Reviews

The story starts with Captain Cordelia Naismith, of Beta Colony, stranded on a planet with Admiral Vorkosidan, of Barrayar. Their two cultures are almost opposite of each other, Beta Colony steeped in science and education, Barrayar steeped in tradition and honor.

Cordelia and Vorkosidan must work together to survive on the planet, each finding the other is not what their cultures paint the other to be through stereotypes and biases. Each discovers virtues they didn’t expect in each other.

Both must go through a trauma. Cordelia is hardest to read and more in the forefront. The description of planned and intended rape in action is not easy to read, even when painted with broad strokes. This scene is pivotal for Cordelia and Sergeant Bothari. Meanwhile, Vorkosidan must allow the power hungry, dishonorable Prince Serg start a battle that will claim many innocent lives in order to save the nation from a rule that will destroy countless more lives.

Cordelia returns home to be hailed a hero who slew the Prince’s admiral. Cordelia tries to set the record straight. Her account is dismissed as PTSD from the time spent with Vorkosidan and not considered to possibly be telling the truth. This practice of Betans trusting their intelligence so much they cannot hear the truth drives Cordelia to run away to Barrayar and marry Vorkosidan.

This is where the second book picks up. Cordelia learns a lot about Barrayran culture. Some of it is charming and valiant while other parts of the culture seems backward and rooted in a refusal to grow past tradition and the past. Among the shocking discoveries are a caste system, disregard for the wounded and maimed, and rigid gender roles.

Cordelia uses what she learns to defeat the count who tries to usurp power, playing to his presumptions and relying on the help of a woman, a crippled man, and a mentally unhealthy man, all deemed to be of less value in the society.

The writing style isn’t one I would point to as a favorite of my favorites. That said, there are some brilliant quotes that hit the mark and resonate.

I come away from reading these with the following points.

We really don’t know as much about others (allies or enemies) as we think we do.
Our biases and stereotypes do more than leave us uninformed of truth, they cultivate judgments and conflict that hurts both parties.
Scientific and cultural development does not mean the people in the culture are virtuous or immune to prejudice.
People have intrinsic value and can contribute to society in powerful ways, even when we can’t see or imagine how.
Mentally and emotionally wounded people deserve to be treated humanely and given treatment and nurtured.

I like the cultural discovery and the characters most. I like how Cordelia finds ways to bring out the best in people without being perfect herself. This is a book that gets me thinking, which is one of my favorite kind of books.

katieinca's review against another edition

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4.0

This won the Hugo for best novel in 1992? It was a better novel than Shards of Honor and I enjoyed it, but I'm a little surprised. Maybe I'll just never like Bujold's space opera as well as I like her fantasy - even though we can apparently have some (?) queer characters now that we're in space.
Cringe moment: the original (my print copy) has a bit of dialog that goes "He's bisexual, you know." "Was bisexual," she corrected absently. "Now he's monogamous." The ebook my bf was reading adds a new response "Yes," she agreed absently. "Now he's monogamous," but also leaves in the original. Oops. Slick editing, guys.

brendalovesbooks's review against another edition

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3.0

This book started off pretty slow. I had a hard time being motivated to pick it up. But then it got really good and actiony, and I had a hard time putting it down. I'm excited to read the rest of the series, but I want more Cordelia, I'm not sure how much I care about Miles right now. I have a feeling Cordelia and Aral pretty much disappear after this, and may never be heard from again. Bummer.

This is the kind of science fiction I like, where the character development is really there, and it's not so technical and all about the science. I would rate this book 4/5, and would definitely recommend it if you like science fiction.

morrigan_le_fae's review against another edition

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adventurous fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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