Book Review

Divided Allegiance; Elizabeth Moon
Second of the Sheepfarmer's Daughter series. Taking up the story right where it left off in the first book, it follows the continuing adventures of Paksenarrion as she leaves the Duke's army to seek a higher calling. I noted in the first novel that there was a darkness to her career as a mercenary that wasn't common in most high fantasy tales but it was done purposefully to map out the ground-up creation of a hero. Instead of fighting for a share of loot while using her position to regulate civilians, she now desires to fight for more noble causes and the good of humanity in general. To become honorable as heroes of high fantasy novels are with the glory that goes with it. I say "continuing adventures" because at first the book appears to be episodic. Moving from the army to a series of seemingly unrelated adventures, she helps to free cursed ancient Elven property and aides in rescuing a village from highwaymen controlled by acolytes of an evil god. But although these incidents seem to be the result of a randomly meandering story, they serve the dual purpose of speeding along Paks' personal promotions as well as world development. The prize she'd been working towards since the beginning was to become a paladin knight and the experience gained in the first book as well as the experiences in the first two thirds of the second validate her character "moving to the front of the line" as it were when being chosen to train for her lofty goal.
The story remains human-centered; Paks-centered. But along the way we see more of the other fantasy races, Elves, Dwarves, Gnomes, and Orcs - how they interact and which gods they serve. I particularly liked the emphasis on the imperfection of how Dwarves and Gnomes speak the common language. It added flavor to the standard model. Bad Elves are also a nice touch. The mythology is close to Tolkien's. He set a bar that few can alter because it works so well. Paks has to find her place in a world that's bigger than she realized as a child and her growth in this installment is more complex than simply learning how to fight and advancing those skills. The style of detailing her day to day activities is exchanged towards the end for vignettes occurring over weeks and months that affect the more weightier matters she must ponder in regards to serving the patron god of warriors.
Eventually the adventures of the book are tied together to set up the climactic events that result in tragedy for the heroine. This is the second of a trilogy, so it is bound to end on a low note. Paks is left to wander aimlessly with a fantasy version of PTSD that is completely debilitating to her abilities and devastating for her and all who know her. However, the end also reminds the reader that these first two books (which seem like separate stories for the most part) are actually connected in an overarching story that will have to be resolved in the third book to come. Blink and you'll miss it, but it's an important promise that assure the reader that the slow build of world and characters within will pay off and that it's not over for the heroine of the story just yet.
I'm looking forward to reading the final installment. I'll probably get it over Christmas. I hate the artwork on this book. But, looks aren't everything.