Isdihara
Isdihara asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

Which one of your own novels (Fantasy or Science Fiction) would YOU recommend to someone as a starting point? I simply cannot seem to pick one book to get started...

Lois McMaster Bujold
Well, if I'm speaking to prospective readers one-on-one, I usually ask them a few questions about their reading preferences, and take them into account. Do they prefer fantasy or SF? Love or loathe romance tropes? Like mysteries? War stories? Coming-of-age tales, or older heroes? Prefer male or female protagonists? Want a long series or a stand-alone? Are they spoiler sensitive or don't care? Etc.

Long general answer is here:

https://www.goodreads.com/story/show/...

Short answer is Shards of Honor for the SF, The Curse of Chalion for fantasy, The Sharing Knife, Vol. 1: Beguilement for fantasy/romance, or The Spirit Ring for a stand-alone with a YA vibe. That cuts it down to 4; flip a coin twice if nothing jumps out at you. Some of these books have been around for a long time, and I hope will continue to be so. They'll wait for you to catch up. The only wrong choice would be not to read any.

Good luck!

Ta, L.

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