Bujold reading-order guide, 2025 update > Likes and Comments
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Good problems sneak in sometimes and here I see a lovely one, having a body of work so extensive it's hard to keep track of it all. I'm so thankful my mom started me on your books in the 90s and I have had so many years to learn from, enjoy, and share them all.
Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying scheme is that the Vorkosigan stories are all character studies -- where the world, with its changing technologies and social knock-on effects, is treated as another character.
Hm.
Ta, L.
Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying scheme is that t..."
I was rereading some of your books this past month because (gestures at the world) and realized that one of the things I love most about them is the lack of anti-heroes. The characters in your books are flawed, and they have sometimes done terrible things for bad reasons (I'm looking at you, young Aral), BUT no one ever mistakes the bad things for heroism. I can trust you to never try to sell me on Ezar as a hero, or Crane, or Methani -- in the hands of a different writer, any one of them could be the lead character in "gritty" novel about the political "realities" of a harsh world. Tronio's assassination scheme is not a clever solution for killing bad people. Bothari is a complicated character, seen differently by the other people around him who know him at different times in his life, but I would never expect to read a Bothari Unleashed set of revenge adventures.
Anyway, my point is that I feel like our culture is currently so drowning in anti-heroes and "morally gray" characters (as opposed to deeply flawed characters who still have a sense of morality) -- like a poison pushed down our throats -- that we've lost the ability to distinguish strength from force, honor from dishonor, and hero from anti-. The characters and stories in your books are a welcome antidote, and I have turned to them often over the past nine years. I think I've been say "Thank you" for thirty years, but once again thank you -- I'm really grateful to have all these books to turn to.
C.C. wrote: "Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying sch..."
Thank you for your thoughtful rereadings!
Ta, L.
C.C. wrote: "Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying sch..."
C.C. wrote: "Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying sch..."
Your analysis is impeccable. Lately, when I start watching a series, I feel tired and bored by the gritty worlds and characters; it seems as if they were all made from the same mold. But I couldn't put my finger on that discomfort as brilliantly as you have: the antihero vs. the flawed character. What a pleasure and how fortunate it is to be able to read reviews with this level of sensitivity and insight.
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Good problems sneak in sometimes and here I see a lovely one, having a body of work so extensive it's hard to keep track of it all. I'm so thankful my mom started me on your books in the 90s and I have had so many years to learn from, enjoy, and share them all.
Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying scheme is that the Vorkosigan stories are all character studies -- where the world, with its changing technologies and social knock-on effects, is treated as another character.Hm.
Ta, L.
Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying scheme is that t..."I was rereading some of your books this past month because (gestures at the world) and realized that one of the things I love most about them is the lack of anti-heroes. The characters in your books are flawed, and they have sometimes done terrible things for bad reasons (I'm looking at you, young Aral), BUT no one ever mistakes the bad things for heroism. I can trust you to never try to sell me on Ezar as a hero, or Crane, or Methani -- in the hands of a different writer, any one of them could be the lead character in "gritty" novel about the political "realities" of a harsh world. Tronio's assassination scheme is not a clever solution for killing bad people. Bothari is a complicated character, seen differently by the other people around him who know him at different times in his life, but I would never expect to read a Bothari Unleashed set of revenge adventures.
Anyway, my point is that I feel like our culture is currently so drowning in anti-heroes and "morally gray" characters (as opposed to deeply flawed characters who still have a sense of morality) -- like a poison pushed down our throats -- that we've lost the ability to distinguish strength from force, honor from dishonor, and hero from anti-. The characters and stories in your books are a welcome antidote, and I have turned to them often over the past nine years. I think I've been say "Thank you" for thirty years, but once again thank you -- I'm really grateful to have all these books to turn to.
C.C. wrote: "Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying sch..."Thank you for your thoughtful rereadings!
Ta, L.
C.C. wrote: "Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying sch..."C.C. wrote: "Lois wrote: "Musing on some recent reader reviews where the reader had an initially confused read because the book thwarted their rigid genre expectations, I realize that actually, the unifying sch..."
Your analysis is impeccable. Lately, when I start watching a series, I feel tired and bored by the gritty worlds and characters; it seems as if they were all made from the same mold. But I couldn't put my finger on that discomfort as brilliantly as you have: the antihero vs. the flawed character. What a pleasure and how fortunate it is to be able to read reviews with this level of sensitivity and insight.
I see a few more clauses of para-writing I could probably clip, in an effort to make it all less cluttered for new readers trying to find their way, but that can wait till my next e-publication, if there is one. Be it noted, a version of this guide appears in the back of every. single. one. of my indie-published e-books. I don't know why it seems so hard for folks to find, but I suppose the internet is very full.
Ta, L.