Elizabeth Moon

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At the 63rd World Science Fiction Convention in Glasgow, August 2005

Elizabeth Moon (born March 7, 1945) is an American science fiction and fantasy author. She lives in Florence, Texas (about 40 miles (70 km) northeast of Austin).

She attained the rank of 1st Lieutenant during active service with the US Marine Corps, which she joined in 1968 having obtained a Bachelor's degree in History from Rice University. Later she additionally obtained a B.A. in Biology. She is also an experienced paramedic.

Moon started writing when she was a child and attempted her first book which was about her dog at age 6. Because of this she was inspired to write creatively and began writing science fiction in her teens (while still considering it a sideline). She first got serious about writing in her mid-thirties and had a newspaper column in a county weekly newspaper. Her first novel was The Sheepfarmer's Daughter which won the Compton Crook Award. Most of her writings contain military science fiction themes, though biology, politics and personal relationship issues also feature strongly. The Serrano Legacy is a space opera. The Speed of Dark is a near-future story told from the viewpoint of an autistic computer programmer, inspired by her own autistic son Michael.

1 Awards
2 Bibliography
3 Interviews
4 See also
5 External links

[edit] Awards

Sheepfarmers Daughter – 1989 Compton Crook Award (winner)
Remnant Population – 1997 Hugo Award for Best Novel (nomination)
The Speed of Dark – 2003 Nebula Award for Best Novel (winner) – 2003 Arthur C. Clarke Award (nomination)

[edit] Bibliography

[edit] The Deed of Paksenarrion

The three Paksenarrion books were written as one long story, but published as three separate books. A number of people have pointed out resemblances between the story setting and Dungeons & Dragons, in particular alleged similarities between Moon's town of Brewersbridge and Hommlet (a village in The Temple of Elemental Evil module for AD&D) and between Moon's religion of Gird and the faith of Saint Cuthbert of the Cudgel in Greyhawk. However, Ryk E. Spoor has stated (in a review of The Deed of Paksenarrion at Amazon.com[1]), that

Paksenarrion was born (according to an email exchange I had with the author) from bad roleplaying: Elizabeth Moon, not gaming herself, heard some people playing "Paladins" (Holy warriors in the service of a god) and doing so very poorly. Her reaction was of course that "such a person wouldn't act like that"... and in thinking about what they would act like, Paksenarrion was born.

[edit] The Deed of Paksenarrion Novels

Sheepfarmer's Daughter (1988-06-01)
Divided Allegiance (1988-10-01)
Oath of Gold (1989-01-02)

“Those Who Walk in Darkness” (1990-03-01) – short story set during Oath of Gold, included in the collections Lunar Activity and Phases

The Deed of Paksenarrion (1992-02-01) – omnibus edition

The Deed of Paksenarrion (2003-10-01) – hardcover omnibus

[edit] The Legacy of Gird Novels

Surrender None (1990-06-01) – prequel to The Deed of Paksenarrion
Liar's Oath (1992-05-01) – sequel to Surrender None

The Legacy of Gird (1996-09-01) – omnibus edition

[edit] Familias Regnant universe

Heris Serrano trilogy
- Hunting Party (1993-07-01)
- Sporting Chance (1994-09-01)
- Winning Colors (1995-08-01)

Heris Serrano (2002-07-30) – omnibus edition

Esmay Suiza trilogy
- Once a Hero (1997-03-01)
- Rules of Engagement (1998-12-01)
- Change of Command (1999-12-01)
Against the Odds (2000-12-02)

[edit] Vatta's War

Trading in Danger (2003-09-30)
Marque and Reprisal (2004-09-28) – Moving Target in the UK and Australia
Engaging The Enemy (2006-03-28)
Command Decision (2007-02-27)

A yet untitled final chapter is anticipated.

[edit] The Planet Pirates trilogy

The Planet Pirates is based on two books by Anne McCaffrey, Dinosaur Planet and Dinosaur Planet Survivors, (the two are also called The Mystery of Ireta) which also form the core of The Death of Sleep.