Lois McMaster Bujold has written a multiple-Hugo-Award-winning series of SF novels set in a future in which interstellar travel is relatively easy to accomplish through naturally occurring wormholes linking star systems with habitable planets (and other things, but those are generally not of interest). The centerpiece of this series is the novels chronicling the life and times of Miles N. Vorkosigan, damaged by poison gas before birth and as a result fated to live as a 4’8" hyperkinetic superintelligent dwarf. (All but five of the stories focus on him; of the others, a two-novel set (Shards of Honor and Barrayar) tells the story of his parents; a third, Ethan of Athos, narrates an independent mission by one of Miles’s close companions.
The thing that most appeals to me about this series is that, while every novel (and shorter piece) is at least theoretically a standalone work, the entire series is set in a universe at least as carefully crafted as Heinlein’s Future History or Tolkien’s Middle-Earth. A character might play a major supporting role in one story, vanish from the narrative for ten years, then show up again for quite logical reasons in another story. The reasons antagonists are antagonists are logical – there’s no “I just felt like being evil” villains; they’re following a path it makes sense for that character’s persona to have taken.
So, there must be other Bujold fans out there in Doperland – what did you like best, and, more importantly, why?
I like the strong female roles. I like the very well-drawn characters. I like the intelligence of the characters - no “idiot plots” here. I like that the characters are usually flawed, or have to overcome their past. I like the positive outlook of the characters and the writing. I like the sense-of-wonder sweep and richness of her universe. I like the dark tragic history turning to the light. I’ve enjoyed watching the characters grow. I love the humor - Miles has some great funny lines. (“And you should see what I do to kittens!”)
I loved the scene in A Civil Campaign where a piece of furniture from Barrayar was brought out of storage to great effect. And I mean an actual piece of furniture - a sofa! The food fight was fun, also.
Bujold writes classic golden-age style SF with plots and characterizations as, or more, realistic than the technology. The quality of her writing is what the genre deserves, but has gotten so rarely.
I loved when Miles gave Taura a lesson in the appropriate application of military force, by having her press exactly the right button. Good times.
IMNSHO, the Vorkogianverse would make a great TV or movie series.
I’ve always meant to read these - I think I haven’t because I have a vague sense that it’s one of those series with screwed up chronologies. Where are you supposed to start?
I always recommend reading books as they were written. When there are prequels they tend to deal with information that was revealed in earlier books. Sometimes that information is held back for effect in the earlier books and revealed in small doses. Also the writer matures in style as the books go along. I think that is true in most cases and in this one in particular.
Just be careful, these books have been reprinted in omnibus form. Two books per new edition. So it might be difficult to get them now as they were written.
I’m a huge fan of Bujold, especially of her fantasy novels, which is unusual, in that I usually prefer sf to fantasy. I highly recommend Curse of Chalion, and it’s sort-of-sequel, Paladin of Souls. They’ve got the fantastic characterizations of the Miles novels, but they also have a really interesting take on religion and spirituality.
One of my favorite authors, both for her writing and to talk with (although it’s been a while since I’ve seen her at a con). A Civil Campaign is, I think, one of her best; I sometimes pull out my copy just to re-read select passages, like the dinner party, or Miles’ letter of apology. (BTW, I heard it was originally going to be titled Rules of Engagement, but Elizabeth Moon published a book with that title the year before, and Lois decided it would be too confusing.)
I’m another big fan of Bujold’s works - she’s one of the few authors on my ‘refrigerator list.’ (A refrigerator list is a list of authors or artists from whom I will buy anything that has their names on it, even if it’s a refrigerator.) I have liked some of her books less than others, but they’ve all met at least the standard of being a good, enjoyable read.
I first encountered her works when Labyrinth was published in Analog. I was entranced, and so sorry I wouldn’t be seeing much else of those interesting characters. When I saw The Vor Game a couple years later I picked it up, and only then realized there was more I could read!
Like Loach suggests, I don’t think you’ll go too far wrong by going with the books in chronological order, as they were written. Having said that, I obviously came into them more or less in the middle, and caught up as I could find out of print paperbacks. Bujold really does a great job of putting things so that the reader can follow her story without having read all the other books.
Just for an example, Mirror Dance follows a lot from the actions in the short story Labyrinth. But, since her viewpoint character for that work doesn’t know about that, the reader gets the background as the character gets it, and I thought that really worked well.
My favorite book in the series is still Memory, because it does such a great job of knocking Miles down to bedrock.
fun lady to hang out with and chat with. She frequents her forum at Baens Bar, and has an old style email list. I hang on the email list.
My friend Ginny and I have wrangled her at a con before. That was rather fun.
All of the above, books are a great read, classics in the making. Great characterizations - you can look at characters and think that they remind you exactly of someone you know.
Me, too. Both my wife and I are big fans of Lois, so we can quote back and forth to each other. I also have a button that says “My mother went to Vorbarra Sultana and all I got was this bloody shopping bag”.
At last year’s Worldcon I’ve heard that she read from the latest Miles work-in-progress. Woohoo!
Actually, only two books (Barrayar and Cetaganda) were written “out of order”, and the fact does not affect the plotlines of them or other books to any great extent. For all the others, the internal chronology of the stories matches the order of writing – except that the book Borders of Infinity comprises a brief frame story in which three novellas (“The Mountain of Mourning”, “Labyrinth”, and “The Borders of Infinity”) are joined together as flashbacks giving answers to questions asked in the frame story. So effectively one can read them in the order of internal chronology, as given in the back of any of the books. (Exempt Falling Free from this – it’s not part of the Vorkosigan Saga, but gives some history from 200 years previous that eventually becomes significant to the VK stories. Read it anytime – or not, as a completely separate work.)
Actually, A Civil Campaign is one of Barb’s and my favorites, too. And a line from an anonymous book reviewer ranks in my Top Ten SF-Related Turns of Phrase list: “It reads like a successful collaboration between E.E. Smith and Georgette Heyer.”
It might interest people of this thread to hear that Steve Jackson Games is coming out with the licensed sourcebook as a GURPS role-playing-game supplement.
I’m a big fan. Miles Vorkosigan is definitely a thinking-person’s hero. He finds ways to overcome impossible odds by devising superior strategies. He takes huge risks, but his audacity somehow always pays off. He seems to be able talk his way out of any situation. Despite being classified as a mutant on his home planet, and full of basic insecurities, he becomes a great leader, and a hero of Barrayar. Most of his heroism is classified though.
His parents are great too, especially his mother’s “shopping trip” to the capital during a coup.
I believe it was Shards of Honor, which tells the story of how Miles’ parents met. I was late reading it, because it was out of print for a while. But it is available now, or was the last time I checked.
I love these books, although the first two featuring Cordelia are my favorites: Shards of Honor and Barrayar. When I got to the first Miles book it seemed a little frantic, and I was worried that I wouldn’t like him, but he grew on me pretty quickly.
Bujold is supposed to be working on a new Vorkisogan book now. I like her fantasy too, but I really want more Vorkosigan.
My personal favorite is Brothers in Arms; in fact, I would probably argue that it’s the greatest space opera ever written. A relatively short novel in which the plot twists run at a mile a minute, there’s tremendous suspense, hilarious humor, and a tinge of romance all mixed in, and it all works together to create the perfect story. That book is an utter triumph of pure writing skill, with one of the best plots I’ve ever seen.
Other favorites: The Vor Game, Komarr, Memory, A Civil Campaign
Other good volumes: Barrayar, Borders of Infinity, Mirror Dance, Diplomatic Immunity, Falling Free
So-so volumes: Shards of Honor, The Warrior’s Apprentice, Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos
She just got her authors copies of Horizon, which should be shipping fairly shortly to people who preordered on amazon. She had some health issues which delayed the new Miles book, but was just over half finished last she mentioned it.
