Oath of Gold

Elizabeth Moon
Completed 10/3/2023, Reviewed 10/3/2023
5 stars

This book is the best out of the three in The Deed of Paksenarrion series.  I loved the first two, but this one is full of character development and magic all wrapped up in an exciting conclusion.  The book starts with Paks at her lowest point and builds her way back to being a king maker.  It’s like Moon saved up all her best ideas for this book.  The series reminded me of Lord of the Rings in its imagination and execution.  It’s like Moon took LOTR, deconstructed it, and from the remains constructed something original told from a female perspective.  This series is that tremendous.

This book begins with Paks wandering the countryside begging for work and food.  She makes her way back to Master Oakhollow, guardian of the trees, who is able to heal her from the torture by the evil forces of the spider demon.  She then joins a group of ranger elves where she builds back her skill and confidence as a warrior.  She also finally accepts that she is meant to be a paladin, acknowledging all her magical gifts, including the ability to heal.  Finally, as a paladin of Gird the saint, she begins to get messages from the gods which eventually put her on a quest to find and restore the lost heir to a nearby kingdom to his rightful throne.

Reading this book was like a homecoming, even though I had just read the first two in the last two months.  When I opened this book, I realized just how much I loved the character of Paks.  Reading how she traveled the land trying to survive to making her way back to Master Oakhollow’s grove and finding healing there was so moving for me.  This followed by the journey of accepting her paladin gift simply stole my heart.  There were a few things in this book that I could see coming from a mile away, like who the missing king was.  But the journey to that moment was exhilarating.  

This is going to be a rather short blog entry, as I already feel like I’ve given away too much.  Suffice it to say, I loved this book.  Five starts out of five.  It is one of the best high fantasy trilogies I’ve read in a long time.  The prose is wonderful as is the world building.  Paks growth from being a Sheepfarmer’s Daughter to warrior to spiritual pilgrim in Divided Allegiance to paladin in this book is marvelous.  I also felt that many of her other characters were pretty well developed as well, with only a few one-dimensional baddies.  

(You should be aware of the trigger warning:  this book has some graphic torture and allusions to rape.  It is hard to read.)

This series deserves to be named among the best fantasy series ever.  I think Moon is quite the master story teller.  I think she really needs to be made a Grand Master.  These books plus Speed of Dark and Remnant Population are among the best I’ve ever read.  I think Moon is up there in my top five favorite authors now.