mark monday's Reviews > Shards of Honour
Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan Saga, #1)
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Cordelia Naismith is the captain of an astronomical survey ship from the peaceful Beta Colony. Lord Aral Vorkosigan is the leader of a secret military mission from the warlike planet Barrayar. the title "Shards of Honor" no doubt refers to the small bits of honor that Aral must cling to as he finds himself a central figure in a massive undertaking that will sacrifice thousands of innocents for the greater good; it also may refer to the honor that Cordelia herself gains and loses and gains again as her fate becomes increasingly intertwined with that of the unjustly infamous Aral - also known as "The Butcher of Komarr". this excellent novel is the first in the massive Vorkosigan Saga, which currently numbers over 25 novels and short stories. it is also Bujold's first full-length work - an impressive achievement.
the novel is a chamber piece with a galactic background. space opera boiled down to two major characters and several intriguing supporting characters, with acts of policy and war that become palpable moral and ethical conflicts for those characters. it is space opera made intimate and personal; space opera where the psychology of its characters is writ as large and made as important as the various exciting twists and turns of the narrative. it is also a romance - one that is by turns surprising and moving and life-affirming. there are no ridiculously giddy or angsty moments that made me roll my eyes. Cordelia and Aral are decidedly adults, with a whole lifetime of pain and experience behind them. watching them matter-of-factly fall in love was key to my enjoyment.
it is a novel with some teeth as well. its issues are timely and timeless... is a terrible sacrifice worth all of those lives to stop the deaths of even more lives? should nationalism be a thing that we live and die for, a thing that defines our lives' trajectories? and what is "honor" anyway - a personal thing? a public thing? the thing that we cling to that gives our lives some kind of meaning, some sense of purpose? all are interesting questions to contemplate.
the prose is smart, clean, unfussy. our heroes veer towards the nonchalant rather than towards the melodramatic - they are life-sized, not larger-than-life - and so the prose is a perfect match for the characterization. the whole novel is excellent and thoroughly entertaining, but my favorite part may be the opening third - which is basically a two-person trek across an unknown planet. the reader gets to enjoy interesting bits of xenobiology (not delivered via massive world-building infodumps) while Cordelia and Aral's intriguing and entirely sympathetic personalities slowly unfold, to the reader and to each other. it was lovely. "lovely" may be an odd word to use for a novel that encompasses war, assassination, depraved villains, forced drug use, attempted rape, the children of rape, a mental breakdown, and the abandonment of one's home... but Shards of Honor is indeed a lovely thing - a quietly moving experience.
the novel is a chamber piece with a galactic background. space opera boiled down to two major characters and several intriguing supporting characters, with acts of policy and war that become palpable moral and ethical conflicts for those characters. it is space opera made intimate and personal; space opera where the psychology of its characters is writ as large and made as important as the various exciting twists and turns of the narrative. it is also a romance - one that is by turns surprising and moving and life-affirming. there are no ridiculously giddy or angsty moments that made me roll my eyes. Cordelia and Aral are decidedly adults, with a whole lifetime of pain and experience behind them. watching them matter-of-factly fall in love was key to my enjoyment.
it is a novel with some teeth as well. its issues are timely and timeless... is a terrible sacrifice worth all of those lives to stop the deaths of even more lives? should nationalism be a thing that we live and die for, a thing that defines our lives' trajectories? and what is "honor" anyway - a personal thing? a public thing? the thing that we cling to that gives our lives some kind of meaning, some sense of purpose? all are interesting questions to contemplate.
the prose is smart, clean, unfussy. our heroes veer towards the nonchalant rather than towards the melodramatic - they are life-sized, not larger-than-life - and so the prose is a perfect match for the characterization. the whole novel is excellent and thoroughly entertaining, but my favorite part may be the opening third - which is basically a two-person trek across an unknown planet. the reader gets to enjoy interesting bits of xenobiology (not delivered via massive world-building infodumps) while Cordelia and Aral's intriguing and entirely sympathetic personalities slowly unfold, to the reader and to each other. it was lovely. "lovely" may be an odd word to use for a novel that encompasses war, assassination, depraved villains, forced drug use, attempted rape, the children of rape, a mental breakdown, and the abandonment of one's home... but Shards of Honor is indeed a lovely thing - a quietly moving experience.
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Reading Progress
March 11, 2013
–
Started Reading
March 11, 2013
– Shelved
March 20, 2013
– Shelved as:
romantica
March 20, 2013
–
Finished Reading
May 7, 2013
– Shelved as:
x-vorkosigan-saga
December 4, 2018
– Shelved as:
scifi-60s-70s-80s
Comments Showing 1-31 of 31 (31 new)
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Mir
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rated it 5 stars
Mar 21, 2013 09:37AM
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i read for enjoyment not edification! that philosophy has often led me astray, but i am a shallow sort so i quickly forget the drek.
The ending of the next book, if you ever get to it, is so fucking glorious.
i can't wait! i'm reading it next month. one book per month of the Vorkosigan Saga. i will be living with it for a while!
I've only read the two. I haven't gotten past my sulk that the later books are (spoiler alert?) about Cordelia and Aral's kid and not about Cordelia. I am very much Team Cordelia. But I will get to them someday, I promise. Bujold writes really great episodic sf, from what I've seen.
you've also read Curse of Chalion, i assume? i love that one. so far those are my only two by Bujold.
Ah yes, mark, "lovely" is just exactly the right word for this story (and I mean the whole story, the duology but you only reviewed the first half). Shards was a well-woven and artfully-crafted story that you could read and sit back and think about ...and might think just that: how very lovely a read that was! How lovely for all of us that Lois actually wrote a heck of a lot more after she'd finished this, eh?
You make me wish to revisit the series. I'm looking forward to your reviews for the next Vorkosigan books.
Regarding the Chalion books, I thought Paladin of Souls was even better than the first.
Regarding the Chalion books, I thought Paladin of Souls was even better than the first.
Algernon wrote: "You make me wish to revisit the series. I'm looking forward to your reviews for the next Vorkosigan books.
Regarding the Chalion books, I thought Paladin of Souls was even better than the first."
I really dislike fantasy genre, especially high fantasy (which Lois takes to new heights if you'll excuse the pun). I must say that The Curse of Chalion was so beautifully written I almost didn't notice how much I loathed the genre. Almost. It made my skin crawl about every 3d page.
Normally I would've put the book down on page 2 as soon as I saw how over the top Fantasy genre it was going to be. In this case, however, I did finish it but only because of the quality of Lois's writing. She's just that good that she could make someone who loathes the genre press forward through it to be able to enjoy her writing. Now THAT's artistic mastery of the craft! I'll never read another book in that series though. It's got everything I hate about the genre--which makes it really wonderful for High Fantasy genre lovers. Amazing world building, too (the world turned me right off, of course, not liking all of the fantasy elements to it but....she wrote it incredibly well!)
mark writes really good reviews. I'd love to read your review of Chalion mark...did you write one already, buried on here somewhere?
Regarding the Chalion books, I thought Paladin of Souls was even better than the first."
I really dislike fantasy genre, especially high fantasy (which Lois takes to new heights if you'll excuse the pun). I must say that The Curse of Chalion was so beautifully written I almost didn't notice how much I loathed the genre. Almost. It made my skin crawl about every 3d page.
Normally I would've put the book down on page 2 as soon as I saw how over the top Fantasy genre it was going to be. In this case, however, I did finish it but only because of the quality of Lois's writing. She's just that good that she could make someone who loathes the genre press forward through it to be able to enjoy her writing. Now THAT's artistic mastery of the craft! I'll never read another book in that series though. It's got everything I hate about the genre--which makes it really wonderful for High Fantasy genre lovers. Amazing world building, too (the world turned me right off, of course, not liking all of the fantasy elements to it but....she wrote it incredibly well!)
mark writes really good reviews. I'd love to read your review of Chalion mark...did you write one already, buried on here somewhere?
ha! thanks for pointing that out, Elizabeth. so yeah, i would agree that they are not middle-aged... but gosh they sure felt like it, with those lived-in lives etc. i think i will update my review.
mark writes really good reviews. I'd love to read your review of Chalion mark...did you write one already, buried on here somewhere?
why thank you, Marjorie! and here's the review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
why thank you, Marjorie! and here's the review:
http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/...
Algernon wrote: "Regarding the Chalion books, I thought Paladin of Souls was even better than the first."
i've heard the same. i'm excited to read it. and it's right on my desk, waiting for me!
i've heard the same. i'm excited to read it. and it's right on my desk, waiting for me!
Great review! And great that you linked to a review of Curse of Chalion. I was actually trying to decide between the two of them. If anything, you've made me even more torn between which series to start!
Great review, Mark! When you've enjoyed a book, you have a way with words that makes me excited to read said story.
This was clearly the best of this series. Once the tosser, Miles, appears they get repetitious, silly and obnoxious.
Cordelia was great. Too bad Bujold has such an annoying little boy, subsequently.
Thank you for the review!
Cordelia was great. Too bad Bujold has such an annoying little boy, subsequently.
Thank you for the review!
LOL I'm sorry you feel that way because I love Miles! he's a lot of fun to me. love the series, for the most part. this is actually a good reminder that I need to pick that series back up, I gave it a pause a couple years or so ago and have forgotten to return.
I like the rest of the series (at least until the most recent few) but agree that I love Cordelia more than Miles. Of course, she'd never get herself into the fixes that make his plots.
mark, this is such a great review. I love this book so much. More now than ever. I love Cordelia too, as much as I love Miles.