Cordelia Naismith never thought she would find the love of her life on a scientific survey to an unexplored border world, let alone that he would be a Barrayan, one of the enemy. But Aral Vorkosigan is not just any other officer in the Barrayan Military. He is courteous, fair-minded, thoughtful–and above all else, driven by an innate sense of honor. To her surprise, Cordelia soon finds that she has more in common with the man than she thought possible.
But the rumors of war between Escobar, Beta Colony, and Barrayar soon conspire to drive them apart. Though Cordelia sees Vorkosigan for the good man he is, the rest of the galaxy only knows him as the “Butcher of Komarr”–an unfortunate title which Vorkosigan does not entirely deserve.
As Barrayar goes to war and Cordelia finds herself rising through the ranks of the Betan Military, she is forced to choose between loyalty to her country and loyalty to the man she loves. When the two are mutually exclusive, how does one preserve one’s honor while securing a degree of happiness?
I loved this book. Unlike some romances, where the male protagonist is a complete douchbag, Aral Vorkosigan is the kind of guy I’d like to be like. Bujold strikes an excellent balance between strong and sensitive that enhances, rather than taints, his manliness. Besides that, Vorkosigan is extremely fascinating, with a complicated backstory and motivations that are both believable and interesting.
Though it’s technically a romance, the book reads very much like military science fiction, with deliciously tongue-in-cheek phrases like “the cadet was too young to believe in death after life” and rigorous attention to the details of military life, such as rank and chain of command. The book definitely has enough explosions, space battles, and political intrigue to appeal to boys as well as the romance audience, but Bujold melds the space adventure elements seamlessly with the romantic elements, so that readers of either genre don’t feel left out or patronized.
There was only one thing that bothered me, and since it contains spoilers I’ll put it in black so that you don’t inadvertently see it. To read it, highlight the text:
After Cordelia ran away from home and married Vorkosigan, why did she never think about her homeland again? You would think that as a career military officer who had dedicated her life to her country, she would at least have some lingering doubts that she’d done the right thing by running away–especially when her husband became the new Lord Regent of Barrayar! To me, this seems in-congruent with her character.
All things considered, though, this was an excellent, well-written science fiction adventure/romance. I thoroughly enjoyed it and will definitely be reading more of Lois McMaster Bujold’s work again.
If you’re planning on reading more of Bujold’s work, you’re in for a real treat. She has written an extensive series inthe Barrayar universe, plus some other excellent fantasies. Her characterization is wonderful. Happy reading!
While I agree with most of what you said, I do have one clarification. Cordelia was only a military officer for a matter of weeks. She was a scientist who was involved in space exploration. Also, she does exhibit some homesickness in Barrayar. Mainly, I think, she believes that home is the people you love not the place. Once she falls in love with Aral and takes oath to Gregor in Shards, she has committed herself to Barrayar (which doesn’t mean that she doesn’t want to make it much more like Beta Colony). I love this series and have a serious literary crush on Aral Vorkosigan.
Thanks for the clarification. I must have missed that when I read the story. Cordelia certainly talked and acted as if she were in the military, and she always did have a strong sense of patriotic loyalty for Beta Colony (at least, that’s the impression I got). Regardless, I’m definitely interested in reading more–Bujold’s style of science fiction is exactly the kind of stuff I love.