Lois’s answer to “Which one of your own novels (Fantasy or Science Fiction) would YOU recommend to someone as a start…” > Likes and Comments

As someone who liked both SF and F, is OK with romance as long as it is a side story, somewhat enjoys mysteries, does enjoy war stories, likes any kind of hero, likes both genders of protagonist, enjoys long series, and is very spoiler sensitive: My recommendation is The Warrior's Apprentice.

My reason for this is not because of the war stories, the age or gender of the heroes, but because every one of the main characters and the world building is just so fantastically done. The character interactions, growth, and the deeper looks at the different cultures are better done than any other series I can name. I recommend The Warrior's Apprentice rather than Shards of Honor due to pacing; people I've started on the series with either book have always found The Warrior's Apprentice more engaging, finding it harder to put down. Multiple people's personal preferences are still just personal preferences, of course, and you should start with whichever you think suits you better. The world in Chalion was also fantastic, but I found the characters less absorbing than the cast of the Vorkosiverse - that said, if you prefer F to SF definitely start with Chalion.

Just my input. Hope it helps rather than confuses. Take Lois's advice over mine, of course. :)

Also, to Lois's comment "The only wrong choice would be not to read any." Hear, hear!

I always recommend, Mountains of Mourning. This is a short, quick-read, that sums up Miles very well. and... it has been on the Bean Free List for years, so it is the only book that I am willing to give to a friend.

I like SF. I think several of the Vorkosigan books could be good places to start. Shards of Honor, Warriors Apprentice, Memory all seem like good choices to me. Or to go back to the beginning with Falling Free.

Oops - I left our Mountains of Mourning. Agree with Bob on that one.

In recommending SF to a man, I start them with "Warrior's Apprentice" although I can see that "Borders..." or "Mountains..." would also work fine. I always start a woman reader with "Shards..." unless they can't stand a little romance.

I've successfully hooked several customers on your books with FALLING FREE and ETHAN OF ATHOS, which overcome frequent customer complaints ("I don't want to start in the middle of a series!" and "Are any of hers 'stand-alones'?"). Even though both of these are part of the Vorkosigan universe, neither require any knowledge of the other books in the series.

Hell, you can start just about anywhere, although starting more than halfway through the Vorkosigan Saga may get you wondering about the history of all these characters. You could perfectly well start the fantasy books with "The Hallowed Hunt", which is set earlier in time than any of the others, so it has no back story: all the characters are new. Although none of its characters reappear later, either, because there's a big gap in time before the next book.