Great video in praise of a truly excellent series, one of the best in modern science fiction. Lois McMaster Bujold just about pulled off the impossible-- she created a brilliant character and maintained peak quality for nearly 30 years. I have a hard time imagining any reader of science fiction failing to love this series. As to the preferred reading order, I have a decided preference for the chronological approach, at least where events carry over from one book to the next. One of the several brilliances of this series is the way the central character is allowed to evolve. We experience most of Miles's life, which occurs in several distinct phases. This is how I think of them, and why I recommend reading them in this order. Phase One is expounded in (1) Shards of Honor and (2) Barrayar. This lays the groundwork for the culture and many of the personalities that are going to shape Miles. I think it's important to understand Barrayar in order to appreciate the hard road ahead of the five year old we meet at the end of Barrayar, where he is already tackling his first impossible challenges. Phase Two is comprised of (3) The Warrior's Apprentice, (4) "The Mountains of Mourning", (5) The Vor Game, and (6) Cetaganda. This sequence shows the fundamental bend in the arc of Miles's life, as he starts out to follow in his father's footsteps as a soldier and comes to realize that such a path would be unrealistic and, more importantly, a waste of his true talents. "The Mountains of Mourning" is one of the most beautiful pieces of prose in all of science fiction and marks a crucial pivot point in which Miles discovers his highest allegiance, higher even than his oath to his emperor. You really can't fully grasp the character in any of the succeeding books until you've read "The Mountains of Mourning". The Vor Game and Cetaganda allow him to begin to function fully as his own man and to begin to make his very unique mark on his society. Phase Three is a transitional phase that takes place during the height of Miles's "Admiral Naismith" persona with the Dendarii Mercenary Fleet. I would put (7) Ethan of Athos next. It's fairly stand-alone and fleshes out the character of Elli Quinn nicely. Next comes (8) "The Borders of Infinity" and (9) "Labyrinth", as they describe a crucial event in Mile's Admiral Naismith career and introduce a key character. Collectively, they allow the reader to take a breath before the changes that follow. Phase Four describes the slow wind-down of Miles's connection with the Dendarii and opens a dramatic new chapter in his life with the introduction of Mark's character. It encompasses (10) Brothers in Arms, (11) Mirror Dance, and (12) Memory. Phase Five marks Miles's transition from soldier to imperial investigator, which was a really clever move on Bujold's part. By this point in the series, the reader is very much in line with Miles, dreading the end of a chapter in his life that has generated so many great stories and worrying that it will all get tedious and boring once that chapter ends. Instead, she invests the character with a new level of power and authority that allows him to begin to function fully in his role on Barryar itself and operate in the highest levels of Barrayaran society. It's nice when the scary and unknown future turns out to be fully as satisfying as the comfortable past. Bujold portrays it masterfully. Phase Six is the phase when Miles comes fully into his own as a well rounded individual, not just a reckless adventurer. He finds the love of his life (in typically reckless and adventurous fashion) and adjusts to the responsibilities of being a nobleman with a family and a dynasty to perpetuate. We also come to see that his "settled down" phase will not be without intrigues and plots and the sort of adventures he has always excelled at. It's a long arc that is comprised of (13) Komarr (in which he meets Ekaterin), (14) A Civil Campaign (in which he disastrously courts her), (15) Winterfair Gifts (in which they prepare for the wedding), (16) Diplomatic Immunity (the craziest honeymoon ever), and (17) The Flowers of Vashnoi (in which Ekaterin begins to define her role as Lady Vorkosigan). Captain Vorpatril's Alliance stands on its own and is not Miles's story at all. Ivan gets his own adventure, out of Miles's shadow. For a book without much Miles in it, it's really excellent. Cryoburn, in my view, is the real conclusion to the saga. Another adventure as Miles's age and responsibilities start to weigh on him. Something of a last hurrah. This book has the most heart-wrenching ending of any of the books, very suitably so. So that leaves Falling Free, which takes place two centuries before Miles was born and is the interesting, but ultimately unnecessary origin story of the Quaddies. Maybe read it last. Or after Labyrinth, if you found Nicol's character particularly intriguing. As you very well might-- it was a very clever invention on Bujold's part. Then there's Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Sorry, but I just kind of pretend this book doesn't exist. It underperforms on almost every level. First of all, the "adventure" is mundane beyond belief and decidedly cringey-- the mystery of whether Miles's mother is involved in a sexual relationship, with a salacious look at his dead father's sexual orientation. That's about it. Bujold threw in a bit of intrigue with a corrupt corporation, but that only served to illustrate my next major disappointment-- Miles's kids. They got nothing at all from him. Despite all the earlier telegraphing of what holy terrors the four kids were, once they get off world they show no signs of any adventurous nature at all. Alex wants to be relieved of his title as Lord Vorkosigan so he can study to be an artist. When danger finally strikes, the children aren't even industrious enough to run for it-- they cower on the ground and let Gentleman Jole save them. It feels as though Miles's unique traits will die with him, and House Vorkosigan will sink into dull conformity, just one more aging piece of the aristocracy. Well, that's my take. Hope it's of interest to someone.
I happened across this video by chance, but I had been thinking about doing a reread of the series over the summer. I am definitely going to follow your order. Interestingly, I started with Falling Free as I read it in its original publication in Analog science fiction magazine back in 1987/88. I really liked Bujold's writing and was excited when she later published Mountains of Mourning in Analog, which got me hooked on Miles, and the rest as they say is history.
I have a very specific experience with Mirror Dance. I read it when I was a teenager and when certain climatic event happened I was apparently so distraught that I stopped reading the book and immediately forgot that I didn't finish it. I continued to read the series for the like next ten years and only discovered that peculiar trick of my memory when I decided to re-read the whole series in English (previously I read it in my native language) and was quite surprised that I had zero recollection about book plot after this certain moment. Bujold's work is just apparently that amazing that it managed to inflict a minor PTSD moment on a impressionable young me.
@@rider4440 A scene were two people consider ending things by jumping out a window should not be as hilarious as it is. Ivan "Marrying me cannot be a fate worse then death" Vorpatril.
I adore this series and so happy to see it talked about on BookTube. I agree with you that Memory is the best, hopefully it's one of the best books I've read. I will definitely be going back to view your other Vorkosigan videos
That was a good round-up. You may be amused to hear that I started by reading Falling Free in 1990-after which, I didn’t read any more of the series for a decade! Now I tend to prefer the later books: Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance. Though I also like Ethan of Athos… Furthermore, I very much like all of Bujold’s fantasy writing: The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, The Hallowed Hunt, and the Penric series. As a whole, I prefer them to the Vorkosigan saga, which is good in parts from my point of view. (I have to admit that I haven't read the Sharing Knife series: I suspect that it’s not my kind of thing, though I may be wrong.)
Some of the earlier works would actually get me stressed because of how many plates Miles kept in the air at all times. I just knew that they would eventually come crashing down...
This sounds like a pretty good order! There are a few books in the series that I haven’t read yet; Diplomatic Immunity, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Falling Free. Maybe I should reread the series in this order and include them in that read-through, this time around. :)
I’m one of the people who really likes _Falling Free,_ and it was the first Bujold I ever read, when it was originally published in _Analog_ magazine, but as it is so disconnected from the rest of the books in the series it can be put off from being your entry point. I would suggest reading it before “Labyrinth,” though.
Check out some fan fiction: Rediscovery by Scott Washburn Explorers from Komarr find alternate route to Barrayar. Political and military chaos break out with Miles' grandfather, Piotr, in the middle of it.
Great video in praise of a truly excellent series, one of the best in modern science fiction. Lois McMaster Bujold just about pulled off the impossible-- she created a brilliant character and maintained peak quality for nearly 30 years. I have a hard time imagining any reader of science fiction failing to love this series.
As to the preferred reading order, I have a decided preference for the chronological approach, at least where events carry over from one book to the next. One of the several brilliances of this series is the way the central character is allowed to evolve. We experience most of Miles's life, which occurs in several distinct phases. This is how I think of them, and why I recommend reading them in this order.
Phase One is expounded in (1) Shards of Honor and (2) Barrayar. This lays the groundwork for the culture and many of the personalities that are going to shape Miles. I think it's important to understand Barrayar in order to appreciate the hard road ahead of the five year old we meet at the end of Barrayar, where he is already tackling his first impossible challenges.
Phase Two is comprised of (3) The Warrior's Apprentice, (4) "The Mountains of Mourning", (5) The Vor Game, and (6) Cetaganda. This sequence shows the fundamental bend in the arc of Miles's life, as he starts out to follow in his father's footsteps as a soldier and comes to realize that such a path would be unrealistic and, more importantly, a waste of his true talents. "The Mountains of Mourning" is one of the most beautiful pieces of prose in all of science fiction and marks a crucial pivot point in which Miles discovers his highest allegiance, higher even than his oath to his emperor. You really can't fully grasp the character in any of the succeeding books until you've read "The Mountains of Mourning". The Vor Game and Cetaganda allow him to begin to function fully as his own man and to begin to make his very unique mark on his society.
Phase Three is a transitional phase that takes place during the height of Miles's "Admiral Naismith" persona with the Dendarii Mercenary Fleet. I would put (7) Ethan of Athos next. It's fairly stand-alone and fleshes out the character of Elli Quinn nicely. Next comes (8) "The Borders of Infinity" and (9) "Labyrinth", as they describe a crucial event in Mile's Admiral Naismith career and introduce a key character. Collectively, they allow the reader to take a breath before the changes that follow.
Phase Four describes the slow wind-down of Miles's connection with the Dendarii and opens a dramatic new chapter in his life with the introduction of Mark's character. It encompasses (10) Brothers in Arms, (11) Mirror Dance, and (12) Memory.
Phase Five marks Miles's transition from soldier to imperial investigator, which was a really clever move on Bujold's part. By this point in the series, the reader is very much in line with Miles, dreading the end of a chapter in his life that has generated so many great stories and worrying that it will all get tedious and boring once that chapter ends. Instead, she invests the character with a new level of power and authority that allows him to begin to function fully in his role on Barryar itself and operate in the highest levels of Barrayaran society. It's nice when the scary and unknown future turns out to be fully as satisfying as the comfortable past. Bujold portrays it masterfully.
Phase Six is the phase when Miles comes fully into his own as a well rounded individual, not just a reckless adventurer. He finds the love of his life (in typically reckless and adventurous fashion) and adjusts to the responsibilities of being a nobleman with a family and a dynasty to perpetuate. We also come to see that his "settled down" phase will not be without intrigues and plots and the sort of adventures he has always excelled at. It's a long arc that is comprised of (13) Komarr (in which he meets Ekaterin), (14) A Civil Campaign (in which he disastrously courts her), (15) Winterfair Gifts (in which they prepare for the wedding), (16) Diplomatic Immunity (the craziest honeymoon ever), and (17) The Flowers of Vashnoi (in which Ekaterin begins to define her role as Lady Vorkosigan).
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance stands on its own and is not Miles's story at all. Ivan gets his own adventure, out of Miles's shadow. For a book without much Miles in it, it's really excellent.
Cryoburn, in my view, is the real conclusion to the saga. Another adventure as Miles's age and responsibilities start to weigh on him. Something of a last hurrah. This book has the most heart-wrenching ending of any of the books, very suitably so.
So that leaves Falling Free, which takes place two centuries before Miles was born and is the interesting, but ultimately unnecessary origin story of the Quaddies. Maybe read it last. Or after Labyrinth, if you found Nicol's character particularly intriguing. As you very well might-- it was a very clever invention on Bujold's part.
Then there's Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Sorry, but I just kind of pretend this book doesn't exist. It underperforms on almost every level. First of all, the "adventure" is mundane beyond belief and decidedly cringey-- the mystery of whether Miles's mother is involved in a sexual relationship, with a salacious look at his dead father's sexual orientation. That's about it. Bujold threw in a bit of intrigue with a corrupt corporation, but that only served to illustrate my next major disappointment-- Miles's kids. They got nothing at all from him. Despite all the earlier telegraphing of what holy terrors the four kids were, once they get off world they show no signs of any adventurous nature at all. Alex wants to be relieved of his title as Lord Vorkosigan so he can study to be an artist. When danger finally strikes, the children aren't even industrious enough to run for it-- they cower on the ground and let Gentleman Jole save them. It feels as though Miles's unique traits will die with him, and House Vorkosigan will sink into dull conformity, just one more aging piece of the aristocracy.
Well, that's my take. Hope it's of interest to someone.
I happened across this video by chance, but I had been thinking about doing a reread of the series over the summer. I am definitely going to follow your order. Interestingly, I started with Falling Free as I read it in its original publication in Analog science fiction magazine back in 1987/88. I really liked Bujold's writing and was excited when she later published Mountains of Mourning in Analog, which got me hooked on Miles, and the rest as they say is history.
I have a very specific experience with Mirror Dance. I read it when I was a teenager and when certain climatic event happened I was apparently so distraught that I stopped reading the book and immediately forgot that I didn't finish it. I continued to read the series for the like next ten years and only discovered that peculiar trick of my memory when I decided to re-read the whole series in English (previously I read it in my native language) and was quite surprised that I had zero recollection about book plot after this certain moment. Bujold's work is just apparently that amazing that it managed to inflict a minor PTSD moment on a impressionable young me.
Captain Vorpatril's Alliance. Also known as "Let's throw Ivan a bone: The Novel".
I'm nearly done with it, it's an amazing book
I'm nearly done with it, it's an amazing book
@@rider4440 A scene were two people consider ending things by jumping out a window should not be as hilarious as it is.
Ivan "Marrying me cannot be a fate worse then death" Vorpatril.
@planguy9575 yeeeeeesssss. That was amazing! "Hands off Lady Vorpatril!"
🦩So much fun! You really bring the energy ⚡here. Your enthusiasm for the books is truly infectious! 🤒
I adore this series and so happy to see it talked about on BookTube. I agree with you that Memory is the best, hopefully it's one of the best books I've read.
I will definitely be going back to view your other Vorkosigan videos
Thank you for inspiring me to reread the series. Again.
This just popped up in ny recommended, I just finished Foundation by Asimov and I'm exploring the space opera genre. 😄
That was a good round-up. You may be amused to hear that I started by reading Falling Free in 1990-after which, I didn’t read any more of the series for a decade! Now I tend to prefer the later books: Komarr, A Civil Campaign, Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance. Though I also like Ethan of Athos…
Furthermore, I very much like all of Bujold’s fantasy writing: The Curse of Chalion, Paladin of Souls, The Hallowed Hunt, and the Penric series. As a whole, I prefer them to the Vorkosigan saga, which is good in parts from my point of view. (I have to admit that I haven't read the Sharing Knife series: I suspect that it’s not my kind of thing, though I may be wrong.)
I've been working my way thru the Five Gods books! Almost done with all of those. I do love Penric
@@ChloeFrizzle I must love Penric too, I’ve reread those stories more than any of the others.
Some of the earlier works would actually get me stressed because of how many plates Miles kept in the air at all times. I just knew that they would eventually come crashing down...
Thanks great video
This sounds like a pretty good order!
There are a few books in the series that I haven’t read yet; Diplomatic Immunity, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen, Falling Free. Maybe I should reread the series in this order and include them in that read-through, this time around. :)
First read:
Rediscovery by Scott Washburn
It is fan fiction that introduced Piotr, Miles' horrible grandfather.
I’m one of the people who really likes _Falling Free,_ and it was the first Bujold I ever read, when it was originally published in _Analog_ magazine, but as it is so disconnected from the rest of the books in the series it can be put off from being your entry point. I would suggest reading it before “Labyrinth,” though.
Check out some fan fiction:
Rediscovery by Scott Washburn
Explorers from Komarr find alternate route to Barrayar. Political and military chaos break out with Miles' grandfather, Piotr, in the middle of it.
I love this series, a Civil Campaign is my favorite book in it (huge Jane Austen fan too, so Civil Campaign is Jane Austen in outer space!).
It is amazing how well Barrayar fills in for Regency England.