Sci-fi and Heroic Fantasy discussion

This is our discussion of the Science Fiction novel...

Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold
(1986)

Note: This novel is also available in omnibuses such as Test of Honor and Cordelia's Honor.

Just a few random notes on the book (non-spoiler).

Shards of Honor is Bujold's first novel. it starts a long series of the Vorkosigan Saga space opera written over the following three decades.

Her second novel was The Warrior's Apprentice, which is set in the same universe. (The two are included together in the Test of Honor omnibus. It takes place two decades later, and its central figure is Miles Vorkosigan, who is the star of almost all the 15 novels that followed.

The novel's immediate chronological sequel is Barrayar (the two were grouped together in the Cordelia's Honor omnibus.)

(Non-spoiler)

Rereading this now, it's interesting to note some of the characters who show up in later novels (though older, of course.) I hadn't made some of the connections the first time through.

Bujold hadn't entirely fleshed out the nature of her universe when she wrote this novel, restricting herself to just a few stellar locations. She later expanded to include a large number of other human political entities. She uses the familiar concept of interstellar FTL via hyperspace jump corridors between fixed points. I used a map she later created of that universe for #6 in Imaginary Geography Quiz #1.

I read this book back in June and I gave it 4 stars. Which means that I couldn’t put it down, read straight through and didn’t want it to end. Which it didn’t. I’ve been reading the series in chronological order and none of them disappoint.
Looking forward to reading the reviews hoping they will jog my memory of specifics on this one.

I loved Cordelia in the beginning. She was exactly what I like in my captains, and I really liked both the storytelling and a lot of the non-physics considerations (yay biology in sci-fi!!)

The back half of the book though lost me.

Allison wrote: "I loved Cordelia in the beginning. She was exactly what I like in my captains,..."

So, just what attributes do you like in your captains? Cmdr Naismith, when we first meet her, seems barely quasi-military, leading a team of biologists & geologists exploring new worlds, more akin to the captain of a civilian vessel than a military officer.


Allison wrote: "I really liked both the storytelling and a lot of the non-physics considerations (yay biology in sci-fi!!)..."

You might want to try Nancy Kress's stories. She's the biggest bio-sf author I know. We did a Discussion of her Beaker's Dozen anthology once upon a time.

G33z3r wrote: "Allison wrote: "I loved Cordelia in the beginning. She was exactly what I like in my captains,..."



Allison wrote: "I really liked both the storytelling and a lot of the non-physics consideration..."

Oo! Good reco, thank you!

I like that she was logical, in command--in that she never forgot that she was final word, but without the unnecessary posturing or hand-wringing--but also human. She wasn't cold when compassionate would do just as well, and she could read people as well as lab reports. I loooove that. I feel like I don't see that as much in hard or military sci-fi. For whatever reason, we associate captains with heartless, calculated people who rule either through absolute fear or the kind of respect that comes when you hold yourself way above the rest of the staff. I liked that she wasn't that.

Arral was more of the traditional model. I am firmly #teamCordelia!

I'm actually pretty curious about this. I hear so much about this author. But I picked up a book of hers at a book store and man, between the title, cover and blurb on the back, it looked like the most banal, everyday, boring science fiction I had ever seen. What makes her so good?

Just finished. Two stars only. I have lots of issues with this book, some of which already mentioned. However the writing, proses and dialogue are good. Plot wise, including the romance part (central to the story) and characters fell flat to me.

Bobby wrote: "I'm actually pretty curious about this. I hear so much about this author. But I picked up a book of hers at a book store and man, between the title, cover and blurb on the back, it looked like the ..."

To me this was just good, tightly-plotted, character-focused space opera. With a romantic sub-theme.

I gather that this author has written several other books in this universe of note, as well.

While I really enjoyed most of this series, I only gave this book 3 stars in my review HERE. It was a bit too disjointed for me & I don't care for the main characters nearly as much as Miles. Still, it's a good set up for the rest of the series.

Read it, Bobby. I think you'll like them, especially some of the other books. I'd suggest reading them chronologically. I included a link to that in my review. There isn't anything super special about them, but they're definitely entertaining, not a waste of time. I think it's mostly the character of Miles, though.

I agree more with Patricia and Brendan - easy page turner, no huge turnoffs enough legit conflict (not contrived) to make it interesting.

This is what I thought right after reading it:
Enjoyed it! Has plenty of interesting sci-fi adventures but it’s really s love story / character study. Apparently I don’t mind a bit of romance if it’s not the angsty teen kind. Adults in love don’t suddenly forget about duty and honor

I certainly understand why certain parts turned folks off. I get the possibility of Stockholm syndrome. But...I just get her. And I may have made the same decision after coming home and facing what she did.

I wonder how much of folks' opinions are based on what else they've read from that time period. I have read a lot of Cherryh and McCaffrey from around then and I think this fits the 'feel' of their works is several ways and so is comfortable and nostalgic to me.

Is this available in different omnibuses to avoid taking a side in the chronological vs publishing order debate?

Yeah, I'm with Silvana. I guess I didn't get Cordelia.

I don't know yet how sensitive y'all are to spoilers, so I'm putting my comments in brackets to be safe :-)

(view spoiler)[It was a Pride and Prejudice level awful proposal, except worse, because, you know, the prisoner thing. And I dunno, there was a lot of rape that felt like we could have skipped, mostly. Or at least handled with some more tact/consequence/emotion. I am super extra very picky about how sexual violence is handled in books though, so that might just be my own personal line in the sand. (hide spoiler)]

Beta was awful though, agree with Rachel. What idiots!

G33z3r wrote: "Just a few random notes on the book (non-spoiler).

Shards of Honor is Bujold's first novel. it starts a long series of the Vorkosigan Saga space opera written over the following thr..."

Do you guys recommend reading this series in publication order? I've been wanting to ready another Bujold novel to see how they are.

I'll be done with this one in about 10 days or so. I'll jump in then with more detailed thoughts but right now it's reading almost like a Star Trek fan fiction romance.

Tandy I don’t disagree / but is that a good or bad thing for you? Since so grew up on TNG it’s good from my perspective!

Umm...I grew up on....stupid phone.

I’ve read different opinions on order and Ive decided to go with chronological rather than publishing order mostly for spoilers. In fact reading a blurb for some of the Miles books may have already spoilered (?) me for Barrayar!

I felt like this book was more of a romance novel set in space than a sci-fi with romance sub-theme. And romance novels aren't my thing, so I struggled with maintaining an interest. It wasn't *bad* it just didn't excite me.

I did like that Cordelia was captain of a non-military spaceship. I also thought she was a good captain. I just didn't think that she was a particularly interesting character, she felt two-dimensional to me.

I like Bothari and how his story ended up although it was a little dark and twisted, I found that to be an interesting little subplot.

(view spoiler)[ I also liked the attempts to interrogate Cordelia after her experiences, I particularly liked the whole hyponotic smoke thing, that was interesting. I did want to know how it wouldn't send the psychiatrist herself to sleep. And Cordelia's response and escape, I felt was appropriate, although how she didn't foresee the situation happening baffles me (hide spoiler)]

But apart from those things, I just felt it to be bland. People talk about how it is a *mature* or *adult* romance without the teen angst... I don't see it like that at all, I felt like it was very contrived (view spoiler)[ basically they had the hots for each other from the first, Cordelia keeps talking how attractive he is, and Vorkosigan 'confesses' later that he'd been the same. There were enough smouldering looks in the first meeting, I'm surprised they had trouble starting a fire that night in the woods. I didn't feel like the relationship developed over time except for the fact that they didn't immediately jump each other. (hide spoiler)] I just didn't feel like there was any 'will they? won't they?'. It felt like a foregone conclusion. So I was bored.

It was an easy read but not an exciting one.

Brendan wrote: "Is this available in different omnibuses to avoid taking a side in the chronological vs publishing order debate?"

Or because Test of Honor omnibus was published before Barrayar was published. The internal chronology combination of Shards of Honor & Barrayar sort of makes sense because they are the two pre-Miles Vorkosigan novels, centered on Cordelia.

Roger wrote: "Do you guys recommend reading this series in publication order? I've been wanting to ready another Bujold novel to see how they are...."

I'm usually a fan of publication order. Rachel mentioned you avoid spoilers reading according to the story's internal chronology, but if there are "spoilers", they are "spoilers" that everyone who read the series as it came out had, and the author was aware most of her audience already knew the end result of the prequel.

Barrayar is a good example. The Warrior's Apprentice fills in the outline of all the important events that are recounted there; Barrayar just turns the information into a fully narrated story instead of just background information. I suppose if you read The Warrior's Apprentice when it came out, you already had a pretty good idea how Barrayar was going to work out; it's really just a question of how Bujold was going to get there.

Most of the Vorkosigan Saga novels are self-contained, but Bujold does throw in a lot of changes as time goes on. People die, people marry, people are born, (people are cloned), relationships change, careers change,...
But I think each book does a pretty good job of (re-)introducing the characters and situation so that is not terribly important if you read the predecessors.

Besides, if you're going to read the stories now, you're probably going to be reading most of them from the omnibus editions. E.g. Young Miles is, I think, the best source for The Warrior's Apprentice, plus the novella The Mountains Of Mourning and novel The Vor Game. That skips a couple of publication-order stories (e.g. Ethan of Athos).

Personally, I've read most in publication order�, but I started a little late so read Barrayar before Warrior's Apprentice. I skipped some, and some of the ones I skipped I went back and filled in later. And since I have read the most recent, any stories I go back and read now will necessarily be mis-ordered somehow. (E.g., I have The Borders of Infinity on my Kindle.)

Patricia wrote: "I read this book back in June and I gave it 4 stars. Which means that I couldn’t put it down, read straight through..."

Interesting. Shards of Honor seems broken into three distinct episodes, each one reaching a distinct conclusion and then the story picking up in the next chapter some years on. So it seems to have a couple of pretty natural places where you could put it down and come back to it later.

I wish I read the Miles one first, despite the recommended reading order since it sounds like something I would enjoy more....but who knows....

Cat wrote: "I felt like this book was more of a romance novel set in space than a sci-fi with romance sub-theme. And romance novels aren't my thing, so I struggled with maintaining an interest. It wasn't *bad*..."

I completely agree with your points. Botari was a memorable character (compared to the rest) and his plot was interesting to say the least.

And yes, the romance felt rather juvenile even the characters were over than 30 years old. (view spoiler)[Her (abrupt) fascination/daydreaming about Aral (or some of his body parts) was even laughable at times.

And I just don't buy the way the romance was developed. Five days of travelling, some sharing sessions, and then boom, a proposal. Rejected as it was, Cordelia suddenly developed this weird fixation over him. Was she THAT lonely and/or overly flattered that this general dude expressed interest in her? (hide spoiler)]

Allison wrote: "Yeah, I'm with Silvana. I guess I didn't get Cordelia.

I don't know yet how sensitive y'all are to spoilers, so I'm putting my comments in brackets to be safe :-)

[spoilers removed]

Beta was aw..."

As I mentioned in my review, the level and quantity of sexual violence is just too much. And how Cordelia responded to these,,,,it just did not make sense. (view spoiler)[she was way too casual/clinical about it. including when she talked about the other prisoner (Elena?) with the psychiatrist and also about Bothari's situation with Aral at the end. (hide spoiler)]

You've pinpointed it again, Silvana. I am in whole agreement with you re: the sexual violence.

And as for the romance, I did find myself wondering how much of the plot would have been different if they'd got it on while they were hiking. But even there, I'm not sure how "enemy soldier who killed my crewmate and kidnapped me" is outweighed by "strong chin and nice feet," but I guess we all have our showstoppers.

Bujold carefully writes each volume so that you can hop into the series anywhere. I began by reading the only volume that happened to be at the library -- it was A CIVIL CAMPAIGN. Perfectly delightful, and then I immediately scurried off to read the rest.
There is a shift in tone and substance over the arc of the series, and the hinge book is MEMORY. That's the one where it changes; all the books before that book are space opera adventure, and after that they're more mature in tone.

Rachel wrote: "I wonder how much of folks' opinions are based on what else they've read from that time period. I have read a lot of Cherryh and McCaffrey from around then and I think this fits the 'feel' of their..."

Cherryh is great and the Pern books took up most of my childhood so maybe that has something to do with it.

I dunno, I love Pern and Heinlein. And yet.

For me it's really just the sexual violence. Even Heinlein, with his questionable understanding of consent never had so much gratuitous gender violence. There was a literal Marquis de Sade reference in this sci fi romance. And we sort of never dealt with it, aside from more discussions of Vorutyer's (sp?) absolute vileness that the rest of the characters just seemed to take for granted, as they did with all of the raping. As an example, (view spoiler)[when Bothari is picking up the child he fathered through rape of a catatonic woman that Aral knew was being raped, Cordelia and Aral just sort of talk about what it would be like to have their own kid. What! We're not gonna...address what is happening? That a mentally ill rapist gained de facto custody of the child he got by force? I had some feelings about that, personally! (hide spoiler)]

I only read one Heinlein (Starship Troopers) and remember really liking it. Did not remember the sexist (?) part at all. I need to read one more so I can form my opinion on him. Have not read Cherryh either - the Foreigner book's first few chapters confused me.

Meanwhile, I DNFed the first Pern novel because I did not like the rapey mating rituals. (view spoiler)[It was even repeated several times. And the male character even admitted in the book that he did rape the girl. Gosh. From what I read, the other books still have those as well albeit with different characters (hide spoiler)] Since both Pern and Shards of Honor have that similar sore point (for me) it got me thinking whether I am more sensitive to it if written by female authors.

Stranger In A Strange Land has a weird line about rape that came out of nowhere, and Moon Is A Harsh Mistress has an. ..interesting take on marriage. it's also one of my favorite books.

And yeah, the Leesa rape thing was gross, but not a large part of the book and also I read it before I understood what that meant, so I guess I have a few calluses there. Haven't re-read since I was a teen, wonder how it would hold up.

Allison wrote: "strong chin and nice feet"


*snort* everytime she gushes over him...

Anyway does anyone think that (view spoiler)[she would come to Vorkosigan if she was not beinh forcefully interrogated and her govt let her be? (hide spoiler)]

Oh- I love the Foreigner books but I would pick them for the first Cheruyh.....there’s so much more: how about a series about a spaceship manned by female felons? Those are great fun.
Or her Hugo winners.
Several good stand alone s.

Rachel wrote: "I wonder how much of folks' opinions are based on what else they've read from that time period. I have read a lot of Cherryh and McCaffrey from around then and I think this fits the 'feel' of their..."

I have to confess... I've only read McCaffrey's Crystal Singer series. And I haven't heard of Cherryh...

Silvana wrote: "Allison wrote: "strong chin and nice feet"


*snort* everytime she gushes over him...

Anyway does anyone think that [spoilers removed]"

I know right, what an odd body part fixation. And in answer to your question... No. Eventually, maybe, after wistful pining.

There were really two Heinleins: the Heinlein who wrote books that could be considered juveniles like Have Spacesuit, Will Travel, Podkayne of Mars, and so on; and the Heinlein that wrote heavily sexual books like Farnham's Freehold, Glory Road, and others. Starship Troopers stands in the middle, heavy on violence and low on sex (although the movie used both).

I thought I'd dissect the novel based on its phases:

SPOILERS through Chapter 5.

Survey Planet

Story starts on an newly-discovered, unnamed planet (I don't think anyone ever gives this planet or the star it orbits a specific name.) Capt Cordelia Naismith of Beta Colony heads a survey team exploring the planet's geology & biology.

Not a really strong opening paragraph — flower scenery descriptions. "A morning breeze was ribboning away the last of the fog on the golden uplands.". Thankfully Bujold outgrows these faux-literary flourishes by chapter 2.

I like the idea of an industrialized civilization still being called "Beta Colony"; you almost get a sense of how it got started centuries earlier. Also, wonder what happened to Alpha Colony?

The Beta team is ambushed by Space Marines from the more aggressive and militant Barrayar. A quick conflict ensues. Capt. Cordelia Naismith becomes the personal prisoner of Capt Aral Vorkosigan. In a temporary alliance of necessity reminiscent of Longyear's Enemy Mine, they make their way to an apparently secret Barrayaran military outpost.

I like that Bujold revived the old-fashioned concept of parole. That and the reference to "fire ships" later in the novel makes me think she's been reading some Hornblower or Aubrey novels. :)

By chapter 3, they've decided to have some philosophical discussions:

"I think civilization must have been invented for the benefit of women," – Cordelia

I knew it was a bad idea.

"I have an aversion to stunners, in that sort of situation. Nobody hesitates to rush one, and if there are enough of them they can always get it away from you in the end. ... A disruptor has real authority." - Aral

This is why I've always felt the Star Trek "phaser set to stun" was a terrible idea.

"Dubauer put to bed, the start, she saw, of an endless series of hospital days as straight and same as a tunnel to the end of his life. The cold whispering doubt of whether she had done him a service would be forever added to her inventory of night thoughts."

Cordelia & Aral have different wake-up opinions of mercy killing. Interestingly, Aral defers to his prisoner's sensibilities.

Eventually they reach the Barrayaran base, and Aral needs to sort out loyal troops from mutineers.

May I opine that figuring out someone's loyalty by handing them a blaster and turning your back to them is just stupid?

"Koudelka puzzled over this attempted readjustment of his point of view, then let it bounce harmlessly off his impermeable habits of thought."

I just liked that turn of phrase.

Oh yes the planet is named. It's Sergyar, named after Prince Serg, and in later books she moves there.

Brenda wrote: "Oh yes the planet is named. It's Sergyar, named after Prince Serg, and in later books she moves there."

OK, it's not named in this book (Shards of Honor).

SPOILERS through Chapter 6.

Aboard Barrayaran Warship General Vorkraft

Aral's back in command of his ship. Cordelia's parole allows her to wander much of the ship (accompanied by Sgt. Bothari.) Aral confides more military intelligence to Cordelia than was probably wise, probably assuming she'd be a PoW (though technically Barrayar and Beta aren't at war.)

Cordelia's crew returns to rescue her. Apparently the Survey Ship Rene Magritte has a sort of cloaking device. They actually board the General Vorkraft unnoticed!

This whole episode seems to me to prove Capt. Cordelia Naismith's approach to military discipline is incompetent, and her crew mutinous. Despite explicit orders to return to Beta Colony with intelligence on the Barrayaran incursion, they stage a rescue. The crew voted on it. VOTED? In the military? (I guess Bujold hasn't been reading Hornblower & Aubrey novels after all.) And the acting commander (Stubens) leads the assault! Leaving, what, 4th most ranking office in command of the Rene Magritte? Stuben's should be court-martialed and Naismith demoted.

Cutely, Cordelia runs over the Aral to withdraw her parole before allowing her rescue. He's busy with another mutiny (cute plot turn, bringing Radnov back aboard.), so he doesn't bother to ask, "why now?", nor does he place her under guard.

Then, instead of resuming her command, Cordelia launches a one-woman assault on the mutineers in the engine room, action hero style.


Ack. I got the eBook directly from Baen, so my hilites don't sync. They're spread out over three Kindles.

I find I like to go with Barayan rather than the correct Barrayaran. I'm really trying to get it right.

Haha, I really enjoy reading your trains of thoughts there. Maybe you should do a commentary for audiobook version if there's such a thing.

G33z3r wrote: This whole episode seems to me to prove Capt. Cordelia Naismith's approach to military discipline is incompetent, and her crew mutinous. Despite explicit orders to return to Beta Colony with intelligence on the Barayaran incursion, they stage a rescue. The crew voted on it. VOTED?"

Definitely indicated to me that Beta Colony is not a martial society. Beta and Barrayar are interesting in that they represent opposite societal extremes (egalitarians vs authoritarians) but neither are particularly nice. We get to see the best of both worlds in this book, and also the worst. Some of the ship-based action scenes here stretched the boundaries of belief though.

In the ToR reread, some have pointed out that Cordelia was actually very capable, especially since she was as a Betan survey captain (which was an elite position). The back story that supports it came later in the series, so they say.

While the I-want-you-to-kill-me scene made me roll my eyes, I enjoyed the action hero sequence.

SPOILERS through Chapter 11.

Escobar Space

The story skips forward in time. Barrayar has initiated its planned invasion of Escobar, and Cordelia is now commanding a diversion for a Betan gunrunning mission. after serving a purpose, she and her crew our captured by the Barrayarans, and brought aboard their flagship (!?). The invasion's co-commander, Admiral Vorrutyer (I call him "Adm. Voyeur") seems to delight in torturing prisoners, especially those of the female species. He's an over-the-top, mustache-twirling villain. There follows some scenes of threaten sexual violence. Coincidentally, Sgt Bothari is there, and unexpectedly provides the timely rescue.

Good ol' Aral is also on the flagship, but is a day late and a dollar short in the heroic rescue department.

"maybe he's only a rapist. It might be possible to handle a simple rapist. Such direct, childlike souls, hardly offensive at all." _Cordelia

Interesting philosophy.

"The lieutenant was going through Vorrutyer's drawers, using a handkerchief to open them, and from his expression finding that his cosmopolitan education was not so complete as he had supposed."

Again, I just liked the phrasing.

Aral & Cordelia have their strange, awkward, ambiguous reunion. Aral (& Illyan) hides Cordelia in Aral's quarters. There some time for a sitcom-like scene where the Prince shows up at Aral's door and Cordelia has to hide in the bathroom, keeping Bothari from snoring.

Turns out the whole Escobar invasion was just the Emperor letting all his "bad apples" getting over their heads so they could be decapitated. Not exactly a surgically precise assassination plan, but Barrayan seem to enjoy being cannon fodder.

The subsequent peace talks result in a prisoner exchange. Aral pays a visit to the prison camp to romance Cordelia. He proposes, Cordelia demurs and goes home to Beta.

Romeo & Juliet

SPOILERS through Chapter 13.

Beta Colony

Back home, Cordelia is considered a hero for having killed Vorrutyer, which she denies. ("When the legend becomes fact, print the legend.") There's a rather slapstick scene in which Cordelia accidentally kicks the President in the groin. Cordelia is acting pretty dumb thoughout thsi section.

Not just in this section, but it's cute that every time in the book someone mentions the President ("Steady Freddy") they follow it with "I didn't vote for him."

Dr. Mehta is the bureaucratic villain who is convinced Cordelia has been brainwashed, a sleeper agent. (It's a bit over the top; I imagine Mehta's voice like some comedic clerk insisting yet another form be filled out in triplicate.) Cordelia decides to avoid "re-education" and defect, thus proving Mehta was right.


SPOILERS through Chapter 15 (end).

Barrayar

Cordelia defects to Barrayar for love of Aral, surprisingly isn't extensively questioned by Barrayaran intelligence about Beta Colony military & tech, and they get married. Bliss ensues.

"Women shouldn't be in combat," said Vorkosigan, grimly glum.
"Neither should men," - Cordelia

A side-plot with the psychopath Bothari follows. It seems well under Vorrutyer's unconventional command, he was responsible for a few by-blows. The Escobarans helpfully return the unwanted children via artificial wombs / uterine replicators, a technology not available on Barrayar. Bothari has singled out one such child for his personal attention (DNA match I presume.) He fosters the child out to a sane family, becoming something like an uncle.

Aral Vorkosigan's relationship with Bothari is a bit odd. Bothari claims to hate all Vor. Aral seems to think of him as his personal reclamation project. It's a strange decision for the man who wanted to cut Dubauer's throat as an act of mercy. Trusting him as the family bodyguard seems a bit reckless, kind of like handing a potential enemy a blaster and turning your back on him, but risking the entire family, not just yourself.

Umm I did not remember that groin kicking part but probably because that chapter was so weird it just passed me by when I listened to it.

It is also mentioned that Press Secretary is a cabinet-level position, which the ToR reviewer took as sly commentary on the Reagan Era. So I guess it does not work like that nowadays.

I already made comments about that last chapter so I will be looking forward to know what you guys think about the epilogue/aftermath because it is actually my favorite part of the whole novel. It works perfectly as a stand alone story as well with strong and vivid imageries and characters.

I was thoroughly disenchanted by the end of the book, so the parts of the epilogue that stuck with me were all the talk of defecation and the coroner dressing the corpses up to look like brides and grooms while the other guy accused her of being a lesbian necrophiliac. It did feel entirely disassociated from the rest of the book, so I think you're right, that it would have done well (or better) as a short story, but after watching Cordelia fall apart, learning that Aral was sympathetic to an unapologetic rapist, and that all of this time I'd followed Cordelia's story only to learn that this really was about Aral getting all of the genie wishes granted (love, wealth, power), I was powerfully irked and not receptive to a short story that only added more weird.

I liked the epilogue. Funny, but still effective.

Allison wrote: "Aral getting all of the genie wishes granted (love, wealth, power."

Aral was the least interesting part of the book, for me. How much is he in the sequels?

G33z3r wrote: "Interesting. Shards of Honor seems broken into three distinct episodes, each one reaching a distinct conclusion and then the story picking up in the next chapter some years on. So it seems to have a couple of pretty natural places where you could put it down and come back to it later."

Still working my way through everyone's comments but this one really caught me and I have to agree.

Part one is completely a YA romance just with adults and less angst (at least there was no "I'm not good enough for so and so") and I was desperately trying to figure out why people made a big deal about it (I later figured out the Hugo sticker on my omnibus is for Barrayar, not Shards of Honor). After all, could there be more "insta-love" than Aral falling in love with Cordelia while she was passed out on the ground? Guess the guy only needs a pretty face, personality only factors into actual marriage...

After that things... "grew up" I guess? To the point where all the psychological examinations became downright dark and disturbing. And also the fact that (view spoiler)[ we can never really know if they actually did mind-wipe Cordelia, maybe while she was unconscious in the woods at the start of the book, to set her up to love Vorkosigan. Just like we can never be entirely sure if Deckler is a Replicant in Blade Runner. I'm pretty sure they did no such things, but since its first person narrative, you can't actually trust your narrator and the question remains :) (hide spoiler)]

Now, on to the rest of the posts...

Brendan wrote: "Aral was the least interesting part of the book, for me. How much is he in the sequels?"

He's more of a supporting role in most. He's there or mentioned, but Cordelia or Miles carry most of the books. Not all of the books focus just on them, either. A few have completely different main characters.

Brendan wrote: "Aral was the least interesting part of the book, for me. How much is he in the sequels? ..."

Aral has about the same word count in Barrayar as he does in Shards of Honor; after that the rest of the books jump 2 decades or more ahead and mostly concentrate on Aral & Cordelia's son, Miles, with Cordelia occasionally playing elder wise woman.

You can skip ahead to The Warrior's Apprentice if you want to avoid more Aral. It was the 2nd book written, anyway, so that's the way many fans read the series.

Jim wrote: " A few have completely different main characters. ..."

Or, an exactly identical main character, just fatter. :)