Once a Hero (Baen Book)
by Elizabeth Moon
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other reviews (showing 1-20 of 137)
Read in March, 2008
I've read this book six or seven times now. It is nominally a Space Opera (science fiction) book - there are starships and space battles and made-up technical terms. But the story is really about a woman who suffered a significant childhood trauma, grew up and escaped to the miltary, leaving her past behind her, and learns that it is impossible to ignore your past. You have to learn from it in order to succeed as an adult. Elizabeth Moon wrote seven or eight books in this series and this one, ri...more
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Read in December, 2007
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...more
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Read in February, 2008
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...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...more
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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.
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Read in November, 2007
I was worried 50 pages in that I'd quit... but then this military science fiction read started to interest me. The main character began to be a person and I started to care. The big battle scene got a little long and I ended up skimming much of it.
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Of all the books in this series, I jump back to this one if I want a good read. Then of course, I have to go back and re-read most of the series.
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Read in May, 2008
Good strong military sf with likeable protagonists and a fascinating setting. It's part of a series, but it stands alone fairly well.
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Read in February, 2008
recommends it for:
those who love space operas
