Is there anything better than introducing a beloved/book/series to a dear friend, and having them enjoy it as much as you do?
A friend finally finished all 900 Wheel of Time books, and asked me about the Vorkosigan saga, which he knows is my favorite. I gave him an enthusiastic nutshell overview, and about three different suggestions for where to dive in. (The internet told him to start chronologically, with Falling Free – bah!) He started with Shards of Honor, and loved Cordelia as much as any sensible reader does. I told him Komarr was one of my favorite comfort rereads, and to let me know when he got there so I could read along with him, and here we are!
I don’t know if it makes much sense to recap the plot of a book this far into a series; you either know what you’re getting into or you don’t. So I’m going to recap feelings instead. I love that after so many books from Miles’s point of view, we get to see him as a stranger, from a new perspective. I love Ekaterin, and I am still amazed that Lois so skillfully introduced a whole new character that readers could easily have dismissed immediately (“No one’s good enough for our Miles! How dare she!”) and made you want to love her as much as Miles does. I love that though she’s pretty broken, Ekaterin is never a victim (and I kind of hate how understandable her brokenness is – sigh). I enjoyed all the callbacks to previous books/adventures, even though there were a few I didn’t remember. Time for a full reread, perhaps? I love happy Gregor, even though we don’t even get to see him in this book. I like Miles growing into his Auditorhood, solving mysteries and thwarting bad guys. Rereading it was like a warm hug from an old friend.
I don’t have enough superlative adjectives to describe these characters, these stories, the writing, etc etc etc. If you like sci-fi, read the Vorkosigan saga. If you like excellent stories that just happen to take place in space, read these books. If you have no idea how you stumbled on this website, but you’re susceptible to peer pressure, read these books!
