MobileRead Discussion: Sheepfarmer's Daughter by Elizabeth Moon (spoilers)

[AnemicOak]

Originally Posted by pilotbob

Why are we all in such a hurry? Internet time that most people are on these days drives me crazy. If i don't respond to an email at work within a few minutes I am getting an IM about it. We are so used to the 1 hour TV show which is really 42 minutes of content and every problem gets wrapped up nice an neat when expected.

I think people that read for pleasure probably have more patience than most though.

So, take your time, enjoy the book and don't be in such a hurry for it to move or end. I have never been board reading this book so far.

BOb

Never said I was in a hurry. If I'd been in a hurry I'd have blown through it in a couple of days.

[pilotbob]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

Never said I was in a hurry. If I'd been in a hurry I'd have blown through it in a couple of days.

I don't mean "in a hurry" as in reading fast or slow. I meant... in a hurry and not willing to wait for a story or character to develop in a book. I'm not saying that this applies to you or anyone in particular.

I think this is why many readers here dislike most of the "best sellers" because they are written (many times) without multiple threads or story development. They also seem to be written so it is easy to make a movie out of them.

Things come at us so fast these days that we expect it, even in our literature. I thought Mysterious Island was very good... I enjoyed reading about all the ways they made stuff and the though processes of naming places on the island too. I didn't think it was slow or boring at all.

BOb

[thinkpad]

I love this forum, especially since books can be discussed endlessly. I see what you're getting at pilotbob about today's society being in a hurry. It's a stressful information society we live in, and a lot of people feel to restless to even pick up a book with all other distractions available.

As for Mysterious Island I found it boring, personal preference, but not because I was in a hurry. I just thought it was to much with endless explanations. As for the Paks series I read it in turbo speed because I couldn't put it down once I got started

[lila55]

After having finished "Sheepfarmer's Daughter" I went and bought "Deed of Paksenarrion", and I enjoyed reading it (normally not a fantasy reader).

I liked the somewhat slow pace, it felt like actual living speed and made it easy for me to slip into that world of Paksenarrion and Gird and the Duke.
Speaking about the Duke - he and also the sergeants or captains or other people in charge displayed leadership qualities that I wish real-life people in similar positions had too. I really envied Paksenarrion for her bosses

For me this was a very good read , and one I would not have picked up without the Book Club .

[Trebro]

Originally Posted by AnemicOak

I find the world in this book to be full and well developed built slowly with small details. Paks as a character is great, engaging and well developed with many layers and depths.

Really? I felt the world was terribly underdeveloped and generic. For all the build up, I never felt like I knew this place I was visiting. *shrug*

[Trebro]

Well, I was one of the people who didn't care for the book. I felt it was too slow, didn't go anywhere, and regardless of the reason why it was chopped, the book should have been edited to make it more of a whole thing within itself.

I thought Paks was forced via author into situations and that overall, it felt more like she was in a video game than anything else.

I can read slow books, I love old authors. So it wasn't that for me. I just felt this one had no payoff or reason to keep reading.

More of my thoughts here, if anyone wants to look at a longer version: Sheepfarmer's Daughter Review

To each their own, though--I can see why others liked it, I just didn't.

[Ea]

I thought the book was boring. It was slow to to develop, and the characters were somewhat flat and one-dimensional - yes, even "Paks". I gave up reading the last 15% after having pushed myself through after the first half.

I really missed character development as well as action. But it is especially the prose that is lacking IMO. It is serviceable, but nothing but. Good, interesting prose I can forgive a lot, but not this.

[badgoodDeb]

I liked the way Paks was started ... but I got side-tracked by another book and this book didn't have enough pull to bring me back to it. And I don't think I was very far along -- Paks and the armies had just left the Duke's home place and were marching (through mud) to find excitement elsewhere. I guess Paks didn't interest me enough to come back to the book.

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by GeoffC

I agree. The tale of Gird is a 2 part sequel which explains a few things that occur in the later time frame.
The "story" continues with a new book .... "Oath of Fealty" which is the story of Kieri Phelan as king....

Just to be warned, Oath of Fealty is only the first part of a planned trilogy. I didn't realize that when I recently purchased/read it and was seriously disappointed by the (lack of an) ending.

The Deed of Paksenarrion is one of my favorite books. I was thrilled to get it as an ebook, because my old, huge, trade paperback copy is falling to bits.

I loved the character of Paks and how things didn't easily come to her. She had to work and had some bad luck. She also had some extraordinarily good luck, although the reasons for both are thoroughly explained by the end of the third book.

The fighting descriptions were quite vivid to me, although I am no means an expert.

I also appreciated that people died. In a mercenary company with active fighting you have to expect this, yet in many similar books, none of the core characters ever dies. Having deaths made the book more realistic and brought home the gritty reality of life in a mercenary company.

And I can only really talk about this book in hindsight, because I read the whole Deed many years ago, but I love how all the little threads and things you don't realize are important are all tied up in the end of the third book.

Addendum: One of the things that always struck me as very realistic in this book that I have hardly even seen in other books is the reusing of "common" names. Everyone knows a Michael or three and in Deed there were a couple of names that popped up more than once for unrelated characters. The ones I remember are Arñe and Rahel but there were others. Saben popped up twice too, but that was a planned plot point.

-Marcy

[Marcy]

Originally Posted by badgoodDeb

I liked the way Paks was started ... but I got side-tracked by another book and this book didn't have enough pull to bring me back to it. And I don't think I was very far along -- Paks and the armies had just left the Duke's home place and were marching (through mud) to find excitement elsewhere. I guess Paks didn't interest me enough to come back to the book.

Paks is worth getting back to, but I found the meatiest volume to be the third. It had the best action and explained everything that came before. So you'll have to invest quite a bit in the story to get to the best stuff. Definitely worth the journey however.

-Marcy

[thinkpad]

Originally Posted by Marcy

Just to be warned, Oath of Fealty is only the first part of a planned trilogy. I didn't realize that when I recently purchased/read it and was seriously disappointed by the (lack of an) ending.

I thought of getting this one but I think I'll wait until all books is out. I don't like to begin reading a series and then have to wait for the next book to come out, thanks for the heads up.

[jgaiser]

First let me say that i enjoyed Sheepfarmer's Daughter, enough that I purchased the omnibus from Baen.

But... There were times when the story had the definite feel of a D&D game. Things that just seemed to depend on the roll of the dice. Haven't started any of the following books yet.

[ATDrake]

Originally Posted by jgaiser

There were times when the story had the definite feel of a D&D game.

Well, according to either Wikipedia or the author's own site (I forget which), apparently Deed was written as a kind of reaction to bad D&D gaming clichés, and was an attempt to show how all those elements could be done right.

I liked the first book when I read it as a freebie shortly after getting my Kindle. I felt it actually didn't start off slow at the beginning, but the middle part kind of lagged for a bit, and didn't really pick up again until the end.

I am curious to see where it goes, and do intend to buy and read the rest of it when I can finally find the time.

Incidentally, Random House's Suduvu Free Library, which they've just reorganized to be significantly less easy to find and use, has a promotional Paksenarrion-world short story that's supposed to tie into Oath of Fealty (they used to have two, but it looks like they've gotten rid of the other one, along with other useful stuff on their site).

WARNING: It seems to contain spoilers for stuff that's apparently revealed in Deed, so don't even read the descriptions until you've finished DoP if you don't want to know beforehand.

[cearbhallain]

I was reading this book independently with no idea that it was the pick of the month - I know, I should try to keep up ;p

I like it a lot. I think that the episodic nature of the story is what's putting some people off. We're seeing the events that form the character, we're watching her growth from a youth to an adult warrior. It's a rare 18 year old whose character is fully defined and deep. I'm within 80 pages of the end now, and I feel like I've watched her grow physically, and she's starting to become more aware of the outside forces that are driving her story. It feels like an organic, slow build. The kind that, when it's done, might not have so many holes in it.

[whiz16]

i like the part where paks relation/feeling to her old friends change as she herself change and matures . Then she realize how oblivious she is to everyone around her ( the reader as well, since we follow her point of view).

the capt stefen incident in book 1 ending or 2 starting ? .. i sorta know who's the culprit is before the revelation in later books stuff like that shows the authors attention to details and every detail counts !