Lois McMaster Bujold

Cordelia Naismith had married a simple retired soldier. Now pregnant with their first child, she expected a peaceful country life with Aral Vorkosigan and their children. Instead, dying Emperor Ezar Vorbarra appointed Aral to rule Barrayar until Prince Gregor, four-year-old heir to the throne, could come of age. Just months after Aral was sworn in, an attempt was made to kill him. Who would most benefit from killing the new Regent? Cetaganda? Komarr? A disgruntled Vor lord? Who will control Barrayar?

Barrayar

Katy Watkins

“It seemed… necessary, to bring Vordarian’s head along. […] I don't think I consciously realized why I was hanging on to it till I walked into this room. If I'd staggered in here empty-handed and told all those men I'd killed Vordarian, and undeclared their little war, who'd have believed me? Besides you.”

"But pain... seems to me an insufficient reason not to embrace life. Being dead is quite painless. Pain, like time, is going to come on regardless. Question is, what glorious moments can you win from life in addition to the pain?"

Oh hot damn, the first one was fine, but now I am 

 interested to see where this series goes from here. Also, another book where it ends nicely and doesn’t leave you hanging, I wish everyone would do this, it’s so nice to have a sense of closure but still have more to read.

Oh hot damn, the first one was fine, but now I am very interested to see where this series goes from here. Also, another book where it ends nicely and doesn’t leave you hanging, I wish everyone would do this, it’s so nice to have a sense of closure but still have more to read.

Vicky  Nuñez 

This series just keeps getting better and better.
Can't wait to read about Miles.

Gavin

Is it automatically 4 stars if you stay up til 3am to finish it? Maybe not.

Ryan LaFerney

“I was a casualty in Vordarian’s Pretendership before I was born!” - Miles Vorkosigan, Vor Game.

Barrayar, the second book of the Vorkosigan Saga (although the seventh book written in the series), begins almost immediately following the events of Shards of Honor. With Barrayar, Lois McMaster Bujold became the first writer since Orson Scott Card to win the Best Novel Hugo two years running. Though a handful of novels in the Vorkosigan saga separate them in their publication order, Barrayar (as noted) is the direct sequel to Shards of Honor and depicts the birth of Miles against a backdrop of insurrection and civil war.

What's it all about? At the heart of this family drama, this book chronicles the birth of Miles Vorkosigan, the character who this saga will eventually revolve around. So in essence, this is a fast-pace science fiction space opera about motherhood. At the start of the novel, Miles' mother Cordelia Vorkosigan (née Naismith) has given up almost everything of her former life on Beta Colony to be with Aral Vorkosigan. She finds herself on Barrayar, Aral's home planet. She's finding life on Barrayar somewhat hard to adjust to, however; its class and gender stratification, its emphasis on familial lineage and military might, and its lack of technological progress, all make the entire planet seem somewhat backwards to Cordelia's liberal way of thinking (whom I strongly identify with). To make matters worse, Aral, her husband, has been unwillingly thrust into a position of vast political power: regent to the four-year-old emperor. Learning to navigate the currents of Barrayaran politics is challenging enough, but the planet is full of people who will not hesitate to use Cordelia -- and her unborn son, Miles -- as pawns in their plays for power.

Things heat up when a couple of attempts on Vorkosigan's life are made, one of which, a poison gas attack, comes dangerously close to succeeding. Cordelia, heavily pregnant with Vorkosigan's first heir, is caught in the attack, and the antitoxin used to save her life effectively dooms her unborn son. But she refuses to abort the child, having it instead transferred to a Betan-designed "uterine replicator" for gestation. This causes added friction between herself and her father-in-law, for in Barrayar's culture, cripples — which is the best the baby could hope to be even if it survives — are held in shame and disdain. What's worse, Vordarian, a member of the Vor class, looks like he might have sufficient support to make an overt bid for the throne through a coup.

In the end, Vordarian is killed (in the most amazing way), the coup is trampled, and our hero Miles is born, fragile and deformed. Five years later, although he has very brittle bones, he is depicted as very active, rambunctious and intelligent.

The world building is excellent. Imagine a mix of feudal Russia meets elements of Coruscant, Naboo, & Canto Bight from the Star Wars universe and you have Barrayar. But, you read Lois McMaster Bujold for the well developed characters. Cordelia reminds an amazing character. She is smart, practical, has a wicked sense of humor, and is made of stronger stuff than most heroines. Plus she also has flaws. When you read a Bujold novel, you feel like you're reading about real people and that's always enjoyable. 

Highly enjoyable sci-fi space opera from the point of view of a fiercely intelligent woman, this novel is highly recommended. Bujold is master of writing intriguing space opera and well-developed characters. I can't wait to read The Vor Game next!

Martina Méndez Fernández

TL Wright

Hunter Loftis

Tim Pennington-Russell

Scordatura

Janice Hopper

Laura

Danny Engström

James Paden

Brent Nef

Steven O'Toole

Amy Troschinetz

THIRD ENTRY IN A BELOVED SERIES. The Vorkosigan Saga spans over a dozen novels and has won multiple awards and sold 1.8 million copies. Sick of combat and betrayal, Cordelia Vorkosigan is ready to settle down to a quiet life. But when the Emperor dies, her husband Aral becomes guardian of the infant heir to the imperial throne of Barrayar and the target of high-tech assassins in a dynastic civil war. But neither Aral nor Cordelia can guess the part that their cell-damaged unborn will play in Barrayar's bloody legacy. Winner of the Hugo Award. About Lois McMaster Bujold: “. . . all the virtues we have come to expect from Bujold, including more and more prose that sings.”—The Chicago Sun Times “Bujold continues to prove what marvels genius can create out of basic space operatics.”—Library Journal “Bujold is not just a master of plot, she is a master of emotion.”—SF Site “Bujold is one of the best writers of SF adventure to come along in years.”—Locus Magazine The Vorkosigan Series in Story-based Chronological Order Falling Free Shards of Honor Barrayar The Warrior's Apprentice The Vor Game Cetaganda Ethan of Athos Borders of Infinity Brothers in Arms Mirror Dance Memory Komarr A Civil Campaign Diplomatic Immunity Captain Vorpatril's Alliance CryoBurn Omnibus Editions MILES, MYSTERY & MAYHEM contains Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos YOUNG MILES contains The Warrior's Apprentice + stories CORDELIA’S HONOR contains Shards of Honor, Barayarr MILES, MUTANTS & MICROBES contains Falling Free, Diplomatic Immunity MILES IN LOVE contains Komarr, A Civil Campaign MILES ERRANT contains Brothers in Arms, Mirror Dance

Barrayar

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