A Reader's Guide to Lois McMaster Bujold
Baen Books, who have always been ahead of the game when it comes to ebooks, have made the entire Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold available for free downloads in a variety of formats: up to and including the recent release Cryoburn, and the excellent The Vorkosigan Companion, a collection of essays, interviews and speeches both by and about Lois McMaster Bujold.
This is an extraordinary gift to Bujold's fans as well as to new readers. Baen have long had a tradition of supporting current releases with free backlist, but it's still rare for a bestselling author of Bujold's name recognition to go the "Doctorow" method of releasing a current release as a free ebook.
Why are we being so generous? Simple: we think the more people who read Ms. Bujold's works the more people will buy them. Say, one set of hardcovers for yourself, a set of paperbacks to lend out, possibly even the next ebook when it comes out.
Yep. I don't know that it would work for everyone, but I can see it working in this case. Bujold is just that good. I recommend her to people a lot – when I think "space opera" she's the first name that leaps into my head. I've recently had a few friends suggest they are ready to make the Bujold plunge, and I happen to know that Alisa started in exactly the wrong place even though I was previously convinced that there was no wrong place to start in the Vorkosiverse, so here is a quick rundown on How to Read (Vorkosiverse) Lois McMaster Bujold:
Books which don't have any Vorkosigans or Naismiths in them and are probably best read for completionism rather than as an introduction to the series:
Ethan of Athos (1986) – a book with much to say about gender & masculinity, based around an all-male planet, with guest appearance by awesome Vorkosigan sidekick & space adventurer Elli Quinn.
Falling Free (1988) – Bujold's first written novel, exploring the history of the quaddies, a four armed race genetically engineered to be, well, zero gravity engineers.
Books starring the incredibly awesome Cordelia Naismith:
Shards of Honor (1986) – probably one of the best places to start the journey – a fantastic story of interplanetary culture clash, the casual brutality of war, and how the worst result of violence isn't necessarily death. It also features one of the best and most iconic science fictional romances of all time.
Barrayar (1991) – a direct sequel to Shards, this sets up the origins of Miles Vorkosigan and also deals with the political ramifications of marrying someone from another planet – plus more romance, and some amazing female characters. Also one of the best uses of a severed head in fiction. I don't imagine this one would make much sense at all as an introduction to the series – best taken straight after Shards of Honor!
The One and Only Miles Naismith Vorkosigan
The Warrior's Apprentice (1986) – this is the first introduction to the Real Miles (at the tender age of 17), and while this book is a touch clunky in places it already has many of the elements that are most appealing about the series, and sets the tone for batshit crazy space adventures and impossible romance. Certainly a good place on starting, if you insist on skipping Cordelia. Miles is a teenager in this one.
The Vor Game (1990) – A direct follow on from The Warrior's Apprentice, this one presents Miles directly after his graduation, and while a fun romp with some excellent characters, it has quite a self-contained feel to it. Not one of my favourites, and I don't think it makes a lot of sense if you haven't read The Warrior's Apprentice.
Cetaganda (1995) – another very self contained adventure, this one interesting for some of what it has to say about gender and society, and excellent for its many scenes involving Ivan, but otherwise again, lacking in epic awesomeness compared to what would come after.
Borders of Infinity (1989) – this is actually several short stories linked by a framing narrative, but despite that rather dodgy format I love it dearly, and to some extent I think it serves as a much better introduction to the character of Miles and the various issues he has had to overcome than some of the books that come (chronologically) before it. The stories are all gripping and heart-wrenching and feature, as do all the books, some astounding female characters.
Brothers in Arms (1989) – this one is the game-changer, the one that takes a fun and frenetic series of space adventures and errant noblemen and makes it Supremely Awesome. Because this is the one that introduces Mark, and nothing is ever going to be the same again. The way that this character is brought in, and the way that Miles and his family deal with the situation, is utterly marvellous, though it doesn't get super super supremely awesome until…
Mirror Dance (1994) – This is a fantastic book about identity, and the rehabilitation of villains, and family, and it also shows Miles and his eternal strength off to great effect. I also think it would be a good mid-season introduction to the series because of the use of the POV of someone who is attempting to impersonate Miles, and learns about him and his world through that gimmick.
Memory (1996) – Possibly the best Bujold novel ever, certainly one of my absolute favourite science fiction novels of all time. The thematic use of memory is incredibly powerful, and the only reason I don't recommend this one to start with is because it is so much more emotionally resonant if you already have formed relationships with many of the characters.
Komarr (1998) – Another game changing book which allows Miles to yet again switch gears and reinvent himself. It's also the beginning of the Real Romance as opposed to all those other romances – Miles being Miles, he manages to fall for yet another entirely unavailable woman, and solve murders at the same time. The most excellent part about this is that for the first time since Cordelia, we get a female POV character, and one whom I love dearly.
A Civil Campaign (1999) – I must accept that this probably isn't the BEST Miles book to start with, because it is a) incredibly late in the series and rather spoilerific for every development in his life so far and b) stylistically very different to all the others, being a comedy of manners. However, it's the first Vorkosiverse book that *I* ever read, and it is one of Bujold's most polished works, and it was so excellent and funny and enticing that I did in fact go back to read the entire back catalogue. So if you're not sure if military SF is for you but you fancy a bit of romance, comedy and match-making to lure you into the world of Miles Vorkosigan, you can most definitely start here. Even if you probably shouldn't.
"Winterfair Gifts" (2008) – this is a rather splendid if fluffy little novella which fills in the blanks around THE WEDDING and gives us a romantic interlude between the still-too-bland-for-me-to-care-about Armsman Roic and, far more importantly, the completely fabulous Sergeant Taura. Only makes sense in context.
Diplomatic Immunity (2002) – It disappoints me that I do not love this book. It was the first new release after I fell in love with Miles and his crazy family, and it has lots of Ekaterin in it, and it harks back to several great characters whom I love, but… I think after the batshit weirdness of A Civil Campaign it was just hard to go back to a space adventure. And I love the books set on Barrayar best. And ultimately this just isn't one of the great ones, much though I wanted it to be.
Cryoburn (2010) – an awesome planetary police procedural, and perfectly fine as a standalone book, though I spent most of it wishing we were back on Barrayar and wanting to see glimpses of Ekaterin, Cordelia, Ivan, Aral, etc. The final "chapter" which does give us glimpses was stunningly effective, but left me crying out for MORE MORE MORE. I wouldn't start here. It will give you nowhere to go! Leave this one until last, and it will punch you far more effectively in the teeth.
Some Notes on Reading Bujold:
Yes, she did write the Vorkosigan novels all in the wrong order, like it was a classic naval epic series, though she pretty much quit doing that after a while because she realised that chronology is your friend when it comes to creating narrative punch and surprises. For the most part I tend to feel that the books written later but inserted earlier (such as Cetaganda or The Vor Game) are the weaker volumes, though it still surprises me that Barrayar was one of these because it ties things together so beautifully and just FEELS like the immediate other half to Shards of Honor.
These days many of the books are available as omnibuses (omnibodes?) – while this is convenient for getting hold of previously often-out-of-print books, I'm not completely a fan, largely because the stories from Borders of Infinity are split up and inserted in chronological order, and lose their framing narrative, which I was rather fond of. On the other hand, I understand the urge to read all of Miles in "proper" chronological order. Also in the case of "Winterfair Gifts" which was published as part of a romantic SF anthology featuring other authors, the last of the omnibuses might be the easiest way to get hold of that story. It has to be said that they did assemble the omnibuses very well – they all start with books that I think are good introductions to the series, apart from Microbes, which makes very little sense apart from "these are the bits we couldn't fit in anywhere else".
The omnibuses are:
Cordelia's Honor (Shards of Honor, Barrayar)
Young Miles (The Warrior's Apprentice, "The Mountains of Mourning", and The Vor Game)
Miles, Mystery and Mayhem (Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, and "Labyrinth")
Miles Errant ("Borders of Infinity," Brothers in Arms, and Mirror Dance)
Miles, Mutants and Microbes (Falling Free, "Labyrinth" and Diplomatic Immunity)
Miles in Love (Komarr, A Civil Campaign and "Winterfair Gifts")
The Best Ones to Start With (according to Tansy)
Shards of Honor
The Warrior's Apprentice
Borders of Infinity
Mirror Dance
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
