Shards of Honour

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.