The Miles Vorkosigan series by Lois McMaster Bujold
I recently finished reading the entire Miles Vorkosigan series, by Lois McMaster Bujold. It’s a great read, focusing on different things than science fiction normally focuses upon, and I suggest that pretty much anyone who hasn’t read it, even if they’re not normally into science fiction, give it a try.
Although not all of the books are directly about him, the main character is Miles Vorkosigan, a member of a warrior caste (symbolized by the Vor before the rest of their last name) on a planet called Barrayar. It was lost for a while after it was first colonized, and later rediscovered, and so went through a long period where technology was of an approximately medieval level. That, however, is simply part of the past, and part of the rich backdrop that sets the scene for so many interesting stories.
Miles isn’t your average hero, by anyone’s definition of the word. He’s about 5′ 0″, his stature is a little hunched, and his left leg is noticeably shorter than his right. His bones are very brittle, and those that haven’t been replaces with synthetic ones in difficult medical procedures break extremely easily. These physical defects are due to a politically-motivated assassination attempt against his parents when he was still in the womb. His parents escaped without injury, but he was severely damaged in the womb.
He succeeds at the things he does mostly through smooth talking, efficient management, and quick thinking. It seems as if his physical frailty forced him to learn to use his mind to its fullest potential, but not necessarily in the ways we think of as intelligence. He’s mostly extremely people smart, always finding the best people to do a thing, finding a way that it benefits them as well, and explaining this to everyone involved.
The series never settles on a science fiction sub-genre, moving from theme to theme as Miles moves through different stages in his life. I find this far more believable than many similar long series, which often simply put the main character against bigger, but similar challenges repeatedly. Bujold’s writing style works well for all of the sub-genres she uses, showing her great depth as a writer. I highly recommend this series to anyone who’s interested in good literature of any sort, especially if you read science fiction, but even perhaps if you don’t.
Leave a Reply