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Once A Hero (The Serrano Legacy #4)
When Esmay Suiza found herself in the middle of a space battle, the senior surviving officer, she had no choice but to take command and win. She didn't want to be a hero, but Once A Hero....
Mass Market Paperback, 416 pages
Published
April 1st 1998
by Baen
(first published 1997)
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I'm having a hard time reconciling the reviews for this book with this book. My standards for Space Opera are not especially high, but this thing is an incoherent mess.
It starts out as a military courtroom drama, referring back to the events of (I hope) another book. It morphs into a clumsy soldier returns home/ fish out of water story, turns into a military maintenance procedural before becoming a fairly unambitious actioner, before changing back into a trauma recovery story with a romance sta...more
It starts out as a military courtroom drama, referring back to the events of (I hope) another book. It morphs into a clumsy soldier returns home/ fish out of water story, turns into a military maintenance procedural before becoming a fairly unambitious actioner, before changing back into a trauma recovery story with a romance sta...more
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This was the first of the Familias books I read, and in many ways the best. Not necessarily a good thing. In some ways, this book is an attempt to breathe new life into the series, leaving the played out tales of Heris Serrano behind and moving to a newer and less defined character. It suffers from having to do all the development work in a single book. There are a number of all-too-obvious foreshadowing elements, but these don't ruin the story. I enjoyed the book for what I enjoy other Moon boo...more
After a break, I'm continuing with the Serrano Legacy series by Elizabeth Moon. The first three books on Heris Serrano--though good--were a bit of a disappointment. I was pleased to find this book, continuing the series with a bit character from WINNING COLORS, was much better and more scifi opera in the style of her later Vatta's War series.[return][return]Esmay Suiza didn't intend to be a hero. But when her spaceship was captained by a traitor, she and others rose in mutiny. Esmay ended up as...more
To paraphrase from the blurb of the following book in this series... This book and I should have been friends.
I love Military space opera with a strong female protagonist, and a romance is just icing on the top. I was so thrilled to see this one in the thrift store where I buy the majority of my books, I adored the Deeds of Paksenarion, and here was a book by an author I respected (because of Pakse) that was writing the same concepts that I was! It gave me validation, and it gave me hope.
I bou...more
I love Military space opera with a strong female protagonist, and a romance is just icing on the top. I was so thrilled to see this one in the thrift store where I buy the majority of my books, I adored the Deeds of Paksenarion, and here was a book by an author I respected (because of Pakse) that was writing the same concepts that I was! It gave me validation, and it gave me hope.
I bou...more
I have a fondness for space opera, and an interest in them with female heros. David Weber's Honor Harrington series comes to mind, but for my money this second half of Elizabeth Moon's Serrano Legacy takes many of the same elements to fashion a genuinely compelling story.
A space opera by its very nature requires world building and this one feels true. As messy and compelling as real life, sans final or simple answers. Esmay Suiza, the central character of these books, seems to me a very human pe...more
A space opera by its very nature requires world building and this one feels true. As messy and compelling as real life, sans final or simple answers. Esmay Suiza, the central character of these books, seems to me a very human pe...more
I really like this book. I read somewhere that she decided to start a new universe with Vatta's War because she thought the Familias Regnant worldbuilding was starting to creak under its own weight, but IMO the only thing that doesn't hold up is the computers (data cubes? Really? It's sort of hard to believe they sounded perfectly reasonable in the 90s, but I know they did, I was there), and the universe is just more fun. I'm much more fond of Space Aristocracies than I am of Space Corporate Plu...more
I was at the bookstore last year and I asked a stranger to recommend something. This is the book he pulled off the shelf for me. The author is a woman with military experience, who is writing about a strong female character. Worth reading!
From Amazon
Elizabeth Moon grew up on the Texas-Mexico border, a voracious reader and early writer. She spent much of her early years in a hardware store where nothing was in shrink-wrap or little plastic containers, and mule collars still hung on the back wall....more
From Amazon
Elizabeth Moon grew up on the Texas-Mexico border, a voracious reader and early writer. She spent much of her early years in a hardware store where nothing was in shrink-wrap or little plastic containers, and mule collars still hung on the back wall....more
An enjoyable read. This is more "hard" sci-fi than I usually go, with the obviously realistic military & spaceship detail, etc, which is quite well-done even if I probably don't appreciate it properly. I liked the characters, especially Esmay, and people's actions and reactions rang true, but somehow to me there was a flatness to the way it was told. I also didn't like the parts told from the Bloodhorde/evil contractors points of view at all. To me there's no point in getting inside the bad...more
One of my favorite books of all time, it wins on characterization, realism, and detail. It loses in the same way I think all Moon books I have come across do: it contains main character rape. I would put up with it in one book, but not in every book of a series. That should not be your series hallmark.
Elizabeth Moon's science fiction is my favorite form of space opera. She writes action quite well, including both close combat and battles between spaceships, she has strong female characters (often in the military), and I'm quite willing to overlook when her romance isn't that great (it's ok). Once a Hero is quite good, following the story of Esmay Suiza, who was a minor character in a previous book. The romance is also better than usual.
There are more disturbing bits than I remembered, althou...more
There are more disturbing bits than I remembered, althou...more
I am a little confused. It's in the same series as the Heris books, but is not the same main character. But Heris does show up. Is this the same universe as Vatta's War? Because a lot of things seem similar. But are they similar because the author is the same? Or because jump gates and ansibles are so ... so usual, in the science fiction field in general?
I liked this book, but... I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't got all seven books in a set; if I'd gone into it expecting it not t...more
I liked this book, but... I think I would have liked it better if I hadn't got all seven books in a set; if I'd gone into it expecting it not t...more
Esmay Suiza, having survived treason and mutiny, commanded a ship in combat, and come out of a board of inquiry and a court martial with a clean record, has received an assignment to a maintenance unit aboard a massive repair ship. She’s beginning to fit in, but there’s an attack by a covert unit of the Bloodhorde from Aethar’s World, and once again she’s fighting for her ship – and again in command of a ship in combat. Between these experiences, and for the first time dealing with the rape she...more
Sep 20, 2012
Mary Holland
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
permanent-collection
Out of the six books of this series, this, the 4th, is the best. The main character, Esmay Suiza, was a very minor character in book 3. She did a very brave thing and became a hero. This book is her struggle to live with people's perceptions of her as they conflict with her own perception of herself. Most of the story is space opera, but set on a deep-space repair ship of great authenticity. As usual with most Elizabeth Moon stories, some sections are outstanding and some are awkwardly written....more
Aug 05, 2012
G33z3r
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
scifi-military
Once it gets finally rolling, "Once a Hero" becomes a fast-paced space opera adventure story.
The story is a spinoff from Moon's earlier Heris Serrano trilogy. Esmay Suiza was a minor character whose five pages of fame occurred at the conclusion of "Winning Colors", a junior Lieutenant who ended up briefly in command of the space ship as the senior survivor after a bloody mutiny against its traitorous captain. This story picks up after those events, with Suiza's court-martial (for the mutiny) and...more
The story is a spinoff from Moon's earlier Heris Serrano trilogy. Esmay Suiza was a minor character whose five pages of fame occurred at the conclusion of "Winning Colors", a junior Lieutenant who ended up briefly in command of the space ship as the senior survivor after a bloody mutiny against its traitorous captain. This story picks up after those events, with Suiza's court-martial (for the mutiny) and...more
Once again Elizabeth Moon sucked me in. This picks up with a character from the last Heris Serrano books and follows her through a trial and onto her first assignment. I stayed up too late reading about her daily activities as a junior lieutenant on a maintenance cruiser. Seriously, it was that interesting. Interesting enough side plots, a love interest, and while it does feature my all-time SFF pet peeve (explained here in webcomic form) but managed to be engrossing despite that.
Also, while I'...more
Also, while I'...more
Jun 26, 2008
Kim
rated it
1 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
science-fiction,
space-opera
As with too many military sci fi, this book uses sexual violence as a cop out for actual character depth.
Structurally, this book is kind of an odd duck. It functions both as a sequel to the Heris Serrano trilogy that precedes it and as the beginning of a new series that stars a different character. As such, there are a few sharp edges. I had read the first three books some time ago - long enough that I was essentially coming to this one cold - and as a result, the court-martial that takes up a large chunk of the beginning of this book felt both confusing and overlong. If I'd come into this book fre...more
In a bit of a departure from this series, Heris Serrano is no longer the central character. Instead, we follow Esmay Suiza as she deals with the aftermath of her taking command of a ship following a mutiny, and returning to support Heris in battle. Esmay is an intriguing character, and is obviously dealing with something traumatic in her past, which is gradually revealed throughout the book. While sometimes I was a little sceptical of other characters' willingness to defer to a junior officer's...more
I had not read the previous books in the series but happened upon a copy not realizing that it was part of a series. I decided to read it as it is, and am very glad that I did. The first half was background and I was not sure how it would transition. I was pleasantly surprised that any cliches were studiously avoided in completing the action sequences. And some hard issues were delicately handled. I completely enjoyed the second half of the book, laughed and cried.
I don't normally read military sci fi - I'm more of a fantasy gal - but Elizabeth Moon has drawn an amazing character in heroine Esmay Suiza. How Esmay becomes a saves-everyone-hero - TWICE - makes for a fast-paced read. I got a little lost in the techno-speak (I have to read every Tom Clancy book TWICE for the same reason!) but I loved the characters andtheworld-buildng. Childhood tragedies, family secrets and trying to live up to everyone elses's expectations - this story has it all.
PART 1:
In hour 3 from graphic audio. No more horses! Get back into space!
Hour 5: Esmay is giving powerpoint presentations on what she did in the previous novel.
Yeah, the 1st half seems like a waste of time. I'm on the fence with purchasing the other half of this graphicaudio. The preview sounds so good.
...
PART 2:
Months later, and I need something to listen to while I rest my eyes and try to sleep. The part 2 sample has a really cool scene in space outside a ship with faster than light travel, wh...more
In hour 3 from graphic audio. No more horses! Get back into space!
Hour 5: Esmay is giving powerpoint presentations on what she did in the previous novel.
Yeah, the 1st half seems like a waste of time. I'm on the fence with purchasing the other half of this graphicaudio. The preview sounds so good.
...
PART 2:
Months later, and I need something to listen to while I rest my eyes and try to sleep. The part 2 sample has a really cool scene in space outside a ship with faster than light travel, wh...more
Though it is nowhere near perfect, Elizabeth Moon's Once a Hero is an enjoyable space opera romp. I may not have been familiar with the story up to the start of the novel, but I understood it relatively well nonetheless. Those who aren't too crazy about interstellar adventures should read something else, but galactic nuts will find plenty to love about it.
Not only was this a well written space opera, but I really enjoyed Moon's portrayal of a main character facing deep seated issues. Throughout most of the book Esmay hides her problems, worried they will negatively affect her career. By the end of the book she seeks psychiatric help, help that is not just glossed over. Moon puts as much detail into the psychnannies as everything else in the book. I really appreciated a well thought out and generally realistic approach to the topic.
I am constantly amazed and as a writer humbled by the mastery of absolutely convincing detail that Elizabeth Moon displays in her Vatta and Serrano series, without ever neglecting character or letting the detail get in the way of the plot. No matter how minute the detail (three leaky tubes of adhesive) it always goes somewhere (the disabling of an enemy ship and the complete rout of an entire barbarian horde). This is one of her best yet.
I love finding new sci fi with great female characters, and I enjoyed this book by Elizabeth Moon. Her books tend to resolve the conflict a touch too easily/predictably, but I still find them to be fun and entertaining reads.
Very good. Character develops and deepens, plot moves - a few spots (two?) with violence against women. NOT sensationalized, but disturbing - and, I'm sure, meant to be.
Entertaining, fast, light read with strong female characters. I read this series straight through and enjoyed the the last book in the series as much as the first.
Got into this seies from a free gift from a work colleague,this is a favourite which I re-reading for the nth time.
Space action with female main charactes
Space action with female main charactes
Moon is a past mistress of space opera, but here she takes it to a new level with a deep look into character, coming of age, and clash of cultures. Definitely recommended.
The new main character was a bit jarring at first, but this and book 5 were quite a bit more enjoyable than the first three.
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Elizabeth Moon was born March 7, 1945, and grew up in McAllen, Texas, graduating from McAllen High School in 1963. She has a B.A. in History from Rice University (1968) and another in Biology from the University of Texas at Austin (1975) with graduate work in Biology at the University of Texas, San Antonio.
She served in the USMC from 1968 to 1971, first at MCB Quantico and then at HQMC. She marrie...more
More about Elizabeth Moon...
She served in the USMC from 1968 to 1971, first at MCB Quantico and then at HQMC. She marrie...more
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