The Warrior's Apprentice

A Miles Vorkosigan Novel

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

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)

A wonderous talent!

Lois Mcmaster Bujold is a wonderous talent and should be on everyone's to-read list. Her charater developement is superb and the way she pulls things together from what first appears to be a hopelessly tangles skien of yarn simply enjoyable.
"Miles" is a boy born into a fuedal system of government that abhoars mutation of any kind. It just so happens that his father and mother and he in his mother's womb were victims in an attack by a rival faction in a bid to kill his father, the then Prime Minister of the planet Barrayar.
After the attack he is rushed from his mother's womb to a Uterine Replicator where the doctors can do what they can to save the baby.
The result is a boy with chauk for bones who is severly stunted in height. Whoever, he is gifted with a superior intellect.
After breaking both of his legs in the first 2 minutes of the physical trials for entrance to Emperial service he goes to his mother's homeworld of Beta colony to visit his Grandmother Naismith.
Mixed with his desire to serve "something", his abnormal sense of curiosity and eagerness to solve problems he frist becomes a captain owner of a freighter and goes on to the rank of Admiral in a Mercinary fleet where he ends a planetary civil war. After "winning all the marbles", as his cousin Ivan phases it, he realizes that for him to have all the marbles could spell death for him and civil war on his home planet.
Trust me, Bujold is a fabulous talent and her stories flow like water downhill. I wish she would write more and that Audible would get the rest of her titles.

great entertainment

Sci-fi at its best: Fast paced plot, well-developed characters and an original universe though not too otherworldly. The book is so well received with good reason. Also, the narration is perfect.

a little far fetched

I loved the first two books this one I had trouble with is was just to far fetched and comvioint.

love this series !

loved this series the best ever will read the rest of this series ! thanks

Short, sweet, and masterfully written

I continue to he impressed by Bujold's mastery of the turned phrase, and her uncanny ability to bring characters to life in little details: a single tapping finger or change in posture illustrates human emotion with a precision that draws me in and keeps me hooked.

The story is succinct and paced to keep the reader engaged, no passage too laborious or lull in the action too protracted. I am suspicious of most science fiction, as many examples of the genre tend toward overemphasis on technology or alienness. Bujold's universe is very recognizable, as are the people and political/economic forces within it. There is just enough tech to convince me I'm in a space-faring solar system without weighing down the pacing.

The performance is wonderful as well, and the narrator remains throughout the two prequels, so it was like having an old friend guide me through each adventure. I actually recommend this novel as the introduction to the Vorkosigan saga, as the two prequels are more palatable in their slower pacing and emphasis on political intrigue once the reader has become more fluent in the names and places via this more stimulating narrative.