Surrender None
by Elizabeth Moon
Paksenarrion's World (01 (Legacy of Gird 01)), The Legacy of Gird (1), The Deed of Paksenarrion, Paksenarrion World - Series Order (9)
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Paksenarrion was the finest paladin her world would ever see. But Paksenarrion could never have become a fighter at all had it not been for he who had come before: Gird, the liberator, who taught his people that they could fight--and win--against their Mage-born rulers. And after Gird came one more: Luap, Gird's sworn follower and the king's half-breed bastard. Riven by internal conflict, Luap dare not lie and cannot tell the truth, nor face the future.Tags
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Moon, Elizabeth. Surrender None. 1990. Legacy of Gird No. 1. Orbit, 2000.
The Gird trilogy is a prequel to 1988’s The Sheep Farmer’s Daughter and its trilogy. The world here is straight-up fantasy, heavily influenced by the iconography of Dungeons and Dragons and its ilk, with mages, gnomes and warriors of various kinds. Our hero, Gird, is a sturdy peasant who signs on as an ostler and guard to a caravan but soon finds himself touched by a deity and leading a peasant army against a powerful evil king. It would be forgettable if that was all it was, but Gird is a more nuanced character than one might expect. He must wrestle with the ethical dilemmas provoked by his actions. He grows morally as the novel progresses in a way most genre show more characters never approach. I am told there are many spoilers to the next trilogy, but I have not read it, so be cautioned. show less
The Gird trilogy is a prequel to 1988’s The Sheep Farmer’s Daughter and its trilogy. The world here is straight-up fantasy, heavily influenced by the iconography of Dungeons and Dragons and its ilk, with mages, gnomes and warriors of various kinds. Our hero, Gird, is a sturdy peasant who signs on as an ostler and guard to a caravan but soon finds himself touched by a deity and leading a peasant army against a powerful evil king. It would be forgettable if that was all it was, but Gird is a more nuanced character than one might expect. He must wrestle with the ethical dilemmas provoked by his actions. He grows morally as the novel progresses in a way most genre show more characters never approach. I am told there are many spoilers to the next trilogy, but I have not read it, so be cautioned. show less
This is a prequel novel set in the same world as the Deeds of Paksenarrion. This book goes far back in time and tells the story of Gird, the farmer turned rebel and hero. As such, its important to the Paks universe, completing a major element of the history of the world. I enjoyed this, I liked the plot and the character of Gird, even with all of his faults. That may be one of the best characteristics of this book, Moon makes a hero who isn't perfect, isn't briliant and doesn't always win, yet persists. Well worth reading if you enjoy her other fantasy.
Not really quite 4 stars, but close. I was surprised. I've only read her SF series, Vatta's War, before & thought she was pretty good, but not a great writer. This fantasy had a lot more depth, though. It was very well done & not your typical sword & sorcery or epic fantasy. It concentrated on areas that most fantasies gloss over; the common people & many of the everyday issues they face. I really liked how she managed to bring all these issues into sharp focus without bogging down into too much boring detail. The story flowed because of the details she provided, not in spite of them. Fantastic.
The hero of the story isn't very special in any but the most human sense. He's a peasant who makes his share of mistakes, has trouble learning show more to read & write at the most basic level, but is an honest, hardworking man. He marches through his life, often with few choices & no real clue as to which is best. He just tries to do the next right thing. It makes for an understated, but staggering life of achievement.
I have not read Moon's "Deed of Paksenarrion" trilogy. This is the first of 2 prequels & I think that's what caused the only jarring notes in this book for me - the reason I didn't really want to give it 4 stars, but a bit less.The story focuses on a non-magical, pretty ordinary man who is forced into successful rebellion against the ruling class that has some magic. The magic is quite limited through out until close to the end where he starts getting visions. At the very end, he & the gods perform a huge magic. This is quite important, probably to the trilogy, but I found it jarring in the context of the rest of the book, which was so based on an ordinary man, human societies & typical behavior. I would have liked the story better if it had stuck to the strictly human.
Because of the ending, I can see where this leads to the next prequel, [b:Liar's Oath|933547|Liar's Oath (Legacy of Gird, Book 2)|Elizabeth Moon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179584608s/933547.jpg|200917], but I'm not in a rush to read it. I probably will, eventually. show less
The hero of the story isn't very special in any but the most human sense. He's a peasant who makes his share of mistakes, has trouble learning show more to read & write at the most basic level, but is an honest, hardworking man. He marches through his life, often with few choices & no real clue as to which is best. He just tries to do the next right thing. It makes for an understated, but staggering life of achievement.
I have not read Moon's "Deed of Paksenarrion" trilogy. This is the first of 2 prequels & I think that's what caused the only jarring notes in this book for me - the reason I didn't really want to give it 4 stars, but a bit less.
Because of the ending, I can see where this leads to the next prequel, [b:Liar's Oath|933547|Liar's Oath (Legacy of Gird, Book 2)|Elizabeth Moon|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1179584608s/933547.jpg|200917], but I'm not in a rush to read it. I probably will, eventually. show less
This book is actually part of a re-published compilation of two books called The Legacy of Gird; I'm currently reading the second book.
From the Paks books (Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, Oath of Gold), some is already known of Gird - that he was a farmer who trained fellow farmers to be soldiers and together they overthrew an oppressive government. By the time of Paksenarrion, Gird is regarded as something akin to a powerful saint - a man chosen by the gods to save the people. This prequel explores Gird's life as a simple farmer and how he formed an army out of plow-pushers, and how he came to write a new system of law that regarded all people with respect.
I can see why other reviewers don't regard this set of books as show more highly as the Paks trilogy. From the beginning, it's just not as gripping, though it's still good. The first 100 pages or so felt rough to me, disjointed. At one point the perspective jumped from Gird to that of another character who quickly died, and it seemed unnecessary. The passage of time wasn't very clear, either. However, once Gird had lost much of his family and began gathering an army, the story picked up and became more cohesive and enjoyable. Then the ending? Meh.
Surrender None works well in fleshing out a mythical character for the readers who loved the Paks books, but this volume wouldn't stand well on its own. I do love Moon's writing and world-building, and how she contrasted the way of peasants with their mageborn lords. But something just didn't feel complete about the book. Maybe I'll feel differently after finishing the sequel, Liar's Oath. show less
From the Paks books (Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, Oath of Gold), some is already known of Gird - that he was a farmer who trained fellow farmers to be soldiers and together they overthrew an oppressive government. By the time of Paksenarrion, Gird is regarded as something akin to a powerful saint - a man chosen by the gods to save the people. This prequel explores Gird's life as a simple farmer and how he formed an army out of plow-pushers, and how he came to write a new system of law that regarded all people with respect.
I can see why other reviewers don't regard this set of books as show more highly as the Paks trilogy. From the beginning, it's just not as gripping, though it's still good. The first 100 pages or so felt rough to me, disjointed. At one point the perspective jumped from Gird to that of another character who quickly died, and it seemed unnecessary. The passage of time wasn't very clear, either. However, once Gird had lost much of his family and began gathering an army, the story picked up and became more cohesive and enjoyable. Then the ending? Meh.
Surrender None works well in fleshing out a mythical character for the readers who loved the Paks books, but this volume wouldn't stand well on its own. I do love Moon's writing and world-building, and how she contrasted the way of peasants with their mageborn lords. But something just didn't feel complete about the book. Maybe I'll feel differently after finishing the sequel, Liar's Oath. show less
I am a big fan of fantasy and science fiction novels especially if they are long and have several books in the series. I really enjoy a series of books that I can immerse myself in and I first picked up an Elizabeth Moon novel because it was long and part of a multi-novel series. I continue to read her books because I find them engrossing and highly enjoyable.
story of Gerd, prequel to Paksenarrion
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118+ Works 36,936 Members
Elizabeth Moon was born March 7, 1945, and grew up in McAllen, Texas, graduating from McAllen High School in 1963. She has a B.A. in History from Rice University (1968) and another in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin (1975) with graduate work in Biology at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She served in the USMC from 1968 to show more 1971, first at MCB Quantico and then at HQMC. She married Richard Moon, a Rice classmate and Army officer, in 1969; they moved to the small central Texas town where they still live in 1979. They have one son, born in 1983. (Publisher Fact Sheets) Elizabeth Moon was born on March 7, 1945 in Texas. She received a B.A. in history from Rice University in 1968 and a B.S. in biology from the University of Texas at Austin in 1975 with graduate work in biology at the University of Texas, San Antonio. She served in the United States Marine Corps from 1968 to 1971. In the early 1980s, she wrote the Florence News column for the county weekly newspaper. She is a science fiction and fantasy author. In 1986, she published her first science fiction story in the monthly magazine Analog and the anthology series Sword and Sorceress. Her first novel, The Sheepfarmer's Daughter, was published in 1988 and won the Compton Crook Award in 1989. Her other works include Remnant Population, Oath of Fealty, Kings of the North, and Echoes of Betrayal. She has won several awards including the Nebula Award for Best Novel for The Speed of Dark in 2003 and the Heinlein Award in 2007. (Bowker Author Biography) show less
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- Canonical title
- Surrender None
- Original title
- Surrender None, The Legacy of Gird
- Original publication date
- 1990-06
- People/Characters
- Gird; Rahi; Ivis; Selamis; Arranha; Pidi
- Important places
- Finaarenis
- Epigraph
- "Gradually it was disclosed to me that the line separating good and evil passes not through states, nor between classes, nor between political parties - but right thorough every human heart - and through all human hearts."
- Dedication
- In memory of Travis Bohannon
a country boy from Florence, Texas
who gave his life to save his family from fire.
Not all heroes are in books. - First words
"Esea's light on him," muttered the priest, as the midwife mouthed, "Alyanya's sweet peace," and laid the wet pink newborn in his mother's belly.- Last words
- (Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)Luap knew that walls had fallen, and nothing was there but love.
- Blurbers
- Wolansky, Taras
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- (3.31)
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- English
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- 7
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