My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars (wish I could rate it higher)Genre: Science Fiction, Space Opera, Romantic SFMy usual type of read? (yes/no) Yes, very much so!Plot type: epic romance, galactic space war, incredible world-building#I just read this again for something like the 7th time since I first "discovered" the series in December of 2005, so I guess I've read it, on average, once a year for 6 years running. I remain astounded each time I read this book at just how much story Lois has managed to jam-pack into this duology. I tend to the think of the duology as "one, long book" (which Lois admits it actually was when she first started out, before she chopped off the first dribs and drabs of Barrayar in order to sell Shards of Honour on its own).The amount of content relevant to the rest of the series is probably higher than in any other book of the series, too. Most people don't count the short stories--e.g., The Borders of Infinity, Labyrinth or The Mountains Of Mourning - and almost no one ever counts Winterfair Gifts as though these character-centric stories aren't actually "critical" to the series. Let me tell you, they are--all of them. Miles suffers psychic scars in The Borders of Infinity that he's still suffering from 10 years later in Komarr.Likewise, the events of Cordelia's Honor are so inherent to the creation and growth of the characters and the galactic history of the universe Lois created in The Vorkosigan Saga, I can't imagine how anyone can get the same experience out of the other 18 books in the series without reading this one first. From the Escobaran War to the Vordarian Pretendership and the introduction of uterine replicators to the planet Barrayar which happens in between those two events, nearly every event in this book is a critical piece of galactic history in later books. I suppose that's just Lois's masterful ability to connect her series books while keeping them functionally standalone as well. I don't know anyone who's done as good a job at series writing as Lois McMaster Bujold (and I'm a big romance novel reader so I read a lot of "series" books--none are done quite as masterfully as this!)The one caution, of course, is just that: Cordelia's Honor is an epic love story, a romance AND a space opera, while most of the other books in the series are either a space-based adventure OR an SF romance.The space opera part of Cordelia's Honor is so huge, so complex, that it's hard to talk about in a review--and impossible to do so without spoilering, which I don't want to do. Suffice to say, there are NO events in this book that don't later impact someone somewhere in this universe Lois has built.On a more basic scale, it's important to see where Miles comes from and to see just how much of EACH of his parents he really is. For instance, in later books, I never remember seeing Aral Vorkosigan behave the way he does in Cordelia's Honor. Instead, once Miles is up and about (i.e., no longer needs to be carried around in a bucket LOL) Aral acts like a father, anyone's father, he is Miles Vorkosigan's father (at long last, years before Miles wists for such a thing). Aral actually fades into the periphery of Miles's brilliance. I know Lois was trying to show Miles's "hopeless" battle of living in the shadow of the Great Man as though no one could live up to the image of Admiral Count Aral Vorkosigan, but in Cordelia's Honor, he's still "just" Lord Aral Vorkosigan, with his own shadow-of-the-great-man complex to deal with, having General Count Piotr Vorkosigan still barking out orders for everyone's lives (or deaths). Not to mention having to live down the unjustly awarded title of Butcher of Komarr.It's amazing to read Aral as a 44-year old man behaving just exactly like Miles does later (as a 20 something). It's not so much a sense of Miles imitating his father, as it is watching the "original" and thinking "Oh, that's where Miles gets it from." Aral will have settled down to being a home body and hard-core politician by the time Miles could imitate him and at that point, Miles is far more interested in imitating his Aral's father-the-Count, General Count Piotr Vorkosigan.So in Cordelia's Honor, we see Aral as he was, before politics tempered him, before war destroyed his soul, before personal attacks hardened his heart to all but his family. The events of this book explain the why's and wherefore's of Aral's growth into the father Miles knows later--and in a wonderful way. Plus, who doesn't love Cordelia's outrageous and accidental sense of humor, making fun of Barrayar not to mention Barrayarans? :-) In Cordelia's Honor, we read the root of her views, while she's still oh-so-Betan as to be literally dumbfounded by the Barrayaran ways.The love affair between Barrayaran Aral and Betan Cordelia is not really an "opposites attract" story but the culture clashes are startlingly funny the way Lois presents them. The "in jokes" that run through the series (Rule Number 7, Sir or Drou and Kou on the settee in the Library) are nearly as significant to the other books in the series as are the mortal wounds suffered by all. From Emperor Gregor's life-changing before he's old enough to tie his own shoes to Miles's life being threatened by his own grandfather and saved (repeatedly) by the ever-loyal Bothari before Miles has even managed to get out of the aforementioned "bucket," Cordelia's Honor is the foundation of facts, fictions and fabulous people upon whom the richness and splendor of this series is based. The Bothari character, by the way, takes on a significance and depth in Cordelia's Honor that is referenced but never quite understood in later books. After having read this one, not a single later book of the series will fail to remind you Bothari's existence--without his presence in the books at all after The Warrior's Apprentice.As Lois Herself has said, Aral Vorkosigan is the center of the series's universe. Cordelia is the center of Aral. Highly recommend this book as one of the most important of the series as well as one of the most densely-packed stories ever written (in this series or any other). It's not just packed with a lot of story, it's neatly, tightly, and well packed with a solid solid, solid enough to form the basis for this incredible series. This is my #1 favorite of the 19 stories of The Vorkosigan Saga, followed by Memory and Mirror Dance, tied for #2. I'm reading the rest of the series, in order, in its entirety, planning to finally write reviews for all before my pre-ordered hardcover copy of the latest book, Ivan, His Booke or Captain Vorpatril's Alliance, arrives in November. You can read my review of the first and only Ivan Vorpatril Adventure here.
The first thing I am going to say here is that the book cover is terrible, I would probably put it face down on a table in shame if I was reading it in public and someone walked past. In all honesty, the publisher Baen Books seem to have some pretty diabolical covers but this one has to be one of the worst I have seen. It would probably have put me off picking up the book if it wasn't for the book club which would have been a shame as I found it really enjoyable to read. I just wish that Baen would stop making their books look like some form of space-themed pulpy unsophisticated read.The plot basically follows the relationship the occurs between Cordelia, hailing from the progressive Beta Colony, who is a scientist in command of a survey expedition and Aral from the Imperial and rather militarial planet of Barrayar who is an aristocrat and a soldier in command of a starship. A huge amount happens thoughout the novel around this relationship including mutiny, interplanetary wars, assasination attemps & civil wars. It would be insane of me to try and summarise this rather large story beyond this but I will just add that it is superb Space Opera that I think any Sci-Fi fan would love to read.The two books that make up this omnibus do come across as being slighly different from each other in style which is probably due to the period of time that passed between Bujold writing each of them. "Shards of Honor" was written in quite a slow pace and seemed to concentrate on the romance and character development side of things. There was some adventure and excitement still but overall I think the book was more about the two main characters and understanding their actions and desires."Barrayar" on the other hand is told at a much faster pace and is tightly plotted with adventure, intrigue and political scheming throughout. Cordelia and Aral are still just as interesting to read about, but I think Bujold also expands the secondary characters well and creates new ones that are much more detailed and interesting that what I saw in "Shards of Honor". The book also provides much more information and detail about the society and culture that exists in the Universe Bujold has created which I was happy to see.In the end though, the best aspect of the novel has to be the two main characters as they are well developed and the relationship formed between them is more realistic than many others I have read about. Cordelia is smart, determined, brave and a fundamentally likeable heroine whilst Aral is a man whose honour, strength and courage help him fight for what he believes in. Neither of them are perfect, but they both strive to do what is right and the dry sense of humour they have adds to the overall enjoyment of the story.I now have to highlight the one annoying feature that I found in both parts of this omnibus. Basically, the naming of characters from the planet Barrayer at times caused me no end of problems. A lot of the higher ranked military personnel from Barrayer have the pre-fix "Vor" in their names. I had to keep trying to refer back to work out which Vor..... was which, especially when they were being discussed by a third party and there was no personality on display to help me remember. Not a major issue and I understand that it was part of the culture Bujold had created but it still bugged me. All I can do is say that you should stick to the written novel and avoid any audiobooks as I suspect they would be even more difficult to follow.In summary, I think the best way to describe this book is that it is a superbly enjoyable character driven space opera sci-fi. The Sci-fi elements are used to create the plot and background, but it is the characters that really make this book appeal. I suspect it could have been set in a fantasy world, historical world or many others and it would still be a very enjoyable read. I therefore have to recommend this to any Sci-Fi reader out there who likes to read a story full of well developed and interesting characters. Personally, I enjoyed it so much that I have now actually picked up most of the novels in the overall Vorkosigan Saga and look forward to reading them in the near future.
What do You think about Cordelia's Honor (1999)?
Just arrived. Thank you, Amazon! I've read each of the novels years ago, probably more than once, and was reminded of them by a recent review. Cordelia and Aral are a good example of an adult couple. Theirs is a grown up romance, as one of my friends said. Here's my favourite quote from Shards of Honour.They crossed another watercourse. Coming up over the lip of its valley, Cordelia nearly stumbled over a red-coated hexaped, lying quite still in a depression and blending perfectly with its background. It was a delicately formed thing, as big as a middle-sized dog, and it rippled over the red plains in graceful bounds. Cordelia woke up abruptly. "That thing's edible!" "The stunner, the stunner!" cried Vorkosigan. She pressed it hastily into his hand. He fell to one knee, took aim, and dropped the creature in one burst. "Oh, good shot!" cried Cordelia ecstatically. Vorkosigan grinned like a boy over his shoulder at her, and jogged after his prize. "Oh," she murmured, stunned herself by the effect of the grin. It had lit his face like the sun for that brief instant. Oh, do that again, she thought; then shook off the thought. Duty. Stick to duty.Don't be fooled though. This is proper science fiction, and a proper adventure story. There is exploration and espionage, and covert-ops; there is war, and there are war crimes. There are medical and social advances and ethical dilemmas. And there are timeless stories of family conflicts, loyalty and friendship. (And love.) I didn't recognise the complexity of Barrayar the first time I read it. But it strikes me now that I understand why it won the Hugo that year.
—Hazel
I like science fiction. I read a lot of it. Cordelia’s Honor, on the surface, seems a standard science fiction novel with just a dash of romance. It has the customary interstellar war, political intrigue, and, of course, high-tech gadgets that we’ve come to expect from our sci-fi. What makes this book special is its title character, Cordelia Naismith.Cordelia is not the clichéd woman you see in most science fiction. She doesn’t just cling to the arm of her leading man (which would be easy to do, because her husband, Aral Vorkosigan, is awesome). She doesn’t sacrifice her femininity to be the hero. And she definitely doesn’t stoop to flaunting her sexuality in a steel bikini either (no offense, Princess Leia). Her strength comes from smarts and the relationships she forges, not from rippling biceps and an icy-cold demeanor, nor short skirts and seductive smiles. In other words, she’s what I would consider the ideal female heroine: confident, resourceful, and intelligent. I found Cordelia to be very refreshing.The story itself (this is actually two novels in one book) is engaging and entertaining, but in my opinion, it is little more than a setting in which Cordelia can shine. And I, for one, am glad to find another female heroine that does us women proud. * This book is definitely for more mature readers. There is war and the accompanying atrocities, and there is sex (all kinds). Before you freak out: there aren’t any graphic descriptions, but don’t say I didn’t warn you!
—Stephanie
I cannot deny in any way, shape or form that I loved these first two installments of McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan-saga. It really is as good as everyone claims it to be. It's got enough hard Sci-fi in it to not seem fluffy and enough philosophical questions to keep the meta-level interesting. On top of that, it also has a very well paced plot, interesting and compelling characters and a pretty neat character growth as well.Further, it features something as unusual as a very muted and subtle love story between two very practical middle-aged individuals. It really is the opposite of Sturm-and-Drang, but because of this it becomes more compelling and I real, I felt. Even if the world is a possible several thousand years in the future kind of universe where genetic engineering is well underway and space travel something everyone does, the characters in it still battle their humanity and similar choices we make today.Even though the novels sometimes show their age, especially when it comes somewhat outmoded views of communications and of modern gender terminology, they still manage to be almost surprisingly accurate in most regards.As I read both "Shards of Honor" and "Barrayar" back to back, I thought the only reasonable thing was to review the omnibus edition. The one thing I kept thinking while reading these novels was that I should have done so years ago.I'll just finish with saying these are great novels. I should indeed have read them years ago.
—Anna
