Once a Hero [Hardcover]

Elizabeth Moon (Author)

Product Details

• Hardcover
• Publisher: Baen Books; 1St Edition edition (March 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671857630
• ISBN-13: 978-0671857639
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (42 customer reviews)

More About the Author

Elizabeth Moon grew up on the Texas-Mexico border, a voracious reader and early writer. She spent much of her early years in a hardware store where nothing was in shrink-wrap or little plastic containers, and mule collars still hung on the back wall. She has a history degree from Rice University and a biology degree from the University of Texas at Austin, plus some graduate work in biology at the University of Texas at San Antonio; between the first two, she spent three years on active duty in the USMC. Her bibliography includes 20+ novels and 30+ short fiction works, nearly all in science fiction or fantasy. REMNANT POPULATION was a Hugo finalist in 1997; THE SPEED OF DARK won the Nebula Award in 2003.

When not writing, she likes to wander around taking pictures of wildlife and native plants, bake bread, eat chocolate, sing with a choir, and laugh.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reasons I Enjoyed this Book, February 1, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: Once A Hero (Paperback)

I grew up with Heinlein and other male science fiction writers, and felt sometimes frustrated with male protagonists and story line focus. Some of the other reviewers have mentioned that they had trouble getting into the book because they felt that the rape storyline was something they could not identify with as men. Well, I have always had trouble enjoying books in which women were two-dimensional potential partners...It's nice to finally see books with female protagonists who are assertive and successful, and not focused on partnership! (Norton, while a great writer, always seemed to hook up her women at the end). I enjoyed Moon's characterization of Esmay, and Esmay's family and work entaglements and incidents. Esmay became a character I genuinely cared for- enough to buy the books that include her!

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Well done story for both genders, October 31, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: Once A Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

A reader below thinks most men would not like this book because it deals with rape, and they would have trouble "understanding" its affects. I find such comments very disturbing, especially when the audience for this book is science fiction readers: readers who presumably are interested in reading about and understanding people and situations other than themselves and what they have experienced. Rape is central to this book, and the author goes to a great deal of trouble to explain, very successfully, how it affects people, why it is so devastating, and what a person and those around the rape victim could do (and should not do) to help the rape victim get better. She even shows how a male could have a similar experience and problems. If a person -- male or female -- wants to have a better comprehension of rape -- and wants to read a pretty good military adventure story, too -- I would highly recommend this book.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Hoping For A Peaceful Moment, September 13, 2008

By 

Arthur W. Jordin (Smyrna, GA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Once A Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

Once A Hero (1997) is the fourth naval SF novel in the Familias Regnant series, following Winning Colors. In the previous volume, Esmay Suiza became the senior surviving officer of the RSS Despite after the crew learned that Captain Hearne was a traitor and mutinied against her. The captain fled the system when three Benignity warships arrived, but Esmay returned with the Despite and destroyed the Compassionate Hand flagship.

In this novel, Esmay and the other surviving junior officers are taken to Sector HQ and courtmartialed. Such trials are mandatory according to regulations and are somewhat pro forma. Still, Esmay and her fellow officers are facing some serious charges.

Each is being tried separately, but they also have to testify in each other's trials. Since Esmay was the acting captain, her recorded testimony will be acceptable in the other trials. Yet Esmay must first face a Board of Inquiry.

The Board examines every action that Esmay took during the battle. They decide that she is not sufficiently capable of handling a ship in combat to gain another command right away. Yet they see her potential and recommend further training and experience to remedy her deficiencies.

Naturally, Esmay already knows that she could have done better, so the Board's report was not a surprise. Yet their conclusions that she had the potential to become an outstanding commander is stunning. They see something in her of which she is not aware.

In this story, the court finds Esmay innocence of all charges. She is released and given a thirty day leave. She returns home to her family. There she finds the surrounding to be very comforting, but she feels like a fish out of water around her family. Moreover, she learns more about her childhood and becomes very angry. She is quite happy to return to duty.

Her next assignment is to the Koskiusko, a deepspace repair ship. She must have really irritated someone at headquarters. A DSR assignment is considered a punishment duty to most junior officers. She won't even get to use her technical skills in Scan. Indeed, she is assigned to Hull & Architecture, about which she knows very little.

Major Pitak is her immediate superior. The Major first sends her out on a three day examination of the DSR to reconcile the official deck plans with a cube that Pitak has made. Three days later, she comes back with one change that is on neither cube and many other differences between the cubes. The Major is pleased with her findings and Esmay learns that she is among the few with enough perseverance to check everything.

Although Esmay does not know about it, a team is busily replacing all weapons guidance codes under contract with the RSS. They also have a contract with the Bloodhorde to disable the ship's self-destruct device. With a little manipulation of the scheduling computer, they disable the device and also add a circuit to fake out any testing.

This tale involves Esmay in another covert action, this time by the Bloodhorde. A commando team gets onboard the Koskiusko and disrupts operations. Then they abduct Barin Serrano, who is rapidly becoming someone significant to Esmay.

It soon becomes apparent that Esmay has serious problems with her sense of self-worth. Everybody who knows her is puzzled by her reluctance to select the command track. She is also having nightmares about the bodies she has seen. Then she finally decides to accept therapy from the psychnannies.

Highly recommended for Moon fans and for anyone else who enjoys tales of naval combat, political intrigue, family politics and personal issues.

-Arthur W. Jordin