Jimmy Brewster
Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold is the omnibus collection of two books, Shards of Honor and Barrayar, the first and the seventh books in the Vorkosigan series. I had not read anything from Lois McMaster Bujold but I have heard good things about her novels. I wanted to read Barrayar, however, it was easier to find the omnibus.
Firstly, there should be trigger warnings for rape, sexual violence, and birthing trauma. None of the scenes are very graphic, however, the topics do come up multiple times.
I enjoyed the mix of fantasy and space opera. At times, the novel could easily be considered a fantasy novel. Long sections of the story pass without much or any mention of space or sci-fi technology. In fact, there is very little space, especially in the second portion Barrayar.
The entire story focuses on Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan. First on a mostly unexplored wilderness planet, then on Barrayar, an older imperial planet with birthright nobility, emperors, and councilmen. Barrayar has all the tropes of a fantasy or historical fiction including patriarchy, schemes, betrayals, and tests of loyalty.
It is implied that there is a larger multi-planetary universe beyond the narrow scope of these characters, but it never gets explored very deeply. I was left wondering about the history of Earth at the point of this story, how Barrayar and the other planets came to be colonized, and more of the interplanetary politics. Perhaps some of this is explored in the other books in this huge series.
Overall, the first part of the omnibus, Shards of Honor, was the less interesting portion of the book. I would give the second portion, Barrayar, a higher rating on it's own.
If you enjoy authors like Isaac Asimov or Ursula Le Guin you will probably enjoy this. If you are a fantasy reader who wants to add a dash of science fiction and technology to your reading list, you will probably enjoy this.
Cordelia's Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold is the omnibus collection of two books, Shards of Honor and Barrayar, the first and the seventh books in the Vorkosigan series. I had not read anything from Lois McMaster Bujold but I have heard good things about her novels. I wanted to read Barrayar, however, it was easier to find the omnibus.
Firstly, there should be trigger warnings for rape, sexual violence, and birthing trauma. None of the scenes are very graphic, however, the topics do come up multiple times.
I enjoyed the mix of fantasy and space opera. At times, the novel could easily be considered a fantasy novel. Long sections of the story pass without much or any mention of space or sci-fi technology. In fact, there is very little space, especially in the second portion Barrayar.
The entire story focuses on Cordelia Naismith and Aral Vorkosigan. First on a mostly unexplored wilderness planet, then on Barrayar, an older imperial planet with birthright nobility, emperors, and councilmen. Barrayar has all the tropes of a fantasy or historical fiction including patriarchy, schemes, betrayals, and tests of loyalty.
It is implied that there is a larger multi-planetary universe beyond the narrow scope of these characters, but it never gets explored very deeply. I was left wondering about the history of Earth at the point of this story, how Barrayar and the other planets came to be colonized, and more of the interplanetary politics. Perhaps some of this is explored in the other books in this huge series.
Overall, the first part of the omnibus, Shards of Honor, was the less interesting portion of the book. I would give the second portion, Barrayar, a higher rating on it's own.
If you enjoy authors like Isaac Asimov or Ursula Le Guin you will probably enjoy this. If you are a fantasy reader who wants to add a dash of science fiction and technology to your reading list, you will probably enjoy this.