Hi! I think maybe it was you I saw posting about the Vorkosigan saga here a while ago. I want to start reading those books for the Space Opera September readathon, but I'm not sure which book to start with. It seems about as complicated as Discworld reading order. So I thought I'd ask a real life person instead of Wikipedia. Do you have a recommendation? Thanks!
I think it’s complicated in that lots of people have different opinions about which one is the best and there’s several possible starting points, BUT it’s not Discworld-complicated - the series follows a chronological order which is largely though not entirely the same as publication order. I’m going to be boring and say I’d read more or less entirely chronologically, starting with Shards of Honor, followed by Barrayar (also published with its chronological sequel as Cordelia’s Honor), with the understanding that from The Warrior’s Apprentice on the main character switches to Cordelia’s son. The chronological order is given here.
My only other caveats are:
1) Falling Free is ~technically~ chronologically first but it’s separate and you don’t need to read it in the main sequence, just read it whenever you’re curious about where Quaddies came from.
2) Ethan of Athos falls within the main sequence chronologically but is also pretty much a separate story, and similarly optional - read if you enjoy, you won’t miss anything if you don’t.
2) Everything after Diplomatic Immunity - maybe A Civil Campaign - is also more or less optional reading, which I’m aware is a bold claim but realistically that’s where the series peaks.
