Divided Allegiance by Elizabeth Moon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Elizabeth Moon does a great job at character development in this series. She takes a sheepfarmer's daughter from being completely naive and ignorant of the world outside her village and realistically broadens her worldview and her understanding of herself and her purpose. The first book in the trilogy felt limited because it was - Paks only grew so far in those years in the mercenary company. It's in this second book that she really starts to come into her own.
Divided Allegiance still seems to wander somewhat randomly in the beginning because Paks is wandering randomly, trying to find a new place. As the book progresses, though, she starts to make her own decisions about the type of fighter she wants to be and to learn when to trust and when not to. Her adventures are captivating and formative, and we see the world more clearly - and the magic. If you missed magic in the first book, you won't be disappointed in this one.
Paks experiences some wonderful high moments in this book, but she also loses tragically. The last part of this is truly heartbreaking and the ending is hopeless. What a twist! I thought I knew where it was all headed, heroic-fantasy-style, and it suddenly took a completely different turn. I loved it, even with the sadness and darkness I felt. I just had to know what happened to Paks and continued reading book 3 without pause.
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