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Post by Spaced Out Looney on Jan 22, 2006 10:27:41 GMT -5
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Post by Sue on May 25, 2006 20:15:18 GMT -5
Although I've recc'd these before I was writing up a listing for Matthew and decided to copy it here for the convenience of others:
I own all of the books and am more than happy to send them out to anyone on loan.
First some comments and a list from Christina Roberts on one of those Amazon Lists: (with a few minor editorial comments in red by me). More from me at the bottom.
The Vorkosigan Series by Lois McMaster Bujold So you've heard about the wonderful Vorkosigan series and can't wait to dive into it, right? Or maybe you've stumbled onto this guide and are wondering just what it's all about? Well first of all, for those of you who haven't heard of it (*gasp* LOL!) the Vorkosigan series is written by the wonderfully talented Lois McMaster Bujold, and the genre is Science Fiction, or more specifically Space Opera with a dash of Military, Humor and Romance. And secondly, where should you start and what's the correct order? Keep reading and I'll help you out with that!
The Books In Chronological Order
Trying to sort out the order of this series can be extremely confusing. There are, of course, the individual books, but there are also omnibuses and novellas, and even a novella "hidden" in an anthology, which I almost missed myself. Thankfully, a friend pointed it out to me. I had been under the impression that Bujold had skipped over a very important part of the series!
'Falling Free (Nebula Award Stories)' (Prequel) Meh. read only if interested after all others. 200 years prequel, none of the Vorkosigan characters. ~~~~~ 'Cordelia's Honor (Hugo Winners) Bujold originally wrote this as 2 separate books "Shards of Honor" and "Bayarrar" but it's now only found until the single title ~~~~~ 'Young Miles' (Omnibus of 'Warrior's Apprentice', The Mountains of Mourning and 'The Vor Game') ~~~~~~ 'Miles, Mystery & Mayhem' (Omnibus of 'Cetaganda (Bujold, Lois Mcmaster. Vorkosigan Adventure.)', 'Ethan of Athos' and Labyrinth) ~~~~~~ 'Miles Errant' (Omnibus of 'Borders of Infinity', 'Brothers in Arms' and 'Mirror Dance') ~~~~~~ 'Memory (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures (Paperback))' ~~~~~~ 'Komarr (Miles Vorkosigan Adventures (Paperback))' ~~~~~~~ 'A Civil Campaign' ~~~~~~~ 'Irresistible Forces' (Anthology: Contains the Vorkosigan novella “Winterfair Gifts”) This is a rather interesting/odd collection of stories by 6 females authors: some are primarily known as romance authors, Bujold and Asaro both are known more as sci-fi/fantasy authors, but the book would be more accurately be classified as romance. ~~~~~~ 'Diplomatic Immunity'
Still Ms. Roberts comments: Where Do I Start?
Before I get into that, I’ll tell you a bit about the books and why Falling Free and Cordelia’s Honor are divided from the rest. Falling free is sort of a pre-prequel (is that even a word? LOL!) which is set approximately 300 years before Miles’ birth. Cordelia’s Honor is the prequel to what fans call “The Miles Series” and tells the story of Miles’ parents. And the rest are all about Miles, whom we all love so much!
The only thing I can say for certain is that I think Falling Free should be read last. Yes, it’s chronologically the first, but it doesn’t have anything to do with Miles and really isn’t a proper introduction to the Vorkosigan series in my opinion. It’s all about the “Quaddies” who you will meet at the end of the Miles series in Diplomatic Immunity. agree totally
The important question, I believe, is this: Should you read Cordelia’s Honor first, or should you jump right into the Miles series with Young Miles? I’ll be honest here, Cordelia’s Honor is not one of my favourite books in the series. It was nice to read about Aral and Cordelia (Miles’ parents) but Shards of Honor is one of her older works and the writing is a bit weak. Barrayar is better, but I’m afraid that someone starting out with the Cordelia’s Honor omnibus may not like it and decide not to continue, and that would be an unfortunate mistake! There are some that love Cordelia’s Honor and some that hate it, but “everyone” loves the Miles series! Now, I get why she is saying this. In fact, I've said it to people myself. In fact, the first book I read was "The Warrior Apprentice" because I couldn't find the 2 original books and didn't realize at first that Cordelia's Honor was their combination. In other words I was flying blind and got lucky. One comparison: the Narnia books. I don't care one bit that Magician's Nephew is chronologically first, in my opinion you still read LW&W first. Another comparison: BtVS. Really now, don't you wish sometimes you could just start people (quality and intensity wise) with season two and go back and pick up season one later? But, really, you can't.
This series: a bit murkier.
Many folks I would tell to start with Warrior's Apprentice. If you are at all unsure and wouldn't be willing to try "season two" (The Warrior's Apprentice) if "season one" (Cordelia's Honor") hook you in then start off with W.A.
It's up to you really. Warrior's Apprentice jumps right in with both feet and the action is non-stop. And you can then go back and read CH. Either way works.
So, I’m going to suggest that your first introduction to the Vorkosigan series should be with Young Miles. Get the omnibuses if you can. They are well worth it and make it so much easier to be sure you’re reading everything in the correct order. Then just continue on till the end of Diplomatic Immunity. There’s a little “burp” in the flow of things after you finish A Civil Campaign. An important event in Miles’ life is covered in the novella “Winterfair Gifts” which can be found in the Irrisistable Forces anthology. To my knowledge, you cannot buy it separately, but please don’t let that discourage you from buying the anthology. The whole book is worth it just for that one novella! I own this (as well as all the books). You are more than welcome to borrow it and any of the others---just send me a list of the ones you need and your address.
Once you finish Diplomatic Immunity, get yourself a copy of Cordelia’s Honor and give it a try. Now here I do disagree. If you decide to read WA first, then I'd go back and pick up CH right then and there before continuing on with the series. It gives a lot of background to the politics, society and type of thinking of the Bayarran society which really is integral to understanding Miles.
I think you’ll appreciate that one much better after you’ve gotten to know and love Miles. And when you read Falling Free after that one, you can then join all of us who are praying that Bujold will continue the Vorkosigan series, and more importantly, that she will continue Miles story and pick up where she left off in Diplomatic Immunity! *crosses fingers AND toes*Also (very sadly) disagreeing with her here. I think DI brings the story to a fitting conclusion and trying to continue on may be dangerous. Even the best stories have stopping points, I'm afraid.
======================
Okay, now this is all me, but red is harder to read so I'll put the rest in black. So, Ms. Roberts saved me a lot of time and trouble.
The list she gives above is the best list if buying the books currently off of Amazon. Many of the original books are not being printed individually anymore and have to be purchased in anthology form.
As well, there are 3 novella length stories which are inserted correctly into the timeline in the anthologies.
However, if you are collecting the books through the library I'll include an older listing with the books separated out:
Cordelia's Honor The Warrior's Apprentice (**"The Mountains of Mourning, which is one of three stories in the collection published as Borders of Infinity. This is where it fits chronologically). The Vor Game Cetaganda Ethan of Athos (**this is a bit of an odd one---not Miles-centric, an episode in the life of one of his subordinates. It interrupts the flow a bit, IMO, if you want to leave it for later) (**"Labyrinth", published in Borders of Infinity) (** "Borders of Infinity", pulished in Borders of Infinity) [As you see above, these three novellas are now included where they occur chronologically in the anthology collections.] Brothers in Arms Mirror Dance Memory Komarr A Civil Campaign Diplomatic Immunity
If you find yourself really liking the author she has 3 books in her "Challion" series. And one freestanding called "The Spirit Ring". I've enjoyed all of them. (Unlike some authors who I only enjoy when the write the characters I love best.)
There is a timeline in the back of most books, but be careful as they give short plot synopses which can be spoilerish.
Having this whole discussion prompted me to take the books out and start rereading them. So I'll leave you with two of my favorite quotes from Cordelia's Honor:
From the author's afterward: "....thus accidentally discovereding my first application of the rule for finding plots for character-centered novels, which is to ask 'So what's the worst possible thing I can do to this guy?' And then do it."
Which is obviously a very Jossian thing to say. But, fear not, it's obvious that she loves the little guy.
And, in reference to a secondary (but pivotal) character:
"I thought he was [evil guy]'s creature." "He chose...he chose to be otherwise. I think it was the most heroic act I've ever witnessed. Out of the middle of that swamp of evil and insanity to reach for...." Cordelia trailed off, embarrassed to say reach for redemption.
I think maybe I'll try to use some quotes from CH in my sig line.
Feel free to IM me with comments as you read....or we can set up a thread in the RR section.
These books would make just the most superb television series in the right hands.
Sue
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Post by Rachael on Jun 22, 2006 16:35:55 GMT -5
So, I read two books, back-to-back, and both were excellent, IMO. This happens so rarely that I've brought the recs here. First, The Atrocity Archives by Charles Stross. Fun. Not literary - if you've come looking for beautiful prose, look elsewhere. But it's exactly what its target audience likes, and SO funny. The premise: the protagonist works for The Laundry, an agency of the British government whose task is to stop people, deliberately or accidentally, from discovering the mathematical formulae that open portals between universes and letting in the Lovecraftian nasties. The aforementioned protagonist is primarily a hacker, and secondarily a field agent. Second up, The Jane Austen Book Club, by Karen Joy Fowler. Fowler has a dual career; she writes science fiction short stories, and mostly non-genre novels. The book is exactly what it sounds like - a group of women (and one man) get together to read the novels of Jane Austen. Of particular notice for us is the fact that the man is primarily a science fiction reader, and the women in the group start out quite disdainful of him for this reason. And he eventually gets one of them to read LeGuin. This one is beautiful, and reminded me of...well, Jane Austen.
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Post by Rachael on Jul 3, 2006 13:07:10 GMT -5
So, I just made a list of my favorite science fiction books for my friend Melissa (who just left the lab and is moving to the mountains...she'll have lots of time to read). Anyway, I figured after all that work, I might as well post the list here, as well:
• The Dragonriders of Pern – Anne McCaffrey
This is a huge series, but the first few novels in it are my absolute favorite scifi novels of all time. So, the ones to read are:
“Dragonflight”, “Dragonquest”, and “The White Dragon” – available as individual novels, and sometimes as a compendium titled “The Dragonriders of Pern”. These are the first ones she wrote, and the best.
“Moreta, Dragonlady of Pern” – Set a couple thousand years before the others, this one is just a really good stand-alone novel, but it helps to have read the others to establish the setting.
“Dragonsinger”, “Dragonsong”, and “Dragondrums” – also known as and sometimes bound together as “The Harper Hall Trilogy”. Takes place simultaneously with “Dragonriders”, but from a different POV.
“Dragonsdawn” – Tells the story of the arrival of humans on Pern, and the origin of the dragons and dragonriders.
“All the Weyrs of Pern” – if you want to know how the Dragonriders story ultimately ends.
There are bunches of books between “The White Dragon” and “All the Weyrs”. Worth reading, but these are the best. If you love the Dragonriders trilogy, consider doing the “middle” books before “All the Weyrs”.
• Douglas Adams – The Hitchhiker Trilogy (5 books; don’t ask). If you like Terry Pratchett, you ought to enjoy these.
• Margaret Atwood – “The Handmaid’s Tale”
• Kage Baker – The Company Series, starting with “In The Garden of Iden”.
• Octavia Butler – “Kindred”. Butler is in my “anything she writes” category, but she tends to be pretty grim. Excellent writer, though. “Kindred” is amazing.
• Greg Bear – “Darwin’s Radio”
• Suzette Hadin Elgin – The Native Tongue Series, starting with, well, “Native Tongue”.
• Jasper Fforde – The Thursday Next novels, starting with “The Eyre Affair”
• Joe Haldeman – “The Forever War”
• Nancy Kress - “Beggars in Spain”. This is the first of a trilogy, though all three aren’t required. Kress is also an “anything she writes”, for me.
• Madeline L’Engle – The Time Trilogy, starting with “A Wrinkle in Time”
• Ursula K. LeGuin – “The Left Hand of Darkness”
• Christopher Moore – oh, anything, but if you’re gonna pick just one, go with “Lamb”
• James Morrow – “Only Begotten Daughter”
• Audrey Niffenegger – “The Time Traveler’s Wife”
• Robert Sawyer – any of the following
“Calculating God” “Factoring Humanity” “Hominids”
• Robert Silverberg – “Roma Eterna”
• Sheri S. Tepper – I LOVE her, but she’s very much the sort who wears her feminist politics on her sleeve
“The Gate To Women’s Country” “Beauty” “Gibbon’s Decline and Fall” “The Fresco” “Grass”, “Raising the Stones”, and “Sideshow” – this is a very loose trilogy. “Sideshow” is very grim at times (but then, so is all of Tepper, at times)
• Connie Willis – she’s laugh-out-loud funny at times, really serious at others, so, everything she’s ever written, but especially: “Passage” “Doomsday Book” “To Say Nothing of the Dog” “Bellwether”
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Post by Lola m on Jul 3, 2006 16:31:59 GMT -5
Oh, the mention of Suzette Hadin Elgin made me think of a trilogy she wrote that is one of my favorites to read and re-read.
The Ozark Trilogy - which consists of "Twelve Fair Kingdoms", "The Grand Jubilee", and "And Then There'll Be Fireworks".
It's the story of Responsible of Brightwater, who is a lot more important to her world than most of the people on it know.
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Post by Rachael on Jul 5, 2006 16:04:16 GMT -5
Oh, the mention of Suzette Hadin Elgin made me think of a trilogy she wrote that is one of my favorites to read and re-read. The Ozark Trilogy - which consists of "Twelve Fair Kingdoms", "The Grand Jubilee", and "And Then There'll Be Fireworks". It's the story of Responsible of Brightwater, who is a lot more important to her world than most of the people on it know. Oooh, good? 'Cause it's been on my Amazon Wish List forever...but I've hesitated because it only comes as a $30 compendium.
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Post by Lola m on Jul 5, 2006 16:29:47 GMT -5
Oh, the mention of Suzette Hadin Elgin made me think of a trilogy she wrote that is one of my favorites to read and re-read. The Ozark Trilogy - which consists of "Twelve Fair Kingdoms", "The Grand Jubilee", and "And Then There'll Be Fireworks". It's the story of Responsible of Brightwater, who is a lot more important to her world than most of the people on it know. Oooh, good? 'Cause it's been on my Amazon Wish List forever...but I've hesitated because it only comes as a $30 compendium. Well, I really like it, but I got it from Science Fiction Book Club many many years ago (also in a one book compendium) for much less than that. I could bring it to the hotel at S'cubiefest and let you read a bit of it, if you'd like. Then you could feel more sure that you wanted it (or not, but I'd be surprised if you didn't want it. )
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Post by Sue on Sept 10, 2006 22:13:24 GMT -5
Jim shares an office with an M.D. whose husband and son are huge SciFi (book) fans. They shared this site with me. I pass it on as a resource. home.austarnet.com.au/petersykes/topscifi/lists_books_rank1.htmlI will note that there is no Tepper, no McCaffrey, and (gasp, horrible sin) no Lois McMasters Bujold! 3/4ths of the books were written before 1985 so it's heavily laden with "classics", perhaps those are the books all voters could most readily agree on. (Or is it just based on sales? Truth to tell I didn't look that closely.)
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Post by Becky H on Dec 19, 2006 17:51:41 GMT -5
Just read an interesting entry in the vampire genre: Twilight, by Stephanie Meyer, which you might overlook because it's in the YA section of bookstores and libraries. Lovely, atmospheric, writing. Unusual setting in the Pacific Northwest. Vampire habits stray from the Stoker canon but plausibly so. I read the last few chapters in a mad rush because the suspense was killing me! Plus, the edition I have has the first chapter of a sequel - woo hoo!
Joining in the SF discussion: I also just read Tinker, by Wen Spencer. It has definite Laurell Hamilton - Meredith Gentry overtones and Tinker herself is a bit of a Mary Sue but still, it was a pleasant way to spend a few hours.
Now, shall I tell you about all of the kindergarten picture books I've also been reading? ;D
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Post by Sharky on Mar 13, 2007 10:26:38 GMT -5
I just finished Guy Gavirel Kay's book Last Light of the SunI've enjoyed every one of his novels, which blend history and fantasy, almost as if he's exploring an alternate universe of the first millenium whith a stronger supernatural flavor. His most recent novel explores an alternate history of the tribal kingdoms of Great Britain during the time period before it becomes Christian. Lots of politics, multiple storylines with great characters, a light touch with the fantasy. I really enjoyed the thread that followed the reluctant warrior teen Bern Thorkellson, who steals a horse and escapes his humdrum future by becoming a mercenary. He also wrote an excellent historical fantasy called Sailing to Sarantium (Byzantium), heavy on the character and history, light on the fantasy. Author link to Amazon www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/search-handle-form/103-4495873-8222265I think my favorite Guy Gavriel Kay still is one of the earliest, the trilogy known as The Fionavar Tapestry. It combines elements of Tolkien and Arthurian legend, and also brings the protagonists into the fantasy world from the real world. He does it very well. The first book is The Summer Tree.
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Post by Sharky on Mar 13, 2007 10:33:15 GMT -5
I had a friend introduce me several years back to Robert Crais' Elvis Cole novels. If you like mysteries, these are a pretty good read, and Cole and his enigmatic friend Joe Pike are two of my favorite fictional characters. The link takes you to a list someone did on Amazon showing the order of the novels.
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Post by Sue on Mar 30, 2007 14:40:22 GMT -5
I"m calling this a "book" post, as opposed to a "religion" post. I have no clue if anyone would be interested in this, but my sister just send me the most awesome book for my birthday. It's called "The Jesus Storybook Bible". It's not a children's Bible, it's a collection of 43 "Bible Stories" supposedly for kids ages 4-8 but it is lovely, lovely, lovely. To say more would most definitely put me into religion territory so I'll just provide the link to the Amazon page hereTo understand what I like about it scroll down to the customer reviews. Great gift for nieces, nephews, grandkids, godkids---in the right context of course
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Post by Becky H on Mar 31, 2007 9:42:16 GMT -5
I'm giving a plug for River of Doubt, the latest choice of my book group. It was written by a Baker University grad so there is that hometown connection but it's also simply a great read. After Teddy Roosevelt lost his Bull Moose run for the presidency, he had the opportunity (if you want to call it that) to explore an uncharted tributary of the Amazon. It's fascinating! A bit of botany, history, adventure, politics, and family dynamics all rolled into one great bit of gripping non-fiction.
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Post by Sue on Jul 11, 2007 21:27:02 GMT -5
We've already covered a lot of the books and authors mentioned, but fanfic writer Anaross on her LJ requested sci-fi recs and fantasy recs. So, in case there are a few we've missed: See the comments here for sci-fi: anaross.livejournal.com/72046.htmlAnd here for fantasy: anaross.livejournal.com/72202.html(why does her journal take sooooooooooo long to load?)
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Post by S'ewing S'cubie on Aug 8, 2008 13:34:09 GMT -5
Sleeping with the Fishes and its sequel Swimming Without a Net by Mary Janice Davidson. Has absolutely the crankiest mermaid I've ever wanted to punch in the nose and the yummiest merman I've ever wanted to kick in the nuts. Don't read it in public. First, the sex is graphic and second it's out and out hilarious. Unless you don't mind snickering out loud in front of strangers, this is best read alone.
And for graphic novel (my favorite kind of bathroom read) Dark Horse's Spike vs. Dracula. First of all it resolves reason Spike believes Drac owe him 11 quid. Second, it's just a helluva good story.
Besides--Spike! What else do you need?
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