Shards of Honor

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 8 hrs and 41 mins

Publisher's summary

It was the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. And Captain Cordelia Naismith of the Betan Expeditionary Force would be forced into a separate peace with her enemy, Lord Vorkosigan.

Shards of Honor is the novel in which Lois McMaster Bujold introduced the science-fiction world to Barrayar and Aral Vorkosigan, Beta Colony and Cordelia Naismith. From this beginning the author has created a multigenerational saga spanning time as well as space.

Bujold is generally recognized as the current exemplar of the character-based science-fiction adventure story.

©1986 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

"[Bujold] gives [her] characters enough emotional depth, and enough sense, to raise their story beyond cliché." ( Locus)

ruined by poor narration

It's a credit to how good this book was that I made it through the terrible narration. Gardner has zero emotional affect. He sounds completely disengaged from the content and one step above absolutely monotonous.

Worst of all, the structure of the prose combined with the fact that he doesn't at all do character voices makes it incredibly difficult to tell who is talking at any given time. It made the book a confusing mess. I was constantly backing up to try to puzzle out who was talking.

Save yourself the pain and just read this book on paper.

Love and war

Any additional comments?

How do any two people meet and decide to spend the rest of their lives together? Lois McMaster Bujold provides a cross-cultural version that is both familiar and new. In Shards of Honor, Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith become star-crossed lovers in the middle of interstellar disputes. This story has it all-intrigue, betrayal, compassion, honor, hope, and love. It is brilliant writing for astute readers. Enjoy.

witty, wry deep romance

Romance for the real world. Complex rich story with plenty of action and moral dilemmas. Woven with astute observation and wry humor. Characters live on with you when the book is done.

A Romantic

Good story line, great characters, feeling of an incompleteness after finishing...there must be more... the last chapter seemed incomplete

i loved this book!

i want to spend more time with the people in this book. great pacing. thoughtful and amusing and even deeply moving at times.

Thoroughly enjoying the series, and what a performance by Grover Gardner

Such an excellent, refreshing sci-fi book with delightful, complex characters. Grover Gardner’s performance is spectacular. With just the smallest tweaks to his voice, you can always tell who’s talking by how they sound, but none of them sound like silly character voices. Nuanced, real voices fitting for this nuanced, real book.

Great story, great characters

I love the two main characters. And I love seeing a mature romance instead of the usual teen angst. World building is excellent! One warning: there is an attempted rape scene. It’s not graphic, and it ends quickly, but could be triggering to some.

Falling for your parent's murderer

What did you like best about Shards of Honor? What did you like least?

The heroine was a probe and psychic. Basically a romance novel

Would you be willing to try another book from Lois McMaster Bujold? Why or why not?

I don't look forward to any more Romance dressed up Science Fiction

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favorite?

I felt that the construction was solid and believable

Did Shards of Honor inspire you to do anything?

I liked the narrator

Great plot with characters you care about

What made the experience of listening to Shards of Honor the most enjoyable?

Narrator brought the well written characters to life.

What did you like best about this story?

The plot is very unexpected and constantly moving. I was impressed.

What about Grover Gardner’s performance did you like?

The main character is a woman but the majority of characters in the story are men from Barrayar. Not only does he suit perfectly for that strong warrior class of Barrayar men, but he can switch to the female voice in a way which magically works. You don't notice the switch like other narrators I've heard.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Laugh, yes!

Any additional comments?

Very well written and intelligent.

This series may be my favorite.

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Absolutely. It is hard to pick a favorite series but this may be my favorite.In fact, I may go into a mild depression when I finally listen to the last of this series; always a sign of a great series.

Hopefully she is still writing the series(?) Luckily, I have the Chalion series next. Hopefully it will be almost as fabulous a listen.

What other book might you compare Shards of Honor to and why?

I'm writing about the series so I don't know that this particular book is better or worse than others. I view it more as one long book. Not that you have to listen to the whole series. Each book stands alone. But, who can listen to just one!

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favorite?

Miles is the main character so the favorite. And, he is marvelous. But, all of the characters are great whether likable or not. And, like any good "entertainment" author, the bad guys don't get to be the main characters.

If you were to make a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Question is too difficult.

Any additional comments?

Even if you don't like science fiction, you will like this series. I can't imagine the personality that wouldn't. It even has some romance for those who are "strictly" romance novel readers.

I especially like Miles' attraction to "really, really tall women". And, not particularly limited to "humans". You'll have to listen to hear the genius of Bujold being able to create those liasions and hear that they are about much more than sex - which luckily for me - is not graphic. (Yes, if you listen, there are some life lessons in each of these books. But, it is not heavy-handed nor in your face. Just there if you want to hear them.)

I loved the book with the "carpet-bombing". Funny stuff if you listen for it.