Not Doomed By The Narrative But Saved By The Narrative. Yeah I Know You'd Rather Die Than Keep Suffering

not doomed by the narrative but saved by the narrative. yeah i know you'd rather die than keep suffering but the story doesn't actually care what you want. you have to keep going, even when it hurts. even being erased from existence won't stop you from being salvaged from the wreckage of un-being. get up. keep pushing. keep bleeding. keep living.

Super-quick guide to reading the Vorkosigan Saga in order

We’re gonna call this the first of many, many “why you should be reading the Vorkosigan saga” posts I’ll be making. For any new initiates, the Vorkosigan Saga is a series of sci-fi novels by Lois McMaster Bujold. While they can be broadly classified as “space opera”, they also take pretty significant detours into the political thriller, romantic comedy, horror, speculative fiction, mystery, and military drama genres. It’s very much hard sci-fi, with remarkably deep thought given to world-building and technology (like BSG, this is a universe where humanity is the only race, and so all the monsters are of our own making), but it doesn’t use its rich setting as an excuse to skimp on the incredibly deep characterization or ruthlessly clever plotting. Oh man, let me tell you, the characterization in these stories is absolutely fearless. Some of what Bujold puts her main characters through is the equivalent of taking away all of Tony Stark’s money and technology and resources halfway through Iron Man and, instead of having him angst until things get back to normal, taking that opportunity to use the logical shifts in characterization as a means to explore a new type of superhero story. Gah.

Also remarkably for sci-fi, the main characters are rarely your typical square-jawed heroes–I mean, the leading man for the majority of this action-adventure series (despite what some of the truly awful cover art would have you believe) is all of four-foot-nine with brittle bones.

Okay. I’ll gush more later, but for now: where to get started? After all, there are 15 novels and 4 novellas, and chances are most bookstores will have various compilation volumes that collect stories together based more on theme or publication date than on chronological order. While you can make your way through in any order you please–Bujold took pains to ensure that a new reader could jump in anywhere–the careful progression of characterization lends itself best to a chronological approach. Oh, and I should mention that this isn’t one of those series where the quality declines sharply over time–the latest books are some of my favourites in the entire series.

Here’s a recommended reading order, based on the internal chronology:

1. Shards of Honor (also published in the omnibus “Cordelia’s Honor”)

2. Barrayar (also published in the omnibus “Cordelia’s Honor”)

These first two books are essentially one self-contained story. The writing’s a little shakier than a lot of what follows, IMO, but the second half of Barrayar is some of my favourite stuff in the entire series, and Cordelia is absolutely marvellous.

3. The Warrior’s Apprentice (also published in the omnibus “Young Miles”)

There’s a fairly significant time gap between this book and the first two, and a different protagonist, so you can think of this one as a second jumping-off point for the series–I started with this one and eventually worked my way back to the first two without any trouble following. It all boils down to whether you want to know more about the past than the main character does–either way, it’s a fantastic read and remains one of my favourite books in the series.

4. “Mountains of Mourning” novella (also published in the omnibus “Young Miles”)

5. The Vor Game (also published in the omnibus “Young Miles”)

6. Cetaganda (also published in the omnibus “Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem”)

7. “Labyrinth” novella (also published in the omnibus “Miles, Mystery, and Mayhem”, as well as “Miles, Mutants, and Microbes”, for some reason)

8. “Borders of Infinity” novella (also published in the omnibus “Miles Errant”)

I frickin’ love this story okay.

9. Brothers in Arms (also published in the omnibus “Miles Errant”)

10. Mirror Dance (also published in the omnibus “Miles Errant”)

11. Memory (I think this one was only ever published as a standalone)

One of my all-time favourite novels, period.

12. Komarr (also published in the omnibus “Miles in Love”)

13. A Civil Campaign (also published in the omnibus “Miles in Love”)

If the incredibly dark books mid-series start getting you down, let me assure you that this one is frequently laugh-until-you-cry funny.

14. “Winterfair Gifts” novella (also published in the omnibus “Miles in Love”)

15. Diplomatic Immunity (also published in the omnibus “Miles, Mutants, and Microbes”)

16. Captain Vorpatril’s Alliance

Latest book to be published, haven’t read it yet, heard good things!

17. Cryoburn

There are also two novels which influence the main plotline a little more obliquely and are more background reading than anything else, and that's Falling Free (takes place long before the main series, should probably be read before Diplomatic Immunity) and Ethan of Athos (essentially a side-plot taking place approximately between Cetaganda and “Labyrinth”).

Phew. Okay. There you go. Have fun! If you want to try before you buy, even the smallish libraries I’ve been to will generally have the omnibus editions on the shelves. If you really can’t find these books anywhere, drop me an ask and I’ll see if I can help out.

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blazingquill

2 months ago