Hunting Party

Hunting Party is the first in a series of space opera novels by Elizabeth Moon. From what I can determine, this book is the beginning of the Serrano Legacy trilogy, which is part of the larger Familias Regnant series.

Heris Serrano has recently resigned her commission in the Regular Space Service and accepted the position as captain aboard the private space yacht of Lady Cecelia. Most of the novel explores the developing friendship between Lady Cecelia, a member of the nobility, and Heris, the product of a rich military legacy. Along the way the pair have to deal with the neglect of the yacht by the crew, some smuggling, Lady Cecelia's spoiled nephew and friends, and, finally, combat against a former adversary of Heris.

Don't let that last part fool you, however, there is no space combat in Hunting Party. There is little science fiction overall. This book could just as easily adopted a fantasy setting. That could be said about a lot of space opera, but let me give an example of what I mean. As the result of a bet, Henris must learn from Lady Cecelia how to ride a horse and participate in fox hunting, a popular sport of the nobility. Lady Cecilia must learn from Henris the workings and maintenance of a spaceship. There is a lot of description, a lot, of the proper way to ride a horse and hunt fox. There is almost nothing about the workings of a spaceship.

Hunting Party feels like the setup for the actual story rather than a story in itself. At the end of the novel it feels as if the characters have been maneuvered into the position Moon wants them to begin the actual story arc that will define the Serrano Legacy. The characterization of Henris and Lady Cecilia is well done and I am interested to see what happens to them in the future. I just hope it involves more starships and less fox hunting.