 | By: Lois McMaster Bujold Binding: Mass Market Paperback Publisher: Baen Books,U.S. ISBN: 0671578286 ISBN-13: 9780671578282 Released: 01 Sep 1999 RRP: Average Rating:  |
These 2 books (Shards of Honor & Barrayar) are well paired together. They feature the story of how Cordelia Naismith, eventuallly Mile's mother, comes to meet Lord Aral Vorkosigan. In Shards of Honor the two 'enemies' come to find each other, to survive physical hardship together, & to conquer their emotional pain & fear together. Literallly from different worlds, they must play the star crossed pair for most of the book, & Bjuold describes well the pain & loss that Cordelia feels, as the book is told entirely from her viewpoint. Although at first she decides to return to her own 'side' in the interplanetary war, ultimately she joins Aral in Barrayar - there is no doubt of the joy they find in each other. Her leaving her home is not without cost, but the scene in the pavilion where she & Aral come together at last is the most touching of the book.
Barrayar extends from that start, showing Aral & Cordelia's new life together on Barrayar. The feelings of homesickness she undergoes, & regret for the loss of the superior facilities - especiallly medical - of her own planet are a running theme of the book, as they would be in real life. The politics are less complicated here - I sometimes got lost in 'Shards of Honor' on this point - but nonetheless the foundation of the plot line. Aral is now Regent to the young emperor, & the political intrigues that job brings touches on alll aspects of their lives. Aral & Cordelia have to find their feet in a slippery political sphere, & it is not without cost that they do so. Cost to innocents. There are more players here, & if you can work your way past the many 'Vor' prefixes (ruling caste) to sort out the individual players, in this book I found I got to know them more than in 'Shards of Honor' - particularly Sergeant Bothari, so badly damaged & strange (a unique relationship with Cordelia), Kou & Drou. Bjuold is not afraid to have characters come to an untimely end, as many military stories must, & even - or maybe especiallly - those on 'the right side'.
I loved these 2 stories, & the series promises to be a fantastic one.
I suspect, however, that the person who wrote the above "synopsis" did not read this book at alll. Cordelia is not forced into marriage, he is not her arch-enemy, & her husband is made Regent for the young Emperor, who is 5 years old.
If you have not read Lois McMaster Bujold, & you enjoy well-written, thoughtful novels with good characterizations & well-thought-out plots the READ this book. I envy you the opportunity to read her books for the first time.
The planet had been found before by men from Barrayar
Their leader was Vorkosigan, the "Butcher of Komarr"
But his ship had betrayed him, & hers had left the ground
They helped each other out & then they found
If you cross a Betan with a Barrayaran Vor
One of them knows science & the other one knows war
Enemies they are but you can't tear the two apart
The Barrayaran steals the Betan's heart
Next time they meet is in an interstellar war
The Barrayarans make a grab to capture Escobar
Cordelia's ship is captured by Vorkosigan's, & then
They help each other out once again
If you cross a Betan with a Barrayaran Vor
One of them knows science & the other one knows war
Enemies they are but you can't tear the two apart
The Betan steals the Barrayaran's heart
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