Elisabeth

Simply one of the best series of books written in the past 50 years, the Vorkosigan saga repays re-reading and re-listening every time. Bujold has the real writer's imagination along with a deft ability to weave speculative technology into fast-paced plots featuring deeply-felt characters. Although the series is set far away and far in the future, the human-ness of the stories keeps the reader's connection to the story line, no matter which of the characters' point of view is being offered.

Grover Gardner's reading of these stories is pitch-perfect, and he captures the essence of different personalities and even cultures without resorting to put-on accents.

For those who have been enchanted by Tolkein, The Sword in the Stone, and even Stephen King, the Vorkosigan books could be the next adventure!

This was my first experience with Ian Tregillis, and I enjoyed the plot, pacing and action of the novel. What bothered me and almost made me abandon the book was the reader.

Although Pariseau is versatile in applying various accents to enliven the dialogue, I kept being ripped from the plot by fatal flaws in his versions of upper-class English, Cockney, Scottish, or, most horrifyingly, a variety of "Schweinhund"accents he uses for dialogue among the German characters. Colonel Klink was restrained in comparison. The book is set in World War ll Europe, and I would have preferred either a British reader or a reading without any attempts to portray various accents. As it is, I kept feeling that the characters were being played for laughs or for mockery, which I don't believe the author intended.