Customer Reviews

Cordelia's Honor

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This was my introduction to the Vor series, and I really enjoyed it as such. It's definitely light reading, but provided good entertainment while it lasted.

Space opera is what we have here. And as far as it goes, Lois McMaster Bujold does it pretty well. There's plenty of action, characters to cheer for, and some nice twists and turns throughout. Our heroine is Cordelia Naismith, a scientist from the stiflingly modern Beta Colony, who gets caught up in a complex web of strategy and betrayal during a war with a comparably primitive planet and repeatedly finds herself thrown together with Commander Vorkosigan.

I find little to say about these two novels. For sure, Bujold coordinates her plot well, with clever surprises arriving on a regular basis and all of it building up to a comprehensive and rather grim picture of the societies involved. Character development is relatively strong, as we get good portraits of emotional intensity from both the main characters throughout the book. I think that most of the dialogue exchanges are handled well, with occasional dashes of humor. The villains, on the other hand, are so underdeveloped that they might as well have twirling black mustaches. Fine entertainment overall, much recommended, but not perfect.

Before I picked up the two novels comprising this book (Shards of Honor and Barrayar), I somehow managed to completely miss the Lois Bujold phenomenon known as the Miles Vorkosigan series. Something about some love affair between a captain and a naive astrocartographer just didn't seem like my idea of good SF, whatever the rave reviews... Boy, was I ever wrong.

Don't take these two novels as just a prequel to the Miles Vorkosigan stories. Frankly, they're totally awesome in their own right. Cordelia is a fantastic protagonist, working both as a naive narrator, amazed at the workings of a militaristic empire as much as the readers, but she also comes from a fascinating society in her own right, which is far removed from our world, it seems, as Barrayar is.

Cordelia, truth be told, is a breath of fresh air in today's SF. Yes, we've seen heroines before, but most of the times, they are clumsily written by men who seem to only grasp their way of thinking on the surface. Cordelia is a living, breathing woman, feminine in outlook yet incredibly brave and strong by men's standards, and she somehow manages to keep her own self intact in the face of a dramatically patriarcal and militaristic society.

That's what Cordelia's Honor is, at the heart: the story of a woman's survival in a patriarcal society, and the way she inevitably changes it, and changes herself. By the end of the second novel, I was stunned at the significance of Miles' birth... How he is, for better or for worse, the product of this clash of cultures, and how scarred he has been by the clash even before he was born. Cordelia's first words to him are so terribly poignant in that regard.

As I move on to read the story of Miles himself, I mourn the disappearance of a cherished SF character. I already miss Cordelia's -voice-, her mesmerizing insight into the society of men she was transplanted in. My hat is off to Mrs. Bujold, for one of SF's most human yet memorable characters.

Cordelia's Honor starts off fast-paced; the story of Cordelia Naismith who's on a survey expedition on a new planet. When her crew and equipment are destroyed, she quickly realises that there is danger and she and an ensign escape. Until, they are attacked by Barrayarans. Cordelia falls of a cliff and is knocked unconscious - upon awakening, she realises she has become the captive of an enemy of hers who's also known as the Butcher of Komarr.

Whilst in his company, Cordelia learns that he's not a butcher at all, but a rather sensitive man in his forties who has enemies among Cordelia's enemies. Cordelia begins to learn of the political intricacies that surround Barrayara, and also realises that she has fallen in love with her captor, a Lord Vorkosigan - next in line to the emperor.

In the first part of the book, Cordelia still feels a tug of returning "home" to her own planet, and sets herself free of Vorkosigan whilst eliminating a large part of his enemies. The second book starst with Cordelia's home-coming - a terrifying ordeal which requires her to undergo severe psychological counseling. Unfortunately, her actions and thoughts are misinterpreted, and she realises that "home" is no longer that for her.

Cordelia decides to join her love and runs away to the enemy planet. There, she becomes Lady Vorkosigan, and eventually a very powerful figure within the political intricacies of the world.

A stunning book, with powerful emotion and beautifully written. In her afterwrod, the author says she had trouble putting this prequel to the Vorkosigan series together. At times, we feel her struggle, but the book is never boring, and sets the stage for the story of Miles - the handicapped son of the Vorkosigans.

Captain Cordelia Naismith is a strong female hero, and the second part of this two-novel repackaging is particularly noteworthy in giving us a science fiction adventure with a pregnant hero. I first read this book when I didn't realize I was pregnant, and it was the perfect way to start into that great 9-month adventure.

The first novel in the volume, Shards of Honor, is a space-adventure-romance which might be described as military science fiction as it might have been written by Jane Austen: two mature, intelligent, and principled characters overcoming differences (rooted in complex social situations) to find a way to be together without compromising their sense of honor.

In the second novel, Barrayar, the pregnant Cordelia must use all her courage and ingenuity to bring her baby, the future Lord Miles Vorkosigan, through a planetary civil war alive. She concludes that the only thing to do is to change the world to make it fit for her child -- and all children. I recommend this book (and Cordelia's conclusion) to fans of romantic science fiction & female action heroes. Especially if they happen to be pregnant!

... Standing alone, each of the two stories in this book are very good. Together, they're excellent. The first book (Shards of Honor) deals strictly with the meeting and getting together of Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan (Miles' parents). As such, it ends right smack in the middle of the story. The second book (Barrayar) picks up from there and continues through Miles' birth (with a bit of later stuff thrown in). Thus, taken together, the two books in this compilation form one complete story and justify their issuance as a compilation. This book (or its two components) are essential to the series and are wonderful to read. Read them.

A fan of the Seafort Saga, I saw the Vorkosigan saga recommended instead of Feintuch's books in several of the reviews for the Seafort saga. I figured I love scifi, especially military scifi, so I should give this series a shot.

It is absolutely fantastic. I started off with Cordelia's Honor because I wanted to get the background before I plunge into the Miles' part of the saga. This book is a combination of Shards of Honor and Barrayar (Barrayar won the Hugo award), and it tells the story of how Cordelia met Aral, got married, and wound up having Miles. Sounds like a romance? It isn't. It's full of twists and turns that'll keep you on the edge of your seat. Although I don't think Shards of Honor wasn't as exciting as Barrayar, it still is a wonderful book.

Cordelia, of the planet Beta, becomes Aral "Butcher of Komarr" Vorkosigan's prisoner while she's doing a Survey mission. Vorkosigan has this "thing" about prisoners and refuses to do harm to them. Well, being his prisoner spins off into her first adventure where she gets a taste of Barrayaran society (where Vorkosigan is from). Beta and Barrayar are sort of like the technologically advanced hippies vs. Conservative Spartan societies. Barrayar prides itself on its military capacities, but it's politics are a mess. The technology is primitive since Barrayar only came out of isolation less than a century before Cordelia arrives. The current emperor trying to straighten everything out, the class structure is incredibly rigid, and civil wars seem to be the norm. On Beta, they're sexually liberated, there is no poor, and they have the best technology of the galaxy.

The two of them wind up in a few more adventures together, and then they are happily married on Barrayar - where Cordelia is an outsider and Vorkosigan is a war-hero. When the emperor names Vorkosigan the regent to the emperor's heir - 4 year old Gregor - Cordelia finds herself swept up in politics, conspiracies, and treason. The book is a non-stop thrill ride.

Bujold has a fantastic writing style, mixing adventure, theology, philosophy, romance, politics (but not over your head type politics), and suspense. The characters are all believable , and you can't help connecting with at least a couple of them. All the characters are multi-dimensional and with a great variety. For example, there's Cordelia, the theologian who does not understand war, killing, and senseless masochist honor. There's Aral, a 'progressive' Barrayaran who tries to reconcile his ancestral-culture with everything that's being brought in, not ever quite knowing what the ring thing to do is. Bothari, a "monster" in appearances and insane in mind, who reflects whatever is expected of him... the list just goes on and on.

Wonderful tale, but the only drawback was I started it the week before exam finals. Bad choice on my part: I couldn't put the book down. I'd tell myself "one more chapter," but that was just impossible and 100 pages later I'd still be trying to pry myself away from the book. And now I'm in agony that I don't own Young Miles

I loved this book from the first time I read it to the tenth time I re-read it over the years. Cordelia comes alive in Bujold's hands. While the events might be too much to make believeable in most authors hands, here you cheer for Cordelia. From the matter of fact treatment of sexual knowledge to the practical use of future technology, Cordelia's refreshing views on the world of Barrayar shine as a light for our times as well. There is plenty of action, and the book moves rapidly along, so you wish immediatly to go get more Bujold when the plot is concluded. Enjoy!

This is a combined edition of Shards of Honor and Barrayar.

Barrayar was the first Bujold book I read. Though I managed to finish it, I wasn't impressed by it. Later I read Shards of Honor. Wasn't impressed by it either, although I was already hooked by the Miles books so it was a filled a gap.

Upon reading both of these books again for the second time, they are more funny and wholesome than on the first readings. But Mirror Dance surpasses both of these books, so give it a shot even if you didn't like this book (and try to at least get to the part where Miles gets cryo-frozen).

It's fun to follow a series you enjoy from the publishing of the first novel, where you can feel your enjoyment grows with the evolution of the series - I feel like I'm in on the secret of how good the series is from the start. But what a joy it is to find an established series and gorge yourself on it to repletion. This is what I have found with the reading of this the first 2 books combined into one volume of the multi Hugo award winning series Vorkosigan Series. It is densely written, full of emotions, politics (yes, Bjuold is able to successfully merge the two), military manoeuvrings and to some extent science. Something for every reader of both science fantasy, and I think also science fiction.

These 2 books (Shards of Honor and Barrayar) are well paired together. They feature the story of how Cordelia Naismith, eventually Mile's mother, comes to meet Lord Aral Vorkosigan. In Shards of Honor the two 'enemies' come to find each other, to survive physical hardship together, and to conquer their emotional pain and fear together. Literally from different worlds, they must play the star crossed pair for most of the book, and Bjuold describes well the pain and loss that Cordelia feels, as the book is told entirely from her viewpoint. Although at first she decides to return to her own 'side' in the interplanetary war, ultimately she joins Aral in Barrayar - there is no doubt of the joy they find in each other. Her leaving her home is not without cost, but the scene in the pavilion where she and Aral come together at last is the most touching of the book.

Barrayar extends from that start, showing Aral and Cordelia's new life together on Barrayar. The feelings of homesickness she undergoes, and regret for the loss of the superior facilities - especially medical - of her own planet are a running theme of the book, as they would be in real life. The politics are less complicated here - I sometimes got lost in 'Shards of Honor' on this point - but nonetheless the foundation of the plot line. Aral is now Regent to the young emperor, and the political intrigues that job brings touches on all aspects of their lives. Aral and Cordelia have to find their feet in a slippery political sphere, and it is not without cost that they do so. Cost to innocents. There are more players here, and if you can work your way past the many 'Vor' prefixes (ruling caste) to sort out the individual players, in this book I found I got to know them more than in 'Shards of Honor' - particularly Sergeant Bothari, so badly damaged and strange (a unique relationship with Cordelia), Kou and Drou. Bjuold is not afraid to have characters come to an untimely end, as many military stories must, and even - or maybe especially - those on 'the right side'.

I loved these 2 stories, and the series promises to be a fantastic one.