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Type of bind: Mass Market Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 813
EAN num: 9780743436168
ISBN number: 0743436164
Label: Baen
Manufacturer: Baen
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 864
Printing Date: July 01, 2003
Publishing house: Baen
Sale Popularity Level: 100709
Studio: Baen
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Rated by buyers 
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The Vorkosigan Saga by Lois McMaster Bujold...by far my favourite series ever! And trust me, I've read a LOT in my 31 years. These are the books I'd rescue very first if the house were on fire, or the ones I'd take with me if I was going to be stuck on a deserted island for the rest of my life. They're just that good. Actually, 'good' doesn't do them justice...more like, wonderful, fabulous, brilliant! Okay, you get the idea. :P
Ms. Bujold has created, with Miles, one of the most wonderful, memorable characters I've ever read about. And I'm totally in love with him. I can't count the amount of times I've wished he were real. But sadly, men like him only exist in fiction...and real live men pale in comparison. *sad sigh*
For you guys out there, take notes! And for the gals...be prepared to fall (and fall hard) for this scarred, crippled dwarf. Yep, that's right. The perfect man (with all his many imperfections) is not some tall, handsome stud. He's what many cruelly refer to as a mutant. But he's also intelligent, resourceful, crafty, humorous, kind, gentle, and honorable. He also has some of the wost luck I've ever seen. Poor Miles! I absolutely adore him. :D
For those who might be wondering (and you know how much I love a good romance) the romance doesn't begin until much later in the series with Komarr. It's a long journey up to that point (and you'll love every minute of it) but when it happens it is so poignant and emotional (after all hardships, rejection and heartache he's endured) that it'll probably make you cry, like I did.
Now, where do you start with this wonderful, epic saga? I strongly suggest you begin with Young Miles, which is the very first book in the main "Miles" series. And please, do yourself a favour and buy the omnibuses I've listed below. It will make your life SO much easier when it comes to reading everything in the proper order.
After you've finished that series (and loved it!), you can then read the other two (Falling Free and Cordelia's Honor) in whatever order you choose. Falling Free is set about 300 years before Miles' birth and is all about the Quaddies, whom you will meet at the end of the "Miles" series in Diplomatic Immunity. Cordelia's Honor is all about Miles' parents, Cordelia and Aral, and the tragedy that crippled Miles before his birth.
Chronologically, Falling Free and Cordelia's Honor come first. But falling Free really has nothing to do with Miles and isn't a very good introduction to the Vorkosigan universe, IMO. Cordelia's Honor is an omnibus of Shards of Honor and Barrayar, and is my least favourite book in the saga. Shards of Honor is one of her older works and the writing is a bit weak. Barrayar is better. But again, I really don't think that's the best place to start. Some fans love it and others don't, but we all love the main "Miles" series! If, after reading the "Miles" series, you feel that you'd like to know more about Cordelia and Aral, then give it a try. You may really like it. But you can easily skip it altogether and not worry about missing out on anything important. The "Miles" series can definitely stand on it's own.
If you decide to give this series a try, I do hope you love it as much as I did. It's a truly wonderful journey. I cried buckets when I finished Diplomatic Immunity...I did not want it to end! The worldbuilding, writing, and plots/stories are fantastic. The characters (especially Miles) are absolutely wonderful and so memorable. There's plenty of action, adventure, treachery, romance, heartache, mystery, humour, political intrigue, and so much more! A very engrossing, emotional series that will keep you up late at night saying, "Just one more chapter...just one more chapter."
Here are the books in chronological order:
Book 1: Falling Free
Books 2 and 3: Cordelia's Honor
(omnibus of Shards of Honor and Barrayer)
Books 4, 5 and 6: Young Miles
(omnibus of The Warrior's Apprentice, The Mountains of Mourning, and The Vor Game)
Books 7, 8 and 9: Miles, Mystery & Mayhem
(omnibus of Cetaganda, Ethan of Athos, and Labyrinth)
Books 10, 11 and 12: Miles Errant
(omnibus of Borders of Infinity, Brothers In Arms, and Mirror Dance)
Book 13: Memory
Book 14: Komarr
Book 15: A Civil Campaign
Book 16: Winterfair Gifts
(a novella in the Irresistible Forces anthology)
Book 17: Diplomatic Immunity
(one day soon I'm going to set aside a few weeks and do nothing but read every single one of these books again, back to back. :D
Rated by buyers -
I have both The Warrior's Apprentice and The Vor Game, the two novels in this compendium, and they sat around my bookshelf for years before I finally dove in and decided that since I'd bought them even though I tend toward fantasy fiction, not space opera, I might as well read them and see what the fuss was about (Bujold's won a record-tying FOUR Hugo Awards for Best Novel, the highest sci-fi/fantasy honor; only Heinlein also holds that distinction).
My reaction after reading The Warrior's Apprentice: I should've read these LONG ago.
Young Miles contains The Warrior's Apprentice, The Vor Game and a novella. The hero is Miles Vorkosigan who seemingly has all the advantages -- noble-born into the ruling warrior caste; son of the man who is the former Regent, current Prime Minister, and hero of the realm, Count Vorkosigan; son of the notable and formidable Cordelia Nasmith Vorkosigan a former enemy of his home planet Barrayar who is now one of its greatest resources; and former playmate of the Emperor, who is only four years older than our hero.
Two problems: Miles is short; Miles is brittle. As the result of a poisoning against his mother when she was pregnant with him, Miles bore the brunt of the damage -- unnatural lack of height (4' 9" or less than 1.5 meters tall) and with bones subject to break during heavy jostling. So much for the bloodline of the most decorated soldier in world history. But as Bujold shows: neither physical prowess nor physical beauty are what make us great.
And another problem: Miles is insubordinate. Then again, he's just that smart.
The Warrior's Apprentice is Miles' coming of age story -- after failing his physical test in officer training school, Miles goes on a sort of vacation . . . until he decides to try his hand at cargo transporting, ends up in a war zone besieged by mercenaries and puts innumerable lives in danger. How Miles recruits his very first followers, turns the mercenary contract game on its head and fights a plot against his father is great fun.
The Vor Game, which is one of Bujold's Hugo winners, is a bit darker and slower. After some intercession from the Emperor, Miles goes back to the officers' academy, makes it through training and goes on his very first assignment. After demonstrating the immorality of the Nuremberg defense, Miles is reassigned and spins his way into a multi-system commerce and trade war that threatens his home world. Some of the plot points are a bit questionable (such as the actions of the emperor that precipitate the crux of the story about 100 pages in), but Bujold deftly handles the plotting, counterplotting and Miles' continued mastery of verbal brinksmanship.
This is story-driven writing -- not high-concept neo-physics like Greg Bear, political sci-fi like Joe Haldeman or explorative fiction like Kim Stanley Robinson. Bujold has created a successful interplanetary political situation, a smart hero who uses his brain because he lacks any brawn, and believeable characters.
In other words, I need to buy some more of her books and not wait before reading them.
Rated by buyers -
Bujold excels at providing depth, character interaction, and rich dialogue. Humor, both dark and light abound within. She also has a gift for pacing. Her novels never drag.
A warning. This is not the techno-onanism that the dork populace likes to call "hard sci-fi". This is a rich character driven story in a technologically advanced setting. This is not repeatedly mentally stroking the latest-and-shiniest widget and moaning about its "through-put" and mega-bits. If you are looking for stories about widgets like the one negative reviewer, stay away. This is a story(ies) about people. If you hate people you won't like this book.
I do agree that the physical quality of the book is substandard for the price.
Rated by buyers -
Young Miles is two novels (The Warrior's Apprentice, The Vor Game) and one novella (Mountains of Mourning) combined into one book. This is the second omnibus in the Vorkorsigan Saga but the very first collection that deals with and introduces us to the character of Miles Vorkosigan.
All three entries are fantastic in their own right as they introduce us to a young Miles and tell the story of his coming of age in lieu of failed military career. It's better not knowing the plot details before you go in, but needless to say when all is said and done, Miles has on one of the greatest sci fi adventures to date.
Bujold is great at most aspects of the sci fi novel but her greatest strength is her development of Miles himself. Part crippled, and very complex, this vertically challenged protagonist uses his mind and his charisma to get through almost every challenge he comes across. It's so refreshing to see character development of this level and Miles quickly becomes and lovable and endearing underdog. He is brialliant and cunning while also being flawed and he is probably one of the few literary characters who actually warrants 6-8 books solely about him. Miles Vorkosigan is arguably the single best and most interesting multi-book science fiction character to date, easily beating the likes of Ender Wiggin and similar heavy hitters.
The three books really compliment each other well as they show many different sides to Miles. He always finds himself in sticky situations and here he uses his wits, intillect and magnetism to get extricate himself. Bujold is also one of the rare science fiction writers out there that can generate comedy from human interaction. This serious is the perfect mix of melodrama, comedy and invention.
It's not surprsing to see the long list of Nebulas and Hugo Bujold has won for her Vorkosigan serious (although her Paladin Of Souls win is as incomprehensible as it is political and depressing) The Vor Game won the Hugo award and probably deservingly so as it much better than the (slightly more than mediocre) Fall of Hyperion and the bloated and ridiculous Earth by David Brin. I haven't read the others nor heard anything amazing about them.
Bottom Line: Excellent beginning into one of the best sci-fi operas out there. I rank this series only behind the Foundation series as far as space epics go. A must read for all sci-fi fans and people who like rooting for underdogs!
Rated by buyers -
Several years ago, Baen Books began releasing Lois McMaster Bujold's tales of Miles Vorkosigan in omnibus form, each volume containing several adventures arranged in story chronology order. Young Miles contains three tales, the novel The Warrior's Apprentice, the novella "The Mountains of Mourning", and another novel, The Vor Game. Chronologically these stories occur after Barrayar and before Cetaganda.
In The Warrior's Apprentice, Miles fails to meet the physical requirements to be accepted into the Barrayaran Military Academy. Through a series of screwball comedy-like events, where one damn thing just snowballs into another, in short order he attracts a cadre of misfits and former losers, dedicated personally to himself, and eventually creates and leads the Free Dendarii Mercenaries under the assumed identity of "Admiral Naismith". This is Bujold's very first exploration of the idea that, like T.E. Lawrence (on whose personality he's partly based), Miles is an "enabler", drawing to himself people who perform under his influence better than they might have otherwise.
Warrior's is an immensely fun book, a coming-of-age tale, a comedy, a tragedy, and a military SF novel all rolled into one. A word about the "tragedy" part of the equation. Shortly into this novel, my favorite character in the series thus far dies. I've been told (by the lady who turned me on to Bujold, and has messiah-like done the same to as many others as she can) that one woman simply quit reading at this point, just refused to continue either the book or the series, she was so pissed-off this character was killed. I can understand that. I was if not angered at least shocked and saddened to see this character go. But with 20/20 hindsight I can see why it happened. There's simply no way Warrior's, or most of the subsequent events in Miles' life that Bujold wanted to occur could have happened with this character around. So Bujold achieved a wrenching death scene AND cleared out the problem this character presented all in one fell swoop.
"The Mountains of Mourning" was originally published as one-third of the Borders of Infinity collection. Miles is forced by his duties as Lord Vorkosigan to play detective, to investigate and solve a murder. I have to admit, at least to me, the mystery wasn't much of a mystery, I had the killer pegged from their very first appearance; and I think my solution to their eventual punishment would have been much more "an eye for an eye" than Miles'.
The Vor Game is the longest and most complex story in the book. The very first thing you need to know about The Vor Game, it won the Hugo award for Best SF Novel of 1991. I'm not sure I would have voted for that, myself. Structurally the book is divided into two parts quite different in tone. The very first tells the story of Miles' initial assignment as a Barrayaran officer, and, with the discovery of a dead body and a packet of unknown contents, as Bujold puts it in her Afterword, "tried very hard to turn into a military murder mystery." In the very first draft, the packet contained money. Bujold's test readers were jumping up and down, waiting to find out what happened subsequent - and couldn't understand her insistence that NOTHING was supposed to happen next, the dead body and packet weren't really important (!). Finally, she changed the contents of the packet to something totally non-mysterious and moved on with the tale. I was, frankly, at this point in the story settling in for a thoroughly enjoyable murder mystery myself, and, like the test readers couldn't understand why it never materialized. So there that dead body and packet sit in the middle of the very first section of The Vor Game, about as useful as a vermiform appendix. This fascinating set-up should either have been allowed to run its own course or removed entirely.
The main problem I have with The Vor Game is that, in its second part, the event precipitating Miles' adventures is that, out of all of explored space, he just happens to find himself thrown into the same cell on a space station jail (in a completely different star system than Barrayar) as his childhood friend, the runaway Emperor of Barrayar! This is a coincidence of such staggering proportions, the book should have been called Deus Ex Machina, a plot twist so hamfisted all I could do was shake my head and think, "You have GOT to be kidding me." But there it is. And this book won a Best Novel Hugo!
Most of the rest of The Vor Game is set-up; it's not until the last 70 pages that at long last we get to see what we're really after, Miles back in the saddle as Admiral Naismith. At which point the book begins to absolutely ROCK, as Miles juggles 50 plates in the air at once, with the fate of star systems balanced in his hands. The second part of The Vor Game is much more fast-paced, lighter and more amusing than the first. NAISMITH LIVES! Eventually.
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