Barrayar

A Vorkosigan Adventure

By: Lois McMaster Bujold

Narrated by: Grover Gardner

Political intrigue, culture clash and romance make a stirring mix in this award-winning follow-up novel to the acclaimed Shards of Honor.

In the wake of interplanetary war, former commander Cordelia Naismith has deserted her own planet to marry the leader of the defeated enemy, Aral Vorkosigan. On his home planet of Barrayar, two rival factions are eyeing the recently vacated throne, and Aral, recently appointed Regent of Barrayar by the Emperor on his deathbed, must stand between them.

Lord and Lady Vorkosigan, Aral and Cordelia struggle to establish stability in a fragile government thrown into confusion by the transition of power and the threat of civil war. When a palace coup endangers the government, their lives, and her unborn son, Cordelia takes action to secure the safety of her new family and new home.

Hi-fi sci-fi: listen to more in the Vorkosigan saga.©1991 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.

Critic reviews

1992 Hugo Award, Best Novel

Bittersweet

This is, to some extent, the tale regarding the circumstances around the birth of a baby. It is true the baby is of noble blood and the circumstances are full of treachery and blood, with the heroics of mother outshining the wisdom of generals. It, however, is still his tale and his birth is both a delight and a bitter draught. Born into power and into pain in sorrow, this baby's coming heralds much.

Things start moving now

This is the one that explains Miles' physical limitations to us all, for the books to come. It also gives us a good look into Barrayaran politics, which is important to understanding the "why" of most of what happens later.

These books are ALL wonderful, and you can't go wrong reading, um, listening to them.

beautiful!

I've come to really love this author. the pace is fast, the content is dense but lordy do they know how to string things together in a way that pulls your emotions and adoration into these characters

Get married, have a kid, what could possibly go wrong?

Get married, have a kid, what could possibly go wrong? Well, I read this in Sept 2023, and it turns out a lot could go wrong, an such interesting ways! Definitely worth reading and rereading!

The series really takes off in this book.

This novel was a bit slow to develop for me. Initially, time is spent in Cordelia's integration into Barrayaran society. It felt a bit off to me that Cordelia is now relegated to attending parties, learning how to dress for her role, and in learning the customs and manners of her new home. A bit boring for me but a realistically a valid look at the expectations on Cordelia in her new life. I think it took about a third of the way through this book before it really took off for me. Action scenes are very well constructed. Court intrigues and power struggles really take center stage here. I think the best critique I can give is that it was very late in the story when I realized that these characters were not the main ones in this saga. This led to the disheartening realization that these characters will soon be left behind which made me realize just how invested I had become in this story. I must say that I am not entirely enamored with all parts of the story - I am not really a romance aficianado. Shards of Honor was more of a mature romance so it was a bit less cringey than the couple in Barrayar. While it does add a look at the cultural aspects of the society, I really just dislike romantic tropes. I feel like this might be included as a forerunner to whether and how Miles will be accepted into Barrayaran society. I'm also wondering if Cordelia's story is more about her impact on the culture than anything else. Time will tell.