The Warrior's Apprentice

At first I struggled with it. It's a bit jumpy at first. As I texted my friend when I was partway through, "Like he's failing out of school, now there's a party, now he's on Beta Colony, it wasn't clear to me what the book was actually about. But now that he is on his smuggling run with his weird crew it is super fun."

And indeed, groups of weird people who must work together to run a spaceship is basically my favorite genre of science fiction, and this is a particularly well-executed example of it. I like how Miles bluffs his way into a situation, and then is forced to escalate his bluffs again and again, and soon he supposedly runs a massive mercenary organization... and then he does run a massive mercenary organization! I loved his show more "inspection" of the mercenary ship he captures. Forward momentum! Miles himself is the kind of character I love, of course: logical, honorable, cunning, clueless. Basically Hornblower in space, how could I not like him?

I had some niggles, aside from the opening—a romance subplot didn't convince me too much, the stuff about a certain character felt a bit too icky but not handled sufficiently well—but on the whole this was a highly enjoyable book, one that gave me exactly what I want. As I write this, I have not yet got to my next Vorkosigan book, but I hope to do so soon! show less

Manic Young Miles flunks out of his Academy tests, loses his grandfather to old age and possibly a broken heart similar to Miles's, and then goes off for a bit of off-planet time. Whereupon he promptly fast-talks his way into an adventure that will help a few people -- and eventually rings in thousands, culminating in possible treason to an Emperor who's just beginning to get his own bearings.

Guaranteed to be glued to the book and to rave when I'm done, that's what these books do to me. Excellent characterization and plots, walking the genre lines between action and adventure and politics and romance, topped with humor, insights into humanity, and quotable lines -- typical Vorkosigan fare.

I'm not sure whether it's that thought processes show more are more explicit in this book, that I've read more in the series, or my study of humans is paying off, but this book is the first time I've fully seen what a manipulative person Miles is. Being able to go deeper from "our faintly problematic hero" to "sheesh, no wonder people in-world would dislike this man!" is a new bit of insight to the series for me in this book. It adds a whole new layer, which is interesting for me to toy with. show less

The third in the Vorkosigan Saga, one of the first written, this is the first told from Miles' point of view. After he is denied entrance to the Military Academy due to his health, Miles heads to his Mother's home world, aimlessly and depressed. There, one small gesture of assistance mushrooms beyond his control and he soon finds himself at the head of a (fictional) mercenary fleet in charge of breaking a blockade.

Miles is a hilarious and ingenious character. Hyper-active, audacious, daring, and naïve – he’s thrilling to watch as he just digs himself a deeper hole. At the same time, he isn’t without depth. Constantly reminded of his own physical disabilities and his fear of his Father’s disappointment, his heart is there as show more well as his mind.

Fast-action, sorrow, character development, and intrigue make this a fun space adventure with surprising depth. As the all Bujold’s work, I highly recommend, particularly if you like solid science fiction adventure novels. show less

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.

This book is hilarious, entertaining, and interesting all at once. It's a humorous story about an intrepid little (literally) man who is bumbling his way through space. I've never read a humorous space opera that was so much fun, and yet serious. It's the first story in the Vorkosigan Saga that features Miles Vorkosigan himself, and I hope it sets the tone for the series.

Miles, a deformed scion of the impressive Vorkosigan line, must not only deal with his physical disability, but the attitudes of the Spartan-like society that his house is important in as well. I really enjoyed how he fared in his intergalactic adventures, each step trying to correct some mistake or help some unfortunately soul, only to get himself righted in the end.

If show more Miles wasn't so self-deprecating, his genius and natural mental abilities might make him insufferable, but instead, I end up rooting for him through the whole story. I don't know how Bujold does it, but she even makes the story of a sociopath sad and makes me weep for a former torturer. Well done. show less

There are two good reasons why I didn't get around to these books sooner: First, I didn't know where to start, and second, I confused them with the much less fun Seafort Saga.

Miles Vorkosigan is heir to an epic military-political tradition on the half-feudal half-interstellar planet Barrayar. His problem is that an assassination attempt on his mother left him with brittle bones in a culture that hates weakness and deformity. After failing out of Military Academy by breaking both his legs on the obstacle course, a very depressed Miles goes to visit his mother on libertine Beta Colony, and inadvertently walks his way into command of a broken down freighter, an interstellar arms deal, and a private war with a fleet of interstellar show more mercenaries.

This book has some of the usual milSF tropes: psuedo-Prussian/Tsarist empires, hotshot protagonists with lovable flaws, escalating challenges. Bujold, unlike a lot of people working in this field, is actually a competent novelist and makes it work. Miles earns his victories and his pain. Even if it sometimes seems like he has a direct line to God (or the author), Miles himself is very clear on the combination of deception, energy, and actual insight that gets him through boarding actions, fleet battles, and some rather desperate political maneuvering. Great fun, and I look forward to reading the rest of the series!

****

Re-read: I first read this book in August of 2014. I reread it because after reading The Vor Game in my Hugo read through, I had such a good time that I had to go back and read this book to. It's a fine introduction to the world and to Miles. Returning to this book, I think I saw with more clarity Miles' crushing "great man" syndrome. Still amazing, still five stars, but if there's anything that's different I didn't like the supporting cast as much. They seemed to exist as obstacles for Miles to conquer, and object lessons in failure, rather than people in their own right. Of course, this might just fit in with the profoundly self-centered young Miles. I remember being 19 too. show less

Wonderful!

This was a reread for me; I don't know how many times I've read it before, but certainly more than once, yet it still made me laugh out loud (possibly more so than before) and shed a tear or two. I even found it unputdownable, not so much because I was wondering "I can't wait to find out what happens next!" as because I was anticipating "Oh; this is where that happens".

Miles, sole child, son and heir of Aral and Cordelia, Lord and Lady Vorkosigan of Barrayar, has suffered from before birth from a bone wasting toxin, the effects of which have stunted his growth to over a foot below his intended height of over 6 feet and left him with brittle bones. This in a society which still considers mutants with superstition and practices show more infanticide, in the back country, on babies perceived to be genetically defective.

All his short :0) life, Miles has tried to prove himself to his grandfather, a Barrayaran war hero of the old guard, and to measure up to his father, also a war hero and - until recently - regent for the emperor. His lifelong dream, which he is on the brink of achieving at 17 as the story opens, is to join the Imperial Military Service - if he can pass the physical, a mere formality for his peers.

When his dream crashes about his ears, he is initially at a loss as to what to do with himself. But Miles has a frenetic energy, to go with his driving ambition, which he uses to dance and charm his way from situation to crisis, not to mention a fertile imagination with which he manufactures seemingly impossible triumphs from impending disasters. Or, as he puts it, 'forward momentum'.

His other cherished dream involves his childhood friend, Elena Bothari, daughter of his formidable bodyguard. When he is sent off-planet, he sees this as an opportunity to whirl Elena away from her circumscribed life in the hopes that it will win him her heart and hand. If only a little problem like an intergalactic mercenary war didn't keep getting in the way ...

I like Miles. He is as honour bound as his parents, and his word costs something to give - which plays its part in creating awkward situations. But I think he has more fun.

I love Sergeant Bothari, who really comes into his own in this book as Miles's personal bodyguard, driven sometimes to the edge of his endurance in an effort to protect Miles from himself as his ambitious plans endanger his fragile bone structure.

As ever, I love Aral and Cordelia. I like the way Bujold conveys the depth of Aral's feelings for his son, or even his adversary, just in his posture. And Cordelia; well

She went off toward the library, muttering her favourite swear-word under her breath, "Barrayarans!"

Funny, touching, fun, great pacing and characterisation.

Absolutely recommended!

5 stars show less