on Vorkosigans

[xparrot]

So when that list of SF books went around, I mentioned I'd never read Bujold's Miles Vorkosigan books, upon which someone kindly (evilly) linked me to the free e-book versions. So I popped them on my Kindle and started reading. Really enjoyed Cordelia's stories (insanely awesome (awesomely insane) female character FTW!), and Cordelia & Aral's mature, incredibly supportive romance and relationship (het OTP FTW!) Then I started reading Warrior's Apprentice.

Then I told my brother to read them. And my roommate. And gnine (that was a week and a half ago. She's finishing Cryoburn as I write this. Have I ever mentioned my sister's marathoning abilities are unbelievable?)

I knew the series was award-winning scifi, and I knew it had to have good characters from the number of fangirls who liked it. I'd also heard tell of h/c (Bujold is totally an h/c fangirl, whether or not she would use the term herself. She's also a whumper - there's quite a bit of 'hmm, the plot seems to be slowing down - time to beat on the hero!' but there's some sweet moments as well.) What no one ever mentioned was how funny the books can be. Some of them moreso than others; the whole series is incredibly manic depressive (just like its hero) - bouncing between hilarious and tragic within a few pages. ...Which, I've come to realize, is pretty much my favorite kind of fiction (see Gintama!) (Not that the Vorkosigan books are parody; they're pretty straight action/hard scifi/mystery. But they keep making me unexpectedly laugh out loud. And that's definitely a good part of how hard I've fallen for them...)

I could go on about how much I adore Miles and his amazing ability to take absolutely anything and run with it (to infinity and beyond, to legend! Also bankruptcy!) and all the snowballing escapades this gift gets him into, and how much I love how he's maybe the only genre hero I've ever read with a really solid, functional, caring relationship with both his parents (so much love for Cordelia & Aral, I don't even. And I love how Miles is so completely their son, Aral's mastery of strategy and Cordelia's unstoppable will in one package seemingly too small to contain it). Not to mention all the Dendarii, and Gregor, and Ivan (Ivan! <333) - but I'm about halfway through Brothers in Arms and it was a terrible place to stop, so I'm going back to reading now.

But thank you, everyone who recced them - and if you haven't read them yet, definitely give them a go!

(Ah, also, I'm reading in chronological order, so please please please no spoilers for Brothers in Arms or even vague references to any books after - I'm pretty much unspoiled and am enjoying not having any clue what's going to happen to Miles next!)

Comments

[sholio]

Oh yes, the humor - the humor in those books is great! I am also a huge sucker for humor mixed with serious/tragic (... just look at what I fan on; there's almost always a large dose of humor in the mix!).

And, heeee, Brothers in Arms - without getting spoilery beyond where you are, I absolutely adore the comedy-of-errors aspect to that book; between Miles trying to find a way to pay for his hideously expensive fleet of heavily armed mercenaries, and Miles convincing the world that he is his own clone(!!!), it's so funny. Only you, Miles, only you.

[spacealien-vamp.livejournal.com]

I can't recall if I joined in on recommending the series to you, but I've certainly recommended it to a number of people. I'm glad that you're enjoying it!

[mahaliem.livejournal.com]

I love those books!

[amalthia]

This series took me over when I first started reading it! I also loved the humorous aspects of the books and cried more than once throughout the series.

I also second the Deeper Season rec..I have ebook versions of the fan fic if you're curious to give it a go after you're done reading the series. I was also rather intrigued by the pairing. :)

p.s. forgot a link...

[amalthia]

A Deeper Season

I only have the first two stories in epub/mobipocket format. It's on my list of things to do to create ebook versions of the rest of the series and maybe create a single ebook that contains the entire Deeper Season verse.

[alessandriana.livejournal.com]

Ivan! <33333

He gets even more awesome, just FYI. :D

[cienna.livejournal.com]

After hearing gnine go on and on about this series, and now reading your comments, I have to say, it intrigues me! That is awesome that there are free e-book versions! I might just have to give the first book a try.

[serrende.livejournal.com]

Another Vorkosigan fan here, reporting in! You've got some great stuff ahead of you.

Also, since you've already read Barrayar, can I show you the new cover to that volume? This series has not been well-served with covers generally, but I really like this one (http://www.murphyillustration.com/images/full/Barrayar.jpg) (even if everyone is glamourised on it!).

And I totally agree re Miles and his relationship to both his parents.

Btw, I haven't read through the comments yet so maybe someone else has already said this, but Bujold is quite positive towards fanfics and started out in the early Star Trek fanzines herself, way back when in the 70s.

ETA: I see you're not interested in fanfics... oddly, I tend to feel the same way about book fics. And it may be because it's the same medium. Or maybe I just have an inherently bigger respect for books that I can't shake, I dunno...

[elvaron.livejournal.com]

o.m.g. I've loved this series for forever, so much so that it's one of the rare few I write for, and it's wonderful to hear how you're enjoying them! The only problem with the e-books, I think, is that they don't seem to have Memory, which is one of the later books and also an absolutely critical part of the series (and also my absolute favourite). I'm not sure why and I'm not sure they even have it in e-book format :|

Anyway, wishing you a glorious, happy read!