I've read this book at least three times over the years, but I'd forgotten just how fabulous it was. Reading it for the 4th (ish) time while ill this week, I found myself laughing aloud in pure delight.

Miles is cursed with a hyperactive, intelligent mind in a body that forever lets him down. Brittle bones break all too easily, and in a culture that values physical strength and perfection, that's a big problem.

His resentment at being unable to do the things he really wants to do leads him to help another desperate man, and suddenly he's in a situation where one thing piles on top of another and he's juggling eggs in an evermore complex pattern.

Here's where his upbringing comes in handy. Miles has always wanted the military life, he's inherited his father's gift for tactics, but this military life is a trap of a kind that he fails to spot until it is almost too late.

Bujold's characters are wonderful - each of her books usually works as a stand-alone (this one included), but it's great to have extra glimpses of characters whom we've met in the past or will see more of in the future. Her female characters are intelligent and capable of challenging the cultures that surround them.

The book is also funny. Mile's thoughts about his idiot cousin Ivan, his efforts at playing matchmaker, and many other scenes besides.

In a nutshell, the book is wonderful space opera, with great characters. Read it! ( )

Possibly a little too space opera for me, since I simply do not have the kind of brain which can easily follow written descriptions of battles—land, sea, air or space—no matter how clearly they are described for me. I also thought that some of the dialogue, particularly that at the beginning, was rather poorly observed. Still, I did quite like this introduction to clever, vulnerable Miles, who goes on holiday to get over the disappointment of not getting into the military academy and... accidentally starts his own mercenary army. As one does. The Warrior's Apprentice does improve as it progresses, and the ending unfolded neatly (though not tidily), and had some nice character moments. I will continue with the series for the next couple of books, at least. ( )

I seem to always end up re-reading these books around the turn of the year, and when I came to this one again, I blitzed through it as usual. If you asked me any other time, I wouldn't say it's one of my favorites in the series, as it takes Miles completely out of his Barrayaran milieu for 90% of the book and away from all the other characters I like best.

What I always forget, until I've actually opened it again, is that Miles doesn't need his supporting cast to make him compelling; as soon as the story really gets going, the reader is picked up and carried along by Miles' "forward momentum" and dragged helplessly and happily in his wake, just like everybody else within in few light-years radius of him, right to the breathless and perfect conclusion.

I still haven't figured out who the scantily-clad maiden and the dashing rogue on the cover of my edition are supposed to be, though. The only maiden in this book would never dream of being scantily-clad in public, and all the rogues are too concerned with not dying in combat to worry about being dashing. ( )

This is the book that introduced us to the inimitable Miles Vorkosigan. It is vintage Bujold, offering a deft combination of humor, action, and suspense with moments of touching insight into what makes us all tick. Add to this a smart yet vulnerable protagonist with an admirable capability to learn from his mistakes and an author who doesn't flinch from tackling hard truths and you have one of the greatest scifi series ever. The plot admittedly hangs on a couple of coincidences that strain credulity, but this is one of those cases where the payoff is sufficiently great that you should have no problem suspending disbelief. ( )