Product Description
Space...the final frontier. Or is it? Many say there's no frontier more forbidding than a romantic relationship between a man and a woman. But what if one's a human, and the other's an alien? Here is an original collection of space opera stories where authors take love (unrequited or not), on a spaceship, space station, or planetary colony, and add enough drama, confusion and mayhem to ensure that the path to true love-or short-term infatuation-is seldom free of obstacles. ... Read more

Product Description

Fawn Bluefield, the clever young farmer girl, and Dag Redwing Hickory, the seasoned Lakewalker soldier-sorcerer, have been married all of two hours when they depart her family's farm for Dag's home at Hickory Lake Camp. Having gained a hesitant acceptance from Fawn's family for their unlikely marriage, the couple hopes to find a similar reception among Dag's Lakewalker kin. But their arrival is met with prejudice and suspicion, setting many in the camp against them, including Dag's own mother and brother. A faction of Hickory Lake Camp, denying the literal bond between Dag and Fawn, woven in blood in the Lakewalker magical way, even goes so far as to threaten permanent exile for Dag.

Customer Reviews (36)

Not as good as Beguilement
Legacy is book two in the Sharing Knife series, by Lois McMaster Bujold. It continues the story of Dag and Fawn, picking up pretty much where they left off at the end of Beguilement (book one).

I enjoyed Beguilement, but I have to say that I didn't like Legacy nearly as much. I thought the dispute with Dag's family was drawn out for far too long, and it wasn't all that interesting. I got to read a lot about Fawn and Dag cooking plumkins and visiting the Lakewalker camp and its people, which is not how I expected to spend much of the second book. Whilst it was nice at first to learn a bit more about the Lakewalker ways, it was just overdone and I was dissapointed with the authors reliance on having the characters explain absuloubtly everything through dialogue. I didn't even find the Lakewalkers all that interesting to begin with-they weren't very original-and this didn't help.

It isn't until about chapter 10 (possibly later) that the main threat of the book is actually introduced. I enjoyed Legacy a little more once the story moved away (for the most part) from the Lakewalker camp. Sadly, it was over all too quickly, and I found the last 5 or so chapters about as difficult to get through as the first 10. (In a book of 19 chapters, this doesn't leave much actual space for the main conflict) Although there are some nice worldbuilding ideas, the story on a whole is only just "okay". There's little original about it, and whereas book one seemed to balance this problem by having strong characters and an excellent mix of romance and action/conflict, book two somehow falls short. In fact, there were times when I just couldn't stand Dag OR Fawn.

I'd had high hopes for the Sharing Knife series after reading the first book, but after being so dissapointed by Legacy, I will not be continuing with it. This is a shame, as Lois McMaster Bujold is capable of writing great fantasy - try her Curse of Chalion, if you want to see her at her best. Avoid Legacy though, it wasn't that great.

another good read from Bujold
Legacy is the second book in Bujold's Sharing Knife series. To say it is the continuation of the story begun in book one, Beguilement, is an understatement, for Legacy picks up exactly where Beguilement left off. One might imagine the author having written both books at the same time as one giant volume, then chopping them in two when it came time for publication. The truth of the matter is that The Sharing Knife consists of four parts.

That being said, Legacy is, in fact, a semi-conclusion to events set in motion in book one. Dag and Fawn, married now, set out to return to Dag's Lakewalker camp where they hope to settle into the typical life of a Lakewalker married couple. The reader is given the feeling through Dag that things aren't going to be that simple. In Lakewalker eyes, farmers are not exactly inferior, but certainly not equals. Precedent as well as tradition dictate the two peoples remain separate, for it is believed that long ago Lakewalker sorcerers ruled common folk as lords. But bad things happened, and the modern day scourge of malice was the result. Now, Lakewalkers spend their days searching for malice uprisings, all the while recognizing that it was their doing that created them in the first place.

Dag and Fawn are not greeted with open arms. Just when things seem at their worst for our young lovers (Dag is actually much older than Fawn) the camp is presented with the distraction of a particularly bad malice uprising very nearly under a farmer village (a malice feeds best from children, so 'coming up' in such a place presents a bounty for the malice to feed from and grow in power). Dag is selected to lead the war party, and domestic disaster is averted, or is it? I will leave it up to you to find out for yourself.

In many ways Legacy is very much like Beguilement. The writing flows identically; you can tell Bujold wrote them both in one sitting (figuratively speaking, of course). The dilemmas as well, for while Dag and Fawn had to contest Fawn's family and their own traditions, so must they face similar challenges with Dag's Lakewalker brethren. The story also moves along at a fairly even pace. Don't expect a lot of grab you by the seat of your pants action or suspense. There are some gripping moments as the Lakewalker hunting party closes in on the malice and then has to deal with the subsequent fallout, but those moments are short. Mostly, Legacy is a romance about the veteran Lakewalker, Dag, and his farmer bride, Fawn, and the challenges such a union must overcome.

Personally, I'm enjoying the series. The writing is excellent and has a certain 'folksy' mannerism about it that just works. Dag is an interesting character, especially as he begins to discover a whole new side to his sorcery, and one can't but help feel for Fawn as she attempts to make nice with her unappreciative mother-in-law.

Impressive writing, world-building, and characters make this second volume in The Sharing Knife a good one to pick up.

It Gets Better, Keep Reading the Series
Like the first book, this book may seem a bit slow paced and dull, but keep reading; it is just building on the strong foundation of the first book of the series.In the first book you got introduced to Fawn's (Spark) world, but in Legacy we are introduced to Dag's world. Although the excitement or action is not till the end of the book, this book is great at giving you more of history of who Dag is and understanding why he is the man he is when you first meet him in Beguilement.It also shows Dag's self worth increasing and his beginning to see himself as more than just potential/future primer for a sharing knife.It also naturally shows the continued development of his and Fawn's relationship.Since Fawn is also very young compared to Dag this book also shows her toughening up and growing up/maturing so that she can stand on a more of an equal footing with her much older husband.This book also digs deeper into why Dag and Fawn's worlds are so separated and distrustful of each other despite the treat of the very evil and vile malices to both their worlds.

Intriguing View of Magic and Making
As usual, there are many levels to Bujold's writing.It was during my second reading of the Sharing Knife series that I noticed how she uses these books to celebrate the "makings" of ordinary people--sewing, pottery, cooking, harvesting, home-building, making comfortable mattresses, husbandry of animals.Bujold points out over and over that these ordinary makings provide a rewarding, comfortable, satisfying way of being.

The theologian, Paul Tillich, defined magic as an exercise of power that bypasses the conscious mind to work directly on the subconscious.Using magic to hurt or coerce another person is considered evil in fantasy novels from LOTRs to Harry Potter.

In Legacy, Dag struggles with his growing power and the question of whether and when it is right to use that power for others.Dag can heal great hurts and prevent great harm, but who sets the boundaries?Can he exercise power in this way without being irrevocably harmed by it?Is he becoming as evil as a malice?

In contrast Bujold shows that the work we do with our hands is intrinsically valuable and led me to grieve our waning ability to do "good makings"--we live increasingly like sorcerers:depending on others to grow our food, build our homes, and so on.These books can change the way we see ourselves and challenge the value we set on the works of our hands.

Great work by Bujold
This is not a Science Fiction book.It is more akin to science fantasy.And my wife notes that it is excellent science fantasy romance novel fare.
First the short synopsis.Fawn and Dag are married (from first book in series) and head to Dag's folks.Bad juju.Very bad juju.But a crisis erupts and Dag is pulled to be the Captain of a force fighting a malice (monster/bad guy).The action lasts about 2 minutes.Good guys win easily.But the complications.Oh the complications with Fawn to the rescue and an ending leading to the third book.
This book is all about the story and development of the characters.It is not a slam bang adventure novel.It does not even have the usually minimal action of a Miles novel by Bujold.
Yet, it is a superbly told story that paints pictures throughout the book.If you are a Bujold fan, read it.From my wife, romance novel fans will also love it.If you love to read well written stories that paint the characters and their surroundings, read it.However, if you are a fan of slam bam action novels (which I also am) be wary.Get the first book in the series and see if you are a Bujold fan.
For the record, I thoroughly enjoyed the book.It was a great break from more action oriented stories. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (28)

A Strong Four Stars, Maybe 4.5
This book is both excellent and, as one reviewer pointed out, somewhat predictable. On the central issue, who owns the products of genetic engineering, there can be no real doubt. Not when the "product" is living, breathing and, most of all, conscious. So there is no real moral ambiguity here.

However, there is adventure and struggle. There are human relations problems and engineering problems. There are human characters and characters whose ancestors were, mostly, human and thir relationships are fascinating.

The major viewpoint character is also a bit of cliche. He's a dorky male engineer confronted with problems that need something other than the use of a calculator and a few tools. He is also hopelessly unaware of a love affair that he is about to have. However, this cliche character hasn't been around much in recent SF and has probably not been so well-realized since Heinlein's short story "Delilah and the Space Rigger." It was about time to trot this character out again and let it breathe.

It is also true, as the aforementioned reviewer pointed out, that the information in this book is not critical to an enjoyment of the Vorkosigan saga. However, this book is better than most of the books that make up the saga. I think that makes up for Miles not being in it.

Edit: I just gave this book a fifth star. I re-read it and it compares very well with any other book I have given only four starts. There are five-star books that are better but fractional stars are not available.

Delightful Story
I have read most of her books, and in my opinion, Lois McMaster Bujold is consistently an excellent writer with a clear gift for telling a story well.Falling Free is a relatively quick read, but every page is delightful.My only criticism, and it's not very significant, is that many of the characters are not quite as developed as in her other books; but their depth is more than sufficient.As typical of her work, the plot is flawlessly laid out and the unfolding story is believable, both from a human and technical aspect.I am pleased with how she satires impersonal, amoral business practices, including how a simple, stupid policy can wreak havoc on innocent lives.Not to fear, Lois provides a hero that we can relate too, and who stands up to monolithic bureaucracy and overbearing technocrats.This is high-grade science fiction.

Great book on its own
This book is a stand-alone, although it takes place a couple hundred years before the Miles Vorkosigan series and some descendants of the characters in this book (and some facts) will be part of the Vorkosigan books.It's a self-contained book about what would happen to genetically engineered workers specialized to work in antigravity.The story is utterly believable, has a great plot, and as always is centered on the lovable characters who stick with you long after you've finished the books.McMaster Bujold is a great writer who excels at characterization and has real wits.She is a humanist: it's all about people.She likes to sprinkle double-meanings and take advantage of misunderstandings to develop plot further.Unlike other authors where plot matters most and you can fast-read, I have to pace myself and read every word of what she writes.It would otherwise be like swallowing gulps of caviar without first taking the time to crush them in your mouth and enjoy the tast.

If you enjoy this book, and the author's writing, you will like to read her other SF books in the Vorkosigan series.I have also read her Sharing Knife and Chalion series, where she focuses on other character traits (feminine in Sharing Knife, and fragile but brave humans in the hands of gods in Chalion).Equally well written, with "science" replaced by "fantasy" in ".... fiction".

Loved it
I read Falling Free as part of the Miles, Mutants and Microbes omnibus, and I loved it. Other reviews have said that it was formulaic, fluff, and had no complex characters. Honestly, they might all be right, but that doesn't make it a good book. What it had was an excellent ethical dilemma, characters that blindly did what they were told, and one man with enough moral fiber to do the right thing. The only real complaint I have is that I think there's a second half to the story that hasn't been told and I'd really like to see.

Character-driven ethical dilemma meets space opera
In orbit above the planet Rodeo, a habitat operated (like everything on Rodeo's surface) by the Ampad company houses a great experiment. Ampad's profits are seriously reduced by its workers' need to spend rigorously enforced periods of time at full gravity, because the human body's adaptations to life in free fall (weightlessness) can quickly become irreversible. Ampad thinks that in genetic engineering, it's found the answer to this limitation. Its scientists have created a new species of human, one that finds free fall its natural habitat. Since legs are of no use under such conditions, the genetic engineers have substituted an additional set of arms. Which is why members of this new species call themselves quaddies.

Engineer Leo Graf can't believe what he sees and hears when he's assigned to teach the young residents of the Rodeo habitat how to become crack free fall welders. It's not the quaddies who repel him; he instantly likes the first ones he meets, and quickly establishes a fine teacher/student relationship with those in his classes. What repels Leo is the attitude other Ampad personnel take toward the quaddies, and their legal status. Which is that of Ampad capital assets, not human beings. The habitat's administrator in particular, a former subordinate whom Leo couldn't stand years ago and positively loathes now, takes advantage of the quaddies' innocence and of the dependence to which they've been reared. Leo sees no chance to change their situation, however much he deplores it, until the development of artificial gravity by a recently settled human colony renders Ampad's quaddies obsolete. Overnight, they go from being a valuable asset to something Ampad would destroy outright if it dared. Instead, Ampad plans something that the quaddies - if they knew about it, which Ampad is hoping they won't - would think much worse.

So what can Leo Graf do about his students' fate? And more to the point, can he teach them to take action for themselves - before it's too late?

Space opera with a moral dilemma at its heart, with a skilled writer breathing life into its characters. A fun read that can't help but make you think!
... Read more

Product Description
New York Times bestselling authors Mary Jo Putney, Jo Beverley, and Lois McMaster Bujold join forces with award-winning authors Catherine Asaro, Jennifer Roberson, and Deb Stover in this all-new anthology of original stories proving that love can conquer all...even the boundaries of time and space.

From sixteenth-century Britain to the farthest reaches of outer space, from medieval adventures to tales of inter-galactic love, here is a compilation that explores the wonderfully kinetic forces that lovers share-forces too great to resist... ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Service was great - book just ok
The service from the vendor was great but the book is not one I would recommend.

Very good stories combining romance and science fiction.
I bought this book because of the short novel "Winterfair Gifts" by Lois McMaster Bujold, but I enjoyed all of the stories.I will read more of all of these authors' works in the future.

Better to buy Winterfair Gifts alone as a downloadable audiobook
Bujold's WINTERFAIR GIFTS is fun, but the rest are lackluster. My solution made me happy--I got rid of this book and bought WINTERFAIR GIFTS alone as a downloadable audiobook through audible.com.

It's a good story to hear read aloud, and the reader does a fine job. I've listened to it a couple times already. I don't miss the other stories at all.

meh.
Only the Barrayar set LMB tale is worth reading more than once, though I did also like the mage and Robin Hood stories.

Mostly resistible tales
The collection has an intriguing premise: science fiction-romance crossovers (who knew?), but most of the short stories in the collection are almost painfully bad.A couple of nice exceptions: Jo Beverly's "The Trouble with Heroes," which succeeds in creating a complex and potentially sinister hero; and Lois McMaster Bujold's "Winterfair Gifts," which details a small but satisfying part of the Miles Vorkosigan saga.Vorkosigan fans may have missed this one (I did, for years) because it is not shelved with the Bs at local bookstores. ... Read more

Product Description
Attempting to live a normal life after a pre-natal accident leaves him in a delicate state after he is born, Miles Vorkosigan learns that he has a jealous clone brother who is plotting to kill and replace him. Reprint. PW. Amazon.com Review
Miles Vorkosigan faces more than his share of troubles as theprotagonist in Mirror Dance. Not only is he deformed and undersizedbut he has a cloned brother who gets into a jam in the free enterprise plaguespot known as Jackson's Whole. Miles tries to help his brother but ends upinjured, placed on cryogenic suspension and then lost in intergalactic limbo.And that's just in the first 100 pages. The following 300 pages add a wealthmore to this fantastic tale that's both humorous and finely written.Mirror Dance won the 1995 Hugo Award for Science Fiction. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (35)

Fine Read But A Flaw In The Series
I love this series, this character, and had high hopes for this book.Unfortunately it left me a little disappointed.

This book spends a lot of time following Mark, Miless' clone, instead of Miles himself.This includes almost the entire third act of the book.Miles is what makes this series interesting, and Mark is a poor substitute.The underdog outsmarting his opponent and the charm with which Bujold writs the character is what makes this series shine.With that missing, this is closer to run of the mill sci-fi then great sci-fi.

The story itself is interesting, and there is enough mystery and intrigue to hold the readers attention.This book also has the best small unit action of the whole series.It is fast past, well executed, and has a true feel to it.

While this book has its problems, and is a bit of a let down as the series goes, it is still a quality read and worth picking up if you follow the series.

Just a great read
I write this review having read this sometime ago.The whole way the author treats this 'brother' issue in this and later books is simple superb.

Needless to say, the brother is the exact opposite of Miles in so many ways - and tantalizing similiar.The author develops this dichotomy very well and uses it to very entertaining effect during the reading.

Must read book.The only down note is that it seems the author has exhaused the Vorkosigan theme - all good things must come to an end sadly.

Not Free SF Reader
One deadsicle, one schizo.


Mark impersonates his brother to take the Free Mercs off on a liberation mission.A bit of an understatement to say this doesn't go well.The original version is killed and frozen, and Mark is tortured until his not so stable personality fragments into many.

The M & M showhas to someone get out of this and wreak some havoc on bad Barons.

The Best Vorkosigan Novel
I came late to this series, and had serious doubts about all the awards its author has won after reading Shards of Honor. Luckily, I bought the 2-in-1 "Cordelia's Honor" and forged ahead anyway into Barrayar.Wow.Now that was worth the praise.Then I advanced to Warrior's Apprentice and was further amazed.Could the author continue to churn out action packed smartly written comedy slash adventure slash dramas?She can.She has.Sure there are dips. I found Cetaganda a bit lifeless. But the other books are predominantly very strong and impressive.

Mirror Dance is the culmination of all that came before.Seeing the Vorkosigan's from Mark's perspective is like meeting them all over again.Watching him become human in the face of his newfound family's integrity and acceptance is incredibly moving.I can't lavish enough praise on this series or this book.

Reflection of self...
Mirror Dance is a joy.I've read it four times now and each time I gain a greater respect for Bujold's ability to tell a compelling story.This is a difficult book to review because there is just so much going on.The basic plot review is that Mark is back and plans to take Miles' place with the Dendarii and save at least some clones from death.However, Mark forgot one thing--he isn't Miles and doesn't have his experience and knowledge base.Mark also failed to recognize Miles loyalty to a brother he has never know and to his troops.Mark also learns the hard way that people are not things and there are consequences to all actions.

Miles and Mark each make mistakes, misunderstand, and flounder about trying to do the right things in a situation that has no simple answers.In the end, they each learn more about themselves then about each other but at least there's a mutual respect and a willingness to try to be family.

This is truly a book that you'll have a hard time putting down.The action is fast paced, the plot threads are extremely tight, interwoven, and multi-leveled.It's staggering that all this is told in one novel.I laughed I cried and found myself trying to get the characters to listen to reason but alas they are already written and in the end all you can do is read on and hope that the end of the book is worth the joy and pain of the reading..Brothers in Arms built up to this novel and Mirror Dance is a supreme payoff. ... Read more

Product Description
Shards of Honor is the novel in which Lois McMaster Bujold introduced the SF world to Barrayar and Aral Vorkosigan, Beta Colony and Cordelia Naismith. From this beginning the author has created a multi-generational saga spanning time as well as space. Bujold is generally recognized as the current exemplar of the character-based SF adventure story. Amazon.com Review
Cordelia Naismith, Betan Survey Captain, was expecting the unexpected: hexapods, floating creatures, odd parasites... She was not, however, expecting to find hostile humans on an uninhabited planet. And she wasn't really expecting to fall in love with a 40-plus barbarian known to cosmopolitan galactics as the Butcher of Komarr. Will Mother ever understand? And can such an odd beast as love survive an interplanetary war? ... Read more

Customer Reviews (40)

Lived up to my high expectations
Commander Cordelia Naismith's science expedition runs up against something the Betans did not expect: a landing party from the militaristic planet Barrayar. After ordering her ship to make a run for home, Cordelia finds herself stranded on the survey planet's surface with her one surviving crewman rendered mindless and one of the enemy as her only other companion. Captain Aral Vorkosigan is stranded, too, because his crew has mutinied. Or have they? In any case, he knows the way to a supply cache that is the only hope for all three humans. His culture and Cordelia's could hardly be more different. Yet as they are forced to depend on each other for survival, trust starts to grow - and so does mutual attraction.

That's the start of SHARDS OF HONOR, the first book in this author's award-winning Vorkosigan series. I've read two of the other books, one of which was this novel's sequel, BARRAYAR; and SHARDS OF HONOR more than fulfilled my high expectations for it. The differences between Beta and Barrayar intrigued me just as much here as they did in the later books, and the characters came to life as they grappled with those differences and also discovered their basic human similarities. A terrific read that not only held me riveted, but made me chuckle fairly often, too. Which probably means my sense of humor is just as wry as Cordelia's.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner REGS

One of My Favorites
Shards of Honor is the first book in Bujold's critically acclaimed and just plain brilliant Vorkosigan series. Shards tells the story of Captain Cordelia Naismith and Admiral Aral Vorkosigan, two of my favorite characters of all time. Cordelia is dry-witted, clever and ridiculously brave. Vorkosigan is charming, broody and compelling as all hell.

The plot of this story is also complicated, riveting and full of tension, as Cordelia and Vorkosigan are from two races, the Betans and the Barrayarans, who are circling closer and closer to a war over the jump gates on the planet Escobar. Beta Colony is an ally of Escobar, and the Barrayarans are hoping to conquer the planet and add to their budding empire. Culturally, these two characters are further at odds, because Beta Colony represents the leaders in all technological advancement as well as a rather free cultural atmosphere with regards to sex, marriage and breeding. Barrayar is a "backwater hole" just barely pulling itself into the space-age. Slow to accept new advancements, and slower still to accept outsiders or others, the tradition based, old world culture of Barrayar is about as far as you can get from Beta Colony.

At the start of the story, Vorkosigan and Cordelia find themselves unlikely allies when they are stranded together on a hostile planet with blood sucking air jelly-thingies, giant crab-like predators, and a pack of hostile military men who might or might not be trying to kill their commander: Vorkosigan. The plot only thickens when Barrayar goes to war with Escobar, and so, by extension, Beta Colony. Cordelia finds herself on the opposite side of the war from the man she's grown to love, and both of them must deal with the consequences and fall out of that.

I freaking love this book. So much. The characters are rich and complicated with real emotions and believable motivations. And the romance is by turns poignant, sweet and almost searing in its emotional intensity. Some people criticize the "love at first sight" element of this book, but it's never bothered me. Cordelia is pretty freaking awesome, and so is Vorkosigan. I was so swept up in this book the first time I read it that this never bothered me. And over my many rereads of this book and the rest of the series I have never questioned the depth of Vorkosigan and Cordelia's attachment to each other. As Cordelia puts it while trying to explain the attraction to her mother:

"So what does the man have anyway?"

"I don't know. The virtues of his vices, perhaps. Courage. Strength. Energy. He could run me into the ground any day. He has power over people. Not leadership, exactly, although there's that too. They either worship him or hate his guts. The strangest man I ever met did both at the same time. But nobody falls asleep when he's around."

"And which category do you fall in, Cordelia?" asked her mother, bemused.

"Well, I don't hate him. Can't say as I worship him, either. She paused a long time, and looked up to meet her mother's eyes squarely. "But when he's cut, I bleed."

"Oh..."



I also think one of Bujold's particular strengths is her world-building, and this book is certainly no exception. I love how she captures the complexities of both cultures and makes it clear right from the start how in opposition they are to each other with regards to, well, everything! Social dynamics, gender equality, reproductive rights, even the recognition of basic authority in the command structure. Brilliant. I also love how she paints the contradictions in Barrayar society, how the grandeur and antiquity of the place can be by turns fascinating and horrifying.

I can't really say enough good stuff about this book. I think it works on every level. The characters are well-drawn and compelling. The plot is fast-paced, intricate and one hell of an emotional ride. The world-building is well thought out, nicely detailed and fascinating. I think it's easy to see why this is one of the classics of science fiction romance, and if you haven't read it yet... what are you waiting for?! :D

Grade: A+

A solid read but not really sci-fi
If you like sci-fi and love chick lit, you'll really enjoy this book. This is a well-written story with excellent character development and dialog. The sci-fi elements are, well, pretty weak medicine. If you only like hard sci-fi, look elswhere. The plot elements could have easily been set in a western or modern-day thriller. Also, it's a little bit short (I'm a big fan of epic space operas).

Very disappointed
I really do not understand all the rave reviews. I'm a sci-fi fan, and an avid reader. I am continually frustrated by seeing good reviews on sci-fi books that don't hold water. And this is a typical example. Maybe if sci-fi is all you read, then you seen things through a different lens than I do. I really tried to give this book a chance, but about half way through I kept thinking of a word---booooooring. My idea of good sci-fi? Orson Scott Card or Larry Niven. I see parallels between this series and the Twilight series. Big sellers, but one dimensional.

One of the absolute best science fiction stories I've ever read
Plot Summary:In this vintage science fiction romance, Commander Cordelia Naismith is heading up a Betan exploration on an uncharted planet when they're attacked by Barrayans.Cordelia is taken prisoner by Captain Aral Vorkosigan and they're stranded with a wounded man and no supplies.This inauspicious beginning unites two officers from different planets who are at war, and their deeply held notions of honor and duty will unite them, and drive them apart.This intergalactic story is full of action, treachery, heroism, and love.

I've been wanting to read Shards of Honor for a while now, and it was worth the wait.This is a hard book to find, unless you're willing to shell out the big bucks for a hardcopy reissue.I've been hunting for it in used book stores, in libraries, and on PaperBackSwap for several months with no success.My family took pity on me and bought me a copy for Christmas, and I'm glad they did, because this will go on my keeper shelf.

This is an intelligent science fiction story paired with a refreshingly mature romance, and it was written almost 25 years ago.It just goes to show that it's a mistake to always be chasing the latest, newest books.I can't even think of a recent sci-fi story that manages to combine all the elements I found here.It's a romance and an adventure, to be sure, but that doesn't begin to describe the complex concepts that are deftly woven into the plot.Ideas like honor and mercy, the politics behind war, psychology, and nationalism are all explored.This sounds like an epic, doesn't it?The whole story takes place in just 225 pages!It's deceptively simple and absolutely amazing.

I fell in love with Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan, both military leaders on opposite sides of an intergalactic war.After spending a harrowing week on an unknown planet together, they develop a deep respect for each other.Before they're separated, Cordelia and Aral realize they're uniquely suited to be together, but they part with no hope.Fortunately that's not the end of their story.The characters are so perceptive and smart, it's like Ms. Bujold channelled a wry Jane Austen into Cordelia, and Atticus Finch (from To Kill a Mocking Bird) into Aral.

In the excellent foreword, I learned that Shards of Honor is just the first part of a story arc that is continued in the sequel, Barrayar (Vorkosigan), which continues Cordelia's and Aral's tale.If you can find a copy of Cordelia's Honor, it contains both stories under one cover and it's available as a mass market paperback for $7.99!!!Arrrggh!What a mistake.I've been looking for the wrong book.It makes no sense to get Shards of Honor on its own.Instead, buy the affordable Cordelia's Honor (Vorkosigan Saga Omnibus: Shards of Honor / Barrayar) and get both books at once.Geez, I feel dumb right now.

The remaining books in the Vorkosigan saga focus on Cordelia and Aral's son Miles Vorkosigan, and there are at least 11 more to go.I'm adding this to my list of series if you'd like to see the complete booklist. ... Read more

Product Description
This Hugo-nominated novella adds a delightful extra chapter to Bujolds acclaimed Vorkosigan series, describing the wedding of Miles and Ekaterin and the events leading up to it. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (4)

Winterfair Gifts
When I ordered the "Winterfair Gifts" audio book by Lois McMaster Bujold, I didn't realize that it was in the MP-3 format.I thought any cd player could play it.Now if I want to listen to it, I first have to go out and buy an MP-3 player.

Winterfair Gifts fills in an important gap in the Miles Vorkosigan saga
As a long time fan of Miles Vorkosigan, I really enjoyed reading about his wedding and all the fun that can happen when a mutant like Taura visits Barrayar.The story holds true to the elements present in the rest of the series, interesting characters that you get invested in enough to care about, both wry and silly humor, and a good story that moves fast enough that even without a lot of action/adventure gets to the end leaving you wishing for more.

This work is much shorter than the novels, and while extremely entertaining, does not have enough background information about the Vorkosiverse to make it a good starting point for the series.So if you are just starting the saga, begin with one of the novels and let this be a dainty little tidbit to digest in between reading a couple of them.Good story, good narrator, and a throughly enjoyable listen.

Another Satisfying Ride by a master of the courageous heart
Despite having only one vocal actor I had no problems at all "seeing" the different characters. I found the story, as I have come to expect from Lois McMaster Bujold, to be funny, moving, dramatic and satisfying, though I do wish it was longer. By being a novela some parts were glossed over in a hurry that left me wanting more. The audio adaptation is never quite what I hear and see in my mind when I read the story, but this one was well done. Not quite to the standards of a "Readers Chair production", but since they are out of business right now, this is very good.

Great continuation of the Miles VorKosigan stories!
I enjoyed reading this continuation of the Miles VorKosigan novels. This one fills in the time that has not previously been told. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (32)

A Vorkosigan universe book without Miles
Ethan Urquhart is an obstetrician practicing on a planet where women are not allowed. Athos not only bans women from immigrating; it also bans its residents from receiving off-world communications from women. And of course no girl babies are ever conceived in its Reproduction Centers! Those centers use ovarian tissues from cultures started 200 years earlier, when their world was settled, to create boy babies only. Fatherhood is every man's goal on Athos. It has to be earned through accumulation of social duty credits, and caring for children is highly valued, full time work. But now the tissue cultures are starting to fail. Each produces fewer viable ova from year to year, and - to the alarm of doctors like Ethan - some no longer produce any viable ova at all. That's why Ethan is delighted when a shipment of fresh ovarian tissue from far off Jackson's Whole finally reaches his laboratory on Athos, and it is also why he panics when the shipment does not contain what was promised and paid for. Now someone with his knowledge of reproduction as Athos practices it will have to travel off world - something Athosians simply do not do - and buy more. This time, inspecting the tissue cultures personally and then bringing them home under his own watchful eye.

Ethan himself draws the assignment, a dubious honor that frightens him but also intrigues him. On Kline Station, with the first leg of his journey behind him, he finds himself caught up in a secret conflict that has something to do with that tissue shipment (such as it was) from Jackson's Whole. His only hope for staying alive, he soon realizes, is that most alien of creatures as far as an Athosian is concerned - a woman. Commander Elli Quinn, a mercenary in the service of one Admiral Miles Naismith...an alias familiar to any reader of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan series.

This is not a Vorkosigan novel; Miles doesn't appear in it. It is, however, solidly set in the same universe and between Vorkosigan books in that universe's time line. I found it a relatively light read, with the author's usual fast pace and plenty of action. Its premise undoubtedly seemed far more daring when this book was first published over 20 years ago, but that often happens with science fiction. Science advances, and society changes - but a good story is always a good story, and this one worked for me.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner REGS

No Miles Vorkosigan, but still pretty good
I didn't realize Miles wasn't in this when I bought it (i'm addicted to her M N-V series).Miles is referred to a few times & it happens in the same universe. It turned out to be pretty good anyway, though I would've loved to get some background on the interesting sociological SF of the planet Athos....like, what experiences led the founder to start a colony world of all men, no mention of women allowed, not even pix, forget a live woman.Would also've liked a look from another Athosian viewpoint...nowadays gender orientation appears to be innate, so what to hetero guys do when born into a female-less world?Just not think about it since they're raised in that environment?
Was nice to get to know Ellie Quinn better.
I give it 3-4 stars, if 3.5 were an option.

A One-Off from Bujold
Now I love the Miles Vorkosigan Saga myself but someone who is new to it might want to get a taste of Bujold's work before starting that very long story.This book is great for that.It is a one-off story based on the fringes of Miles' world and totally entertaining.The bonus is that, if you like this book, you will know that you have a lot more books that you will enjoy from this author.

This story is fast moving and has a lot of twists and turns that keep the reader's interest.It would also be a good one for teens who have grown past Harry Potter.

Classic Camp Sci-Fi Spoof
This "sidebar" novel in the Miles Vorkosigan universe is really a fun reversal of classic sci-fi pulp of decades ago. Back then, a common concept of pulp sci-fi was the "planet of women" discovered by men and the results of the two sexes (re)introduced to each other.

Ethan of Athos takes that premise and reverses it, giving us a protagonist from a planet of men founded by a religious denomination that believes that women lead men into "sinful" behavior. This is a male-only utopian socialist society where reproduction is taken very seriously from a social and economic perspective.But Bujold steers clear of any deep sociological musings here.As with original pulp this premise is simply used to provide some fun in a space detective story, and create a different dynamic between the male and female protagonists in the story.

Bujold does tap into some interesting questions but sadly does not explore them deeply.The men of Athos take into account the full personal, social and economic cost of raising children, rather than simply assuming that women will somehow manage to handle most of the effort involved (since they don't have any women).One must earn the right to father children through community service and partnerships are often centered on a male couples' combined ability to meet their parenting obligations.Eugenics is practiced to produce sons better suited for various social roles.This could have been a chance for a serious examination of how parenting is managed in our society but Bujold doesn't go there, which is a negative.

It's a fun novel for a leisurely Saturday afternoon read.Not deep and not very serious.But quite fun.Elli Quinn lovers will enjoy it.

Not Free SF Reader
Manhome loses some girl bits.


A scientists investigates the disappearance of some reproductive material from the titular planet, one which is completely populated by males.In the course of his investigations he meets a woman from that Vorkosigan related bunch, the Dendarii Free Mercenaries.Being a spook of sorts, she is rather useful, especially when kidnapping and dodgy bounty hunters is involved.


... Read more

Product Description

Young Fawn Bluefield and soldier-sorcerer Dag Redwing Hickory have survived magical dangers with their passionate hearts strong and united. The bigotry of blood kin, however, cannot be easily overcome. Leaving behind all that they have ever known, the couple sets off to find fresh solutions to the perilous split between their peoples—but their passage will not be ventured alone. New companions join them on their road: Fawn's brother, Whit, escaping a hopeless future on the family farm; a pair of novice Lakewalker patrollers fleeing the catastrophic consequences of an honest mistake; a young flatboat captain searching for her vanished father and fiancé; a shrewd backwoods hunter; and a farmer boy unintentionally beguiled by Dag's growing magery. On an eventful journey to where great rivers join, the ill-assorted crew will be sorely tested and tempered, as they encounter a new world of hazards both human and uncanny.

Customer Reviews (7)

Read These Books!
If you're like me, you probably first encountered Lois McMaster Bujold through the Vorkosigan saga; and having devoured that, you are now curious about her other work and looking to expand your horizons. All I can say is - look no further! "The Sharing Knife" is a magnificent little tetrology, particularly showcasing Bujold's gift for rich and fascinating characterizations.

Now, a word of warning - this is not Miles we're talking about. The pacing of these books is much less manic than what you are familiar with if you are fresh from the Vorkosiverse. I think it's a mistake to say these books `plod' in any sense of the word, however; the pacing fits the subject matter and the characters at hand (rural farmers and tribesmen all). It is not always instantly apparent that what the characters are doing (mundane though it may seem) is in fact deeply relevant to the plot, but as the story unfolds, all the disparate elements come together into a truly remarkable work. Read these books and stick with them - you will be rewarded a thousandfold!

Floating down the river...peaceful as can be
I've been a big fan of Lois McMaster Bujold since I discovered her Miles Vorkosigan series, but lately she's taken a turn to the fantastic instead. Some might even say she's gone a bit too far down the road and into the Romance category. Whatever your feelings are, though, her "Sharing Knife" series has been polarizing amongst her fans. Now that I've read the third book in the series, Passage, I have to wonder if Bujold is just playing with various styles and genres, experimenting and offering up the results to her fans like a television chef who decides to try something different. If so, it's a damned good thing that she's so skilful at it.

Passage is essentially a "road" novel (though, in this case, I guess it would be a "river" story), with Dag and Fawn making a trek down the river so that Dag can show his new bride the ocean, something this farmgirl has never seen. In the process, they pick up companions (Fawn's brother, for one), find passage on a riverboat, and share adventures with everybody. A running theme through the novel, one that ties together everything that happens, is Dag's experimentation with the Lakewalker magic and his newfound abilities with it. All Lakewalkers are able to do things with the "ground" that all living beings have, but he's discovered that he's capable of even more, some of it frighteningly close to what the Malices these Lakewalkers are bound to destroy can do. As they journey down the river, Dag learns new things about his abilities while he and Fawn continue to explore their own relationship.

I'll get one criticism of this novel out of the way that I'm sure is being made by many other readers of Passage. There really isn't much of a "plot" to this book. Instead, there are a bunch of little stories that don't really relate to each other except for the fact that they may provide even more companions for Dag, Fawn, and the riverboat crew. The theme of Dag's exploration of his powers is really the only thing that ties all of this together. Otherwise, I could see this book as a series of television episodes, linked together by the characters involved but not having much to do with each other.

Once I got used to that idea, though, I found that the book flowed very smoothly and I enjoyed each individual piece as well as how they affected our heroes. There is actually one other plotline running through the novel, which I'm sure will be dealt with in the final novel: Dag's determination to bring the "Farmers" and "Lakewalkers" together in at least some form of understanding. He continues to make strides in this desire every time he heals one of the other Farmers on the river, or most importantly as he explains in great detail some of the Lakewalker traditions that they've habitually kept hidden from the Farmers. There's every indication that he makes an impression on the people around him, but the jury's still out on whether this will bring about a societal shift. And we see no indication of how the Lakewalkers themselves will be reacting to this (though we do see the horrified, and then slowly begrudging feelings of the two Lakewalkers who end up joining the crew).

Bujold's characterization skills are masterful once again. Every character in this novel, even the bit players, is at least somewhat interesting, and she does a wonderful job with the slowly increasing number of crewmembers and friends that Dag and Fawn accumulate. Berry, the riverboat captain that Fawn befriends and who takes the couple onto her boat, is exceptionally well done, on a quest to find her missing father and betrothed but still alternately witty and tough, depending on the situation. Fawn's brother Whit really comes into his own as well, annoying at first but slowly becoming the man he desperately wants to become.

For those fans who were put off by the "romance" trappings of the first novel, and even a little bit in the second novel, rest assured that they aren't here now. Passage doesn't even have any sex scenes, instead fading to black or just mentioning it cursorily, no worse than any other fantasy or science fiction book with a romance in it. They are still exploring each other, getting to know things that were unknown before, and Fawn is still trying to understand how Lakewalkers work. Others who found their relationship "cloying" in the previous books may have the same problem here, but I don't think so. Fawn's wide-eyed innocence has been tempered by her experiences and their relationship seems a lot more normal this time around.

In exploring the river and Dag's magic, Bujold shows us even more of this world she has created, giving us more detail on how "ground" works and how it's manipulated by the Lakewalkers. There isn't an overarching villain in the book, but the main one we get toward the end of the novel shows us even more how Lakewalkers work, and we see firsthand one of their most important rituals. While we don't see as much of the Farmers, we do see even more how they interact with the Lakewalkers and their prejudices that are borne from ignorance.

Overall, I found Passage to be a hard book to put down, especially near the end. The final 100 pages are especially gripping, but Bujold's characterization carries through the first part of the book. The mini-stories are interesting, but they would be much less so without interesting characters to keep you going. Don't worry about there not being much of a "plot" in the book. There's definitely enough that Bujold's strong writing will get you through. Just sit back and enjoy the ride down the river that Bujold takes you on. You'll be glad you did.

Originally published on Curled Up With a Good Book© David Roy, 2008

Had some good moments but dragged a time or two
Passageis the third book in Bujold's Sharing Knife series. It is a continuation of the story begun in Beguilementand Legacy. In Legacy, Dag and Fawn come face-to-face with the bigotry of Dag's Lakewalker clan. Near driven out, Dag chooses to leave instead. But he does so with a mission in mind: to heal the rift between Lakewalker and farmer.

On one level this mission of Dag's is a personal one: acceptance of each of the peoples amongst the other would grant his marriage a greater acceptance. On another level it is a matter of long term survival for all. Because there is little communication between Lakewalker and farmer, the scourge of their land, called malices, could potentially run rampant someday because farmers remain ignorant of the early warning signs. It is with the intention of educating farmers of the malice danger that Dag sets out from his home with his wife, Fawn.

They hire themselves out to a flatboat boss, Berry, and Dag begins his journey of farmer healing and enlightenment. They are joined by two other Lakewalkers and a motley lot of farmers/riverboat-types who are drawn to Dag and Fawn's mission in their own individual ways. Much of the story focuses on this personal quest of Dag's and how, in the process, he also develops his 'ground' (magic) to a level not hereto seen in the world.

That bears some explanation: in Lakewalker society an individual is chosen early on for a specific vocation based upon the promise of their ground. Such vocations include patroller, medicine-maker, ground-setter. The principal responsibility of the Lakewalkers is patrolling the lands in search of malice; most Lakewalkers are selected as patrollers. But some others who demonstrate a greater degree of 'groundsense' may become medicine-makers or, even further, ground-setters, able to manipulate almost any material. Dag has already spent most of his life as a patroller by the time we meet him in Beguilement. In Passage, he begins to experiment with his groundsense and, aided by Fawn's knack for seeing things from her own unique perspective, finds that he has the ability to bridge the gap between patroller, medicine-maker, and ground-setter.

Passage is a good book. It's well-written, flows evenly, and possesses a myriad of interesting yet believable characters. But it also stumbles a bit in its singular purpose. Dag's quest is fun to follow, but it becomes too much of the story or, really, the entire story. Not until the end, when Dag must face a renegade Lakewalker and the mayhem he's caused, does the storyline break away into new territory. In short, I felt Passage would have benefited from a bit more going on. There is some mystery in the form of Boatboss Berry, whose family has disappeared somewhere downriver, but it's not enough.

In summary, once again Bujold doesn't disappoint in delivering a folksy tale with plenty of interesting and intriguing characters and magic, though, in the end, this one could have used an injection of something more. Regardless, I'm looking forward to the conclusion of Dag and Fawn's journey in book four, Horizon.

And the beat goes on
I really like that the author didn't stop after the hero wins the girl. I always like to know what happens after, do they accomplish anything else, what challenges do they face? This storyline delivers. Dag and Fawn start off alone but end up gathering a group of misfits and fellow adventures that become true friends. And yes, they encounter more prejudice and treachery (lakewalkers & farmers), but experience moments of hilarity and lightheartedness.
Dag and Fawn grow into their union learning more about strengthening a budding relationship that goes beyond the marriage bed. They even learn new skills that will help them reach their ultimate goal, IF they decide to continue to the city of the old ones.

Wonderful
Light on the action this time but beautiful character portrayal and interaction. Can't wait for the next installment. ... Read more

Product Description
Young, pregnant Fawn Bluefield has just fled her family's farm to the city of Glassforge, where she encounters a patrol of the enigmatic soldier-sorcerers known as Lakewalkers. Fawn has heard stories about the Lakewalkers, wandering necromancers with no permanent homes and no possessions but the clothes they wear and the mysterious knives they carry. What she does not know is that the Lakewalkers are engaged in a perilous campaign against inhuman and immortal magical entities known as "malices". When Fawn is kidnapped by one of these creatures, it is up to Dag, an older Lakewalker heavy with sorrows and responsibilities, to rescue her. But in the ensuing struggle, it is not Dag but Fawn who kills the creature--at dire cost--and an uncanny accident befalls Dag's sharing knife, which unexpectedly binds their two fates together. ... Read more

Product Description
Following her marriage to the notorious "Butcher of Komarr" - Lord Aral Vorkosigan - Captain Cordelia Naismith has become an outcast in her own world. Sick of combat and betrayal, she prepares to settle down to a quiet life on Barrayar. At least, that was the plan...Amazon.com Review
Cordelia Naismith was resourceful and courageous, but what is Lady Vorkosigan like? When her life is shattered by a soltoxin grenade, the unfortunate Barrayarans who target her husband and hit her child find out. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (36)

Worked for me on several levels
Cordelia Naismith has traded her life as a Betan transport captain for that of a ruling class nobleman's wife on Barrayar. She did it for love of Lord Aral Vorkosigan, not because she wanted anything to do with Barrayar, and at times all she can think is, "I want to go home!" Home, where women aren't at best second-class citizens and at worst mere chattels. Home, where there's top-notch medical care and where sexual mores aren't used to keep women in what Barrayar regards as their place. Home, where Cordelia understands the rules and doesn't wind up shaking her head at points of "honor" for which the men of Barrayar (and their women, if necessary) die without questioning the necessity.

Aral Vorkosigan's "dear Captain" has been learning her new home's rules for only a few months when their lives change in a way he can avoid only by refusing to live up to his duty, a duty that even outsider Cordelia understands and accepts. The old emperor's death leaves a 4-year-old, the emperor's grandson, on Barrayar's throne; and Lord Aral, the little boy's cousin, is called upon to serve as regent. Five-months-pregnant Cordelia is still trying to figure out the additional new role this casts for her, that of the regent's consort, when an assassination attempt against her husband catches her in the same cloud of poison gas. Only removing her unborn baby to a uterine replicator, an imported medical device that the Barrayaran doctors distrust as unnatural (although it's so familiar on Beta that Cordelia herself grew to term in one), can keep the child alive. Even then, he will certainly be born with medical problems that make Barrayar in general and his grandfather in particular regard him as a "mutant" who ought not to be born at all. Cordelia's values do not match those of Barrayar, though, and in this conflict she is not about to subordinate her own beliefs to those of her husband's world. This is her child, and she is going to protect him no matter what! But while she's still recovering from the transfer (which is brutal for her, with a surgeon untrained in the procedure conducting it), the most dissatisfied of the Vor lords stages a coup and forces Aral Vorkosigan and his family to run for their lives. Along with the small boy who is emperor, and an intriguing cast of supporting characters.

This is classic sociological science fiction in its depiction of an outsider trying to negotiate an alien-to-her culture, and in its contrasting of Beta vs. Barrayar. It's also a mature romance - refreshingly so - in the still new relationship of Aral and Cordelia, and a rousing action/adventure tale. Best of all, it's a character driven story set in a well developed future universe. Excellent prequel to the author's Miles Vorkosigan series.

--Reviewed by Nina M. Osier, author of 2005 EPPIE winner "Regs" and the "High Places" series

Good not Great
Not Boring.Enjoyed this book for a change of pace but didn't leave me with anything to take away/

If you don't like this, you must have been hit with a nerve disruptor...
Barrayar is the second part of what was once called 'Cordelia's Honor' which contains what is now the two books Shards of Honor, and Barrayar.Shards of Honor has a rather simple plot, but is otherwise excellent.Barrayar is simply excellent.

Bujold in this exciting book brings together outstanding characters, in a complex plot showcasing morals, ethics, politics, gender issues, and the futilities of modern warfare in such a splendid way that you would never realize the weight of the material you are reading.Rather than a social commentary on the various ways we live today (which is what this book really is about) you find yourself enthralled in a wonderful story pitting two strong characters with the courage and the wits about them to navigate the strange twist of events life throws their way.Like other great marriages I have known, they find themselves testing their love for each other, and their love for their unborn child in sometimes heroic ways.Two people showcasing the best of humanity in two very different ways.Breathtakingly beautiful book.

I will not spoil this for you by showing you the plot.

Suffice it to say this is an absolute must read.

Barrayar
The sequel to Cordelia's Honor and second in the Vorkosigan saga has Cordelia, Aral and the others fighting against a trader whose mad grab for power seems to be working.Cordelia has to keep her unborn baby safe while saving the planet.

This Hugo award winning novel lives up to its reputation mixing great story telling with unforgettable characters.

Not Free SF Reader
Countering coup.


Aral and Cordelia are married, and when the current bloke in charge carks it, he gets left in charge.All is not well however, as political opposition stages a coup, with leads to their damaged in the womb by poison attack son's environment being taken away, and the pair forced to go on the run and see what they can work out to set things write.

As the regent's wife, the more liberal Cordelia will have a changing effect on the Prince's upbringing compared to the status quo.


... Read more

Product Description
A collection of original military science-fiction stories written by women ranges from the horrors of contemporary Bosnia, to high-tech peacekeepers in the distant future, to female mercenaries seeking war. Reprint. LJ. " ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

A great, reasonable and enlightening anthology
I read this book a good two years ago, but I loved this book and feel I have to respond to the other person's review.

I don't know if the other reviewer doesn't like the concept of women in combat, is misogynistic, orjust doesn't know women and the world very well. Or maybe s/he doesn't readmuch sf or much else either.

That s/he would call Margaret Ball's"Notes During a Time of Civil War" one of the worst when itstruck me like Atwood's _Handmaid's Tale:_Both are like a hard blow tothe solar plexus. Perhaps many men and some women don't get that fear."Flambeaux" is a beautiful, tragic, lovely story about the tiesthat unite and destroy us. It's also the best story about women combatantsin this anthology. I used it in a lesson plan to teach about war fought byoutsiders.

This in my opinion is an excellent anthology of war fiction.Please read it: you'll be glad you did.

A reasonable but not great collection
What we have here is an interesting but erraticcollection of short stories that range from very good to very bad.All are by woman authors.Sometimes it is the author who is at war instead of the characters.Someat least realize that going to war can get anyone killed.Since thestories are separate, they should be reviewed separately.

Best: Traitor -a witty modified mystery that keeps the reader smiling while thinking andwondering. 2nd Best: A Few Good Men - good character building on a humorouspremise. 3rd Best: Lizard - a spirited adventure with a balanced view offemales. ... 3rd Worst: Fugitives - glorifies rottenness; if a man actedlike that he would be a villian.I guess the point is that a woman can berotten. 2nd Worst: Notes During a Time of Civil War - starts with a seriousanalogy then flies off on an irrelevant tangent. Worst: Flambeaux -Simultaneously horrific and nonsensical; horrendous. ... Read more

Product Description

Acclaimed science fiction and fantasy writer Lois McMaster Bujold—five-time winner of the Hugo Award—brings us the third installment in her New York Times bestselling romantic fantasy

Customer Reviews (37)

The Sharing Knife Series
I started reading this series at the library and quickly bought the full set for myself.Very believeable magic, great characters.I write fantasy and will keep reading Bujold's work.

A vivid fantasy of friendship and bonds
Fawn and her soldier-sorcerer friend have found love in each other and in their joint survival - but face new challenges as they leave families to find new solutions to the split between their very different peoples. Their journeys bring them in touch with others also on different road seeking peace - and introduce new dangers along the way in this vivid fantasy of friendship and bonds, recommended for any fantasy library and especially those with prior Bujold fans.

Keeps Getting Better
If you have not read the first two books in the series, please go read them before you read this book.This is the third book in Ms. Bujold's Sharing Knife series and smoothly continues the storyline established in the first two books.It also sheds more light on the bigotry of Lake-walkers and farmers have towards each other.However, it also starts to show the healing of that rift/distrust between the two worlds.Passage has a Mark Twain like feel to it and it also introduces you to some new characters and re-introduced you to Fawn's (Spark) brother Whit.I love Berry, a new female character to the series.She is a very smart and strong person, just like Mari, Dag's aunt was in the previous book; but unlike Dag's aunt she is shown in a more feminine and maternal light.I would say most if not all men, not just the main male characters, have a deep and sincere respect for her.Also I love the fleshing out of Whit's, Dawn's brother, character. In the first book, Beguilement, he comes off as a shiftless trouble maker and practical joker and did not endear himself to me.However, in Passage we discover he is a hardworking, ambitious, and very adventurous person and savvy businessman (this will come out more later in the last book).In Beguilement he is one of Fawn's tormenting brothers, so you do not think he would have a lot of respect for women who were not his elders.However, he has total respect for Berry as boat boss and has no problem listening and learning from her.The addition of other Lake-walker patrollers to the cast of characters also show/establish the foundation of Dag and Fawn's effort to unite their worlds against the malice foe.Although like the second book all the excitement is at the end of the book, the continuation of the story is very smooth, seamless, and enjoyable.As I said at the beginning of this review this book has a Mark Twain like quality to it and feels like the kind of adventure/journey Tom Sawyer and Huckleberry Finn would have had going down the Mississippi River, with the Grace/Gray Rivers appearing to be almost the same in measurement as the Mississippi.

Brilliant series
Bujold does it again - writing, that is, a superb exploration of a relationship growing, changing and overcoming obstacles in a believable alternative world.Very readable indeed - certainly up to the standard of the Chalion series, not to mention the Vor series.

Not just another romance
While it's possible to read The Sharing Knife series as a Romeo and Juliet romance (with additions), that sells the depth and complications of this complex tale short.

Consider the environment. This world virtually destroyed itself centuries ago, mostly out of sheer hubris, leaving a horrible mess for those lucky enough to survive. Now, a small group of humans with special abilities sacrifice themselves to protect the rest from total destruction. That they do so magically doesn't make their job any easier, or their lives more comfortable. Consider the way in which our current culture destroys the environment-not with magic, as such, but with exactly the same results for our heirs-depleted resources, poisoned air and water, unexpected disasters, and perpetual degradation of the biosphere. That doesn't mean one needs to read The Sharing Knife as lecture (or even metaphor), but it's there.

Consider the division between the cultures: Lakewalker and Farmer. Neither can survive without the other-but neither is sufficiently aware of this. Farmers don't really believe the Lakewalkers do anything important; they don't grow crops or manufacture and trade goods, and they don't use their healing abilities on Farmers, so there's real antagonism. Lakewalkers do their best to avoid clashing with Farmers, walking their rounds as silently and secretly as they can. Farmers think that malices are stories to frighten children, rather than world-destroying powers. That's just the background. It maps onto our world in an eerie way. Those of us lucky enough to live comfortable lives generally don't think about (or sacrifice to serve) those who need us, but in a world of absent gods, the Lakewalkers do. On the other hand, if they didn't, their world would quite literally come to an end, so their actions aren't merely altruistic. They are caught between a rock and a hard place, with very little assistance.

Assistance may indeed be the operative word here. When Dag and Fawn connect, they do a lot more than create an unexpected Farmer-Lakewalker romantic union: they bring the abilities and values of two decidedly separate worlds together, making each available to the other. And together they begin to create a new kind of life on their world. Separately, each group has struggled without changing anything very much. Together, spreading knowledge and learning to trust, they begin to change the world.

Of course, they do so through great (and wildly interesting) difficulties. Bujold doesn't write a dull or preachy book.

... Read more

Product Description
Lois McMaster Bujold has won the Hugo award four times, and the Nebula award twice. In this, her first epic fantasy, we join Cazaril -- a former soldier, and courtier who is about to embark on a perilous journey, rife with lethal treacheries, demonic magic, and scheming characters.Lord Cazaril has been in turn courier, courtier, castle-warder, and captain; now he is but a crippled ex-galley slave seeking nothing more than a menial job in the kitchens of the Dowager Provincara, the noble patroness of his youth. But Fortunes wheel continues to turn for Cazaril, and he finds himself promoted immediately to the exalted and dangerous position of secretary-tutor to the Iselle, the beautiful, fiery sister of the heir to Chalions throne.Amidst the decaying splendor and poisonous intrigue of Chalion's ancient capital, Cardegoss, Cazaril is forced to encounter both old enemies and surprising allies, as he seeks to lift the curse of misfortune that clings to the royal family of Chalion, and to all who come too close to them! ... Read more

Product Description
The point of conflict is clear and straightforward: the democratic Betans versus the ultra-militaristic Barrayarans.At least that's what biologist Cordelia Naismith, heroine of Shards of Honor, believes. But when she's stranded on an unexplored planet - at the mercy of Aral Vorkosigan, the very Barrayaran she's been taught to despise - she discovers that the truth has become crudely twisted.And when Vorkosigan, himself the victim of a politically inspired mutiny, tries to draw Cordelia into the struggle against his culture's fascistic military elite, she has to make a choice.A choice that will mean betrayal, no matter which side she's on.In THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE, Cordelia's son, Miles, depressed and angry after failing the physical entrance exams to military training school, decides to take a long vacation - and inadvertently falls into a deal well suited to his abilities and sense of adventure.He buys a starship, contracts to smuggle contraband into a war zone - and without quite meaning to, he finds himself a far-too-active participant in the war! ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Omnibus, no separate review needed
This is a combo of The Vor Game & Borders of Infinity, so go see those titles for good reviews. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (97)

It's Lonely At The Top
As other reviewers have noted, earlier works in this series dealt with Miles' difficulties fitting into the conservative Barrayaran society. But now Miles has triumphed -- he is an Imperial Auditor, with the Emperer's full support and considerable power. How will he adjust to that? This is what the author is dealing with in this book. Miles couldn't stay forever at the bottom of the pyramid -- he's just too competent for that. So now he has to deal with being at the top -- and Bujold has done a great job of showing us how he succeeds -- just barely -- at it. If you've read the other books and enjoyed them, you'll really enjoy this one -- angst gets boring after a while, doesn't it?

Another of the "life and times of Miles Vorkosigan" series
Title: Diplomatic Immunity
Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
The copy reviewed is the second printing (in the same month, year as the first printing) of May, 2002 by Simon & Schuster / A Baen Books Original.

This is another of Ms Bujolds "life and times of Miles Vorkosigan series". Miles and Ekaterin are just returning home from a belated honeymoon in time for the birth (via replicator) of their first two children, Aral Alexander and Helen Natalia when an Imperial courier catches up with their ship. The message from Emperor Gregor starts out "I'm sorry to interrupt you honeymoon, Miles" As one of Gregor's Imperial Auditors, Miles must get himself to Graf Station and sort out the situation "Without starting a war, if you please, or breaking my Imperial Budget". When Miles gets to Graf station, the Barrayaran propensity for reacting adversely to mutants has caused trouble between Barrayaran fleet personal and the Quaddies who run Graf Station ["one officer referred to them as horrible spider mutants ]. Because of this, the Komarran merchant fleet they were escorting has been impounded. Also, a mess of blood has been left on station docks which was identified as the blood of a security officer of the Barrayaran escort. Miles seems a little slow in getting started (he is a little distracted since Ekaterin has gone with him), but after he meets his old friend Bel things start picking up. Although Ekaterin is more interested in the station itself (from Ekaterin: "An Auditor's wife, however, is not an assistant Auditor."), she even gets involved by giving Miles some help with repeated conversations of pertinent matters. The romantical asides come a little more often in this book than they generally have in the past - after all Miles is still on his honeymoon even if it has been delayed a year - but it seems as natural as it has been in the past books for Admiral Naismith.

As usual, Ms Bujold develops her other characters so that one just naturally accepts them as real people in the story. She doesn't neglect adding to the new Miles since his marriage. Not that he has changed all that much, but he does sometimes seem a little less intense and one isn't likely to say something like, as in an earlier story, "My God, you mean he's like this all the time". Instead you now sometimes find him looking at images in a vid plate of sperm wriggling in the grip of the medical micro-tractor and being interrupted by his wife with a "Miles, are you looking at those baby pictures again ".

Of course, as in any good novel of this sort, the good guys win in the end but it is a lot of fun getting there.

Not a typical Bujold novel
I've been a major fan of Lois McMaster Bujold for quite some time, and I was mildly horrified by Diplomatic Immunity - characters that typically would have been rich, complex, and interesting came through as extremely two dimensional. In fact, the main reason I checked this amazon page is that I figured that it may have, somehow, been written by someone else.

When I first read the Warrior's Apprentince I was captivated by many things, among them were the complexity of the cultures the author creates, the occasionally fallible nature of the hero, and the 3 dimensional, very lifelike antagonists; all of these qualities were somehow missing in this book.

I still hold out hope that I, somehow, received a counterfit copy. Overall it was OK, but it was not what I was expecting.

Diplomatic Immunity
I recommend this audio book highly - I like the voice of the reader, especially how he personalizes the diffenent characters.I am a great fan of all the vorkosigan adventures by Lois McMaster Bujold!

Back With A Vengence
Bujold is back in form with this book.This character has always been great, and Vorkosigan series is one of the better on the market, but the last few books lost some of the shine that Bujold's storytelling normally has.Finally Bujold has hit another winner.

This is book is back to solo Miles, without the distractions of other characters splitting the primary plot-line.Miles is, as always, a top notch character.Interesting to watch, flawed enough to believe, you can't help but root for him.The addition of Katerina is welcomed, and she manages to bolster the story without pulling it from Miles, which is always the interesting point.It is also nice to see some supporting cast from previous books back.

The story itself is a solid mystery worthy of the early Vorkosigan mysteries.While Miles does have authority this time, he still feels like the underdog and coming from behind, which has always worked for this series.

This is a quality book, and a must get for fans of the series. ... Read more