I'm a great admirer of short stories as they are typically lighter fare and don't take as long to read obviously. This collection though contains some pure entertainment stories but mostly challenging works on a variety of subject matter.

Thus it required a lot more effort to read than I expected. However, the effort is more than worthwhile. They are all good stories, some very good and many of them will give you something to think about long after you've finished the collection.

For any fan of Elizabeth Moon, this is a must read! There are several hard-to-find stories in here, and Moon shows her depth and varying perspectives as she moves through each one. The commentary about the stories is valuable -- I highly recommend this one!

In this collection, the author has gathered an interesting collection of stories in many styles (hence the Moon "Phases" title). The stories include hard SF and fantasy, futuristic warfare, quieter "character" tales, and revisits the world of Paksenarrion to tell the story of a minor character.

Moon gives a brief note with each story to indicate her inspiration or the circumstances in which it was written, which adds additional interest. The writing is well done - concise, well characterised, and draws the reader in. This is a must-read for fans, and will appeal to most readers of SF/FAN.

Once A Hero by Elizabeth Moon ( New Paragraph ) The first three chapters of this book appeared on the Web, courtesy of Baen books. These were so fun and so promising, that I haunted the book stores for two weeks until the novel was available. ( New Paragraph ) Unhappily the first three chapters are probably the best three chapters. Once A Hero, is the story of a young lieutenant in the Regular Space Service. She has just performed a great deed of heroism. She obtained command of a ship, due to treason and mutiny and counter mutiny. She then destroyed an enemy heavy cruiser saving an entire planet. Instead of honor and glory and a hero's welcome, Lieutenant JG Esme Suiza receives a Court Martial and a Board of Enquiry. Her superiors also asking "How did so mediocore a person as Lt. Suiza do so well?". Our hero, had not planned for , and truly does not want a glorious Navy career. She harbored no ambitions to command her own ship. ( New Paragraph ) The book is beautifully written. It has a clean, clear, elegant style, free of the extraneous reminisces and explanations. The societies and cultures are revealed in pieces as the story progresses, allowing the reader to assemble them like a furniture kit. While this story is set in the same universe as a previous trilogy it stands alone quite well. ( New Paragraph ) Unhappily the society revealed is a massive, old fashioned, rectangular library table with only three legs. There are some very silly discrepancies in this book. In one place, our hero claims to be the first person from her planet to serve in the Navy, in 200 years; in another place she mentions someone else having joined 30 years before. Early in the book, it is implied that she has some monetary resources besides her salary, later the reverse is suggested. These particular points are mere scratches on the table, annoying but not critical. (New Paragraph) The real problem lies with the Navy. Through out most of the book it appears to be a completely competent and professional organization. The legal proceedings, the Court Martial and the Board of Enquiry, are done in a fair, established, professional manner. The further glimpses of Navy actions and procedures, also show a competent military force, easily holding its own against smaller but still dangerous opponents. ( New Paragraph ) After the Board of Enquiry, Lt. Suiza is sent to a new post. The new assignment is on a ship that closely resembles a fairly large space station. This artifact contains 25,000 people and is a major Navy research, repair and resupply facility. ( New Paragraph ) This extremely valuable, very heavily manned facility is attacked. The Navy becomes a group of disorganized, inexperience, untrained, unprepared fools. Twenty five men are pulled from a damaged Navy vessel. No one notices that these people are completely uninjured despite blood on their uniforms. Without verifying identification, giving an orientation, or even checking with an officer from the damaged vessel, these men are sent to various departments abourd the repair facility. When it is established that these men are all enemy agents, the Captain's first reaction is to consider self destruction. The Navy does not, it seems have established procedures for dealing with hostile intruders, for securing critical facilities ( life support, the bridge, the sole self destruct mechanism ), for denying intruders access to medical supplies like knock out gas, or weapons. The very large, very valuable space station does not have redundant facilities for life support, and weapons control and self destruction. It does not have a secure method of communication. It doesn't seem to have any sort of internal security force, or any method of preventing unauthorized personnel from moving freely, or any security system monitoring critical areas. ( New Paragraph ) The flaws in the Navy wrecked the book. The society revealed by a science fiction novel doesn't have to be nice, or admirable, or even perfectly consistent, but it does have to be believable.

I'm definitely hooked by the Familias Regnant books. _Once A Hero_ is the fourth, and it's in a way a direct sequel to the last Heris Seranno book, _Winning Colors_, though it starts off in a new direction. It continues the story of an important minor character from _Winning Colors_, Lieutenant JG Esmay Suiza. Esmay is a technical track officer from an out of the way planet who was thrust briefly into a command role, and became a hero, in _Winning Colors_. _Once A Hero_ picks up immediately with the Board of Inquiry and Court Martial which follow that action. Esmay is very insecure about her ability, and tends to try to melt into the background, hard to do when you're a hero. She goes off to her home planet for much-deserved leave, and finds out a terrible secret about her childhood. Then she is posted to a Deep Space Repair facility, explicitly to keep her away from combat and notoriety. All this is quite interesting, and it becomes a story about the growth and self-discovery process of this young woman. Very Heinleinesque, in a way. Esmay is very well depicted, and her slow process of learning to use her real abilities is nicely done. There's a bit of almost cliched "when will she =finally= see a psychiatrist about her childhood trauma" dithering, but that still works OK.

The thing is, that's only half the book. The other half (pasted into the middle, more or less, of the book), is a space opera plot about the evil Bloodhorde and their scheme to steal the DSR for it's technology. This part is pretty good standard action, with Esmay again becoming a hero and showing her command stuff, and with some very fun if kind of unbelievable action scenes. I liked it but it seemed uneasily grafted to the even more interesting story of Esmay's personal growth. I'd have preferred a quieter story with Esmay only slowly realizing her abilities, instead of having them thrust upon her by more desperate action. Still, it's great fun and I'll be looking up the next book, _Return Engagement_, real soon.

Readers of Moon's Heris Serrano novels (Hunting Party, Sporting Chance, Winning Colors) will recognize the battle of Xavier which Esmay Suiza is instrumental in winning -- after a mutiny against a treachorous captain which she survives as the highest ranking officer (Lt. J.G.!). Hero? Obviously. But how to explain her earlier mediocre career, technical track, lacking initiative? What else might Lt. Suiza be hiding?

Esmay's not telling. For one thing, it's rude to tell people your family holds hereditary military control over an entire planet. And for another thing, she's only just starting to realize what she's been hiding so carefully from herself.

Elizabeth Moon's novels almost invariably feature strong female protagonists, and this is no exception. The depiction of the Suiza family is good, and the depiction of how Esmay gradually learns to fit into Familias culture is even better. This novel is peripherally connected to the Serrano novels, but can be enjoyed without that background as well.

I really enjoyed this book as demonstrated by the mark that I gave it. One of the main features that I found most endearing was the fact that there was a realism found in few other books. When Elizabeth Moon describes camp chores or marching along a trail you do not have this smoothing over of the aches and pains. In one instance you have "Paks" in the front of the column dreaming of marching into battle and as soon as the column rotates so she is eating everybody's dust you can tell that she quickly tires of the monotony. I enjoyed the way that this portrays the battles. As a lowly private, a character would rarely know what is going on beyond her small section of it. This was successfully incorporated into the novel which again points to the realism of it. And the most important....People actually die in this book. This has been an area which irratates me the most. When I read other books you have a bunch of sub-characters that die off leaving the main characters to sail off into the suset. Elizabeth Moon does not do this. She has characters that she develops and then die with all the attendant shock one would have if a person were to die in real life...questioning god, doubting yourself, and questioning your motivation of this particular kind of work...All in all a very well done piece

This is a very good fantasy/adventure story and I recommend it to fans of the genre. This book follows the adventures of a young girl who has left home with dreams of becoming a warrior in a mercenary company. Her experiences are exciting, frustrating, unexpected, bewildering, and challenging to her. The big plus for me was the extremely realistic feel of this book. Her training and the missions seemed very genuine. Elizabeth Moon avoided going over the top with this book and kept it believable. For example, when someone gets an injury, they don't jump back up and just brush it off like many other novels. They spend days and weeks recovering.

I read this as part of the "Deed of Paksennarion" compilation, but I felt more comfortable reviewing this book alone because I felt it was superior to the other two novels in the trilogy: "Divided Allegience" and "Oath of Gold". This book stands well on its own, even though it is part of a trilogy. If you read this and enjoy it for the same reasons I did, be warned that the next two books take a different direction and lose some of what made this book so enjoyable for me.

As my rating suggests, I thought this was an excellent book, But I'm completely suprised that there aren't more reviews. Has no one read it?? The entire series is by far the best fantasy series I've ever encountered. The only book I've found better than the tales of Paksenarrion is Ender's Game. This entire series sucked me in and wouldn't let me go until I had finished. It was well written with great attention to detail. I've never been in military service, but after reading these books I feel as if I almost know what it's like. Throughout the books, the reader is made to care deeply for the characters and their plights.

I highly recommend this book to *ANYONE* looking to not only read, but experience a great fantasy story.

Divided Allegiance is one of the best fantasy novels I have ever encountered. The second book in the Deed of Paksenarrion series, it has a way of making you feel as if you were pulled into E. Moon's world and are fighting, ailing, and crying next to Paks. Like any great second novel [of a trilogy] it leaves you hanging, thirsting for more.

This is a book about change, and you see alot of it. Paks is heading for great things but have you ever thought what it costs to be "great." Lets just say that she earns it in this book and pays double in Oath of Gold (the third book). Truely a stand out book amoung fantasy. Trust me I have read a great many and this series keeps me coming back over and over again. My only problem is that this book is only available in paper back which doesn't stand up to frequent re-reads.

'Divided Allegiance' is the second book in a trilogy that I considered one of the best sets of fiction books ever written. The story picks up where "Sheepfarmer's Daughter" left off; the majority of the book is taken up with Paksenarrion's life away from the mercenary group she trained with. Paks is a very likeable character, and it is easy to become emotionally attached to her. Starting in the previous book, we get to watch her mature from a simple recruit to a seasoned warrior. This book is just as well written as the first part of the trilogy, and the plot fulfills on its promise. Elizabeth Moon has created a work of fiction that is simply outstanding. Once you pick up this book, you will not be able to put it down.

Elizabeth Hand does in this book what Mary Shelley did in Frankenstein, Bram Stoker in Dracula. She has written a horror novel that is so plausible, so believable that after reading it you will be scared of the moon... of Othiym, the Woman in the Moon. It's almost heartbreaking to read. Hand uses such poetry in her narrative that at one point you could feel yourself sinking down into a Sweeney-like depression and rising up again when Dylan, who looks so much like Oliver, tells her he loves her. While one part of Sweeney accepts this present, remembering Oliver's promise that "I'll love you next time." another part still yearns for the time before she knew who or what Angelica really was... before Oliver died... when the Benandanti could still protect her. You will read this book once, you'll read over again, and you still won't really understand

I found this novel to be everything a novel should be-- entertaining. OK, so it's not exactly the highest standard, but when you come right down to it that's what I found_Waking the Moon_ to be. Sure, it was full of rich imagery, and descriptions of the fantastic that made you think you were seeing the actual events take place. Plus, Sweeney is a great protagonist. But all in all, the book was just a great experience. However, anyone who approaches it looking for a ghost story, or a horror novel, or fantasy, is going to be sorely disappointed. The book does not fit firmly into any genre, but stradles them all. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a "novel" read.

A friend of mine told me to read this book, that it was one of her favorites. She went on to say that it was "You know, secret societies, witchcraft and Minoan things." I thought, okay...I have to give this book a try! Let me just say that it was absolutely mesmerizing! Sweeney is a great heroine with plenty of flaws to feel completely real to the reader. When I finished reading this, I turned to the picture of the author and saluted her. I mean, rarely do you find a book that just delivers on soooo many levels. My one and only complaint is the switching of first person/third person perspectives. It's not that I found the third person perspectives boring or somehow "less" but Sweeney and her view of the Divine is just so enthralling that you don't ever want to leave her. But, I realize there is so much that takes place in the book (especially later on) that we could never know if the author didn't do that, so I forgive it and usually tell people that "Waking the Moon" is as close to a perfect book as one can get.

This delightful look at forbidden love is heart wrenching and draws you into each character's life. It is a sensitive look at hardship and a sensual look at the development and denial of feelings. Her use of French adds to the atmosphere of the entire novel, and fills in for the lack of more discriptive English words. She brings across the message so clearly that one can not help but want to experiance the forbidden love seen here.

Grippingly written and emotionally charged, it leaves me wanting to be the Evelyn in the novel.

I read this book this summer while at the beach. What a treat.If you have every felt misunderstood by your mate this is the book for you. I bought copies for several friends and they also loved it. It is a very fast read, great for a week-end or short vacation.

I was ready for a fast reading book and this definitely fit the bill. I don't regret reading it, I enjoyed it but can't rate it too highly. As others have said, the main character in this book, Nan, is a bit whiny but it was in sort of a regretful way. I enjoyed some of her insights that I felt epitomize half the regrets women verbalize while I sit quietly, wanting to wring their necks. It bothers me when people whine about their husbands holding them back and not being "supportive". So if that is the type of person you are, this book serves as an inspirational writing. Start doing the things you have always wanted to do or stop whining about it. If you like driving the back roads, then do it now and then so you don't get to a crisis stage in your life. So, this book is primarily about a woman who breaks down in order to take more charge in her life. Let it inspire you!

Being a fortysomething housewife and mother, I really wanted to like this book. I read two of Berg's other novels, What We Keep and Open House and enjoyed them both. However, my feelings about The Pull of the Moon are mixed. The story, which is told through diary entries and letters to the main character's husband, periodically contains some wonderful insights into the hearts and minds of women at middle of their lives. Unfortunately, in between these insightful passages, are a lot of petty whining by Nan, the protagonist, aimed toward her husband. Like another reviewer mentioned, she seems to blame all of her frustrations on him and rarely, if ever, takes responsibility for her own choices. Also some of the scenes, in particular the beauty parlor segment, were over the top. However, even if the main character is irritating, the midlife issues touched upon by this book, can be the catalyst for some interesting and enlightening book group discussions.

If you have ever been lost especially lost within yourself, you can't afford not to read this book! Elizabeth Berg gives us a story of a woman who is lost and runs away from home to find herself. The Pull of the Moon is a well-written story that is impossible to put down.

I have never read anything quite like it, and would be insulting this book's integrity if I compared it to any other book I have read. I loved everything about this book from the way it was written to the way it moved me. Words simply cannot express how wonderful this book is.

My suggestion, Buy it! Find a nice quiet place and prepare yourself to experience a range of emotions and inspiration, and fall in love with this book and its values like so many others have.

i must say that i'm a pretty huge romance novel fan, even though i may be only 15. but in a lot of books characters are left with out development. this is deffinitly not one of those books, because i can seriously say that i had absolutly no idea where the book was going. but Honey Jane Moon is certainly one of those characters that cannot be forgotten, although i had some serious issues with her marrying Dash, mostly because he seemed such a lame character when you compared him with all the other awesome characters in this book, but Eric had such a depth that no one could really know what he would do next. but you couldn't help but fall all over yourself over. but i will warn you that it isn't your average book, it's not quite as light hearted as others but i think if you're tired of the same old characters then give this one a try because it's really hard not to love a woman who basically found hope on a Rollercoaster! i really hope you like it!

BUY THIS BOOK

I've just recently discovered S.E.P. and boy what a treasure she is! The last book that touched me this deeply was Karen Robards', One Summer. And in Honey Moon, S.E.P delivers as much, if not more! The characters in Honey Moon leap off the page.

S.E.P's heroes, both of them, will haunt you for months to come. Two men with completely different personalities, but each with compelling emotional depth. And both are *equally* heroic. Anyone who writes fiction must know how difficult this is to accomplish with one hero, let alone two. But S.E.P does it well!

I fell in love with them, cried with them, laughed with them and I feel like I've been on an emotional rollercoaster. Dash Coogan and Eric Dillon were more than remarkable.

The blurb on the back of the book sums them both up so well: "Dash Coogan ... the last of the movies' cowboy heroes, trapped on a screen too small to contain a legend. Eric Dillon ... Hollywood's bad boy, whose dark, seductive appeal and blazing talent hid a painful secret that has scarred his soul."

And the title character ... well, what can I say? She was simply extraordinary. Watching her grow from a child into a woman was a sight to behold, something that's also hard to pull off in fiction. But, S.E.P. does it with sensitivity and flair.

It's a rare book that can make me cry, and cry I did. Thank you S.E.P. for giving me such a rewarding read.

This was yet another winner by Ms. Phillips. What a GREAT book about a young girl named Honey Jane Moon, who had a tragic life from early childhood but turned it around to work in her favor as she grew into a woman. She is a strong, proud girl with a will of iron, she works hard and makes a big name for herself while trying to find her place in the world. All the way trying to find the love that she has never had in her life. What a fantastic story, it was one of the best stories I have ever read. I loved it, and you will too. It's one of those books that you can't put down, coz you can't wait to see what is going to happen, but you don't want to read it too fast because you don't want it to end!!! One of the best!

I highly recommend that anyone who likes space opera take the opportunity to read Elizabeth Moon. She's a fabulous writer, and her characters draw you into the novels. Heris and Cecelia, each quirky in their own way, make drastic changes that affect everything in their universe... and they do it simply by doing what they feel is necessary.

This one rates 5 on my personal evaluation, because I want to be recommended anything like it, to put it simply. :-)

Not as good as the previous book, though, this book somehow manages to lack interest in the space battles, which is very odd given the, if you pardon the pun, odds. Also, I was expecting to see the story that Rules of Engagement implies, and it was just not there, which was a let down.

Still, this book is a definite bridge between the civilian action of the first two books and the military environment in the follow ups. The story is sound, the pacing is good, and the action is interesting.

The third of Elizabeth Moon's Heris Serrano books is _Winning Colors_. In this book Cecelia, restored to health, has been forced by (unbelievable, to me) legal manipulations to give her yacht to Heris. Cecelia charters it and they head for a horsy world to look at some horse genes for Cecelia's farms. In the meantime Heris has hired Brun, whose father wants to keep her out of trouble, and also Heris has hired an expert "communications tech" from her friend Livadhi's Royal Space Service crew. Also in the meantime, Raffa's family has forced her to break up with Cecelia's niece Ronnie, because of the scandal involving Cecelia's treatment at the hands of her family, and her response: to sue them. Ronnie, at loose ends, agrees to go to the non-Familias worlds of the Guernisi to investigate some suspicious samples of the immortality drugs. When Ronnie (and his friend George) run into trouble, Raffa is sent after them. Also at the same time, a spoiled young rich girl from Ronnie/Raffa/George/Brun's generation is killed by revolutionaries on Patchcock, the source of the questionable immortality drugs. And also (pant pant) the evil mobster empire, the Benignity of the Compassionate Hand (great name!), is planning an attack on, by coincidence, the same planet to which Cecelia and Heris have gone.

You can probably see that this is the third book in a series, and you should probably read the first two first. (Though I think that the book does have enough internal info to allow readers to catch up.) It's a very action-filled, involving, novel. There are some pretty cool space battles, some exciting action involving the young uns, and some hints of serious consideration of the potential problems of super extended life spans. It's another great, fast, read. I liked it. But I must say, it also has some flaws, that cause me to rank it a bit below the second and best novel of this series, _Sporting Chance_. Most fundamental is a certain reliance on some outrageous coincidences. To some extent Moon patches this by having some of the action directed from behind the scenes by a benign (not of the Benignity!) figure, but this too seems a bit pat.

In addition, Moon shied away from attacking the most interesting question she raised head on: that of what to do with the problem of succession when old people never die. I'm inclined to not mind this too much though: indeed she avoids providing pat answers, just asks hard questions. Throughout there's a hint of the author reminding herself that this whole series began as a light-hearted romp, as space opera, and thus "let's not get too serious". At the same time, serious issues are raised, and bad things happen. The whole trilogy is fun and interesting and a ripping good read.