Author: Lois McMaster Bujold
The last author on my original list is Lois McMaster Bujold, who is simultaneously is the author of my favorite scifi series, The Vorkosigan Saga, as well as the author of what is quite possibly my single favorite non-Tolkien fantasy novel, The Curse of Chalion. For all that, I almost missed out on her. My library growing up had a few of her books, but I read one smack dab in the middle of the series (Brothers in Arms, if I recall correctly) when I was in junior high and stopped. Many years later, my mother said "hey, I've just binge read this fantastic science fiction series, you should try it out." I loved it, and it turned out that many of my friends (ayb2, gieves and khiron1416 to name a few) were also big fans. I then turned rshruti on to it. My sister and father are also fans.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Bujold has a couple of obvious strengths whether she is writing fantasy or science fiction, plus one that I had to have pointed out to me:
- Her characters are fully realized, with their own motivations, successes and failures. Cordelia Naismith is one of the greatest characters, male or female, that I've ever read. The two books she fronts are wonderful, and then she's a powerful presence in the many books about her son Miles, who is himself one of the most interesting characters I've ever read. Most of their recurring support cast (husband/father Aral, nephew/cousin Ivan, Gregor the Emperor, Miles' love interests Elli and Ekaterin) are all far better than one note ciphers. For years, my mother wanted a book with Ivan as the lead, and when it finally came it was great, because Ivan was always a good character. Note to Bujold: I'd love a book with Gregor as the lead!
- The setting these characters exist in is described just enough to orient you, but not enough to drown you in details. I can tell you all sorts of things about the FTL in the Vorkosigan saga, not to mention the other tech base, but virtually all of it arose organically instead of via big data dumps. The same is true for the fantasy world Chalion, and the world of the Sharing Knife.
- I never noticed this myself, but when khiron1416 and I got theferrett to read one of her books, he said "it's super impressive how every chapter ends on at least a small cliff hangar," which may explain why I have trouble putting her books down.
My only complaint about Bujold is that lately she's been publishing a lot of novellas in electronic format which only get printed years later. This is frustrating for people like me who have no interest in the electronic format. It's also disconcerting; if a highly successful author with a shelf full of major awards (seven Hugos / 9 more nominations, four Nebulas / 5 more nominations, plus many other awards) feels she can't get her books out there, who can? Of course, I may be projecting a bit; if she's commented on why she's going electronic I haven't yet seen it.
Note: I read most of these books pre-lists, and virtually everything else in the year or two after it came out, so I'm going to skip calling out specific books.
Start Here
There is a substantial amount of discussion in the Bujold fan base about where the ideal place to start reading the Vorkosigan Saga is. Do you read the whole thing following the internal chronology of the series, or do you read them in publication order, or is there a specific book that is the best starting point? Even the author has weighed in, and her initial recommendations happen to match mine.
Personally, I would recommend starting with the two Cordelia books Shards of Honor and Barrayar. You could also start with Miles in the The Warrior's Apprentice.
Another solution would be to side-step this question and start with her fantasy novels, as The Curse of Chalion is both fantastic and the logical starting point in that universe, which is technically called The World of the Five Gods.
If You Like Those
Read everything else in the Chalion and Vorkosigan books. Some are stronger than others, but none are bad. I recommend going in via internal chronology order because you'll get to watch the characters grow, but you do you.
For those more fantasy oriented, The Sharing Knife series (which is really just one long book split into four pieces), is a combination of fantasy novel and romance novel. It's definitely not as good as her other series, which hasn't stopped me from reading it cover to cover several times.
For Completists
The Spirit Ring is an early fantasy attempt that is not related to any other book. It's competently executed and many authors would be proud to have written it, but it is not nearly at the level of any of her other stuff.
What I Haven't Read Yet
There is one short story in the Vorkosigan saga titled Dreamweaver's Dilemma which is was only available electronically or apparently in a book put together specifically for a con. It's not tied to any of the other books in the saga in any way besides being in the same universe.
While writing this, I learned a new Vorkosigan book "The Flowers of Vashnoi" is coming out in July.
There is also a new electronic novella in the Sharing Knife universe titled Knife Children.
Probably Won't
Bujold has a collection of talks and essays as well as an electronic only collection of very early short stories.
Lois McMaster Bujold
Bujold has a couple of obvious strengths whether she is writing fantasy or science fiction, plus one that I had to have pointed out to me:
- Her characters are fully realized, with their own motivations, successes and failures. Cordelia Naismith is one of the greatest characters, male or female, that I've ever read. The two books she fronts are wonderful, and then she's a powerful presence in the many books about her son Miles, who is himself one of the most interesting characters I've ever read. Most of their recurring support cast (husband/father Aral, nephew/cousin Ivan, Gregor the Emperor, Miles' love interests Elli and Ekaterin) are all far better than one note ciphers. For years, my mother wanted a book with Ivan as the lead, and when it finally came it was great, because Ivan was always a good character. Note to Bujold: I'd love a book with Gregor as the lead!
- The setting these characters exist in is described just enough to orient you, but not enough to drown you in details. I can tell you all sorts of things about the FTL in the Vorkosigan saga, not to mention the other tech base, but virtually all of it arose organically instead of via big data dumps. The same is true for the fantasy world Chalion, and the world of the Sharing Knife.
- I never noticed this myself, but when khiron1416 and I got theferrett to read one of her books, he said "it's super impressive how every chapter ends on at least a small cliff hangar," which may explain why I have trouble putting her books down.
My only complaint about Bujold is that lately she's been publishing a lot of novellas in electronic format which only get printed years later. This is frustrating for people like me who have no interest in the electronic format. It's also disconcerting; if a highly successful author with a shelf full of major awards (seven Hugos / 9 more nominations, four Nebulas / 5 more nominations, plus many other awards) feels she can't get her books out there, who can? Of course, I may be projecting a bit; if she's commented on why she's going electronic I haven't yet seen it.
Note: I read most of these books pre-lists, and virtually everything else in the year or two after it came out, so I'm going to skip calling out specific books.
Start Here
There is a substantial amount of discussion in the Bujold fan base about where the ideal place to start reading the Vorkosigan Saga is. Do you read the whole thing following the internal chronology of the series, or do you read them in publication order, or is there a specific book that is the best starting point? Even the author has weighed in, and her initial recommendations happen to match mine.
Personally, I would recommend starting with the two Cordelia books Shards of Honor and Barrayar. You could also start with Miles in the The Warrior's Apprentice.
Another solution would be to side-step this question and start with her fantasy novels, as The Curse of Chalion is both fantastic and the logical starting point in that universe, which is technically called The World of the Five Gods.
If You Like Those
Read everything else in the Chalion and Vorkosigan books. Some are stronger than others, but none are bad. I recommend going in via internal chronology order because you'll get to watch the characters grow, but you do you.
For those more fantasy oriented, The Sharing Knife series (which is really just one long book split into four pieces), is a combination of fantasy novel and romance novel. It's definitely not as good as her other series, which hasn't stopped me from reading it cover to cover several times.
For Completists
The Spirit Ring is an early fantasy attempt that is not related to any other book. It's competently executed and many authors would be proud to have written it, but it is not nearly at the level of any of her other stuff.
What I Haven't Read Yet
There is one short story in the Vorkosigan saga titled Dreamweaver's Dilemma which is was only available electronically or apparently in a book put together specifically for a con. It's not tied to any of the other books in the saga in any way besides being in the same universe.
While writing this, I learned a new Vorkosigan book "The Flowers of Vashnoi" is coming out in July.
There is also a new electronic novella in the Sharing Knife universe titled Knife Children.
Probably Won't
Bujold has a collection of talks and essays as well as an electronic only collection of very early short stories.