Shards of Honour

This was interesting, with what felt like a unique take on the space opera genre (the slightly more mature main characters were a nice touch). While most of the prose was very good, with a nice turn of phrase, there was the occasional rushed scene that felt a little "boy's own", although not enough to detract from the overall story. In summary, very good and I am curious about the next in the series (and indeed, the wider series).

TAL

One of my favorites in the Vorkosigan Saga!

I've read this one before, and it's interesting the different perspectives you get when you read books at different stages of your life. Bujold is one of the best adventure writers, if you ask me, and Cordelia is one of her best characters. I really enjoy stories of competent couples, and Aral and Cordelia definitely qualify. I generally don't like too much romance in my sci-fi, but you know what? Neither do Aral and Cordelia. They've got a lot on their plates.

That said, there are definitely parts of this book that do not age well, in particular the treatment of SA. I feel like the subject is treated much too casually and while I see how she is trying to make Bothari into a complicated survivor of abuse himself, I think it puts the emphasis in the wrong place and it leaves a bad taste in my mouth. For 1986, it's extremely progressive, but it doesn't pass modern standards in this one area and as such, carries a sizable SA content warning.

Still, if you portion that out, it's a classic of the genre, features one of the best female heroes of the time period, and a is great start to an epic saga.

this was some trashy bogan tokkie shit

Such a pleasure.

I've been gradually reading Bujold's works in the wrong order, which eventually brings me to this one. Knowing that this was her first novel, I wasn't expecting too much, but in fact it makes a pretty good start to the Vorkosigan saga, and I read the whole thing in one afternoon, which I did routinely when I was younger but don't tend to do these days. It's a good story.

The one criticism that occurs to me at this point is that it features a case of mutual love-at-first-sight, which I suppose must happen to some people, but I still find it rather implausible. The non-mutual kind is easier to believe.

Although Aral and Cordelia make a good hero/heroine pair, with some weaknesses to make them more believable, this story makes neither of their home worlds (Barrayar and Beta Colony respectively) seem attractive. It wasn't written to encourage tourism.

A fun romp, although somewhat dated in a few minor ways.

Pros:
Middle-aged competent female protagonist. Moral and philosophical ambiguity. The great start to what I'm sure will be an above-average 20+ book space politics saga.

Cons:
I truly do not need any more rape or near-rape in my reading life, and this is a little (lol) dated.

The scenes that most struck me were those when Cordelia had returned home and was met with that slick, neo-liberal, ‘we know what's good for you,' non-consensual medical care. I think it'd resonate with anyone who's come up against a dominant power structure and felt confined by their presumptions.

Cartea asta ar fi scenariu perfect pt un blockbuster de Hollywood. Și nu spun asta ca un compliment.
Ea e slabă, dar puternică, noroc mare că o prinde el, militarul dur și aspru, dar sensibil. Apoi o prinde unul rău, care o leagă ca să o violeze și tortureze... dar scapă miraculos! O, vai! Iar în ușă, un minut mai târziu, coincidența dracului, militarul dur. Dar sensibil, firește.
50 shades of grey sub o spoială de sf, care și ăla e mediocru și a îmbătrânit prost.
Steaua e pentru scriitura bună, copertă și traducere, că pt idei, personaje, poveste, fundal etc. nu o merită nici pe aia. Bujold m-a impresionat în fantasy cu trilogia Chalionului, dar în SF văd că e sub orice critică.
Și apropo, dacă voi credeți că 6 nave au consemn să mențină o poziție și pleacă toate de nebune după un intrus... nu ați trecut niciodată prin armată. 1. Nu suntem niște tâmpiți ușor de păcălit de civili, cum tot crede madam Naismith/Bujold; 2. 99% din militărie constă în repetarea și respectarea de proceduri; ar fi avut cu certitudine una pentru situația ”neașteptată” când cineva caută să străpungă blocada, și nu ar fi fost infantilă. Oricum, lista mea de nemulțumiri e mult mai mare, nu o mai lungesc aici. Nu voi citi și Barrayar, deși o am.
Aceată carte m-a iritat ca sefist (nu e sf, ci romanță de Acasă tv) și m-a jignit/enervat constant ca ofițer. Bine, eu poate-s doar dur și aspru, nu și sensibil...

I had heard about these books, so wanted to try them. I didn't like it. Not because it was poorly written or because I didn't like the characters. the primary plot of the book involves political intrigue, palace plotting and complicated social relationships. I don't generally like any of these nor is it easy for me to follow these kinds of plot threads. But, if you like this stuff, than dive right in, you will probably like this book. The author writes clearly and well.

The other thing that irritated me was that the SF trappings in the book were just stage settings. If you replaced every reference to a space ship with a sailing ship, planet with country you would have the same story set on Earth