The Warrior's Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold

Miles Vorkosigan is the leader of a fast growing mercenary force and the hero of an all-out space battle. At the end of the conflict, he heads a fleet of 19 ships and 3,000 troops. The only problem is, it is treason--as in, a hanging offense--to command a private army.

Fast paced, military sci-fi. The action flows well and is enjoyable. The science and strategy seem to be a bit below the standards set by John Ringo, David Weber and Jack Campbell. The side characters are a bit shallow and I often forgot which character had which back story shortly after they were introduced.

Overall I'd judge it as a fun read, but not for readers who prefer well developed characters.

My first encounter with Miles Vorkosigan was [b:The Mountains of Mourning 10959881 The Mountains of Mourning (Vorkosigan Saga) Lois McMaster Bujold https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1301700641l/10959881.SY75.jpg 2709863], which I liked, so I tried this one next, and found it too military for my taste, reminding me somewhat of Gordon Dickson's Dorsai books. Much later, I realized that I prefer reading about Miles's civilian career.

Still good on a reread many years later. Miles is an unstoppable force.

This time I listened to the audio version very ably narrated by Grover Gardner.

A fun, fast-paced read. Reading the series in chronological, rather than publication order this is the first book where Miles is the main character. He's one of those characters with boundless energy and enthusiasm who, although he is very intelligent, manages to get into quite a lot of trouble because he doesn't really think things through. Oh well, he's only about 17 years old in this...

I really enjoyed this book. Am looking forward to the next one.