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)

Wonderful characters

This adventure in the areas explored kept my attention and the characters have more intelligence and depth than I expected. The people from all the planets had depth of reason based on their cultures . Tolerance becomes friendship. I never lost interest in the story.

Reads like a draft for a generic 1950s TV series

This is the second book in the series I’ve read, thinking that maybe I didn’t “get” the first one because I read it out of order. Well, this is the recommended first book. And I still don’t get it. Sci-fi is a coincidental setting, rather than a condition for the anything that happens within the story. It could easily be set in classical Greece or Ancient Rome or even contemporary England. The characters and dialogue feel distant, a bit cookie cutter. Add to that the narrator, it sounds very much like a mass-produced 1950s TV series. Which is entertaining in is own right. But hardly the kind of sci-fi that will make you think.

very tame romance

great sci Fi adventure and romance story. I enjoy the writing of this author and recommend her books.

The place to start for the Vorkosigan saga.

Prose very good.
Characters excellent.
Plot hard to find.
Settings barely there.
Space Romance

Awesome

Great author love the humanity of the characters and Cordila is my favorite she is awesome. Great story

Character development supreme

I caught this book after accidentally coming across “The Vor game” and learning it was a series. Ms. Bujold does a masterful job of intertwining characters and story in a natural flowing way that’s easy to listen to or read. It was satisfying to see the beginnings of Errol and Cordelia and see how their son, Miles, became the person he is. Grover Gardners vibrant voice is wonderful to listen to and he does a great job of switching between characters; old and young, male and female, etc.
He’s definitely the voice of the Vorkosrgan saga. This and all the other books are worth every credit.

If you want the order of Miles' books:

I stumbled across the 1st "Miles" book (--Falling Free; it's sort of a prequel, actually 200 years in the future) by accident, & enjoyed listening to the audiobook. When I went to go on to the next books, I found it annoying that they're not numbered. I did find a site that lists the books in order, for those who want a shortcut: go to dendari(dot)co(dot)uk(bkslash)Fic & click on "Miles Vorkosigan/Naismith his life & times"

As to how good they are, I've enjoyed the next 2 books enough that I bought them in order, & am about to buy the next. I like her characters, good plots that keep moving right along, & her 'sociological' sci fi of the planets Barrayar vs Beta is interesting. She's also got, interesting & frequently amusing ways of saying things that add to the positive experience.

Excellent

This book sets the stage for everything to follow. As such, if you're just being introduced to the series it's a good place to start. The characters introduced here aren't in every following book, but the things you learn about them personally and their cultures are invaluable.

This whole series is well-written and engaging. I cannot recommend it highly enough.

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.