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)

First story in the Miles Vorkosigan series

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.

I'm Hooked! A marvelous series!!

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.

UPDATE as of 2020: Having gotten hooked, I have now listened to all the books in this series, most of them more than once. I can reaffirm that it's one of the greats. Repeating some words from my review of "Barrayar" that apply to this book: Even though most of the books feature Miles Vorkosigan as the protagonist, his parents Cordelia Naismith and Count Aral Vorkosigan are always at the heart of the saga, even when they aren't on stage. Their story is told in "Shards of Honor" and "Barrayar."

Although Audible lists "Barrayar" as Book 3 in the series, it's actually Book 2. "Falling Free," listed as Book 1, is a standalone prequel that bears little if any relationship to the rest of the series. The story really starts with "Shards of Honor," a science fiction-military action-conspiracy-political thriller "space opera" that is also one of the great love stories of all time. Yes, it's from early in Bujold's career and has some weak spots. But it's fantastic. Listen to it first, and then dive right into "Barrayar," which picks up pretty much where "Shards" leaves off.

The whole series is marvelous!

An Indiana Jones type of adventure with love

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!

A Good Start of a GREAT series

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.

Outstanding!

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.

Avoid this book if you prefer hard sci-fi.....

If you are a fan of traditional hard science fiction and space opera by the likes of Peter Hamilton, Alastair Reynolds and Iain Banks, then you probably won't like this book. It is basically a love story that happens to be set in a futuristic setting. Not a bad story (if you like this genre), but few if any new ideas were presented and this book could have just as easily be set in modern times.

Nice to get the earlier books...

Anyone who has enjoyed reading about Miles and Ivan and their adventures will love this book. Each story about Miles has told bits and pieces of his parent's story - enough to support whatever Miles is doing at the moment but never enough to get to know Arl and Cordelia. This story delves deeper into their characters and how they met. We also get to know a little about the Sargent and understand better why he was the way he was. Coming into this series backward, it's nice to see that Miles is a composite of his parents. Had I encountered this story before any of the stories about Miles, it would have been less interesting. Part of the fun is to look for people who you know are in future books (like Arty Mayhew!).

Great Book -- seemed too short

I loved the book. It was different than many Sci-Fi books with a great depth of character(s). I really enjoyed book immensely to the point I listened to it twice. The story is good, but really the characters moved it along. If you are a Sci-Fi Fan or even just a Drama fan, this book is definitely worth a credit.

Very Average

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.

Go Bujold!

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

Good start

2nd in the Vorkosigan saga. Entertaining & shows promise but smacks at times of wish fulfillment & romance cliches which occasionally overwhelm a pretty good story. Starts off with you thinking its going to be another 'Enemy Mine' type with enemies banding together against common odds but then cycles through a whole range of other tropes. The characters are great & no wonder it they (or in many cases their descendants) were picked up for later instalments. The next one is 'Barrayar' (which won all kinds of awards) & the two after that so there's something there :-)

One of my favourites.

Whenever I'm feeling in need of cheering up, this (and the even better sequel) are my go to books. I love the developing relationship between Cordelia and Aral. The art of falling in love with the "bad" guy, making concessions for a relationship and knowing when to draw the line.

While all the Vorkosigan books are good, for my money they reach great when the characters from these two books turn up to make Mile's life difficult.

A great audio book and start to a brilliant series

I really loved this book. Still probably my favourite of the whole series. Characters are developed really well. It's interesting, the plot has a good pace to it and the romance side of it isn't in your face at all! My only criticism would be that, as a British person, it took a while to get used to the accent of the narrator, but once I was used to it, it actually fits the tone of the book really well.

Worthwhile Sci fi romance

It's strangely readable even though it would be more geared for a female audience IMHO

Excellent story line could not switch off!!

What did you like most about Shards of Honor?

Adventurer and love story all rolled into one - the characters were believable and the pace was fast and kept me interested!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cordelia Naismith - a strong sensible woman, bold brave and all the attributes of a heroine

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

Cordelia Naismith

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Even a war and distant planets could not stop their destiny

Any additional comments?

I have now listened to nearly all the series - I had never heard of Lois McMaster Bujold before listening to one of her books on sale - she has captured my imagination

Enjoyable

Would you listen to Shards of Honor again? Why?

Yes I would - the setting is interesting, pitting the scientific rationality of Beta Colony against the less advanced and more brutal world of Barrayar. The characters are engaging and you really care what happens to them, which is always going to make a good story

Great boom terrible performance

I love this book, always have
But the performer was terrible. The emotion that the book is describing is completely lost in his reading.

Not my genre

I tried something I usually avoid. And my dislike is personal. I can't keep apart all the names and alliances. I am not interested in lies, politics, schemes and spies. I liked the characters and the world building took a back seat before it bored me.
The narrator was mediocre.

Very Enjoyable

This lady author can really compose a good story.
I did think as this was labelled Book 2, it was going to be a continuation but it was a totally different yarn.
Nonetheless, I found it most absorbing.

A interesting story…

… and a thought-provoking one, but I do think there should be content warning for sexual assaults: this part, the near-relishing tone of the lines, makes me extremely uncomfortable and troubled. The narrator does a good job, although I find his female characters still unnatural, to say the least.