Once A Hero (Mass Market Paperback)

by Elizabeth Moon (Author) "Esmay Suiza had done her best to clean up before reporting as ordered to the admiral aboard her flagship, but the mutiny and the following..." (more)
Key Phrases: Major Pitak, Papa Stefan, Admiral Dossignal (more...)

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal
In Moon's (Remnant Population, LJ 5/15/96) hard sf adventure, Lt. Esmay Suiza faces a military court hearing following her emergency captaining of a patrol ship during battle after the captain turned out to be a traitor. Tormented by nightmares from repressed memories of sexual assault, Esmay recaptures her self-esteem and the military's trust. Highly recommended.
Copyright 1997 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

From Booklist
Moon's dazzling Heris Serrano series relates events in a fascinating interstellar milieu. The latest installment follows young Fleet Lieutenant Esmay Suiza after the mutiny and space battle detailed in Winning Colors (1995). Esmay returns to her home planet, where she is a member of an aristocratic family, and learns the hidden secret of her childhood. The fleet then reassigns her to inglorious duty on a massive space base, on which she must come to terms with both her background and her military career while facing ever-present danger from enemy forces ready to strike. Moon's mastery of contemporary science fiction is evident in every line. The characters spring to life on the page, the intricacies of societies are astutely explored, and the pace never flags. She even achieves the seemingly impossible by deftly making naval maintenance and logistics the stuff of riveting fiction. A resplendent addition to Moon's already impressive catalog. Dennis Winters --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

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Product Details

• Mass Market Paperback: 416 pages
• Publisher: Baen (April 1, 1998)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0671878719
• ISBN-13: 978-0671878719
• Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.3 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars See all reviews (37 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #338,030 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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• This is item 4 in The Familias Regnant Series.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Reasons I Enjoyed this Book, February 2, 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!

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

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

By A Customer

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.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars New direction, still fun, for the Familias Regnant stories, October 9, 2000

By	Richard R. Horton (Webster Groves, MO United States) - See all my reviews (TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Once A Hero (Paperback)

I'm definitely hooked by the Familias Regnant books. _Once A Hero_ is the fourth, and it's in a way a direct sequel to the last Heris Seranno book, _Winning Colors_, though it starts off in a new direction. It continues the story of an important minor character from _Winning Colors_, Lieutenant JG Esmay Suiza. Esmay is a technical track officer from an out of the way planet who was thrust briefly into a command role, and became a hero, in _Winning Colors_. _Once A Hero_ picks up immediately with the Board of Inquiry and Court Martial which follow that action. Esmay is very insecure about her ability, and tends to try to melt into the background, hard to do when you're a hero. She goes off to her home planet for much-deserved leave, and finds out a terrible secret about her childhood. Then she is posted to a Deep Space Repair facility, explicitly to keep her away from combat and notoriety. All this is quite interesting, and it becomes a story about the growth and self-discovery process of this young woman. Very Heinleinesque, in a way. Esmay is very well depicted, and her slow process of learning to use her real abilities is nicely done. There's a bit of almost cliched "when will she =finally= see a psychiatrist about her childhood trauma" dithering, but that still works OK.

The thing is, that's only half the book. The other half (pasted into the middle, more or less, of the book), is a space opera plot about the evil Bloodhorde and their scheme to steal the DSR for it's technology. This part is pretty good standard action, with Esmay again becoming a hero and showing her command stuff, and with some very fun if kind of unbelievable action scenes. I liked it but it seemed uneasily grafted to the even more interesting story of Esmay's personal growth. I'd have preferred a quieter story with Esmay only slowly realizing her abilities, instead of having them thrust upon her by more desperate action. Still, it's great fun and I'll be looking up the next book, _Return Engagement_, real soon.