Rating: 
Summary: Who needs Miles?
Review: This volume is generally one of the less popular among Bujold fans, probably due to the absence of Bujold's most celebrated character, Miles Vorkosigan. But it's a solid story with pleasures of its own.Ethan comes from Athos, a planet founded by misogynists who took their loathing of women so seriously that they founded a planet populated only by men. Uterine replicator have been used for reproduction, but now they are failing and there is a need to import fresh genetic material, so Ethan is sent to Klein Station to pick up new materials. On Klein Station, Ethan encounters betrayal and conspiracies from galactic powers that isolated Athosians have little understanding of. His only ally is Elli Quinn of the Free Dendarii mercenaries. Wild adventures ensue, with the usual amount of double-crosses, mysteries, and sudden plot twists, all of which are handled well and are a sufficient reason to read the book. But the greatest pleasure in this story for me is the Bulold's world-building. She has really thought about Athos and about Klein Station, and she creates them as plausible places, showing what they are like. And, as another reviewer has properly pointed out, she shows the uniqueness of these societies not with long chunks of exposition that break up the story, or characters who deliver implausible lectures on the differences between their societies and 20th Century Earth, but by allowing you to see events from the perspective of people from those societies. This isn't Bujold's best. But it's an illustration that Bujold, even a bit off form, is still better than most and a very rewarding writer. Because this book doesn't include Miles Vorkosigan and his complicated personal issues, it will be an easier read than most Bujold books for somebody unfamiliar with the series.
Rating:
Summary: Who needs Miles?
Review: This volume is generally one of the less popular among Bujold fans, probably due to the absence of Bujold's most celebrated character, Miles Vorkosigan. But it's a solid story with pleasures of its own. Ethan comes from Athos, a planet founded by misogynists who took their loathing of women so seriously that they founded a planet populated only by men. Uterine replicator have been used for reproduction, but now they are failing and there is a need to import fresh genetic material, so Ethan is sent to Klein Station to pick up new materials. On Klein Station, Ethan encounters betrayal and conspiracies from galactic powers that isolated Athosians have little understanding of. His only ally is Elli Quinn of the Free Dendarii mercenaries. Wild adventures ensue, with the usual amount of double-crosses, mysteries, and sudden plot twists, all of which are handled well and are a sufficient reason to read the book. But the greatest pleasure in this story for me is the Bulold's world-building. She has really thought about Athos and about Klein Station, and she creates them as plausible places, showing what they are like. And, as another reviewer has properly pointed out, she shows the uniqueness of these societies not with long chunks of exposition that break up the story, or characters who deliver implausible lectures on the differences between their societies and 20th Century Earth, but by allowing you to see events from the perspective of people from those societies. This isn't Bujold's best. But it's an illustration that Bujold, even a bit off form, is still better than most and a very rewarding writer. Because this book doesn't include Miles Vorkosigan and his complicated personal issues, it will be an easier read than most Bujold books for somebody unfamiliar with the series.
Rating: 
Summary: An Enjoyable Book
Review: This was an enjoyable book to read. It's nowhere near as deep as Bujold's other books, but it was still fun. I think the people here who rated the book very low are going a bit overboard in comparing it to the rest of her works. Standing on it's own, it's worth reading. It's just that in comparison to the rest of the Vorkosigan books (i.e., the one's with Miles in them), this book suffers. But, if you'd like to fill in a few hours with some light reading, go ahead and try this one.
Rating:
Summary: An Enjoyable Book
Review: This was an enjoyable book to read. It's nowhere near as deep as Bujold's other books, but it was still fun. I think the people here who rated the book very low are going a bit overboard in comparing it to the rest of her works. Standing on it's own, it's worth reading. It's just that in comparison to the rest of the Vorkosigan books (i.e., the one's with Miles in them), this book suffers. But, if you'd like to fill in a few hours with some light reading, go ahead and try this one.
Rating: 
Summary: TEEN SCI-FI
Review: Well, ETHAN OF ATHOS is the first disappointment I encounter in my survey of Lois McMaster Bujold's inventive world. Even if the story gives us the opportunity to understand certain mechanisms of this future society, one will vainly search in these pages some food for the mind. So if ETHAN OF ATHOS is quickly read, the book is also forgotten in a few hours. Too many characters appear and disappear without leaving to the reader a durable impression. One will perhaps remember a few jokes about the virile macho world of Athos, an interesting explanation about the way a space station can feed its inhabitants ( in fact, the movie SOYLENT GREEN had already treated this theme 13 years before Mrs Bujold ) but the rest is pure first degree action that will only please, at least I suppose so, die-hard fans of the writer or readers having to kill four hours during a trip. A book exclusively reserved to Bujoldmaniacs.
Rating: 
Summary: Top-rate vintage Bujold
Review: When Dr. Ethan Urqhart, from the male-only planet Athos, goes face the outside world to find new ovarian cultures to replace the dying old ones, who but the devilishly beautiful mercenary Elli Quinn could help him face the Cetagandan menace? Along breath-taking aventures, deep emotional undertones contribute to make this story a powerful reflection on human variations.
Rating:
Summary: focus on Elli Quinn in this book
Review: While firmly in the Vorkosigan series, it has no actual Vorkosigans in it. This book is chronologically concurrant with "Cetaganda" and while Miles Vorkosigan is off dealing with THAT mess, his most trusted officer, Elli Quinn, is dealing with this one! The whole point of science fiction is to explore humankind from different views (whether through the lens of alien life, or high technology) and this book forces you to do just that. Imagine a person from a world in which the fascinating (and very female) Elli is bewildering, and more than slightly frightening. Dr Ethan Urqhart (Ethan of Athos) is an Athosian who must look at the world that all of us inhabit (male and female, marriages, and all that goes with it) with a completely different perspective, because he is from a world that no woman will ever see. This book has enough else going on to occupy the reader's attention (telepathy, anyone?) and watching Elli Quinn trying to outdo Miles in tricky thinking is a pleasure! Cetagandens, Jacksonians, and some poor folks caught in the middle, form the backdrop to Elli's first "Main Character" outing. My copy is worn to death from reading, as are most of the books in the series.
Rating:
Summary: One of the funniest and most memorable books!
Review: Years ago I lent this book to a friend who promptly lost it. For years I have been searching for another copy as it is one I want in my permanent library to read and re-read. This is a book that gets and keeps your attention with its story line while making you laugh all the way through it!! Now that I've found it in Amazon, I can't wait to read it again and again!!
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