This is a collection of two novels which tell a single story, Shards Of Honor and Barrayar.
Shards Of Honor is Bujold's first book and, judged in that...moreThis is a collection of two novels which tell a single story, Shards Of Honor and Barrayar.
Shards Of Honor is Bujold's first book and, judged in that light, it's very, very good. Judged against the rest of the Vorkosigan series, however, it comes off less well. The ingredients are there, physical adventure and well-thought out characters bouncing off each other, but they don't jell the way they do even in Bujold's second book, The Warrior's Apprentice (in the Young Miles omnibus).
Cordelia Naismith is the captain of a scientific survey mission from Beta Colony, studying a planet discovered in a new node in the wormhole nexus (Bujold's wonderfully 1980s means of bypassing the speed of light). Very quickly, she finds her crew slaughtered and herself prisoner of a soldier from Barrayar, a militarist, feudal planet that was isolated from galactic civilization for hundreds of years, only rejoined in the past century or so. And not just any soldier, either. Admiral Aral Vorkosigan, the Butcher of Komarr. At first she fears him due to his reputation. But as they are thrown together, more or less alone (he's been betrayed by some of his soldiers, and the rest believe him dead), she comes to judge him as a good, even noble, man -- in spite of his own judgement that his reputation is at least somewhat deserved.
(An aside: The single most unbelievable aspect of the book, to me, is the notion that Cordelia views herself as unattractive. She is tall, red-headed, and her features are described at least once as "handsome" by another, I believe. Also, she's a scientist and a leader of men, strong in character. Clearly, this is some strange new definition of "unattractive" of which I was previously unaware.)
For some reason I've never been able to identify, I always enjoy Shards Of Honor a great deal while reading it, and then the enjoyment fades sharply after I finish it. So it's three, maybe four stars if I'm being generous.
Barrayar, on the other hand, needs no generosity. It kicks unholy ass. :)
Continuing Cordelia's story almost immediately after Shards (it picks up a day or two after the closing scenes of the earlier book), but written more than a half-dozen books (and two Hugos and two Nebulas) later, Bujold's firing on all cylinders in this one.
Aral and Cordelia are married, Cordelia's newly pregnant, and Aral is Regent of the Barrayaran Empire (for complicated reasons demonstrated in the earlier book). However, there are forces in Barrayaran society that do not appreciate the path events are taking, and they blame the Regent. Before the book is half over, a violent coup is in progress, and Cordelia and Aral are on the run again, this time separately -- Aral must plot a counterstrike, while Cordelia tries to keep the five year old Emperor hidden and alive.
It's brilliant, completely entertaining, exciting, and only gets better on rereading. Five stars. It's so good that I'm giving the whole omnibus five stars, rather than averaging the scores together.
(I was purposely vague, even refraining from spoiling things that would not have been considered spoilers to fans of the series when the book came out. I'm funny that way.)(less)
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