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Barrayar
by Lois McMaster Bujold
1992 Hugo
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from: Friend/Family
275 Pages
Cordelia
Vorkosigan has just married Count Aral Vorkosigan, her true love (and they’re
such a great pair to watch). She’s left
her home world, Beta. She gets pregnant. To put it mildly…she’s having a hard time
adjusting.
Some serious oddities
This was
my second foray into the Vorkosigan Saga and what an improved experience it
was!
I thought The
Vor Game was a rough introduction to the series (my fault) and questioned
whether it won the 1991 Hugo on its own or on the strength of the series as a
whole (unfair question). But I also
recognized that Miles was a fun character -- in the same vein as Harry Harrison’s
James Bolivar DiGriz (my favorite). So
while I was a little apprehensive about Barrayar,
there was some excitement on my part about the chance to dig into Miles’ roots.
Bujold has
commented on the way in which the benefits of technological
advancements are often realized unequally and one of this book's most endearing elements is just that dynamic.
From a
male perspective -- the overriding perspective that introduces this story -- Barryar
(the planet) is not all that strange a place.
There are some serious oddities and the cultural milieu is undeniably foreign,
but in terms of power dynamics and day-to-day goings on, it didn’t seem
terribly far removed from Earth. It is
only once we’re introduced to Cordelia that we begin to see how troubling Barrayar’s
culture and governance can be.
She
experiences considerable aggression over opinions and rights of females that
were common place on her home planet, Beta.
Her struggles with perceptions of sexual practices and to demonstrate
the importance of positions of leadership and reproductive medicine for women
range from the hilarious to the deadly serious.
Bujold has
a Scalzi-esque approachability and
delivery that allows this book to achieve some amount of intellectual
stimulation while also being enjoyable on more basic levels…it’s just damn
fun! I could have spent weeks cheering
on Cordelia as she summarily dismisses the most self-assured, well-connected,
and power-hungry denizens the Vor Class has to offer with style, physical prowess,
intellect, or all three (actually for some reason this book did take me two
weeks -- I don’t know why).
Recommendation
This book
felt like a better introduction to the Vorkosigan Saga and now that I’ve read The Vor Game, Barrayar,
and Mirror Dance (review
forthcoming) I still think so. Maybe
there are even better examples, but I don’t think this would be a horrible
place to start. I liked it better than The Vor Game, but now I’m feeling I would have a totally
different appreciation for it if I read it again. Barrayar
is great fun. It feels simple but also
tackles some unpleasant social issues with a cool, strong, sensitive female
lead. It’s not done too often among the
Hugo winners but Bujold does it fantastically.
HEP SCORE
Universe 3/5
Social/Political
Climate 5/5
Dialogue 5/5
Scientific
Wonders 3/5
Characters
4/5
Overall
20/25
sold. great review. I know many a fan of Bujold and feel she is a SF must and now I think I know where I would like to begin (correct me if you think there is a better place to start with her.)
ReplyDelete~L
Thanks! As far as where to start, I have only read three of her many books so I can't give you the complete picture, but of those three (The Vor Game, Barrayar, Mirror Dance), Barrayar is definitely the way to go. If you don't like Cordelia, I will be shocked.
DeleteI was worried you were not going to like the Vorkosigan saga when I saw your reading order! I've been reading them in in-universe chronological order, and I've only gotten up through "Ethan of Athos" so far. My personal recommendation is currently "Shards of Honor/Barrayar" as a starting place -- both books cover Cordelia's story. I think "Barrayar" is a stronger book than "Shards of Honor", but the latter is at least interesting if you want to see how Aral and Cordelia initially met.
ReplyDeleteUgh...add that to the list of poor choices I've made :) I'd love to see how they met. Once I decide to go further, I'll be going through in the same way.
DeleteI just skimmed over the review as I have yet to read this one. I have read Shards of Honor (last October) as my first foray into this world and I liked it very much. It is heavy on the romance side which is a complaint I've read but not one that I share. I'll be reading this one sometime this year.
ReplyDeleteThe Vorkosigan saga is easily the most loved series in the science fiction book club I belong to. I went from knowing no one who had read the books to several who all suddenly were raving out these books and others who took that as a hint and started devouring them. I look forward to seeing if my passion for the series grows as I continue on.
I look forward to hearing your opinion of Barrayar. I've enjoyed what I've read of the saga so far but I still feel a bit disconnected from the apparently fervent enthusiasm that so many other SF fans seem to share. I wonder if maybe I just haven't read enough of them yet which is fine since I've liked these enough to continue the series :)
DeleteI'm the same way. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoyed Shards of Honor and can see the potential in the series but it didn't make me want to drop everything and keep reading. Maybe it is the Miles books that come after these two that kick things up a notch?
Delete