Dirk Grobbelaar's Reviews > Shards of Honor

Even though you might not have read a single book in the Vorkosigan saga, chances are you are well aware of its existence. If you’re a serious Space Opera fan, that is.

The “Vorkosiverse” is a mainstay in genre fiction, and has even won a Best Series Hugo award (as well as a number of Hugo’s for individual entries). It also features on just about everybody’s “must read” Space Opera list. If political intrigue is your thing, this is the place to go.

Shards Of Honour is the first full length publication in the saga, and therefore carries some novelty weight. It introduces the characters of Aral Vorkosigan and Cordelia Naismith and details their first meeting and subsequent romance. Now, if you have been reading some of the books already, you’ll know that the series really revolves around Miles Vorkosigan-Naismith (their son), who is a much more interesting character than either of his parents. I had actually read The Warrior’s Apprentice before this novel, and I’m glad I did, because I’m not sure whether Shards Of Honour would have hooked me in and compelled me to read the series on its own merit. To be very clear: Shards Of Honour is not a bad book, but it rather pales in comparison to the later books in the series.

Not much more to be said on the topic. It’s a popular series, and rightly so. So, read this book, it’s fairly entertaining (if a bit schmaltzy on occasion; it is after all a bit of a love story), but bear in mind it only gets better from here.

Random information: It’s interesting to note that this literary universe, while clearly qualifying as Space Opera, does not contain sentient Aliens (as far as I know), but rather focuses on the conflict between two human societies (from different planets).