Rating: 
Summary: Easy read, complex characters, strong plot...
Review: Set in a colorful universe which seems to be filled with as many governments and empires as sand on the beach, Captain Cordelia Naismith, of the Betan Expeditionary Force, must find her way through a series of battles, to protect herself and her planet. But what happens when the enemy seems to be more honest and honorable than her own people? What happens when Lord Vorkosigan shows more understanding towards her than her own planet?
Easy to read in only a day or two, yet a strong, witty book. Full of great military tactics and real humans. One of those you reread every few years. Also the beginning of a series, as this book and the second allow us to get to know the parents of Miles Vorkosigan before he's even in the picture!
Rating:
Summary: Cool beginning of the Vorkosigan saga
Review: Shards of Honor is, chronologically, the first book in the Miles Vorkosigan series. In fact, Miles isn't even in it. It's the first book of two that explore the character of Cordelia Naismith, Miles' mother. It's also the first book that Lois McMaster Bujold ever wrote, though it's not the first published. As she explains in the afterword to Cordelia's Honor (the compilation of both Shards of Honor and Barrayar), this book was written first and submitted, rejected a few times, and then her first published book, Warrior's Apprentice, was accepted by Baen publishing. Thus, Shards was published almost as a prequel to a series that she had already started.So how is Shards? It's very, very good, especially for a first novel. Cordelia Naismith is on a survey mission for her home planet, Beta, when her landing party (to borrow a phrase from Star Trek) is ambushed and almost completely wiped out by a Barrayaran force that is using the planet as a supply depot. Cordelia is captured by Captain Aral Vorkosigan, the commander of the Barrayarans. However, things aren't quite what they seem, as Vorkosigan's crew seems to be divided between loyalty to him and mutineers. Vorkosigan was left for dead by the mutineers, and so he and Cordelia (along with an injured member of Cordelia's team, who's mind has been blown away by a Barrayaran weapon) have to make their way to the supply depot. The mutineers are the ones who wiped out Cordelia's crew, as Vorkosigan is too honourable a man to do something like that. She finds herself being drawn to him during the many days of their journey, and a bond develops between them. Cordelia ends up helping Aral in dealing with his crew. Once this section of the book is over, they separate, but events transpire to bring them together again, and their bond grows. The book details the story of how their relationship develops, deepening into a love that is a lot more mature than relationships are sometimes portrayed in science fiction. Usually, the heroes that get involved in romances are very young, where sex is the most important thing. The romances seem very physical. That doesn't happen in this relationship, though, as both parties are drawn to the mind of the other person, their honour and how they react to people. It was very refreshing. The book also shows how, even as a Betan and not a Barrayaran, she gets involved in Barrayaran politics. The political intrigue in this book is very interesting. Clashes of honour make the character interaction fabulous. Cordelia has problems at home based on her captivity. She can't tell anybody what really happened when she was captured as it would make Vorkosigan's political life very difficult. So she takes that difficulty on herself instead. All of the main characters are well-rounded, with valid reasons for doing what they do, even if it's obvious that their actions will cause themselves grief. The sheer inevitability of the events, and how the characters deal with them, make this a great book. If you are a regular follower of the Vorkosigan series, then this book (and it's companion, Barrayar), make an interesting look into the history of the Vorkosigan family. A lot of the events that have been referred to in the series are finally shown here. It's nice seeing how Cordelia and Aral's relationship developed, considering how set in stone they are now. The love that has always been visible between them finally has a genesis. It's very cool to look at this and see how our favourite characters became who they are now. It's hard to believe that this was Bujold's first book. While the prose isn't the most wonderful thing, it stands high above the usual first-timer's writing. Some of the military aspects of the novel are a bit unbelievable, but that has gotten better over time as she continues the series. What you will get in this one are great characters in a science-fiction setting. It really is a romance, though, even though it doesn't really have the trappings of one (there is no bodice-ripping, for one thing). Even if romances turn you off, you should enjoy this, though. It is intelligent sci-fi.
Rating:
Summary: The almost-first book of a great series
Review: Shards of Honour is one of those incredible books that is almost completely unknown outside of the sci-fi genre. This is a loss to the people who think that sci-fi consists of nothing more than strange aliens, ray guns, and sex in outer space. Lois McMaster Bujold has the amazing talent of mixing characters and science and fiction in exactly the proper amounts. Cordelia Naismith is an astrocartographer from Beta Colony, heading a company of scientific prima donnas on an expedition to map out and catalog flora and fauna on a newly discovered planet. Sounds simple enough, right? Unfortunately Cordelia wasn't expecting to be ambushed by a bunch of blood-thirsty, out of control Barrayarans, or to get stuck in a trek for survival with their leader, Aral Vorkosigan, better known as the Butcher of Komarr. And that's only where the trouble begins. How do two people from distinctly different cultures survive in their situation, which I'm not going to expound on as it will spoil some of the best moments in the book? How will love survive an intergalactic war? How can someone survive after sacraficing honour, only to find that the necessary, vital result will never replace it? And, of course, the most pressing question to be asked: how much sexual energy do two people have to spare while hiking forty kilometres a day, concussed, stunned, diseased, on poor food and little sleep, alternating caring for a wounded man with avoiding becoming dinner for every carnivore within range, and with a coup to plan for at the end? Lois McMaster Bujold handles the characterisation so well that you almost forget that you don't actually know Cordelia and Aral. Highly, highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: OPUS ONE
Review: The first book of Lois Mc Master Bujold that I've read was MEMORY and I was intrigued enough by the story that I decided to read Mrs Bujold's first book : SHARDS OF HONOR. You're going to find in this book the same characters appearing in MEMORY but younger, like Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith, the same names like Koudelka, Ilyan and Bothari so you will feel at home with the world depicted in SHARDS OF HONOR. SHARDS OF HONOR is firstly a psychologic book with a lot of dialogs and monologs. The terrifying events are seen through the eyes of Cordelia so we have only a very partial description of what's going on in the world of Barrayar and Beta. The interstellar fights are not described, Lois Mc Master Bujold being more interested in the psychologic impacts of the war than in bloody descriptions. I would add that this episode has aroused my envy to read another chapter of the saga. An above-average sci-fi book.
Rating: 
Summary: Vorkosigan Introduction
Review: This book stands alone, contrary to what another reviewer has said. It's essentially a romance with tons of adventure, but the characters are not the usual suspects. They are older and not very pretty, which made the romance all the more satisfying to me. Every twenty year old falls in love and does crazy things because of it, but at 40 we're all supposed to be more practical or some nonsense. The romance shares equal time with the science fiction adventure, and Bujold has interesting observations about everything from rape to redemption to psychology. If you like the characters, I recommend Barrayar as well. It continues the story, thoroughly develops the characters, and introduces Miles, Bujold's "trademark" character. However, unless you're a collector, it seems rather pointless to buy this book in hardback at such expense.
Rating:
Summary: WARNING!!!
Review: This is a one-sitting book. Do NOT start late in the evening without a pot of coffee. Cordelia Naismith and Arel Vorkosigan will hook you in a mixture of good writing, complex characterization, adventure, humor, truth, love, and honor. I have gone through an uncounted number of paperback copies of this book because either I wear them out, or the terrible friends I 'loan' it to refuse to return it. Almost every book in this series has either been nominated for, or won a prize. Be prepared to lay out the money for the rest of the series; you will be hooked. The Vorkosigan family, their friends and relatives, and even their enemies will become part of your life. Mirror Dance and Memory are outstanding for their superb writing. (Lois Bujold's website, The Bujold Nexus, is dendarii.com.)
Rating:
Summary: WARNING!!!
Review: This is a one-sitting book. Do NOT start late in the evening without a pot of coffee. Cordelia Naismith and Arel Vorkosigan will hook you in a mixture of good writing, complex characterization, adventure, humor, truth, love, and honor. I have gone through an uncounted number of paperback copies of this book because either I wear them out, or the terrible friends I 'loan' it to refuse to return it. Almost every book in this series has either been nominated for, or won a prize. Be prepared to lay out the money for the rest of the series; you will be hooked. The Vorkosigan family, their friends and relatives, and even their enemies will become part of your life. Mirror Dance and Memory are outstanding for their superb writing. (Lois Bujold's website, The Bujold Nexus, is dendarii.com.)
Rating:
Summary: GReat book
Review: This is an excellent book. I bought it out of curiousity just to find out if all the good things I'd heard about Bujold's work were true, they were and I lost some hours of sleep because of it. In short this is the book about how Cordelia Naismith becomes the Lady Vorkosigan and all the adventures she and Lord Vorkosigan have while they are getting to know each other.
Rating:
Summary: Good afternoon-killer.
Review: This is an excellent, fast read; adventurous and absorbing.
Rating:
Summary: Great launching for a great series
Review: This is the starting point of the celebrated Miles Vorkosigan series, now running to about 15 total books, which has become one of the most successful in the SF field, with multiple Hugo and Nebula awards. The current story is actually set years before Miles is born, and sets the story up by showing how his parents, Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith, meet, originally as enemies, when Cordelia is captured by Aral on a recently discovered world that both Vorkosigan's homeworld of Barrayar and Naismith's Beta Colony would like to lay claim to. The story moves on several levels at once, and manages to succeed on all of them. The SF adventure, the political/military drama, and the romance each work without stepping on the other's toes. Aral Vorkosigan is a deeply conflicted character, and through his own troubles we get an introduction to the conflicts and contradictions of Barrayar, which will shape so much of the life of Miles Vorkosigan. (Bujold is impressively skilled at creating distinctive and interesting societies to set her stories in; she doesn't get nearly the credit she deserves for this.) The scenes set on Beta Colony even introduce a touch of humor and political satire. A small flaw is that the story reaches its dramatic conclusion a bit too long before it actually ends; there is a fairly lengthy chunk at the end which isn't really necessary for this story but is critical to set up events in the sequels. The book is relatively short and moves at a very fast clip until the end, so this shouldn't spoil your pleasure.
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