Alex Green asked Lois McMaster Bujold:

Hi Lois, I first picked up your books when my dad introduced me to the series with Warrior's Apprentice. Since then I've devoured everything you've written, in both sci-fi and fantasy. I find General Piotr's back story incredibly fascinating. Were there ever plans for a prequel involving his fight against the Cetagandans?

Lois McMaster Bujold That story has always been backstory. I never had plans to expand it, aside from the bit I added in Gentlemen Jole and the Red Queen during the conversation on the visit to the Prince Serg, which was more about history, and a comment on how our picture of the world changes and becomes less simple as we learn more about it, which was a running theme through that whole book. I have so far only seen one review which understood the full implications of that scene, though.

I've done a couple of in-series prequels with Miles. (Barrayar doesn't quite count because about the first third was written as part of the initial draft of Shards of Honor, then set aside for several years.) I find them rather constraining, as instead of just fitting into the series at one end, they have to fit at both ends, which restricts the development of the story-line and especially the growth of the characters. And then there's the question of why characters in later books written earlier never think about the events of the prequel, which restricts things even further.

This would be less of an issue with a deep backstory story, I suppose. But I am currently quite tired of war stories. And the bookstore shelves are crammed with them already. There is no shortage; I don't need to spend my limited time making more of the same. Books used to be able to be about something else, I'm pretty sure. I'd prefer to explore in that direction, or some path even less traveled.

Ta, L.

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