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Miles slowly collecting an entire ship's crew is so funny to me. he doesn't even know what he's doing. "gotta catch 'em all" I am shaking you by the shoulders good sir this will be plot relevant whether you like it or not

#THIS COULD BE USEFUL. fifteen loyal crewmates later #can't get hired in the barrayaran military? MAKE YOUR OWN #vorkosigan saga #the warriors apprentice #miles vorkosigan #kiwi's reading log

"Other people," Miles groaned, "get to hallucinate orgies and giant cicadas and things."

(Miles Vorkosigan would have done numbers on Tumblr)

#miles vorkosigan #vorkosigan saga #vorkosigan #the warriors apprentice #omnibus #lois mcmaster bujold #books #bookblr #sci fi

10. What is your favorite genre book to recommend to someone who doesn’t usually like that genre?

Usually when people ask me for a rec for a genre they don’t usually like, they are asking for sci-fi, and I start by trying to figure out different access points based on what they already like. I’m not much of a hard sci-fi person, tending more to the space opera and political thrillers, so here’s a few “if you like x, maybe try y”:

If you like romance, give Everina Maxwell’s Winter’s Orbit a try. It’s definitely sci-fi in setting and plot, but it also hits nicely in the formulaic patterns of a arranged-marriage, strangers-to-lovers story that will help you through it even if the sci-fi elements are throwing you off. The author has another similar book that increases the sci-fi elements and is enemies-to-lovers as well, so if you like Winter’s Orbit, Ocean’s Echo is a good next step.

If you like non-fiction, The Martian by Andy Weir is a great pick. I have multiple friends who got into reading again as adults via The Martian. It’s well-written, well-grounded, funny, and very sci-fi. If you’ve already read it, then maybe give To Be Taught if Fortunate by Becky Chambers a try. It can be described with all the same adjectives, plus it’s a short novella, so if you’re hesitant, it’s less intimidating.

If you like mysteries or political thrillers, boy is there a lot of great sci-fi out there for you. The crux of a lot of sci-fi is space or high-tech settings with a plot that asks questions about personhood, and that mixes really well with detectives and spies wandering around trying to solve problems and find truths. Try Fugitive Telemetry by Martha Wells (it’s partway through a series of great books and novellas, but that one’s the most traditional mystery plot) or A Desolation Called Peace by Arkady Martine (ambassador solving her predecessor’s mysterious death while trying to do his job)(I’d also recommend this one if you read a lot of classics) EDIT: just realized I mistyped - book 1 by Arkady Martine is A Memory Called Empire.

If YA/ Bildungsromanen/ New Adult figuring the world out through trial and error is often your jam, try Provenance by Ann Leckie (for the kid who really wants to do things right) or The Warrior’s Apprentice by Lois McMaster Bujold (for another kid who wants to do things right, but is also a high-energy chaos gremlin).

If you like fantasy, you probably already have read some sci-fi; it’s all under the speculative fiction umbrella and genres are vague anyway. All the same, I know this is the Locked Tomb Website, but give Gideon the Ninth by Tamsyn Muir a shot (it’s got magic and mayhem and an epic locked-room whodunnit mystery). The Best of All Possible Worlds by Karen Lord is also good - it has a team of people traveling together and thinking about morals and discovering new abilities, plus some romance.

I’m sure there’s lots of genres I’m forgetting right now, but feel free to send me another ask for any specific one!

What is Vorkosigan about?

I'm so glad you asked! It's a series of sci-fi/space opera books by author Lois MacMaster Bujold.

The main character is Miles Naismith Vorkosigan. His first adventure, The Warrior's Apprentice, can be almost perfectly summed up by this meme.

[ID: the dominoes falling meme. The first part reads, "Miles is sent on vacation to stay out of trouble," and the second, which is not on the last brick but on a middle brick, reads, "Miles becomes Admiral of a mercenary fleet". The top is left blank to avoid spoilers.]

There are several books about Miles and his people having grand and terrible adventures in space. There are two books about Miles's parents, both incredible in their own right. There are excellent recurring characters such as Gregor, Miles's cousin-the-Emperor, Simon Illyan, Miles's father's liegeman and the Chief of Imperial Security, and Lady Alys, Miles's fearsome aunt.

Most of the main characters come from Barrayar, a planet colonized early on in the history of human space exploration in this universe and then completely isolated when their wormhole collapsed. Without technology, Barrayar turned into a misogynistic, war-torn, feudal society. A century before the start of the story, Barrayar was rediscovered and re-introduced to galactic technology. About ten years after that, they were invaded by another empire and occupied for forty years, which didn't exactly help the culture shock.

As Miles gets older and settles down some, there are more books where he spends time on Barrayar, and we meet his future wife Ekaterin, a gardener. She's lovely.

There are a couple dozen? Or nearly that many? Vorkosigan books, and they tend to either be space-battle-adventure-y, (often with a mystery sideplot thrown in) and set out in the galaxy, or they are politics-focused and set on Barrayar, usually also with a touch of romance.

I could pull up some of my favorite quotes for you, but really there are so many good lines. The writing is really incredible and the character work in this series is especially well done. There's no particular order that you have to read the books in, most of them are self-contained stories, but it's a good idea to start with either Shards of Honor (the first book about Aral and Cordelia, Miles's parents) or Warrior's Apprentice.

#vorkosigan #vorkosigan saga #miles vorkosigan #the warriors apprentice #kat answers asks #oh also for a book series whose first installments were published in the 80s #the queer rep is not bad #some of it feels a little weird today #but for the time it was radical #and like ethan for example is still a perfectly fine character #who just happens to be gay #an winds up married to the mysterious spy/assassin of his dreams at the end

You:I have niche interests

Me: you are like baby. Watch this

*gets into 80s military science fiction book series that I can’t talk to anyone about*

#miles vorkosigan #vorkosigan saga #aral vorkosigan #cordelia naismith #bel thorne #painting #draws #scifi #bel is like my favorite character #also I just finished Vor Game so don’t spoil me #shards of honor #barrayar #the warriors apprentice #the vor game #fanart

Rereading the first vorkosigan saga book

Haven't read Warrior's Apprentice in a few years (my go to when I'm in the mood is A Civil Campaign, because Ekaterin and Butterbugs.) and i've forgotten how immensely painful it is to read Miles bulling headfirst into bad situations.

Every. One. Of. His. Entourage: Hoe don't do it

Miles: -makes it even worse-

Even The Enemies This Time: Oh my G-d.

#miles vorkosigan #vorkosigan saga #the warriors apprentice #miles is such a little shit #also this book goes into some heavy shit that i was probably not actually ready for at 14 #but oh well

I never realized that when Miles comes to terms with not getting to be with Elena, is when it's made clear he'd have to choose between her and his duty to Barrayar. With allllll that pining, and longing, and lusting, and loving, for his entire life, with that galaxy sized heart of his—it still doesn't compare to the burden of his honor, and what he is bound to by blood and by birth.

And we are not even touching Bothari's death which comes right before, bc I cannot deal. It's too much. He's too much. He means too much to too many people, in too opposite of ways. How the fuck does McMaster-Bujold DO what she does with him. Talk about the complexity of redemption. Without negating the sins nor their repercussions. jfc. I can't.