The Warrior's Apprentice
Ratings78
Average rating3.9
15
Ratings78
Average rating3.9
After failing to pass the physicals for the Barrayaran Military Academy, the brittle-boned, dwarfish son of Cordelia and Aral Vorkosigan uses a clever touch of creativity to finance a shipment of munitions into a war zone. When this simple merchant expedition draws the attention of an unexpected enemy, Miles is forced to masquerade as commander of a fictional fleet of hired guns he names after the mountains near his home--the Dendarii Mercenaries. His original crew of misfits grows into a considerable force as enemies become allies, guided by the delicate political manoeuvrings Miles learned from his father. Miles' ability to think himself out of a tight spot makes him a natural - if unlikely - leader, but this adventure in deep space is just a warm-up. On his homeworld of Barrayar, a deadly plot has been hatched against his father, Aral. A carefully planned trap is being laid, and only the wiles of the empire's unlikeliest hero can thwart it…
Reviews with the most likes.
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.
Executive Summary: I really enjoyed this book, and I'm a lot more eager to continue on with the series than I was after [b:Shards of Honor 531792 Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga #1) Lois McMaster Bujold https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388212776s/531792.jpg 9673658].Audiobook: Grover Gardner does a good job once again. He's speaks clearly and with good inflection and volume. I don't feel like he added anything extra to the book to make this a must listen, but it's certainly a good option.Full ReviewDespite this being the series that made Ms. Bujold's career, I came to her work instead through her Chalion books instead. I really liked her as an author. Of course those are fantasy which is much more in my wheelhouse than Science Fiction books seem to be. I know this series has a “recommended” reading order from the author herself, but I'm stubborn about reading things in publication order. In my opinion if the books were meant to be read in a different order, they should have been written/released in that order. As a result I started with [b:Shards of Honor 531792 Shards of Honor (Vorkosigan Saga #1) Lois McMaster Bujold https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1388212776s/531792.jpg 9673658] and continued on with this one.I must say I enjoyed this one much more than the first. I'm not sure if it's how much I enjoyed the character of Miles Vorkosigan, or the general pacing/direction of the plot, but after a so-so feeling from Shards, I'm pretty excited to continue this series now.I didn't know much going into this book apart from what I remember from the first one. At first I thought it was a flashback novel with how Vorkosigan came to be where he was in the first book, only to realize that no, I was reading a book set several years later about his son. Oops.The physical issues Miles has, make him an interesting character amidst a world that values strength and proficiency at war. Of course he's only half Barrayan, which also puts him apart from his peers as well. I'm always drawn to characters who outthink their opponents rather than simply through superior force.I believe that much of the series focuses on Miles, which makes me happy because he is by far the character I'm most interested so far. I am however interested in revisiting his parents down the road as well. This is a long series and I've only just begun, but I suspect I may put a good dent in it by the end of the year, at least as long as the next books end up being as good as this one was.
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.
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Series
16 primary books22 released booksVorkosigan Saga (Publication Order) is a 23-book series with 18 primary works first released in 1986 with contributions by Lois McMaster Bujold, Grover Gardner, and Bujold.
Series
16 primary books22 released booksVorkosigan Saga (Chronological) is a 23-book series with 18 primary works first released in 1986 with contributions by Lois McMaster Bujold, Grover Gardner, and Bujold.
