SHARDS OF HONOR

Rating:
Summary: Military enough for us guys and romantic enough for the gals
Review: Although this is definitely science-fiction, it has the feel of a romantic but adventurous best seller. If you strip it to the bones, you'll find a story of a woman falling in love with an enemy commander. However, that would make it sound like a woman's book. It's also about a man torn between duty as a military officer and his sense of honor as a human being, and that makes it a man's book.

As you'll see in the other reviews, this tells the story of Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, eventual parents of Miles Vorkosigan who becomes the main character of the series. However, this covers the beginning, before Miles.

It begins with the attack on an astronomical survey team which has the effect of most members fleeing off planet. Cordelia Naismith and her botanist, who is attacked and left helpless and senseless, are captured by Aral Vorkosigan who's been abandoned by a group of mutineers. Forced to trust each other to survive, they predictably fall in love, but their separate allegainces cause considerable complications. There are space battles, political conflicts and bloodshed enough for the adventure fan and emotional situations enough for a romance fan.

It's told from Cordelia's viewpoint, but don't let that scare away any men. There's plenty of action here, and there's intrigue. There's keen insight into opposing viewpoints of conflict situations. We're shown both the Betan perspective and the Barrayaran perspective, and we learn that the truth of a conflict lies between the two perspectives, not from one alone.

There's much more here. I recommend you read it for yourself.

Rating:
Summary: Sold on another series
Review: I blame Amazon[.com] for this. Bujold kept coming up in my recommendations based on other authors I had been buying, so I decided to take a look. The result was me reading all of the Vorkosigan series in about two weeks. Life had to go on hold.

Anyway, complaints aside, I am happy to report it was worth the time. I suppose this is the first novel in the Vorkosigan saga as it is the first time we actually meet a Vorkosigan (being the family name of the main protagonists of the series). It doesn't star Miles Vorkosigan however, who is the "star" of the series if you like, but rather his parents and their first meeting.

Bujold stated in one of her afterwords that she aimed for the books to stand alone and they all do that admirably, while also building an interesting universe for her to play with as a collection. This one certainly does and is a pleasing mix of all the great stuff that goes into SF - the whole "space opera" mix of battle and romance that the best of it still boils down to.

Cordelia Naismith is Captain of a survey spaceship for the Beta colony, an advanced technological democracy in the "Bujoldiverse". Exploring a new planet, her party runs afoul of a group of thugs from the fuedal planet Barrayar who are apparently doing the same thing and want to make sure they get the point across that they were there first. Of course, being backward and aggresive there is treason afoot, and the Barrayaran captain, Aral Vorkosigan, is abandoned by bad elements in his crew. The rest of the book is largely about their relationship and the beginning of the liberalisation of the Barrayaran culture that is a theme to the whole series, and I wouldn't want to spoil it for you.

Rating:
Summary: To Exude Honor Like A Fountain...
Review: I have a good friend who to all intents and purposes is a normal everyday housewife, but who just happens to own the most spectacular collection of sci-fi you can possibly imagine. A few years ago she handed me "Test of Honor"; an omnibus containing "Shards of Honor" and "The Warrior's Apprentice", both by legendary sci-fi writer Lois McMaster Bujold. "Prepare to fall in love," she told me, and she was right. McMaster is a must-read for anyone who considers themselves a fan of science fiction. "Shards of Honor" was the first McMaster I read, and while not quite up to the level of "The Warrior's Apprentice" (which was definitely her masterpiece and one of the greatest sci-fi novels of all time), it is still a splendid introduction to her work and the world of Miles Vorkosigan.

"Shards of Honor" details the meeting and subsequent romance of Miles' parents, Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, on a backwater planet during an interplanetary skirmish. Despite belonging to opposing sides of the conflict they fall in love and the rest of the novel chronicles their adventures (together and apart) as they struggle to survive both physically and spiritually in a time of war. This book will be especially interesting to those who love the Miles Vorkosigan character; as he is an exact blend of his parent's more spectacular qualities.

As with all of McMaster's books, "Shards of Honor" moves at a breathtaking pace and is crammed with wonderful dialogue and characters. If you haven't yet read any of her books, "Shards of Honor" is a great place to start, but if you are only going to read one, I would have to say let it be "The Warrior's Apprentice", the next in the series and the first to feature Miles. McMaster hit an all-time high with "Apprentice" which she hasn't yet managed to duplicate, but "Shards of Honor" belongs alongside "Borders of Infinity" as her next-best work. Recommended.

GRADE: A-

Rating:
Summary: Sets the stage for the rest of the series
Review: Rating System:
1 star = abysmal; some books deserve to be forgotten
2 star = poor; a total waste of time
3 star = good; worth the effort
4 star = very good; what writing should be
5 star = fantastic; must own it and share it with others

STORY: Cordelia Naismith meets Lord Aral Vorkosaigan while on opposite sides of the war. In the midst of political pressures and physical dangers, they dare to fall in love with each other while trying to avoid their destiny.

MY FEEDBACK:
I picked this up because so many other books in this series have won the Hugo and/or Nebula. This book definitely sets the stage for what is to come: high political intrigue and assassinations; dangers that require bravery and courage; and events to challenge friendships and loyalty; and of course some romance. This book has all these in one sense or another.

The friendship and loyalty of characters really stands out and makes you really love the character of Aral Vorkosaigan. This is also an intelligent story, where solutions are not only resolved by chance or brute force but clever use of what resources are at hand. It gave me the grand and subtle pleasantness I had when reading Asimov's Foundation series. It had just enough science in the fiction to be appreciated and it had just the right touch of romance so as not to turn some of us testosterone males off to the story. I really enjoyed this story and found it a very easy read.

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: 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: 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: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Buy it collected in "Cordelia's Honor" instead
Review: Unless you absolutely must own hardcovers, don't buy this book: instead by all means buy and read it in the mass-market paperback titled "Cordelia's Honor," which collects Shards of Honor with its followup, Barrayar. Though originally published under those separate names, these really are halves of a single exceptional novel.

Trust me, you wouldn't be at all happy at the end of "Shards of Honor" if you couldn't immediately find out what happens next.