Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan) [Paperback]

Lois McMaster Bujold (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 1, 2003 | Series: Vorkosigan

Cordelia Naismith is enjoying a baptism of fire. Her first mission is to captain a throwaway warship of the Betan Expeditionary Force on a mission to destroy an entire enemy armada. Discovering deception within deception, treachery within treachery, she is forced into an uneasy peace with her nemesis: Lord Aral Vorkosigan. Discovering that astrocartography is not the soundest training for a military leader, Cordelia rapidly finds herself the prisoner of the Barrayaran Captain Aral Vorkosigan, also known as 'The Butcher of Komarr'. But the notorious captain is not quite the beast Cordelia was expecting and a grudging respect develops between the two of them. As captor and prisoner on an abandoned outpost planet, the honourable captain and the resolute scientist must rely on each others' trust to survive a trek across dangerous terrain, thus sparking a relationship that shares the struggles of culture and politics between their worlds.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lois McMaster Bujold burst onto the SF scene in 1986 with SHARDS OF HONOUR, closely followed by BARRAYAR, and THE WARRIOR'S APPRENTICE, which introduced the physically handicapped military genius, Miles Vorkosigan. Since then she has won four Hugo Awards and two Nebulas. The mother of two, Bujold lives in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Product Details

• Paperback: 272 pages
• Publisher: Earthlight; New Edition edition (December 1, 2003)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0743468422
• ISBN-13: 978-0743468428
• Product Dimensions: 6.8 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 4.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,448,366 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars I can quote this book, February 24, 2007

By 

Jodi Henley - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan) (Paperback)

I got into Bujold's Vorkosigan series right after Barrayar. I think Shards of Honor was out of print at that time, but I had to have it and it was worth the search.

Bujold isn't just a writer, she's a poet and philosopher. Shards of Honor is my favorite of the Vorkosigan series because first and foremost--it's a love story. Two middle-aged people, caught in a war they never wanted, fighting for opposite sides, both with issues--acting true to themselves and their personal honor. This book has NO compromises, no fake notes. It was the first book she ever wrote, and in my opinion, the best.

There are no funny parts. Cordelia suffers a "breakdown" on stage during the welcome home ceremonies after returning from the war. Beta Colony misinterprets everything she says, and her mother sells her out for her own good. The war and contact with the "enemy" have changed her, and she can't go home. She has fallen in love with a man who all the civilized worlds consider an amoral killer--when Aral is simply a soldier doing the "right thing" for a government who knows his value as a strategist, but hates his scruples. It's not sci-fi. It's not romance. It transcends both genres to become "more". It's all about love and redemption, and doing the right thing when everything is colored in shades of gray.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Cordelia shines, August 23, 2004

By 

Miz Ellen "all the letters of my real name" (Bovine Universe) - See all my reviews
(VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Shards of Honour (Paperback)

This is one of the funniest "romance" novels ever written and one of the most serious science fiction novels ever penned. Cordelia charms partly because she is civilized, sympathetic and the very embodiment of feminine virtues, but she has a capacity for quick thought and faster action that confounds her enemies and keeps the reader breathless with laughter and excitement.

Cordelia and her "love interest" Aral Vorkosigan meet just as their different planets of origin go to war. Cordelia helps Aral foil a mutiny and then, bound by duty, shoots out the weapons console on Aral's ship and gets her own unarmed survey vessel home. She plays a critical role in the war that follows and mets Aral again, this time as a prisoner of war aboard the flagship. In the fog of love and war, it is friendly fire that does the most damage.

The funniest scene is when Cordelia, suffering from post-tramatic stress syndrome caused by maladroit psychologists, kicks the President in the groin as he tries to present a medal to her.

5.0 out of 5 stars Fantastic story - BUT, September 15, 2010

By 

Iterations (Pahrump Nevada) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Shards of Honour (Vorkosigan) (Paperback)

The other reviews tell it all, but instead of buying this book get - Cordelia's Honor (Vorkosigan Saga Omnibus: Shards of Honor / Barrayar)

which is this story plus the sequel ( written much later after several other books ), which to my thinking is just as good.