None & Liar's Oath was drawing on and on with the reader making the choice of should I bother finishing the book. It gives any reader the backround info into Paksenarrion, but I could have lived without it. Plus I was very upset with Amazon not advertising that The Legacy of Gird was a trade edition including Surrender None & Liar's Oath in one book, since I ended up purchasing it and Liar's Oath in the same order. So I doubled up when I surely didn't need too. Buyers beware folks.

Here we have a package containing the prequels to the very well done Deed of Paksenarrion. Unfortunately, neither approach the heights of that trilogy. The first, Surrender None is slow going but is worth the effort. Barely! The second, Liar's Oath, is a book that had no reason to be written. There is very little story, a confusion of who the main point of view characters are on the authors part with none getting much on page time yet not working as an ensemble piece either. In the end very little happens, and what does happen is so buried under the mundanity of most of the work that it seems trivial.

Moon is a good author. She stumbled badly here though. Unless you have the disease of being a completionist, give these a pass.

I read this book because of a personal hang-up I have about finishing every series I start; otherwise, I think I would have given up by page 100. I like Moon's "Deed of Paksennarion" trilogy well enough, but think it is highly overrated. However, I felt I owed it to Moon to read her prequel, and perhaps finally discover the "incredible depth of world-building" that her fans are constantly raving about. As you may have guessed by now, I was sorely disappointed. The first novel contained in this volume, "Surrender None," does provide much relevant, sometimes interesting, though rather sluggish background to the Paksennarion trilogy. Learning the history of Gird, and seeing how many of the incidents of his life later grew into religious dogma was an overall worthwhile read, and is solely responsible for the two stars I've given this book. The second novel in this book, though, "Liar's Oath," seemed like it was written merely to "set up" a possible Paksennarion sequel. Unfortunately, Moon took around 400 pages to present what would have made a far more effective 20-page prologue or short story. "Liar's Oath" featured an unlikeable protagonist, rambling and over-used description, and no particular plot to speak of. I could probably sit here for hours and rant about how much I disliked this novel, but I've wasted enough time on this book already.

I have read the entire Deed of Paksenarrion at least nine times so I was initially excited to read this book. It was so boring that I wanted to gouge my eyes out.Unfortunately I read the book from cover to cover because I kept thinking that "It cannot be that bad, maybe the next page or story won't [stink]". I was wrong. It was shameful.

Ms. Moon is filling in the history of her wonderful world in this book. It plods on at certain moments unlike the Deed but that is to be expected given that it is largely a history and basis for all her other works concerning this world. And what would you call her world? Aarenis and Aare are parts of it, but the whole doesnt have a convenient label like Middle-Earth! Maybe that is why I love it so much; you can't quite put your finger on this author's creation but in many respects it is more tangible and graphic than Tolkien. And at certain moments it is as powerful (and from a die hard Middle-Earth-in -the-process-of-rereading-Tolkien-for-the-umpteenth-time fan, she is the absolute best fantasy writer today)

Unfortunately I read this book over a year ago and can't comment on the striking details that distinguished it, but I remember putting it down with satisfaction because it filled in gaps left from the Deed and answered most of the remaining questions I had. More disturbing (for I first discovered Moon early summer 96) I realised she could turn out to be another Tolkien: an author that captivates me in my favorite genre of idealistic fantasy but only writes a handful of works! I dont want to be stranded again! What I would give for Tolkien to have written a couple more trilogies or about the 4th age..

So please Ms. Moon, I beg you, write! You are so rare and precious and are probably as appreciated by the Tolkien fans that have read you as I am, but you have only written 5 books (3 part of a trilogy!) about Paks' world! Remember, it took over a decade before Tolkien achieved mass appeal, so he didnt have that immediate feedback (I might have read somthing about fantasy not being as popular during the 40s, but I am not sure). Your vision and grasp of basic ideals and hopes is so strong though that I cannot see your work not being as enduring and potent as Tolkien's a century from now. Maybe less time devoted to your futuristic novels would free up more time for "The Real Work"?... 8-D ok, so it's none of my business and I admit being biased against futuristic works (hated them ever since Aliens scared me as a kid) but I have been on Paladin withdrawl for sometime now and am getting desperate! What I respect about the works of Ms. Moon is the consistent level throughout the stories unlike authors such as Raymond Feist (as pointed out by fellow readers in his review pages as well), who took an initially exquisite and simple mythical land with solid characters and confounded it with needless complexity when it turned into a money-making machine/monster! Ie: compare earlier works like "Magician" and the siege of Armengar ("Darkness at Sethanon"?) with later hurried efforts like "Rage of a Demon King," and seen progressively through the SerpentWar Sagas.

This is what separates the Masters, the immortal works from run-of-the-mill slap-schticks! Janny Wurts (I would recommend her unusual and literally unearthly trilogy, "Circle of Fire"(?), the only futuristic work I care for) is another author with an excellent rapport with her material and the quality is consistent but (sigh) like Tolkien there is a lamentable dearth. Would someone familiar with these rare authors please take them to some remote island with an endless supply of coffee, calm and classical music and force them to grind out at least 2 works a year?! Thanks!, and sorry for dragging on but its now almost 3am in the morning of a lost weekend and I thought I would add somthing to this quite empty review page for a wonderful work; however, DO NOT READ THIS BOOK BEFORE THE DEED OF PAKSENARRION! It may be about a time and narrating of events preceeding that of Paks, but it will be more enjoyable in the reverse order, and well, if you dont care for the Deed, then you sure wont care for this gem either!

Peace and enjoy,

-AH

In "Deed of Paksenarrion" there was very little explanation of the Girdish religion, so when I discovered this book I was very excited to learn more. It was very disappointing, though. Much of the plot didn't make sense to me (why, for example, is Luap so revered if Gird never even trusted him?), and it seemed like I was always waiting for character development to end and story to start. Actually, the first part of the book detailing Gird's rise to power was fairly good. The second part was the major disappointment. I would suggest reading this book only if you are very curious about the characters, or if you can't not finish a series. Deed of Paksenarrion is a much better read.

Elizabeth Moon is known for her extraordinary characters. Legacy of Gird is no exception. You see something of an overlapping within the two parts to this book. The first focuses on Gird from his point of view. You see the internal and external struggles he faces as he tries to liberate his people. The second half (from the book "Liar's Oath") is seen from the POV of Gird's luap, aptly named Luap. Meant to be a trusted servant of sorts and never to command, you see Luap's struggles as he fights pressure, compulsion, and himself... all within Gird's shadow.

An excellent prequel to "Deed of Paksenarrion" that fantasy fans (and writers) would enjoy and learn from. I recommend reading "Deed of Paksenarrion" first since she makes two appearances in "Legacy of Gird", and it is a study in strong female character leads, though not a requirement, since you can easily follow along both books without reading the other.

Warning, this is a very lengthy read, and when you reach "Liar's Oath", the descriptions do tend to veer a little off track. However, this serves to highlight "Deed of Paksenarrion" and brings an excellent historical background to the series.

Let me start by saying that Elizabeth Moon's The Deed of Paksennarian trilogy is probably one of my favorite reads; a read I have spent much time in repeated readings. In my opinion it is one of the top ten books in this particular genre...of all time! I do highly recommend you get a copy, read it and hang on to it because sure as sure you will want to return to it.

Alas, even though I was extremely excited when The Legacy of Gird came out, I must admit to having been sorely disappointed. `Legacy" is actually two books, Surrender None and Liar's Oath. Each book is a prequel to Moon's first work, The Deed of Paksennarian, It tells the story of the poor, downtrodden farmer who eventually became Saint Gird. It tells the tale through the eyes of Laup. The setting is in the general time frame of The Deed and the reader does receive an excellent insight as to the background of events leading up to Moon's finest work. But my goodness, it completely lacks the snap, cohesion, and even flow of the author's later work. Do not read this work before you read Paksennarian as I fear you will not continue further. It is almost like two different authors created the two works; Gird being the inferior work.

The first part of these books, `Surrender None' is readable and while I was disappointed, it was never the less somewhat satisfying. The second bit of work, `Liar's Oath,' and I do not want to be cruel here, is a complete mess and I wanted at several points to hurl the book against the wall and simply walk away from it. Had it not been for my compulsive personality which includes a deep seated need to finish what I start, I surely would have.

Yes, there were some good parts in this work but to be quite frank you had to dig, and dig deep, to find them. The writing skill was there, the idea of the plot was extremely valid and in fact fascinating, but for some reason the author simply did not or could not pull it off. For the life of me, I never did understand Laup's true role in this story other than being the teller of the tale. I actually found myself not liking him very well.

Now I am not saying that many will not enjoy this work and you may very well be one of them. I am saying that the work was quite a let down from `The Deed.' I admit that I did appreciate the back ground information on Gird as Moon does not go into that much detail in her trilogy. I am not sorry I read this work but I certainly will not be giving it multiple reads as I did Paksennarian.

I am giving this one three stars because flawed though it may me, I do feel it will be of interest to many hardcore Moon fans and even with these flaws, it is still better than many of the contemporary works in this genre. I am also giving it three starts because, hey, this is Moon.

Read it for what it is and make your own mind up. While it is not as good as Paksennarian, it is certainly not quite as bad as several other review indicate here.

Don Blankenship
The Ozarks

This is a good prequel to The Deed of Paksenarrion.

I enjoyed the first book (Surrender None) more than the second (Liars Oath), Gird's fight to overthrow the wicked lords with only peasants for followers and some half finished military training is a good tale.

Well worth a read.

This book is a prequel to Moon's DEED OF PAKSENARRION. It is every bit as good and, in some respects, even better. That is no small accomplishment.

The DEED trilogy tells the story of the paladin, Paksennarion. It is a wonderful story but it is based upon a created mythos of the land in which the character lives. Central to much of it is the yeomen, marshals and paladins of Gird. We learn only a little of Gird in that series but it is enough to whet the appetite. With SURRENDER NONE, the appetite is sated.

Gird is a peasant treated cruelly and unjustly by his feudal overlords. Finally, he is forced into outlawry but chooses not to follow the path of the brigand. He instead tries to make things better. He works for the betterment not only of his own people but even their oppressors as well and leads a peasant revolt. Unlike that of Spartacus, his succeeds.

This is a work of fantasy but, as in Moon's other works, the fantastic elements are understated. There are gnomes and mentions of dwarves and elves but they are accessories. Magic does play a role and is even one of the reasons for the struggle portrayed within the book but the story is not of the magical; it is of the people. That in itself is magical.

It is a wonderful read all the way around.