The Warrior's Apprentice

A Miles Vorkosigan Novel

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Length: 11 hrs and 17 mins

Publisher's summary

Miles Vorkosigan makes his debut in this frenetic coming-of-age tale. At age 17, Miles is allowed to take the entrance exams to the elite military academy; he passes the written but manages, through miscalculation in a moment of anger, to break both his legs on the obstacle course, washing out before he begins. His aged grandfather dies in his sleep shortly after, for which Miles blames himself. Miles is sent to visit his grandmother Naismith on distant Beta Colony, accompanied by his bodyguard, Sergeant Bothari and Bothari's daughter, Elena. Miles passes himself off as a mercenary leader as he picks up a ragtag crew, and soon Miles' father Aral is under political attack back home as garbled rumors of Miles' mercenary operations trickle back. Miles must abandon his new fleet and dash back to Barrayar to stop the plot.

©1986 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2005 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

"The pace is breathless, the characterization thoughtful and emotionally powerful....Highly recommended." (Booklist)

Refreshingly smart story

not you typical hero spec warrior. This uses brains and cunning. Good plot that doesn’t rely on typical military warfare shoot-’em up action.

Adventure, romance, and a brilliant protagonist.

Miles Vorkosigan is one of the most interesting 'heroes' in SF. Look out Universe.

Forward Momentum!

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

Yes, yes, yes! You will fall in love with Miles Vorkosigan and probably spend all your credits on this outstanding series of book. Lois McMaster Bujold and Grover Gardener are a winning team. I am so in love with all things Vorkosigan.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Oh, Miles, certainly. Despite all his flaws and disabilities he is engaging, intriguing, and sympathetic. You can't help but fall in love with him.

Have you listened to any of Grover Gardner’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

This is the first of his recordings I have ever heard, but he is masterful as the frenetic genius, Miles Vorkosigan.

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

I laughed, cried, sighed and fell in love.

Any additional comments?

I just can't say enough about this series - or Grover Gardener. One of the best characterizations I have heard to date, and I have over 500 audiobooks in my library. Don't be confused by my infatuation with Miles. These are not "love stories", they are about space travel, space battles, and the struggle of a physically flawed genius to be the best he can possibly be and overcome all obstacles. Listen to just one and you'll be hooked, too!

Incredible book.

incredible book. incredible story. well read. this is necessary, this necessary life feeds on life.

Excellent

Fast paced with multiple interweaving, plot lines that add up to the characters in the story.

You are in for a treat!

Oh these books are so damn good! So funny that I find myself laughing out loud, and at times so touching that I have to listen to passages over a few times. Bujolds' character development is just fabulous, rich, realistic, and so alive you think you know them.

The other great thing about these books is the amazing plot development, I often scratch my head and wonder how Bujold comes up with this stuff, just great! You can tell the author really had fun writing these books!

The science fiction is fun, but not really the main feature of these books. They are just great stories, incredibly well thought out, and so well written!

You are in for a fun read for sure, and the great thing is, there are more of them!

Enjoy!

My Favorite Series

I Love this book. Miles will lead you on a trail that goes across the universe and back again. What a delightful story. I have since purchased all the Vorkosigan series books since listening to this book. well worth your time. Highly Recommend

You'll get wrapped up in Vorkosigan

If you're like me, you may typically listen to "Harder" Sci-Fi, but while the harder Sci-Fi is my fave, once I started listening to the Vorkosigan series on the suggestion of some close friends, I couldn't stop until I had listened to ALL of the available books in the series!

The underlying message in the entire series is one that many Sci-Fi Fans are familiar with, and that many may have experienced in real life in some form at some time... "The weaker, smaller, person having to struggle harder to accomplish their goals, and make up for a lack of 'brawn' with the application of brains and an indomitable will to succeed".

An assassination attempt on his family before he was born leaves Miles Vorkosigan stunted, deformed, and suffering with extremely fragile bones. On a planet that regressed after colonization and only recently reconnected with other colonized worlds, Miles would have been killed at birth even one generation earlier for being too weak to be "Vor". Miles not only has to learn to hold his own, he must learn to excel, in an intensely militaristic society that has no sympathy for 'weakness'.

I have several friends that have named their sons "Miles" because of this series; with that kind of praise, in my circle of friends, I decided that at least the first book was "Required Reading"... After the first book in the series, I was hooked!

Be sure to look at the suggestions in the "Series Section" to find the best order in which to listen to the books, since the order in which they were written/published isn't chronological with Miles' life throughout the series as a whole.

An appealing hero

it is really funto get to know the main hero in the novel. Like so many of us, he puts in his best, well intentioned efforts which result in moving from one crises to the next. He has many endearing qualities, weaknesses and sadistic moments.

I really enjoyed this book!

I enjoyed it almost as much as the bobiverse series. I'm looking forward to hearing more of this series.