Shards of Honor

For those of you who haven't had the pleasure of reading the Miles Vorkosigan books, this is the first in the series, which introduces Miles' parents, Cordelia Naismith of the planet Beta and Aral Vorkosigan of the planet Barrayar. I originally read "Shards of Honor" and the second book in the series, "Barrayar," in a compilation book called, "Cordelia's Honor." Reading these two books as one made more sense, as "Shards of Honor" is a reasonably good story that builds to a whale of a good story in "Barrayar." Have patience with the slower pace of "Shards of Honor" (and Bujold's early writing skills). They are critical to your enjoyment of the full impact of "Barrayar," which the publisher's website states will be released in audiobook on 11/1/09. "Shards of Honor" is the only book in the Vorkosigan series which isn't the best of the best. However, you will enjoy the series all the more if you understand how Miles came to be. Look at the number of high-starred reviews Audible listeners have given to the Miles Vorkosigan series, which has also won a number of Hugo and Nebula awards.

Two people from very different backgrounds and home worlds are thrown together in an Indiana Jones type space adventure. Aral Vorkosigan is an unrefined military leader from an "uncivilised" world called Barrayar while Cordelia Naismith comes from Beta Colony, a place that seems civilised and technologically advanced.

In a time of war, Cordelia must choose between love or patriotism, truth or fame, an uncertain future or celebrity status. Woven through these choices are a quest for true honour that might just be masked as shame.

Lois McMaster Bujold draws you into an enjoyable adventure where you are kept on the edge of your seat - boy meets girl, but are they really going to live happily ever after?
As this novel introduce the parents of Miles Vorkosigan - but not yet Miles - even the final answer stays tentative.

Again Grover Gardner can be congratulated for a solid performance.

I thoroughly enjoyed the book and heartily recommends it to anyone looking for a true Indiana Jones type space adventure!

This book sat on my Wish List for a while based on the recommendation of an Audible listener whose reviews I follow; I'd never encountered Bujold's books and was in no hurry, it was in the "maybe I'll try it" category. Then Audible put it on sale, which pushed me to take the plunge. Listened to the whole thing in two gulps. Loved it. Now have to get the sequel ("Barrayar") and then apparently have an entire series featuring Cordelia and Aral's son Miles Vorkosigan to look forward to. From the sound of the reviews the series only gets better.

This is definitely character-based rather than technologically-based science fiction.

This is the first in the Vorkosigan series. The writing here is good but not as good as the later books. Nevertheless it is still better than most Sci Fi and well worth reading to set the tone and history of the continuing characters. This is very light Sci-Fi and more like fantasy. The later books become a bit more Sci Fi oriented. This is one of my favorite series in Sci Fi. The series has lots of action, really great characters, lots of fun, interesting concepts, and stories that really hang together well. This first book is a little slow but I recommend it as it adds richness and depth to the later novels.

This is the first book in the saga of Miles Vorkosigan, the story of how his parents met and fell in love. It's not at all a typical love story, but it is one you will want to listen to again and again. Cordelia has incredibly difficult choices to make, driven by her personal code of honor. She is well-matched by Aral, who has his own struggles of conscience and loyalty.

I've been a fan for years, and I was thrilled when the books began coming out in audiobook format. Grover Gardner does a fine job and I'm so glad that he has read all the Vorkosigan books, since he is now the only voice of Miles for me.

I have this series in ebook, paper and audio. Wonderful and generally engrossing. Mr Gardner is his excellent best.

I loved this one. I can't wait for another.
Bujold is an excellent writer and holds her audience in every book and keeps the reader on course (informed on the characters and situations) no matter which one you start to read first.
I love the narrator! Don't change him!

This is Bujold's first and definitely weakest novel. That said, if you are a fan of the Vorkosigan clan or Ms. Bujold in general, don't miss this. Despite a clunky plot and a writer who is learning to flesh out her worldview, I found myself entranced by the younger versions of characters and a world I had come to know and love in the later series. They foreshadow themselves, and make you want to go back and listen to all the later novels again! Grover Gardner's reading is superb as always, and even if you haven't read her other books, I think this might intrigue you enough to try the next one. But really, this is a treat for people who already know Cordelia and Aral. You'll enjoy seeing their younger, clumsier selves.

Being a fan of LMB's later fantasy work I was keen to listen to some earlier sci-fi. The reviews were all good for this audio book but I can't agree. The dialog was stilted, you couldn't get into the characters the story was all over the place and didn't flow - I can't see how a long series was started from this. I love sci-fi but this was only average.

What else can I say? Shallow, fun, lightweight space opera with a woman involved. Not bad, nothing monumental either. ...