📚 log(book)

Books by Lois McMaster Bujold

Cover of Memory.

Memory

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1996 · read 2019-08-07

★★★★★

In Memory, part of the Vorkosigan saga, Lois McMaster Bujold shows off what character development can look like. Talk about emotional payoff! Without spoiling too much, we see Miles, our somewhat-hero, change his life in many ways, and go through the dark passages, darker thoughts, and inevitable pains this change brings. My only criticism might have been that ignoring the somewhat obvious(?) solution to the whodunnit is not very Miles like, but when I thought about it, I realized that this blind spot has a perfect explanation in Miles' character, so there is that. A very impressive book, that let me keep my high opinion of the Vorkosigan series (because improving it would be close to impossible).

Cover of The Mountains of Mourning.

The Mountains of Mourning

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2018-11-23

★★★★★

The Mountains of Mourning is a very touching Vorkosigan novella by Lois McMaster Bujold. It's deeply impressive to me how very emotional and touching this novella gets in under 150 pages, while still maintaining the character and tone of the overall series. Our favourite hero, Miles, confronts a backwater village while investigating a child murder. The crippled man confronting a society where killing crippled children is more than just tolerated – and at no point Bujold goes for the easy way out. No good vs evil here, oh no, just heartbreak.

Cover of The Warrior's Apprentice.

The Warrior’s Apprentice

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · last read 2020-08-19

★★★★★

Wow! If you're new to the series, … start here. This book has all the fun, and action, and, y'know, forwards momentum.

Cover of Barrayar.

Barrayar

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1991 · last read 2020-08-19

★★★★★

Update: This book is a perfect read after Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen. Sadly, Gentleman Jole is also the perfect read after Barrayar, somebody send help, please?

Cover of Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen.

Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2016 · read 2020-08-18

★★★★★

Cover of The Borders of Infinity.

The Borders of Infinity

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1987 · read 2019-03-12

★★★★☆

In The Borders of Infinity, Lois McMaster Bujold shows her series protagonist Miles Vorkosigan as a prisoner of war. It's Miles distilled to his essence.

Cover of Mirror Dance.

Mirror Dance

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1994 · read 2019-03-17

★★★★☆

Mirror Dance was yet another really good entry in the Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold. I disliked the protagonist (mildly at first, strongly in the middle, barely at the end), and yet the book worked wonderfully for me. I felt afraid for Miles, scorn, compassion, and pity for his brother, and a whole range of things for everybody else. We get to see new and brilliant parts of Cordelia, and seeing the world from the eyes of Miles brother definitely shows a good perspective on our favourite hero (and reflects well on Miles' growth over the series so far!).

Cover of Labyrinth.

Labyrinth

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2019-03-12

★★★★☆

Labyrinth is a scifi take on the legend of the Minotaur by Lois McMaster Bujold in her Vorkosigan saga. The novella really carries it off.

Cover of Captain Vorpatril's Alliance.

Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2012 · read 2020-08-16

★★★★☆

Captain Ivan Vorpatril finally gets his own book, after decades – both in our world and theirs – of grumbling in Miles' shadow. Unfortunately for him, he gets his book at the point in life when Miles' bad habits have finally rubbed off enough to push him into a chivalrous-if-ill-advised wedding. Bujold has the decency to show up front that this will be a romance, so that the inclined reader doesn't have to fret about the ending, and just gets to guess how she'll bring it off.

Cover of Weatherman.

Weatherman

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1990 · read 2018-11-23

★★★★☆

Weatherman is a novella that is also part of The Vor Game. It was the weaker part of Vor Game, but it's still bloody good. I mean, it's Lois McMaster Bujold.

Cover of The Vor Game.

The Vor Game

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1990 · last read 2020-08-20

★★★★☆

The Vor Game is another Miles book in the Vorkosigan Saga, and as usual, it is a lot of fast-paced fun. I was lost over the first third or so, where it wasn't clear where the plot was going, and every time I thought I had it figured out, it switched to an entirely new track. I spent a good amount of time wondering how those threads would be tied back together, and the story did not disappoint at all – but it does turn out that the first third was a standalone novella at first, explaining the break.

Cover of Cryoburn.

Cryoburn

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2010 · read 2020-08-18

★★★★☆

Miles does his thing, and he does it well. Side characters are strong and complex. The plot is a mess, intentionally and outrageously, though no more so than usually. Bujold shows that she can do precocious children – they and their treatment by the adults broke my immersion at times, but Miles addresses this issue in an attempt to appease the readers and editors, so that's covered. Nothing else is really strange or new, except maybe the lack of a strong woman pulling the plot together – it's the first Vorkosigan book in quite a while where the main female character is mostly being rescued (though she does have some offscreen badassery).

Cover of Falling Free.

Falling Free

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1987 · read 2018-04-11

★★★★☆

How is Lois McMaster Bujold not one of the first authors to be recommended to people starting scifi? Falling Free introduces the Quaddies (humans with arms instead of legs), as seen and told by an Engineer, capital E. It's awesome, and it's got everything you'd wish for: a new culture, social implications, lots and lots of economic and corporate implications (I see where Charlie got his Laundry File bureaucracy from), and the cultural implications aswell. Also, very sweet and cool characters all around, and funny af. Leo Graf, the protagonist, is just ♥

Cover of Winterfair Gifts.

Winterfair Gifts

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2002 · read 2020-08-15

★★★★☆

Wedding stories – I accidentally read this one out of order, as it belongs before Diplomatic Immunity, both to get the couple settled, and to introduce Roic as a character in his own right. Oh well. The wedding was, of course, very Milesian in every way. As this a novelly, Bujold mostly uses it to show us all our old favourites again, and still manages to cram new characters in there, plus something resembling a plot.

Cover of Brothers in Arms.

Brothers in Arms

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1989 · read 2018-07-11

★★★★☆

Brothers in Arms is the fifth part (in order of publishing) of Lois McMaster Bujold's Vorkosigan saga and I enjoyed it immensely. After the previous volumes vaguely related tales, we finally return to Miles and his crew. It's been seven years (!!!. Where are the stories about those years? Well, at least one later volume takes place in the space between.), and it's brilliant. Miles is still the protagonist with the most absolute forward momentum, and the story has no clear villain, the characters are ambiguous, the narrator is only nearly reliable, and the plot is just tremendous amounts of fun. It really says something when you see that a series has 16 volumes + minor works and you're relieved because it won't be over quite so soon.

Cover of Ethan of Athos.

Ethan of Athos

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · read 2018-03-10

★★★★☆

Brilliant fun! Take this mostly horrible scifi concept of an all-female planet, reverse it to an all-male planet, then take it seriously. This poor protagonist doctor, sent out into the hostile and horrfyingly feminine universe, meets the brilliant Ellie Quinn of all people. It was SO MUCH FUN. (Also, we get a gay happy end, in a way? Aww www.)

Cover of Komarr.

Komarr

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1998 · read 2020-08-13

★★★★☆

Komarr reads so much like Gaudy Night to me, it's ridiculous (although it doesn't go to the same romantic height). That is to say: I liked it very much.

Cover of Shards of Honour.

Shards of Honour

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1986 · last read 2020-07-04

★★★★☆

I re-read "Shards of Honour" somewhat by accident while looking up a quote for a writing exercise. I had remembered it as a decent first entry in brilliant series: Okay sci-fi, but nothing special.

Cover of Diplomatic Immunity.

Diplomatic Immunity

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2002 · read 2020-08-15

★★★☆☆

Among the Miles Vorkosigan books, Diplomatic Immunity did not impress me. Among wider sci-fi books, it was warm, clever, with deep character and worldbuilding, and the ability to make me laugh out loud multiple times. It is a credit to the Vorkosigan series that this book does not stand out as good.

Cover of Cetaganda.

Cetaganda

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1995 · read 2018-11-26

★★★☆☆

As per usual, Cetaganda is a very enjoyable book in the Vorkosigan series. It gripped me less than usual, which still makes it a very good book. We follow Miles as he saves yet another empire. I still enjoy both the dry wit and how you've got to think along to get the most of the subtle fun between the lines. Other than that, it felt like Yet Another Adventure, where usually the Vorkosigan books tend to contain series-changing events. Great scifi in any case, I'm looking forward to the next one.

Cover of A Civil Campaign.

A Civil Campaign

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1999 · read 2020-08-14

★★★☆☆

Most Vorkosigan fans seem to like A Civil Campaign a lot, and this may or may not have screwed with my expectations. I liked it less than Komarr, which I read directly beforehand.

Cover of The Flowers of Vashnoi.

The Flowers of Vashnoi

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2018 · read 2020-08-17

★★★☆☆

Headcanon: Bujold discovered that her vaguely-somewhat-Russian scifi setting allowed her to tell a Chernobyl Baba Yaga story, and then she just had to do it. Sometimes the prompt is stronger than the story.

Cover of Dreamweaver's Dilemma.

Dreamweaver’s Dilemma

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 1995 · read 2018-11-23

★★★☆☆

Dreamweaver's Dilemma is a short story by Lois McMaster Bujold, set vaguely in the same universe as her Vorkosigan series. It's nice enough, and shows again her mastery at painting realistic scenarios in unfamiliar worlds, complete with a story arc, but also everyday details. At the same time, it didn't particularly grip me, the pacing was off, so it was just a nice afternoon read.

Cover of The Curse of Chalion.

The Curse of Chalion

by Lois McMaster Bujold · published 2001 · read 2021-04-25

★★☆☆☆

Bujold has a type. The type here being "adult physically broken but very clever reluctant hero, who meddles with aristocracy without being a ruler himself". It's not like they are the same person: there are differences between Miles Vorkosigan and Cazaril. Caz had a much worse life and less privileges, and is also less (over-)confident. But the parallels are very much there.