Elizabeth Moon: Difference between revisions
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[[Ryk E. Spoor]] has stated (in a review of ''The Deed of Paksenarrion'' at Amazon.com[http://www.amazon.com/Deed-Paksenarrion-Novel-Elizabeth-Moon/dp/0671721046#R3EQN1RCIQ0ACN]), that |
[[Ryk E. Spoor]] has stated (in a review of ''The Deed of Paksenarrion'' at Amazon.com[http://www.amazon.com/Deed-Paksenarrion-Novel-Elizabeth-Moon/dp/0671721046#R3EQN1RCIQ0ACN]), that |
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:Paksenarrion was born (according to an email exchange I had with the author) from bad roleplaying: Elizabeth Moon, not gaming herself, heard some people playing "Paladins" (Holy warriors in the service of a god) and doing so very poorly. Her reaction was of course that "such a person wouldn't ''act'' like that"... and in thinking about what they ''would'' act like, Paksenarrion was born. |
:Paksenarrion was born (according to an email exchange I had with the author) from bad roleplaying: Elizabeth Moon, not gaming herself, heard some people playing "Paladins" (Holy warriors in the service of a god) and doing so very poorly. Her reaction was of course that "such a person wouldn't ''act'' like that"... and in thinking about what they ''would'' act like, Paksenarrion was born. |
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(Added by Elizabeth Moon, the author) Source material, as well as inspiration, for the Paksenarrion books might be of interest to some. The various legal systems are taken from the following: F.S. Lear's _Treason in Roman and Germanic Law_ (specifically for the dwarf and gnome races), K.F. Drew's _The Lombard Laws_ and _The Burgundian Code_, and other sources on medieval law, including a difficult-to-find translation of the Visigothic Code by A. Wilhelmsen. The development of the Code of Gird derives from the development of "barbarian" legal codes adapting Roman Law, shifts in English law during and after the Norman Conquest, and the development of "human rights-based" changes in law in and following the Englightenment. Different city-states and nation-states were given different "balances" of the source material. Military history sources for both military science and military psychology included Herodotus, Xenophon, Thucydides, Caesar, and other classical sources, Conan Doyle's novel _The White Company_, Tuchman's _A Distant Mirror_, Sherman's _Memoirs_, and many others. Village life and crafts, in outline and detail, are taken from multiple sources on medieval/early Renaissance crafts and life, including the Surtees Society's collection of historical sources for that period. Further influences on the social and political aspects came from cultural anthropology sources. Historical sources suggesting the development of a paladin character ranged from Xenophon and Caesar (on the military side) and Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch (for both military and general character consideration) to the "Chanson de Roland" and the Grail legends, with side journeys into other cultures (Scandanavian, Amerindian, Islamic.) The history of Christianity and especially the incorporation of local heroes into "saint" roles (Joan of Arc in France, others in many other Catholic countries) provided historical background for development of Paksenarrion, Gird, and other hero-saints in that fictional universe. |
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The inspiration for "doing a paladin right" was certainly the definition of paladin outlined in the D&D game; the specific character of Paksenarrion derived from historical figures (including Joan of Arc) and a mix of individuals known to the author. The specific character of Gird-farmer had roots in historical and fictional accounts of peasant/slave/worker uprisings; Gird-legend shared characteristics of several legendary (mythical and fictional) folk and religious heroes. |
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Questions explored in the books include the nature of the military mind, the character of the good soldier and the good commander, the essential characteristics of a hero and a paladin, the potential conflicts between what it takes to be a good soldier and what it takes to be a great hero, relationship between a paladin and his/her co-religionists (clery, laity) and between a paladin and those not of the same belief, the source of a paladin's "commission" (e.g., who decides that someone is a paladin? how is that marked?), the essential characteristics of a hero-saint, the internal characteristics and outward influences that shape a hero-saint's actions and effects, the ways that subsequent generations redefine the meaning of earlier events and how that interpretation influences their actions. [[User:E n moon|E n moon]] 19:37, 11 May 2007 (UTC) |
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===== ''The Deed of Paksenarrion'' Novels ===== |
===== ''The Deed of Paksenarrion'' Novels ===== |
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Revision as of 19:37, 11 May 2007
Elizabeth Moon (born March 7, 1945) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She lives in Florence, Texas (about 40 miles (70 km) northeast of Austin).
She attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant during active service with the US Marine Corps, which she joined in 1968 having obtained a Bachelor's degree in History from Rice University. Later she additionally obtained a B.A. in Biology. She is also an experienced paramedic.
Moon started writing when she was a child and attempted her first book which was about her dog at age 6. Because of this she was inspired to write creatively and began writing science fiction in her teens (while still considering it a sideline). She first got serious about writing in her mid-thirties and had a newspaper column in a county weekly newspaper. Her first novel was The Sheepfarmer's Daughter which won the Compton Crook Award. Most of her writings contain military science fiction themes, though biology, politics and personal relationship issues also feature strongly. The Serrano Legacy is a space opera. The Speed of Dark is a near-future story told from the viewpoint of an autistic computer programmer, inspired by her own autistic son Michael.
Awards
- Sheepfarmers Daughter – 1989 Compton Crook Award (winner)
- Remnant Population – 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nomination)
- The Speed of Dark – 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novel (winner) – 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award (nomination)
Bibliography
The three Paksenarrion books were written as one long story, but published as three separate books. A number of people have pointed out resemblances between the story setting and Dungeons & Dragons, in particular alleged similarities between Moon's town of Brewersbridge and Hommlet (a village in The Temple of Elemental Evil module for AD&D) and between Moon's religion of Gird and the faith of Saint Cuthbert of the Cudgel in Greyhawk. However, Ryk E. Spoor has stated (in a review of The Deed of Paksenarrion at Amazon.com[1]), that
- Paksenarrion was born (according to an email exchange I had with the author) from bad roleplaying: Elizabeth Moon, not gaming herself, heard some people playing "Paladins" (Holy warriors in the service of a god) and doing so very poorly. Her reaction was of course that "such a person wouldn't act like that"... and in thinking about what they would act like, Paksenarrion was born.
(Added by Elizabeth Moon, the author) Source material, as well as inspiration, for the Paksenarrion books might be of interest to some. The various legal systems are taken from the following: F.S. Lear's _Treason in Roman and Germanic Law_ (specifically for the dwarf and gnome races), K.F. Drew's _The Lombard Laws_ and _The Burgundian Code_, and other sources on medieval law, including a difficult-to-find translation of the Visigothic Code by A. Wilhelmsen. The development of the Code of Gird derives from the development of "barbarian" legal codes adapting Roman Law, shifts in English law during and after the Norman Conquest, and the development of "human rights-based" changes in law in and following the Englightenment. Different city-states and nation-states were given different "balances" of the source material. Military history sources for both military science and military psychology included Herodotus, Xenophon, Thucydides, Caesar, and other classical sources, Conan Doyle's novel _The White Company_, Tuchman's _A Distant Mirror_, Sherman's _Memoirs_, and many others. Village life and crafts, in outline and detail, are taken from multiple sources on medieval/early Renaissance crafts and life, including the Surtees Society's collection of historical sources for that period. Further influences on the social and political aspects came from cultural anthropology sources. Historical sources suggesting the development of a paladin character ranged from Xenophon and Caesar (on the military side) and Plato, Aristotle, and Plutarch (for both military and general character consideration) to the "Chanson de Roland" and the Grail legends, with side journeys into other cultures (Scandanavian, Amerindian, Islamic.) The history of Christianity and especially the incorporation of local heroes into "saint" roles (Joan of Arc in France, others in many other Catholic countries) provided historical background for development of Paksenarrion, Gird, and other hero-saints in that fictional universe.
The inspiration for "doing a paladin right" was certainly the definition of paladin outlined in the D&D game; the specific character of Paksenarrion derived from historical figures (including Joan of Arc) and a mix of individuals known to the author. The specific character of Gird-farmer had roots in historical and fictional accounts of peasant/slave/worker uprisings; Gird-legend shared characteristics of several legendary (mythical and fictional) folk and religious heroes.
Questions explored in the books include the nature of the military mind, the character of the good soldier and the good commander, the essential characteristics of a hero and a paladin, the potential conflicts between what it takes to be a good soldier and what it takes to be a great hero, relationship between a paladin and his/her co-religionists (clery, laity) and between a paladin and those not of the same belief, the source of a paladin's "commission" (e.g., who decides that someone is a paladin? how is that marked?), the essential characteristics of a hero-saint, the internal characteristics and outward influences that shape a hero-saint's actions and effects, the ways that subsequent generations redefine the meaning of earlier events and how that interpretation influences their actions. E n moon 19:37, 11 May 2007 (UTC)
The Deed of Paksenarrion Novels
- Sheepfarmer's Daughter (1988-06-01)
- Divided Allegiance (1988-10-01)
- Oath of Gold (1989-01-02)
- “Those Who Walk in Darkness” (1990-03-01) – short story set during Oath of Gold, included in the collections Lunar Activity and Phases
- The Deed of Paksenarrion (1992-02-01) – omnibus edition
- The Deed of Paksenarrion (2003-10-01) – hardcover omnibus
The Legacy of Gird Novels
- Surrender None (1990-06-01) – prequel to The Deed of Paksenarrion
- Liar's Oath (1992-05-01) – sequel to Surrender None
- The Legacy of Gird (1996-09-01) – omnibus edition
- Heris Serrano trilogy
- Heris Serrano (2002-07-30) – omnibus edition
- Esmay Suiza trilogy
- Against the Odds (2000-12-02)
- Trading in Danger (2003-09-30)
- Marque and Reprisal (2004-09-28) – Moving Target in the UK and Australia
- Engaging The Enemy (2006-03-28)
- Command Decision (2007-02-27)
- Victory Conditions (Anticipated Spring 2008)
The Planet Pirates trilogy
- The Planet Pirates is based on two books by Anne McCaffrey, Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors, (the two are also called The Mystery of Ireta) which also form the core of The Death of Sleep.
- Sassinak (1990-03-01) – Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Moon
- The Death of Sleep (1990-06-01) – Anne McCaffrey & Jody Lynn Nye
- Generation Warriors (1991-02-01) – Anne McCaffrey & Elizabeth Moon
- The Planet Pirates (1993-10-01) – omnibus edition, McCaffrey, Moon, & Nye
Other novels
Collections
Elizabeth Moon’s list of her own short fiction
- Lunar Activity (1990-03-01) – Ten short stories
- Phases (1997-12-01) – Eight stories from Lunar Activity, and others previously uncollected.
- both include “Those Who Walk in Darkness” – a Paksenarrion short story
Interviews
- from Plaza of the Mind, by Kurt Weller: