Sheepfarmer's Daughter

The Deed of Paksenarrion, Book 1

By: Elizabeth Moon

Narrated by: Jennifer Van Dyck

Length: 15 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Refusing to marry a pig farmer and joining the army, even if it means never seeing her family again, Paksenarrion begins an adventure that enables her to restore an overthrown ruler.

©1988 Elizabeth Moon (P)2010 Audible, Inc.

Does the narrator understand what she's reading?

I read this book when it first came out, and loved it. I'm pretty sure it even influenced my choice to join the military out of high school. So when I saw it available on Audible I was very excited! Listening to it brought back great memories, of places and people I'd read about and cared about.
About a third of the way through, though, something started to go wrong. I started noticing how, outside of dialog, the narrator sounded...odd. I couldn't put my finger on it, and kept listening. It became unbearable, though, and I had to stop it.
I realized today what it was that bothered me - it didn't seem to matter what words were being read, particularly. Every sentence was spoken with a similar cadence, with similar pauses. I realized that the narrator only added special emphasis during dialog; descriptions were read generically. It was like they put their mouth on cruise control, without engaging the brain.
Elizabeth Moon's prose deserves better. It was a huge disappointment to see that the same person narrates the rest of Paks' stories.

a bit of a slow build-up

The pacing isn't bad, I just thought the story would end with further character progression than it did. This is the "early years" phase of her story. Have to give Moon credit, she killed a couple characters I really didn't expect to die. On the other hand, the actual plot isn't about Pals, which is odd. it follows her mostly through other people's goals and struggles. Also, I kept interpreting the abbreviation of her name as "pox" with how it is pronounced.

Slow precise pace at first but necessary.

Really enjoyed both the story, and the performance. I really enjoy Elizabeth Moons writings. In both this fantasy and the scifi genre, her military experience shines through.

Great Story

The present-tense narration is only the prologue, then it reverts to mainly third-person limited, past-tense.
Story is fantastic, with some spot-on military training and relatable characters.
The narrator speaks very clearly, which was a little off-putting (Capt. Kirk style pauses mid-sentence hinders the narration, I think) but that makes it easy to follow even while listening in a noisy car.

Great fantasy

Great book. Well developed characters. I especially loved that this book is not of the game of thrones generation and the author did not fee compelled to sexualizrbeverything. I loved that the main character is simply good and the author dies a great job of describing the main characters decision making processes. Looking forward to gett Ng the rest of the series. Audible 20 review sweepstakes entry.

Epic Tale

This was one of my favorite books growing up and still is. Great performance. I highly recommend it.

One of my Favs

One of my favorite series, I have read and listened to the books now 3 times. I wish they would make a movie or something like it out of the books. I could see the books being a great Neflex Original.

I don't know

Bought these as I was off on a vacation and wanted a long book. It's good, but I found it soporific, I was failing to remember parts of it and having to play it over and over again.

How many times does she say 'I don't know ?' It must be hundreds..

amazing, grea story with great mystery

a great book with a wonderful ending an amazing story line can't wait to second installment

Woman warrior gets it done

If you could sum up Sheepfarmer’s Daughter in three words, what would they be?

Fantasy that works

What did you like best about this story?

Skillful use of the fantasy genre bring the time, place, and story alive

What about Jennifer Van Dyck’s performance did you like?

Voice of each character is distinctive yet the reader's device is unobtrusive. Great oral characterization of Paks animates the 'heroine.'

Any additional comments?

The author's story, characters, and fantasy setting -- through a skillful reading -- results in the best kind of audiobook experience where all elements combine and transport the listener to another reality.