[Book Review] Crown of Renewal

Crown of Renewal / Elizabeth Moon

Crown of Renewal is the capstone to the Legend of Paksenarrion.  I first discovered Elizabeth Bear through The Deed of Paksenarrion (an omnibus collecting Sheepfarmer's Daughter, Divided Allegiance, and Oath of Gold) and fell in love with both the world and Bear's writing.  I was incredibly excited when several years ago I saw a new book in the setting, Oath of Fealty, continuing the story started in The Deed of Paksenarrion with a new series.

If you are to read Crown of Renewal, I strongly recommend at least reading the preceding Oath of Fealty, Kings of the North, Echoes of Betrayal, and Limits of Power, if not The Deed of Paksenarrion for familiarity with the setting and characters.  Paks is in these books, but these are not her story, these are the story of people's lives after Paks was an agent of change.  The wide collection of interesting people we follow creates a splintering effect in these new books, as much as I like them.  However, in Crown of Renewal everything is woven back together.  Strong storytelling about characters I've grown to love, providing a good ending to the story.


Advanced Reader Copy copy courtesy of Netgalley; differences may exist between uncorrected galley text and the final edition.

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