Rating: 
Summary: A beautiful look into human soul, and a lot of fun too!
Review: In this book, Bujold investigates how a man coming from a man-only planet can react to the 'normal' world where he can meet these strange beings, women (just to utter the word it is almost a blasphemy). But the deep humanity he shows toward another misfit, a telepath, demonstrates the remarkable insight Bujold has into the human mind, heart and soul. Besides, the story is a lot of fun, Elli Quinn is at her best, *and* the plot is well woven into the other Vorkosigan stories, between _Cetaganda_ and _Labyrinth_ (second novella within _Borders of Infinity_).
Rating:
Summary: superb! written with her usual intelligence and sensitivity
Review: it's always hard to know where to begin with this incredible author, and yet more so for this book; borrowing overall setting and some characters from the universe of barrayar, she tells a story of a very different character from an all male society! - a planet settled by only men, generations ago. they did not want women, and used medical science to create offspring, and thereby allow continuance of their society. as a heterosexual male, i am astonished at the quietly effective intelligence and sensitivity with which she handled this unusual premise. but knowing the author's other works, i shouldn't be. she has a rare gift for storytelling of understated (but impressive) intelligence, sensitivity, and humor, amazingly combined at times with with gut wrenching, page turning, can't-put-it-down, sleep-robbing action, or, on the other hand, quiet introspection. her "universe creating," handling of science/bioscience and different planetary cultures is extremely satisfying. this lady is truly fantastic! ps. the overall story, of course, measures up to her usual superior standard - meaning the highest ability to create real characters, whose humanity is tremendously variable, realistic and endearing, and with whom the reader inevitably gets involved. you don't need to know the rest of the barrayar/vorkosigan books to follow and enjoy this, but it does add a little - my highest reccomendation
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book If You're Willing to Look Past Miles
Review: Okay, let's get the worst out of the way first - this book doesn't feature Miles Vorkosigan, although there are a few references to him. It doesn't feature Aral or Cordelia, either. But the main characters are still wonderful Bujold creations, the plot is tight and gripping, and the mechanics are first-rate.The protagonists in this novel are Elli Quinn (later featured rather extensively in Miles books) and the eponymous Ethan (Urquhart). They're fun, they're smart, they're what you'd expect from a Bujold character - even though they aren't Vorkosigans. The story is fast-moving and fascinating, and it falls into that elusive subgenre, mystery science fiction - so hard to write and write well that there's hardly any out there. But Ethan of Athos follows all the rules of the subgenre, and so reveals a lot about the Vorkosigan universe its inner workings. If you've enjoyed Bujold's other novels, and you can cope with the concept of a Miles-less book, this one is for you. (And, look - she doesn't write fast enough to occupy even the slowest reader full-time. So think of this as a welcome interlude between Miles books.) And if you enjoy good characters in good SF, or especially mystery SF, this one is definitely for you.
Rating:
Summary: A Great Book If You're Willing to Look Past Miles
Review: Okay, let's get the worst out of the way first - this book doesn't feature Miles Vorkosigan, although there are a few references to him. It doesn't feature Aral or Cordelia, either. But the main characters are still wonderful Bujold creations, the plot is tight and gripping, and the mechanics are first-rate. The protagonists in this novel are Elli Quinn (later featured rather extensively in Miles books) and the eponymous Ethan (Urquhart). They're fun, they're smart, they're what you'd expect from a Bujold character - even though they aren't Vorkosigans. The story is fast-moving and fascinating, and it falls into that elusive subgenre, mystery science fiction - so hard to write and write well that there's hardly any out there. But Ethan of Athos follows all the rules of the subgenre, and so reveals a lot about the Vorkosigan universe its inner workings. If you've enjoyed Bujold's other novels, and you can cope with the concept of a Miles-less book, this one is for you. (And, look - she doesn't write fast enough to occupy even the slowest reader full-time. So think of this as a welcome interlude between Miles books.) And if you enjoy good characters in good SF, or especially mystery SF, this one is definitely for you.
Rating:
Summary: Hidden Depths Make for a Rare Treat
Review: One of the things I like best about Bujold is her uncanny ability to create and evoke alien cultures. (The fact that those cultures don't actually involve aliens is inconsequential.) The real trick of it, I've decided, is that Bujold doesn't make a big deal out of it. With most authors, every single difference is emphasized and analyzed and justified. The result feels inherently unnatural - partly because the author is making an elaborate production out of it, partly because the author is showing their hand at work, and often because the characters end up being far too self-aware. (Neither I, nor anyone I know, pauses to give elaborate, pseudo-science lectures on why 21st century Americans behave the way they do.) Bujold, by contrast, simply allows her characters to live in the cultures she creates. Perhaps even more importantly, she lets us see the universe of her story through the unfiltered eyes of her characters, without apology or explanation. On this level, ETHAN OF ATHOS delivers in a big way. The colony of Athos was founded by patriarchs who believed, primarily, that women were a corrupting influence. Using uterine replicators, they successfully created an all-male society way out in the boondocks of civilized space. Now, however, problems have begun to appear: Their original ovarian cultures are dying out, and problems of limited diversity were rearing their head even before the most recent genetic crisis came to a head. Somebody needs to be sent out into the wider galactic community to purchase new genetic material for the colony, and that's where Ethan comes in: He leaves on the annual galactic census ship on a secret, if somewhat unexciting, mission to save his world. At which point he promptly falls into the middle of an espionage mission involving Elli Quinn (a delightful character familiar to those who have read Bujold's other Vorkosigan books). Coincidentally, this discussion of culture-building brings up something which consistently puzzles me: A lot of people seem to have the belief that Bujold's work is light on the science fiction. Or, in other words, that her work only has a thin layer of science fiction thrown in to make them genre works. The only explanation I have for this belief is that Bujold is simply too subtle a writer for these people. At first glance, ETHAN OF ATHOS is a simple adventure story starring a protagonist from an unusual culture. But take a closer look: That unusual culture is, in fact, a very sophisticated extrapolation of how technology will affect human society. And Bujold works in a complete analysis of the consequences and mindset of that culture, even while you're busy turning the pages for the exciting payoffs of the adventure story - she just refuses to Emphasize It With Capital Letters and Long Speeches Explaining the Point. And against all of this, Bujold weaves yet another theme: A softly-played, emotionally-packed character drama. Which brings me to another thing that I like about Bujold: Her humor. It's believable and real and rib-achingly funny. It's the humor of actual people living in an actual world, and it demonstrates the vividness with which Bujold evokes her stories. And, like most living humor, its all about context. (You'll see what I mean when you understand the line: "Apparently they had committees on Kline Station, too...") So, we've got great prose, keen foresights, a fully-realized world, compelling characters, and an exciting plot. And this is one of Bujold's weaker novels? There's little doubt in my mind that she's the best science fiction author writing today.
Rating: 
Summary: Yucky Sci-Fi Candy
Review: Science Fiction fluff. I found the idea of a planet entirely populated with men, intriguing. But McMaster Bujold copped out on this one. Not an ounce of depth. Fluffy characterization, silly plot. A total waste of time. Disappointing because I expected a little more from the author. This book was short, which is the best thing I can say about it. Not a hard read, but not a good one either. A book to read when you don't want to think.
Rating: 
Summary: A Fun, Light-hearted Romp
Review: This is a fun romp through a space station through the eyes of a man who has never seen a woman and has been raised to believe that they are the ultimate evil. Unfortunately for him, he's also pretty open-minded and a genuinely nice guy. Plus, one woman in particular (Quinn) keeps saving his life from the machinations of the bad guys and eventually it seems like bad form to run away from her every time he does so. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
Rating:
Summary: A Fun, Light-hearted Romp
Review: This is a fun romp through a space station through the eyes of a man who has never seen a woman and has been raised to believe that they are the ultimate evil. Unfortunately for him, he's also pretty open-minded and a genuinely nice guy. Plus, one woman in particular (Quinn) keeps saving his life from the machinations of the bad guys and eventually it seems like bad form to run away from her every time he does so. A thoroughly enjoyable read.
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Summary: A planet needing to reproduce but where women are forbidden.
Review: This novel, which is a part of Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan space opera series, nevertheless does not utilize Miles as a central character. Ethan Urquhart is a physician on the planet Athos, a planet which has no women and only gay men (in fact, women are forbidden to even land on the planet)! A rather unusual story. The planet has purchased certain ova so that new cell cultures can be made (the men on Athos are grown via a cell culture process). A problem in genetics has arisen and fresh ova are needed. However, the viable ova are not delivered and Ethan has to travel off planet to solve the mystery. In so doing, he becomes enmeshed in interplanetary politics and has to interact with one of the "dreaded" females (Elli Quinn, Miles top assistant). But, given the unusual premise, it is still not clear to me why the men of Athos regard women as repellent and evil. That certainly is not the impression that one gets today. Is Ms. Bujold suggesting that the gay community is intolerant? I don't think she is; nevertheless, that is the sense one gets.
Rating:
Summary: Somewhat dissappointing
Review: This one had a lot of potential... the premise of Athos had a lot of explorable possibilities, and I was hungry for more of Elli Quinn, but alas, Bujold squandered much of this potential on cheap humor and an outrageous plot. Practically no character development except for Ethan himself. If you're a die-hard fan of the series, I'd recommend it, but it could be easily skipped.
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