Rating: 
Summary: Okay, but kinda dull
Review: Not one of my favorite books. I really didn't care much for it. The first part was okay, but while the characters were okay, I just found them mildly interesting.
Rating: 
Summary: You can't tear the two apart
Review: Once in the Betan Expeditionary Force
Cordelia Naismith, ship commander, laid a brand new course
They landed on a planet they thought uninhabited
Until an ambush left some crewmen dead The planet had been found before by men from Barrayar
Their leader was Vorkosigan, the "Butcher of Komarr"
But his ship had betrayed him, and hers had left the ground
They helped each other out and then they found If you cross a Betan with a Barrayaran Vor
One of them knows science and the other one knows war
Enemies they are but you can't tear the two apart
The Barrayaran steals the Betan's heart Next time they meet is in an interstellar war
The Barrayarans make a grab to capture Escobar
Cordelia's ship is captured by Vorkosigan's, and then
They help each other out once again If you cross a Betan with a Barrayaran Vor
One of them knows science and the other one knows war
Enemies they are but you can't tear the two apart
The Betan steals the Barrayaran's heart
Rating:
Summary: READ ME!
Review: Once, a long time ago on another continent, I was sitting on a dark grey rock over a cold lake on an autumn day. The sky was overcast and I looked down onto the water, and watched the wind blow the clouds along in the lake's surface; and the lake looked as deep as the sky.
This series made me feel the same way: the words are a reflection, as deep as the sky.
Rating:
Summary: Highly Recommended.
Review: One of the best books in the series tells of how Miles' parents met, married, and had their unusual son. Wonderful military and political intrigue and multidimentional characters. Miles' Betan mother shows that Miles tendency to fall into trouble head first is distictly inherited.
Rating: 
Summary: Cordelia's Honor
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Cordelia's Honor
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: Great books, but it's a reissue of Shards and Barrayar.
Review: These are both great books, and well worth reading, but
if you're like me and will eagerly snap up anything new
by Bujold you should know that according to the Seattle Public Library
catalog this is a combo edition
of Shards of Honor and Barrayar. (Right now, that's not
indicated in the Amazon catalog - feel free to remove this
review if that changes.)
Rating:
Summary: Cordelia -- Wow, what a role model...
Review: This book is a compilation containing, _Shards of Honor_ and _Barrayar_. Militaristic societies just aren't my thing and I wouldn't normally read books that focus on military heroes and war time exploits. So what got me to read these books? Cordelia. She's intelligent, independent, and in charge. Cordelia is captain of a Betan expeditiary force exploring a new planet. Most of her crew are killed and she and her remaining crewmember, who is seriously injured, are taken prison by Aral Vorkosigan. In their journey across the planet, Cordelia and Aral come to admire and trust each other. When next they met, they are on opposite sides of a nasty war. Honor and duty. These two strong characters must each in their own way come to terms with their committment to their subordinates, their governments, and themselves. Cordelia is a strong character. One that I enjoyed meeting. Her honesty and integrity helped get me involved in this series.
Rating:
Summary: Much better on second reading
Review: 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).
Rating:
Summary: Cordelia's Honor (by Mimi)
Review: This is a combined publication of two novels, "Shards of Honor" and "Barrayar." They detail the meeting and courtship of Miles Vorkosigan's parents, and the war of the Vordarian Pretendership during which the fetus Miles was injured. The only reason I gave four stars instead of five is that the following novel in the series, "The Warrior's Apprentice," is even better. This is a wonderful series because of its characters, who just leap out of the pages into life. I've read the whole series three times now. One of the best I've ever read, period, in any genre.
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