Readblogging: The Vorkosigan Saga

[owlmoose]

I've had Lois McMaster Bujold recommended to me a number of times over the years, but was never really sure where to start with her many, many books. However, I was recently reminded and enabled by justira, and I had a Borders coupon, so I picked up Cordelia's Honor and started it today. Since I know she's not the only one out there who's interested in hearing my thoughts as I go through this book *cough*Sev*cough* (and hopefully then the rest of the series), I'm going to see about posting as I go along. So here goes. PS: Please, no spoilers in comments beyond the point I've read as noted in the cut text, please please please. I know very little about this series going in, and I'd like to keep it that way going forward. Thanks much!

At lunch today and on the train ride home, I read the first four chapters, and so far, so good. I liked Cordelia immediately, and Vorkosigan is a nice balance of intriguing and antagonistic. The careful reveals about their pasts and personalities are at a pace that work for me, so far. And their mutual attraction works for me, at least at this point -- I'm not usually a big fan of enemy 'ships, or of love at first sight, but so far Bujold hasn't pushed it further than I'm willing to believe.

I would have liked a little more set-up on the universe. The story pretty much throws the reader into the middle of an unfamiliar situation and expects you to keep up; sometimes I like that, but I keep feeling like maybe I missed something, like when Cordelia and Vorkosigan are talking about their respective cultures in a way that implies I should already be familiar with it. This might be Bujold's way of avoiding an infodump, but I think a little infodumping would have been helpful.

One of the few things that I do know about Bujold is that she got her start as a fanfic writer, specifically in Star Trek fandom, and that her fic writing influenced her early pro writing -- I've heard some of her work described as "Star Trek fic with the serial numbers filed off" -- and that influence definitely shows here. Vorkosigan himself and the society he comes from reminded me of the Klingons right away, especially in the first couple of chapters, and Cordelia has the feel of a Federation science officer. It'll be interesting to see if the similarities dissipate or stick around through the story.

Comments

[seventhe]

I don't know much about Star Trek honestly but I find that fascinating. :P

[owlmoose]

Isn't it? Given the book's age, the influence would be Original Trek, which I don't know nearly as well as the newer stuff, so I can't say how strong the connection is. But it's definitely there.

[jeanniemac]

I had no idea that you had not read any Bujold. I'll be interested to hear what you think as you move along. I didn't know that she started off as a Trek fic writer but it does make some sense. I will say that her first book, Shards of Honor, which makes up the first part of the compilation you are reading, is a very much a first book with all that entails. Look for the writing to tighten up and get less fanfic-y when you hit the Barrayar section of the book. Barrayar was written 7 years after Shards and won a Hugo.

[owlmoose]

I was wondering about that -- the cover of this edition advertises it as a Hugo winner, and it's not clear which of the books was the honoree.

The thing that feels most fanfic-like to me, so far, is the seeming assumption that the reader already knows the background of the character's worlds. That would make sense in fic or a sequel, but not so much in the first story in a series. But I'm content to go with it for now.

[jeanniemac]

It does get better, I promise. Shards and The Warrior's Apprentice, which were published the same year, have their rough points, but she improves as both a writer and as a story teller as the years pass. The talent is there in the early books, its just not shiny and polished. I love Shards, not because its the greatest book ever written, but because I dearly love Cordelia and Aral and it is the beginning of their story.

[justira]

I very much look forward to hearing what you think of the Star Trek connection later on, and the worldbuilding! I CAN'T SAY MORE YET.

jeanniemac says true things about the writing; Shards was written way, way earlier, and you'll see as soon as you get into Barrayar. For all that, the two are halves of the same story, for sure. I'd be interested, once you're done, to hear your thoughts about that, too, actually, how the two books relate to one another.

OVERALL I AM JUST SUPER EXCITED and I wish I could say more of how and why! IF YOU KEEP READING THEN I WILL BE ABLE TO

[seventhe]

FFFFFFFFFFFFF BECAUSE OF THE [SPOILER] AND THE [SPOILER] AND THEN YOU KNOW [SPOILER] IN [SPOILER] 5 GALLONS