The
Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold is one that every die-hard science
fiction fan should read. It contains a fascinating hero, Miles Vorkosigan, who
reminds me a bit of Tyrion Lannister from Game of Thrones. This piqued my
curiosity enough to look up which one came first. For the record, Miles came
first as The Warrior’s Apprentice was published in 1986 and Game of
Thrones was published in 1996. Not that I think George R.R. Martin stole
from Bujold. The two characters and situations are unique enough from each
other that they are just two fine examples of great character building. Due to
an incident during pregnancy, Miles was born with brittle bones and his growth
was forever stunted. His body is weak and fragile, but there is nothing wrong
with his mind. He was determined to join the Barayaran military and prove
himself. Physical realities thwart him from time to time. He gets discouraged,
but he doesn’t give up.
The
world-building by Bujold should be an example for everyone who wants to write
speculative fiction. Barrayar, the world that Miles is from, is a planet that
was isolated from the rest of human civilization for 1000 years due to a
collapsed wormhole. As we join the story, Barrayar has been reunited with
humanity for the past hundred years or so. They have climbed out of their own
dark age and now avail themselves with the technology that others have. It was
not an easy reunion. The first thing that happened was that they were invaded
and nearly conquered by another human empire. They paid the invaders back in
their own coin. The memory of that war colors everything that the Barrayarans
do. You might say that Barrayar’s history parallels Miles’. Both were damaged
but never gave up, were never defeated.
I
say that Miles is not defeated, but of course he has lots of problems. As
brilliant as his mind is when it comes to military strategy and tactics, he
does not do so well with interpersonal relations. For one thing, he tends to
have problems with those in command over him. He also has problems in love. He
is very conscious of his physical shortcomings and that tends to sap his
confidence around women.
Another
favorite character from the series is Miles’ cousin Ivan. Ivan is not in every
book (neither is Miles), but when Ivan makes an appearance, he is like finding
a special prize baked into the dessert. Ivan is tall, good-looking, personable,
and he doesn’t have half the ambition nor the intellect of his cousin Miles (he
knows it too and is happy that way). Ivan makes for good comic relief. Whenever
Ivan appears in a book, at some point someone will inevitably deliver the line,
“Ivan, you idiot!” But Ivan may not be as big a fool as he appears. Due to
family connections, Ivan is something like third in line for the crown of
Emperor of Barrayar. Ivan is content for people to not take him seriously, so
he avoids political machinations. Political machinations tend to get rather
messy on Barrayar.
There
are so many memorable characters in the series that they would be hard to innumerate.
In fact, there are very few characters that are not memorable. Miles father and
mother meet in the first book, Shards of Honor. His mother, Cordelia, is
the protagonist of that story. Miles parents are formidable people in their own
right. It’s not just me who think this series is great. Several of the books
have won the Hugo awards for best science fiction novel.
1991-
The Vor Game
1992-
Barrayar
1995-
Mirror Dance
Also,
in 1988 Bujold’s novel Falling Free won the Nebula award for best
science fiction novel. Falling Free is not a Vorkosigan book, but it is
set in the same universe, and it does have an impact in some of the later books
in the series.
I
started reading this series with Mirror Dance which is like the sixth book in the chronology
of the series. It did me no harm to start there, but I don’t recommend it as a
starting point. I recommend people start with The Warrior’s Apprentice
which is the first book to feature Miles as a main character. Or you could
start at the very beginning with Shards of Honor. If you are like me, you will soon become obsessed with reading every novel, novella, and short story associated with the series. And it is not just the
Vorkosigan series; Bujold is superb at everything she tries her hand at. It’s
all good.
(My science
fiction novel Star Liner, is now available in paperback or as an e-book
through Amazon and other online sources).
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