One of the highlights of November, for us book bloggers who enjoy speculative fiction, is the Sci-Fi Month event, 30 days in which we enjoy talking about one of our favorite genres, sharing titles and comments and – above all – having fun.
With many thanks to Deargeekplace and Imyril who are hosting the event, I would like to direct you to the event’s Twitter page, where you will learn everything you need to know to participate: there is no time limit for signing on – as long as the fun goes on, everyone will be welcome. The more the merrier!
This year I’ve decided to do something different: instead of showcasing various SF novels (or movies, or TV shows – remember, the sky’s the limit!) I want to focus on one of my favorite space opera series, Lois McMaster Bujold’s VORKOSIGAN SAGA. Since I started blogging I recommended it emphatically to anyone who asked me for recommendations, but given that I read the books long before the idea of a book blog came to me, I have never reviewed any of them – with the exception of the latest works, Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen and The Flowers of Vashnoi.
So starting this November (and then moving beyond it, given the huge number of works in the series) I will share my reviews of the Vorkosigan books and novellas, using the internal chronological order rather than the publication date, so as to offer a logical timeline and a more coherent narrative pattern.
The books I will showcase are:
Shards of Honor
Barrayar
The Warrior Apprentice
The Mountains of Mourning (novella)
The Vor Game
Cetaganda
Labyrinth (novella)
The Borders of Infinity (novella)
Brothers in Arms
Mirror Dance
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign
Winterfair Gifts (novella)
Diplomatic Immunity
Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance
Cryoburn
So I hope you will appreciate rediscovering with me the adventures of Miles Vorkosigan & Co. or be curious about this highly enjoyable series and start reading… Shall we begin? 🙂
A small side note on the books’ covers: I have searched for nice-looking covers that could give a good idea of the single stories, but this series seems to be plagued by an abundance of not-so-stellar cover images. Remember that no book should be judged by that…. 😉
Space and Sorcery 
This is such a great idea! I’m looking forward to your month of Vorkosigan madness!
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Where Miles is concerned, madness is always the main course! 😀
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Are the covers mainly Baen covers? I LIKE Baen covers 😀
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it’s not a matter of not liking the covers I found (most of them were BAEN covers, indeed), but the overall feeling of… old-fashioned naiveté – for want of a better definition – that they seem to convey. Most of them looked more like the covers of pulp magazines of old, the kind that sported scantily-clad girls in the clutches of a monster, and heroically posing guys… 😀
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Oh… I think I’m in Heaven. Lois McMaster Bujold is a solid favourite in this house and the Vorkosigan Saga is woefully neglected as a science fiction classical series that has paved the way for much of the character-led, diverse protagonists we often see these days. I’m very much looking forward to reading your reviews, Maddalena:))
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It’s been fun retracing Miles’ story and trying to put into words my feelings for these novels and their characters, and along the way I discovered many details I had not noticed before. Now, if someone just decided to turn this saga into a tv series I would be very happy… 🙂
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Oh, wouldn’t it be MARVELLOUS, if they did a major TV series of the Vorkosigan Sage – it’s got absolutely everything! She is such a talented writer – I’m also loving her Penric and Desdemona novella series, too:)
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I’ve read the first book in the P&D series, and found the same kind of delightful humor I enjoyed with Miles. Now I need to move forward with that series too! 🙂
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I’m so pumped! I love the sci-fi coverage on your blog in general, and in November I’m excited because I know I’m going to get even more goodness 🙂
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Thank you! The Vorkosigan books don’t seem to be greatly known, and if I can shed some light on them and compel a few more readers toward them, I will be very, very happy 🙂
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Oh wow – I’m yet to read any of the Vorkosigan Saga so I look forward to you making me rue that and mend my ways in 2020 🙂
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Ah, I’ve already made an almost-convert! I’m very thrilled at the prospect 😀 😀
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I am so excited for this!! 😀 I have only read the first two books so far, but I loved them so much! I can’t wait for your posts.
And, man, yes! Those covers just don’t get any better, do they?! 😀
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The covers for the latest books moved toward a more modern, more on-point description of the contents, but since the saga started in the ’80s, the covers suffers a little from the overall derogatory concept visited on SF at the time, which is a pity IMHO…
And I hope I will manage to convince to move forward to the rest of the saga 🙂
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Oh I definitely want to read the whole lot. I’m just so … incredibly … slooww! 😀
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As I’m fond of saying, books are patient creatures and can wait for the right moment when we finally pick them up… 🙂
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Oh, I like that! Patient creatures … that’s lovely! Makes them sound kind of cute and sleepy. 😀
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Soo- sounds like a good month to finally read one of these? I’ve never read Bujold. I’ve struggled with older SF because I feel like it doesn’t quite age as well. How could it? Technology developing as quickly as it does.
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The Vorkosigan Saga is more about people than technology, and that’s one of the reasons it has aged well – or rather, it feels ageless. If you decide to read the series, I will look forward to your thoughts about it 🙂
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I have never heard of this series. Agree about the covers. The Expanse has less than wonderful covers and they are great reads😊
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It’s not a recent series (except for the latest books) since it started in the mid- ’80s, but it still holds its own because it’s not focused on technology but rather on character development.
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That’s the only drawback to old Sci-Fi. If it focuses on tech then its bound to not keep up with the times.
So at least the author must of knew that 🙂
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I’ve only read a few titles in the Vorkosigan saga (yes, shoot me, I read them out of order!), and loved them all. I love that the series is character driven, and that it is often about relationships between people, rather than huge politics (altho there is politics), or high tech weapons (altho there are those too). this series is the definition of how good Space Opera can be.
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Indeed the fact that it does not show its “age” is a point in its favor and – I think – the main reason I still enjoy it after all this time 🙂
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I have been meaning to read Vorkosigan series for a long time now. Are you planning to reread some of the books from the series? There are so many in that series!
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I will indeed retrace the whole series – that is, until Cryoburn, because I already reviewed both Gentlemant Jole and the Red Queen and The Flowers of Vashnoi. There is a huge number of books, indeed, but for me it was a joy reconnecting with those beloved characters! 🙂
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I love the idea of revisiting those books for us and giving us more reasons to read them if we haven’t already hahah Thanks for hosting this cool feature on your blog this month! 😀
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It was a… match made in heaven, indeed: I realized I never reviewed those beloved books, and SciFi Month was nearing so… Vorkosigan, here I come! 😀 😀
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I’m just so impressed at how you’re getting through these so easily – I look forward to reading more of your reviews.
Lynn 😀
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To say the truth… I am somewhat “cheating”, since I already read the books and even re-read them some time ago (when I could still afford the luxury of re-reading) so they are still fresh in my memory and I only needed to write down my thoughts about them… 😉
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