Shards of Honor, Lois McMaster Bujold

I recently review Lois McMaster Bujold as a writer of fantasy, and have thoroughly enjoyed many of her fantasy works in the last few weeks, in particular "Paladin of Souls" which is a beautiful book. She actually made her name with a series called the Vorkosigan saga, and this is the first book in the series. I thought I would review it from the sci fi perspective. With this series Lois has won almost as many literary prizes as Heinlein, which is no small accomplishment.

The Vorkosigan saga is mainly the story of Miles Vorkosigan, but this book is the story of how his parents met, and the sequel Barrayer is the story of his birth. I think in many ways this saga is a good example of how a space opera should be written. What I mean is that the technology takes a background position relative to the importance of the characters and their actions. The plot is action driven and fast paced. It avoids going into too much detail, which actually helps in the suspension of disbelief. This works in the same way that the technology in Star Wars worked, what was interesting in Star Wars was not the laser blasters and massive ships, it was the interaction between Solo, Luke and Leia, with a bit of comic relief from the metallic sidekicks.

The lead character, Cordelia Naismith, is bright, capable and willing to act decisively, and does so throughout the story and it is the personal level of the readers interaction with her that works so well. When faced with a complex situation she acts, simplifies it, is direct and effective. As a heroine she is interesting and engaging and is shown to her best advantage by the effect she has upon the actions of the other major character, Aral Vorkosigan, who though jaded by the politics is able to find a path to honor of a kind.

Yet again, without giving away spoilers I would say that the series is well worth a read if you like a fun story, with serious overtones, that is a page turner. I will be reading the full series now I have started and have a largish space on the shelf in my library for the works of Bujold in both Science Fiction and Fantasy.

Hunters Run", George R. R. Martin, Gardner Dozois & Daniel Abraham

I actually read this book a while ago, but never reviewed it. I think I was intimidated by the fact that it has three authors, making a recommendation far more difficult to make. However, it is thoroughly deserving of comment so I just have to bite the bullet and go ahead.

This book took decades to write and passed through three pairs of hands who all apparently left their stamp on it, though it is hard to spot the individual styles as the story is perfectly seamless and very well crafted. Of the three writers I was only familiar with George R. R. Martin, who is the author of the excellent series "Song of Fire and Ice" which starts with "Clash of Thrones". His only fault as a writer could lie in making a story too big, too many characters and too many threads, but only time will tell as his main series is only half finished.

Hunters Run starts with violence, a man called Ramon kills another man in a bar fight and is forced to flee into the wilderness of a recently occupied planet. The story keeps with the single voice and follows it tightly and you start a journey with a man that you probably will not like too much. The plot develops and opens beautifully as layers of Ramon and the world are revealed to the reader. The scale of the novel opens up even while managing to stay focused on one man, and his struggle to survive. Almost anything else I could say about this excellent novel could ruin it.

The artistry of this work is what makes it a superior piece of craftsmanship. The novel is not long, but rich in detail and emotion. Ramon's journey is very fully realized and captures the minds eye completely.

I will definitely read anything by any of the three based upon this novel, and eagerly anticipate getting my hands on any of their other works.