The Vorkosigan Companion [Hardcover]

Lillian S Carl (Editor)

Book Description

Publication Date: December 2, 2008

Lois McMaster Bujold’s best-selling Vorkosigan series is a publishing phenomenon, winning record-breaking sales, critical praise, four Hugo Awards and a Nebula award. And the thousands of devotees of the series now have a book that will be a goldmine of information, background details, and little-known facts about the Vorkosigan saga. Included are an all-new interview with Bujold as well as essays by her on crafting the Vorkosigan universe, articles on the biology, technology and sociology of the planet Barrayar, appreciations of the individual novels by experts, maps, a complete timeline of the series, and more. Readers can’t get enough of the Vorkosigan series and they’ll jump at the chance to read this story behind the stories. Baen has a new novel in the Vorkosigan series under contract.  

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Lois McMaster Bujold is one of the most honored writers in the fields of science fiction and fantasy and has won six Hugo Awards and two Nebula Awards, including a Nebula Award for Falling Free, included in Miles and Metallurgy. She immediately attracted attention with her first novel, Shards of Honor, which began her popular Vorkosigan series, and quickly followed it up with The Warrior’s Apprentice, which introduced young Miles Vorkosigan, one of the most popular characters ever in science fiction. The recent novels in her fantasy series for Harper-Collins have been top sellers, and one, Paladin of Souls, took home her latest Hugo Award. The mother of two, Ms. Bujold lives in Minneapolis, MN.

 

Lillian Stewart Carl is the published author of nineteen novels and a number of short stories in the fantasy and mystery fields. She has worked at a few "real" jobs—as an engineering aide, a librarian, a newspaper columnist, and a college history teacher—but all along was writing. The mother of two grown sons, she lives in a tract house “disguised as a book-lined cloister” with her husband, a cat, and a number of plants.

 

John Helfers is an author and editor who has published more than forty short stories in various venues and edited more than a dozen anthologies. His media tie-in fiction has appeared in anthologies for the Dragonlance® and Transformers® universes, among others. He has also written both fiction and nonfiction books, including the third novel in the first authorized trilogy based on The Twilight Zone™ television series and a history of the United States Navy. Currently he is writing novels in the Room 59 thriller series for Worldwide Publishing. --This text refers to the Mass Market Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: Baen (December 2, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1416556036
• ISBN-13: 978-1416556039
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.5 x 1.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (9 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,110,597 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

60 of 65 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not that great, December 27, 2008

By 

N. L. Booth "Gnome" (New Zealand) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Vorkosigan Companion (Hardcover)

This was not the best companion book I've ever had. I didn't have the errors mentioned in a previous review so the print run must have been corrected (for those who still want the book). Other companion books have had maps and pictures to flesh out the stories. This book only has a 'map' of the planets and their relativity in space. What about Barrayar, or Sergyar, or other planets where the characters covered wide areas? Where are the different areas in relation to each other? Or floor plans of Vorkisigan House so that we can see the Great Butter Bug Battle? How about a picture of Taura? Or the bubble chair of the Cetagandans?

This book was mainly about LMB and the genesis of each story. Don't get me wrong - it was interesting. But not in a companion book to the stories. There was also a pronunciation guide AND a concordance. A lot of this was repetition and the size of the book would have been much less if the two had been combined. The summaries of each book would be good if you were new to the series - but what new reader is going to buy a companion book? That's for those who love the series and are die-hard fans.

This book just didn't measure up to expectations and if I'd seen it before I bought it then it would have stayed where it was. Unfortunately that didn't happen so it will sit on the shelf as a bad buy. Only get this book if you really are die-hard and must have everything written by LMB.

9 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for any prior avid fan of Bujold's books, April 14, 2009

By 

Midwest Book Review (Oregon, WI USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Vorkosigan Companion (Hardcover)

The Vorkosigan Companion: The Universe of Lois McMaster Bujold is a 'must' for any prior reader of her Vorkosigan books: it is packed with essays, articles, and even a new interview with Bujold and discusses the sociology, science and psychology of her themes and novels. The Vorkosigan universe is complex: chapters delve into underlying meanings, influences, and more and provide a satisfying companion reader highly recommended for any prior avid fan of Bujold's books.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Close to Three Stars, September 10, 2010

By 

William Reich "Bill Reich" (Branford, Ct USA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Vorkosigan Companion (Vorkosigan Saga) (Mass Market Paperback)

This book has a few very nice essays by LMB and by the editors but there isn't enough _to_ it to justify buying it while it is still in hardcover, which I did. I am a very big Bujold fan, although just as much for her other stuff as for the Miles stories, but I should have waited for the paperback. I'm not unhappy that I have the book but it doesn't transcend the nature of such books. I would rather save my time and money for fiction.