Sheepfarmer's Daughter
core novel 1988 The Paksenarrion Universe
Record
| First published | 1988 |
|---|---|
| Original language |  EN |
| Work type | novel |
| Canon status | core |
| Reader rating | 4.12 (13,989 ratings, collected 2026-09-13) |
| Page count | 512 |
| First-edition ISBN | 9780671654160 |
| Internal chronology | 3 |
Synopsis
Sheepfarmer's Daughter opens with Paksenarrion Dorthansdotter, an eighteen-year-old sheepfarmer's daughter, fleeing an arranged marriage her father intends for her by leaving her home village of Three Firs. She sets out to join a mercenary company, choosing the uncertain life of a soldier over the future her family had planned for her. The novel follows Paks as she trains and serves within the company, adapting to the discipline, hardship, and camaraderie of military life far from everything she has known. As she gains experience in the field, hints emerge that she possesses unusual resilience and moral instincts that set her apart from her fellow soldiers. The book follows her early campaigns and growth as a soldier, laying the groundwork for the larger destiny hinted at but not yet revealed.
Where it sits
- Universe: The Paksenarrion Universe
- Series: The Deed of Paksenarrion core; position 1 of 3 in the series' recorded order
- Author: Elizabeth Moon
Awards (verified)
- Compton Crook Award (Best First Novel), 1989: won
- Locus Award (Best First Novel), 1989: finalist; Locus reader-poll placement, ranked 4th.
- William L. Crawford Award, 1989: finalist; IAFA Fantasy Award.
Notes
- From the series record (The Deed of Paksenarrion): Original trilogy (1988-89). The 1992 single-volume omnibus of the same name is a compilation, not a 4th novel, and is not separately registered.
Neighbouring works
Publication order and internal chronology are tracked as two separate orderings and are never conflated: a book's place in one says nothing about its place in the other.
- Publication order, within the series The Deed of Paksenarrion: position 1 of 3: next Divided Allegiance (1988)
- Internal chronology, within The Paksenarrion Universe: position 3 of 10: previous Liar's Oath (1992) · next Divided Allegiance (1988)
Sources
- Baen Books catalog
- Wikipedia: The Deed of Paksenarrion
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Compton_Crook_Award
- https://www.sfadb.com
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