Crown of Renewal by Elizabeth Moon

 So, Elizabeth Moon finally brings the Paladin's Legacy series to a close with this book. She borrows a few tricks from David Weber, in maintaining the suspense through telling the story in multiple POVs, but keeps it simple enough for mere mortals to follow.

All of the threads containing our old friends are brought to successful conclusions, and she leaves just enough questions unanswered and notes suspended to make one hope for a return to the saga at some time.

******Spoilers below********

The demon-possessed tyrant, Immer, is on the move, having stolen part of the ancient Regalia, he is driven to possess it all, believing it will let him rule the world. The dark elves, or Iynisin, are on the move, also trying to gain possession of the crown locked in the Treasury. After a nearly successful attempt leaves Camwyn badly wounded, the king sends for Dorrin to take it away from his land to Aare, where it seems to wish to go, anyway.

Kieri and Arian are raising their twins, and his sense of the taig and connection to the Old magic of the humans is growing rapidly. He and Paksennarion work together to cast a spell backwards in time to put the mage lords to sleep in the cavern where they appear in the early books in the series, and then when the dragon instructs him that he is about to destroy that place, Kieri uses the Old magic to bring them forward in time, hoping for their aid in his struggles with evil.

Former thief and assassin, Arvid, grows rapidly in his knowledge of Gird's Laws and ends up promoted far beyond his expectations. The mage hunters have been targeting families and children, and all of the Girdsmen who follow the Marshall-General are trying to stop them. The Marshall-General was wounded in the previous book by a poisoned Iynisin dagger and is not healing well, so Paksennarion must find a Kuoknomen who is willing to travel far from his grove to heal her.

Arcolin leads the mercenaries in the South in the fight against Immer's forces, trying to retake town's lost in the last fighting season.

So, I suppose it's allowed, in a book about magic and gods who speak to mortals, to use a deus ex machina twist at the end to wrap things up, but it just feels a little like cheating to me when Immer is strangled by the magic necklace he's been wearing for months, Dorrin is transformed into a goddess of sorts herself, and the mage hunters are defeated by Gird's power manifesting itself and striking them all down with bolts of lightning.

Bummed that it's over once more, mildly disappointed in the way it all turned out. Still and all, a good read and a marvelous series returning to the world of Sheepfarmer's Daughter.

Limits of Power by Elizabeth Moon

 It's definitely  been too long since I finished the last book written in this series. Had to go back to my review to get back into what had already happened, and I still missed a few things. Lots of character growth and development going on here.

The most obvious "victim" of change is Arvid, the former Master of the Thieves' Guild, who has been marked by Gird for something important. He meets up with Count Arcolin (who has taken over Kieri Phelan's Fox mercenaries) in the south, and works there as a sutler for a time, while studying in one of the granges of Gird nearby. I'm pretty certain Moon is using him to illustrate the nature of Christ's forgiveness and how God works in the lives of forgiven sinners to mold them into the people suited for the tasks he has prepared for them. Arvid remains mystified as to "Why Me?" and what possible use a former criminal can be to a lawful good god, but Arcolin and others have a bit more experience with the process. Eventually, he has to flee north with his son when the guild sends too many assassins after him. But that's probably just where Gird needs him, anyway.

Sergeant Stammel is one whose journey through physical blindness has put him in exactly the spot where the gods want him to be, to save a village from pirates.

King Kieri has a huge mess to clean up after the murder of his grandmother the Lady of the Elves, and the collapse of the Elvenhome with her passing. He can finally also begin to dig into some of the secrets the elves have been keeping for centuries, and start to develop his elf magic gifts, as well. On the more mundane side, he needs to forge some alliances in order to withstand the coming storm when the pirate formerly known as Alured decides to come calling with his armies out of the south. He and his queen, Arian, must also conceive another heir to the throne soon, to replace the one that was murdered by poison, discover the identity of the traitor, and protect his kingdom and family.

King Mikeli also needs to produce an heir, but to do that, he must first find a wife. Plenty of prospects available, but he needs to blend politics and his own desire for a true helpmeet to find just the right one. In the meantime, his younger brother and heir, Camwyn, finds that his unsuspected mage powers are awakening, and he keeps them concealed from his brother and the nobles of the kingdom, fearing the banishment that befell his friend, Beclan.

Beclan is developing well, however, as Dorrin Verrakai's squire, being groomed to become her heir someday, as she has no desire to wed. Dorrin is still weeding out the last of the Verrakai mages and repairing the damage they did to the land and the Duchy.

Arcolin takes the Foxes south for a contract, and in addition to hiring the former thief, he finds out that he is now Prince of the tribe of gnomes whom he rescued after the Dragon cast them out of their stony domain. He has to learn gnomish law and language before he can be effective wearing that hat, but he certainly gives it the old mercenary school try. He also gets a "promotion" to Duke, with the attendant increase in duties.

Paksennarion turns up a couple of times on minor errands, but continues to be a minor player in the drama.

The only downside to this novel is that it seemed Moon rushed the last chapters a bit. The first 90% of the book is full of detailed action, daily routines, long conversations, and covers most of summer and fall, while winter breezes by quickly, with only the briefest of details, in the last pages. I think she's rushing us along to the spring campaign, when Alured of Immer's forces are expected to attack.

Echoes of Betrayal by Elizabeth Moon

The worst thing about this book is that, like many pleasures, it's over far too quickly. Moon is just so readable, and her characters so loveable, that you can get into it for hundreds of pages, and lose hours of time without noticing it.

Echoes takes up where Kings of the North left off, with King Kieri cleaning up the mess after the Pargunese invasion of Lyonya. Kieri and Arian announce their betrothal at the Midwinter festival, and waste no time conceiving an heir to the throne. The bones of his ancestors, though, whisper dire warnings of treachery and betrayal, and the mood of his grandmother, The Lady, seems quite mercurial, easily changed by circumstances.

Arvid Semminson, the Thieve's Guild enforcer whose life was changed when he help Paksennarion to escape the tortures of the priests of Lyart, begins the novel as a captive of the Master of the guild in Valdaire, but with the intervention of Gird and the help of his gnome companion, Dattur, manages to get free. He returns to the city masquerading as a minor merchant, seeking a slow revenge, but somehow gets involved with Kieri's old cohorts, helping to protect the secret ways of the gnomes, gets a small bit of fame for helping to defend the inn where he's lodged against an attack by the guild, and eventually succumbs to Gird's hold on his life. The final bit of dialogue between Arvid and the Marshal almost sounds like a christian apologetic, which I found intriguing.

Dorrin, Duke Verrakai, rides to the border to help defend against the Pargunese, leaving her squires to gather more troops behind her, and to join her later. Unfortunately, two of the three encounter renegade Verrakai along the way, and one, Darian, ends up physically crippled, while the other, Beclan Mahierran, ends up confined by his own family and King Mikeli, under suspicion of being possessed by their evil. Darian is partially healed by the Kuakgan, but his kin distrust the "green" magic that saved him, while Beclan discovers the taint of magery in his own blood, and ends up exiled by the king and his family for it.

Things are mostly quiet with Arcolin, who has taken over Kieri's mercenaries. The blinded Sargent Stammel makes a bargain with the dragon, and gets a mission in life in return, and a group of exiled gnomes are given a home in the hills near Valdaire.

Nothing new on the southern front, but rumors are brewing that an invasion from that angle is coming soon. Alured may have gained possession of one of the powerful relics of the Verrakai house, and will certainly use its powers in his grab for more power. It's good to know that Moon has left lots of room to write in this new series.

Kings of the North by Elizabeth Moon

Kings of the North is the second of the books which return us to Moon's world of the Deed of Paksennarion. I certainly hope she decides to let us all hang out there for a while. In Lyonya, King Kieri has entered a rough patch in his relationship with his elven grandmother, The Lady, who won't cooperate with him in the way he'd expected she would to help the elves and men of the kingdom grow closer and work together to defend it against external threats. All of the people around Kieri are urging him to marry and beget an heir, but he's finding it difficult to marry for merely political reasons. The rulers of Pargun and Kostandan have also sent two headstrong princesses for Kieri to "inspect", hoping for an alliance to be formed.

In Tsaia, the new Duke Verrakai, Dorrin, enlists the aid of the Girdish Marshalls to help her cleanse her townhome of evil left behind by its former occupants. Then she must return to her estates with some of her old mercenary cohort and get things in order there. There are still some of the old Verrakien magelords at large, and Dorrin is also charged by King Mikeli to find and neutralize them.

Arcolin wraps up his contract in the South, patrolling for bandits which he suspects are actually a covert army in the pay of Alured the ex-pirate, who intends to rule the world some day. He brings his cohort back to the North, where he is confirmed as the new Count, replacing Kieri. Sergeant Stammel has been left blind by his encounter with one of the body-switching magelords, but Arcolin is loath to discharge his veteran, so he keeps him with the cohort, where he finds tasks that don't require sight to keep him busy. Stammel, however, turns out to be a bit more than anyone bargained for.

When a perceived offense to the Pargunese princess sends its king on a mission of vengeance towards Kieri and his kingdom, things start to get twisty. Kieri has a brief window of opportunity to convince the princess' father that there was no insult, and to stop the invading army. The Parguns have a supernatural ally that has given them weapons of fire which could set the whole of Lyonya on fire, and it will take some supernatural intervention to stop it.

As this is all swirling around, Kieri finds his true love in an unexpected place, and his grandmother's disapproval of his choice may deprive him of his alliance with the elves when things are at their darkest. Paksennarion has followed the paladin's call and is completely missing from this part of the story.

The only thing wrong with this book was that it was over far too soon. Paksennarion fans will flat out love it.

Oath of Fealty by Elizabeth Moon

It's been far too long, but Moon has finally returned to the place some of us came to know and love her work, in the world of Paksennarion, Paladin of Gird. The early trilogy was just incredible, and Moon's voice has been sorely missed in the world of fantasy while she pursued her SF story line (those were good, too). Given the length of this re-debut, I thought perhaps it was going to be a one-shot deal, but after finishing it, I think it's just setting the stage for great things to come.

Moon also avoided one of my pet peeves, dropping back into a familiar story a hundred years later, with only brief mention of old friends, as she begins this story within days of the end of Oath of Gold. She skillfully weaves just enough of "what has gone before" into this tale to make it easy for new readers, who are not familiar with Pak and her friends, to feel comfortable with the background, but not more than would be irritating or repetitive for old fans. It felt just right to me, as it has been a couple of years since I re-read the earlier books, and with just a little prompting, I fell right into the world again.

Duke Kieri Phelan, having survived the Verrakai assassins' and Pargunese soldiers' attack, has arrived in Lyonya to take his place as its rightful long-lost king. In his stead, as leader of his mercenary soldiers, he has left Captain Arcolin, his faithful right hand, who may or may not be confirmed as Duke in his place, but who will do his best to keep his cohorts employed and fed, now that Kieri is gone for good.

In Tsaia, Prince Mikeli is attacked by another group of Verrakai assassins, wielding forbidden mage powers, but is rescued by his friends. He commands that the rest of the Verrakai clan be rounded up and arrested to stand trial, except for a disowned woman of the clan, Dorrin, who is also a captain in Kieri's mercenary force. He appoints her Duke of Verrakai and sends her to her ancestral home to tie up loose ends and destroy or remove whatever evil works of magic the family have set in place for their enemies.

Arcolin takes a cohort south for an employment contract in Cortes Vonja, where he and Phelan fought against evil sorcery and foreign invasion together. The peace they left behind has not held too well, and he begins by fighting brigands, but soon discovers that there is more beneath the surface in the southern provinces that may require some cleansing.

Paksennarion is still alive and well, spending some time in Lyonya at first, then moving on as the gods move require her as a paladin to do. I imagine she'll play a fair part in the story at some point, but for now she appears to be getting a bit of a breather after her arduous trials.

Moon moves smoothly between the story lines, setting the scene, in my opinion, for a whole new set of adventures in this well-beloved world. I found myself a bit teary-eyed at times as she manipulated her characters' emotions and mine. The only minor bit of irritation for me was that all of her heroes are just far too stinkin' competent and incorruptible to be true. I borrowed this from the library, but I'll have to purchase a copy for the collection soon.