[phil_geo]

So I'm reading the series about Miles Vorkosigan, and so far I'm quite impressed. The three I've read, Shards of Honor, Barrayar and The Warrior's Apprentice have all been top Sci/Fi imho. Of course, really only the last one is about Miles Vorkosigan. Now he's come of age and the rest of the books in the series are about him.

I think there are about 6 more books about Miles' adventures. Here's the question: I get most of my books in used book stores. Can these be read out of order? For example, I have found Cetaganda, but I can't find The Vor Game (the preceding book). In her forward, Ms. Bujold stated she writes her books to stand alone, but a friend highly recommended reading them in order. If anyone has read the series, I would appreciate your opinion on reading these out-of-order.

P.S. I think my favorite character now, out of any novel, fantasy or science fiction, is Bothari from these books. But I guess that could be another topic.

[Hobbit]

Easy one, phil-geo!

Yes, you can read them out of sequence - there are some such as Ethan of Athos that are adjacent views and not directly connected to the Miles sequence. There is a progression that is clearly Miles' 'rite of passage' but reading any Bujold is better than none at all.

The correct order (I think!) is:

The Vorkosigan Saga: (in publishing order)

Shards of Honor
Barrayar
The Warrior's Apprentice
The Vor Game
Brothers in Arms
Borders of Infinity
Ethan of Athos
Mirror Dance
Cetaganda
Memory
Komarr
A Civil Campaign


The Vorkosigan Saga: (in story order)

Shards of Honor
Barrayar
The Warrior's Apprentice (Miles is 17)
The Vor Game (Miles is 20)
Borders of Infinity (short stories, but around here)
Cetaganda (Miles is 22)
Ethan of Athos
Brothers in Arms (Miles is 24)
Mirror Dance (Miles is 28)
Memory (Miles is 29)
Komarr (Miles is 30)
A Civil Campaign (Miles is 31)

(There are also things like Cordelia's Honor, which is a combination of the first two, I think, and Young Miles, as well as a couple of minor short stories, but this is the main.)

The only one that I would be really careful in reading out of sequence is Mirror Dance - this is a major one and clearly affects events in Memory, Komarr and A Civil Campaign (though to be honest, Civil Campaign is a much lighter, frothier book than the preciding heavier novels - heavier in terms of themes as well as book thickness!

Hope this answers your question.

Hobbit

[phil_geo]

Thanks for the reply - it helps a lot. Cetaganda will be next on my reading list!

[Hobbit]

Good to hear it. It seems I may have got too excited about Miles Myth and Magic - what I thought was the next Miles novel out in November or December in the US.

Found out yesterday that it is another omnibus edition of earlier novels - probably
Brothers and Borders, though not sure at the mo.

Hobbit