[2IV]⋙ [PDF] Free Shards of Honour Lois McMaster Bujold 9780743468428 Books

Shards of Honour Lois McMaster Bujold 9780743468428 Books

Download As PDF : Shards of Honour Lois McMaster Bujold 9780743468428 Books

Shards of Honour Lois McMaster Bujold 9780743468428 Books

First, a word about reading order. This book, Shards of Honor (or Honour) is sometimes labeled Vorkosigan #1 and sometimes #2. It's chronologically the second book in the series (Falling Free is about 150 years before it), but it was the first book in publication order.

This was my first encounter with the Vorkosigan Saga and I didn't feel lost at all by starting with Shards of Honor. It seems like a great jumping off point for the series.

This was a relatively short book by today's standards, clocking in at only 272 pages. I wouldn't have minded if it ran a little longer and gave us a little more space with the characters. The strength of the novel is really in the characters which is something that works for me.

While this is definitely a sci-fi novel, it doesn't dwell tremendously on the "what ifs" of science, though it does have some thought provoking/conversation starting technology which I value in a sci-fi novel. Although both main characters serve in their respective military (or the closest equivalent), the novel doesn't really dwell on the military action going on too much so I wouldn't necessarily call it military sci-fi. I'd tend to put it in the space opera category. There is a huge romance subplot, but it's very contained/subdued, suiting the nature of the characters. There is nothing explicit about the romance at all.

Our main characters are Cordelia Naismith, a Commander of a Survey ship for Beta Colony (generally peaceful, life valuing, non-militarily minded from a fairly hostile-environment planet) and Captain Aral Vorkosigan (aristocratic, honor-bound, from a very hierarchical, military, but beautiful planet). Shortly after the book starts, Cordelia's survey team is attacked by soldiers under Aral's command and Cordelia is taken prisoner. Through some twists and turns, Aral and Cordelia set out together on foot across a planet that hasn't been explored/surveyed yet and get to know each other over the journey. The world building for that planet was pretty solid, but we don't end up spending that much more time there!

Without getting into spoiler territory, Aral and Cordelia are back in space shortly thereafter and from there on there's a lot of political maneuvering, some sabotage, adventures, some creepy villains (though they were introduced so late it almost seemed like an afterthought), crazy psychologists, and love notes gone astray. Aral and Cordelia manage to cover a lot of ground (or space?) in less than 300 pages!

I enjoyed the read and hope to continue on with the series, time allowing! I have a ton of started series that I'm excited about continuing, but the lure of authors I haven't read yet is also strong!


Tags : Shards of Honour [Lois McMaster Bujold] on Amazon.com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. Cordelia Naismith is enjoying a baptism of fire. Her first mission is to captain a throwaway warship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an entire enemy armada. Discovering deception within deception,Lois McMaster Bujold,Shards of Honour,Gardners Books,0743468422,Science fiction

Shards of Honour Lois McMaster Bujold 9780743468428 Books Reviews

Great book, great series. Have read the whole lot of them. You don't need to commit to the rather daunting (before you read the first few, then it's great news that there's so many) 16-so-far-and-I-can't-wait-for-the-next-one Vorkosigan saga to enjoy this book--it stands alone quite nicely.
In some ways I think this is the darkest one in the series, though, possibly excepting the much-later Memory--Cordelia, being a woman, endures some different trials and dangers than the main character of most of the books in the series. The threat of rape looms large for Cordelia and others for part of the book, but please don't let that dissuade you from reading. There are some very not nice men in here, but there are some quite good ones, too.
I started with this one, but do kind of regret recommending it to my mom, I wish I'd recced The Warrior's Apprentice instead--it's more fun and less serious, and though Bujold's writing is solid from the start, she gets better as she goes along.
The whole series is fantastic. It doesn't lose momentum at all, in fact I'd say that some of the later books are my favorites.
It's not the most challenging book I've ever read, or the most epic, or the longest (or shortest), or any superlative I can think of. But it's written with heaping portions of heart, thoughtfulness, and competence. Through these understated virtues, it elevates itself above the sea of mediocre novels that is the Science Fiction Genre.

The characters are likable and have depth, with some interesting details and relationships lending an edge to the action. The narrative arc, following one Cordelia Naismith, a captain in the Betan Expeditionary Force, is tightly constructed and kept me turning pages until there were none left to turn. I particularly enjoyed the voice and perspective through which the story (featuring a female main character, and written by a woman) is told; in science fiction, a male-dominated genre by most metrics, it is a legitimate breath of fresh air as it lends a tangible (yet paradoxically intangible) authenticity to the female voices in the story that few, if any, male authors seem able to synthesize (which makes sense, when you think about it).

I might compare it to The Expanse series shameless space opera featuring a cast of nigh-indestructible main characters that nonetheless manages to engage and delight the reader (albeit with less of a hard edge to its science). The author has apparently written many (tens?) novels in this series, and is still active, which potentially makes this novel the entry point to a trove of incalculable literary riches. I have only read two of them, but I look forward to enjoying them for many years to come.
First, a word about reading order. This book, Shards of Honor (or Honour) is sometimes labeled Vorkosigan #1 and sometimes #2. It's chronologically the second book in the series (Falling Free is about 150 years before it), but it was the first book in publication order.

This was my first encounter with the Vorkosigan Saga and I didn't feel lost at all by starting with Shards of Honor. It seems like a great jumping off point for the series.

This was a relatively short book by today's standards, clocking in at only 272 pages. I wouldn't have minded if it ran a little longer and gave us a little more space with the characters. The strength of the novel is really in the characters which is something that works for me.

While this is definitely a sci-fi novel, it doesn't dwell tremendously on the "what ifs" of science, though it does have some thought provoking/conversation starting technology which I value in a sci-fi novel. Although both main characters serve in their respective military (or the closest equivalent), the novel doesn't really dwell on the military action going on too much so I wouldn't necessarily call it military sci-fi. I'd tend to put it in the space opera category. There is a huge romance subplot, but it's very contained/subdued, suiting the nature of the characters. There is nothing explicit about the romance at all.

Our main characters are Cordelia Naismith, a Commander of a Survey ship for Beta Colony (generally peaceful, life valuing, non-militarily minded from a fairly hostile-environment planet) and Captain Aral Vorkosigan (aristocratic, honor-bound, from a very hierarchical, military, but beautiful planet). Shortly after the book starts, Cordelia's survey team is attacked by soldiers under Aral's command and Cordelia is taken prisoner. Through some twists and turns, Aral and Cordelia set out together on foot across a planet that hasn't been explored/surveyed yet and get to know each other over the journey. The world building for that planet was pretty solid, but we don't end up spending that much more time there!

Without getting into spoiler territory, Aral and Cordelia are back in space shortly thereafter and from there on there's a lot of political maneuvering, some sabotage, adventures, some creepy villains (though they were introduced so late it almost seemed like an afterthought), crazy psychologists, and love notes gone astray. Aral and Cordelia manage to cover a lot of ground (or space?) in less than 300 pages!

I enjoyed the read and hope to continue on with the series, time allowing! I have a ton of started series that I'm excited about continuing, but the lure of authors I haven't read yet is also strong!