Once a Hero

March 3, 1997
Over the last decade, Moon (Remnant Population) has established herself as one of the best-known and most acclaimed writers of SF adventure. Her latest novel expands the setting of her Heris Serrano space opera series, popular for its smooth blending of martial action and unusual cultural perspective. Born on a colony world where the inbred military culture doesn't allow women to command, Lieutenant Junior Grade Esmay Suiza is the first person from her planet to attend the Fleet Academy and graduate into service aboard one of the great military ships. After joining a mutiny against a traitorous captain, assuming command and leading her ship successfully through intense combat, Suiza wants nothing more than to return to anonymity. The stress of that brief, bloody command and a subsequent court martial, however, have brought up old nightmares that can't be laid to rest until Suiza can come to terms with a horrible childhood trauma whose real nature her parents have kept from her for more than 10 years. In spite of a few too-convenient plot twists, this is a satisfying read, full of the finely detailed settings and excitement that Moon's readers have come to expect, and featuring a heroine whose self-doubts and inner strength lend her considerable appeal.

March 15, 1997
In Moon's (Remnant Population, LJ 5/15/96) hard sf adventure, Lt. Esmay Suiza faces a military court hearing following her emergency captaining of a patrol ship during battle after the captain turned out to be a traitor. Tormented by nightmares from repressed memories of sexual assault, Esmay recaptures her self-esteem and the military's trust. Highly recommended.

February 1, 1997
Moon's dazzling Heris Serrano series relates events in a fascinating interstellar milieu. The latest installment follows young Fleet Lieutenant Esmay Suiza after the mutiny and space battle detailed in "Winning Colors" (1995). Esmay returns to her home planet, where she is a member of an aristocratic family, and learns the hidden secret of her childhood. The fleet then reassigns her to inglorious duty on a massive space base, on which she must come to terms with both her background and her military career while facing ever-present danger from enemy forces ready to strike. Moon's mastery of contemporary science fiction is evident in every line. The characters spring to life on the page, the intricacies of societies are astutely explored, and the pace never flags. She even achieves the seemingly impossible by deftly making naval maintenance and logistics the stuff of riveting fiction. A resplendent addition to Moon's already impressive catalog. ((Reviewed February 1, 1997))(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 1997, American Library Association.)