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Originally Posted by pwalker8
While I don't exactly rate the series up there with LOTR, I did enjoy it a lot.
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I liked Deed of Paksenarrion better in some ways. LOTR is so very obviously a morality play pushing Tolkien's pet political views. He pushes technology=evil, eugenics and caste systems so consistently that it's hard for me to read in places. It's written from such a limited view of human nature.
LOTR is a great epic that set the bar for fantasy for decades. But the thing about bar-setting is that eventually that becomes standard and new works start passing it. And his well-documented refusal to listen to his editor weakened the story in places.
Deed of Paksenarrion is a much more nuanced discussion on the nature of morality and heroism. Moon also kept her writing more consistently effective. Tolkien wrote some brilliant stuff, but the quality wavers. Not surprising for someone who only wrote 4 books. Moon's greater experience is obvious, and to me her willingness to tackle multiple points of view makes her work stronger.
Legacy of Gird isn't as good a story, although it is a great exploration of the nature of leadership. Paladin's Legacy is more focused on being a political series, although it does take on cultural conflicts in a more interesting way than Deed of Paksenarrion does.
I wouldn't say all Moon's work is in the same category as LOTR or Lord of Light. But I think Deed of Paksenarrion does belong there. LOTR is great but it's not the be-all and end-all of fantasy literature, much like Ivanhoe isn't the only great novel about knighthood.