Shards of Honor by Lois McMaster Bujold

[meganbmoore]

I'm actually reading the Cordelia's Honor omnibus that collects this and Barrayer.  Normally with an omnibus, I'll just wait until I finish the whole thing, but I decided I wanted to address these books separately.

Shards of Honor kicks off Bujold's much vaunted Vorkosigan Saga, and, for the most part, does so extremely well.  On an expeditionary survey for the Betan Empire-a technologically advanced empire that is extremely forward thinking-Commander Cordelia Naismith's crew is attacked by a ship of the Barrayaran Empire-a more militaristic empire based on the middle ages.  Stranded on the planet, she finds herself face to face with-and prisoner of-Aral Vorkosigan, a Barrayaran noble and officer who is known as "The Butcher of Komarr," for slaughtering many surrendered prisoners, and learns that she and her people got caught in the middle of a mutiny.  Travelling together for five days, the two get to know each other, and Cordelia learns how much of his dark reputation he's earned, and how much he hasn't.

Bujold manages to avoid all the bad cliches of the "enemies in love" trope.  Cordelia isn't his prisoner for long, and when she is, it's almost a formality.  Though their social statuses in their individual societies aren't quite equal, they're close enough to avoid a power imbalance, and Cordelia not only manages to avoid needing rescueing by Aral (quite a feat, actually) but actually manages to leave him in her debt and rescues not only herself, but also her misguided but well-intentioned crew.  Not to mention Aral himself.  Aral and Cordelia are both very mature, and their developing romance is pulled off very convincingly, avoiding all the angstridden cliches of the trope and approaching it as two adults who completely understand the situation they're in.  (Leading to a proposal-early on, not the climax-that reminded me of the first proposal in Sayers's Strong Poison.)

There is, however, a "but."  And while it's not enough of a "but" to ruin the book for me or even to really lower my opinion, it is a big one.

SPOILERS!

The thing about a setup like this is that, in time, one or both of the lovers is meant to have to make a life changing choice, either to choose between lover or country, or to help find compromise.  Throughout the book, neither the Betan nor the Barrayaran Empires are shown to be perfect or evil.  They both appear to be strong societies with both strengths and weaknesses, with complex political maneuverings going on.  Both Cordelia and Aral are very loyal to their empires, and we're shown why, even as we're shown what problems they may have with them.  In addition, both accept their lots, and that it isn't an easy path.  In some ways, I think Bujold handled the situation too well, as they were both so secure and so mature that a normal resolution to the situation that would have one of them making a choice wouldn't fit.

And so Cordelia is forced into a faux choice by her empire.  Returning home from the war, she finds herself roommate to a psychiatrist.  When the psychiatrist learns that she had been held prisoner by an officer known for raping and torturing his female prisoners, and hears Cordelia deny killing him, which is the commonly believed story, the psychiatrist refuses to believe her, and thinks Cordelia has been brainwashed into forgetting her experiences.  When she gets home, her refusal to condemn Aral and rejection of her "heroine" status, not to mention her shock at being treated as such, causes her to appear to be a madwoman to her people.  She's placed on leave and assigned a psychiatrist who drugs her without her permission, and then decides that, not only has she been brainwashed, but she's probably also a spy without her knowing it.  And so people show up at her house to arrest her, and Cordelia is forced to rescue herself (something she's quite good at) and flee to Barrayer and Aral, where she helps him get pasts the ghosts of the war, and they're married.  The way it's supposed to end, right?

Well, yes.  Expect for the part where neither one ultimately had to make a choice to get there.  A story revolving around conflicting  loyalties and affections is generally meant to lead to one or both characters eventually choosing between them.  Here, they choose loyalty to their empires.  Except that choice doesn't lead to marriage, and so the choice had to be taken from them, and Cordelia was forced into leaving Beta nd going to Aral.  Not that that's the wrong place for her to end up, but how she ended up there felt very forced and contrived, as is Bujold realized they couldn't end up together unless one was left with no other choice.

Like I said, it didn't lower my overall enjoyment, I just wish it hadn't resulted in what felt like the easy way out of the relationship conflict.

Comments

[seriousfic.livejournal.com]

Aral Vorkosigan

Not to be confused with Anal Vorkosigan, gay porn star.

Barrayaran porn has no room for the weak.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

While the name does beg for it, I prefer to avoid direct terminology (a*** and p***) here since I don't have any adult settings marked, and would rather not have anything that could flag the sensors.

[isweedan]

Oh, how much I forgot I like this book.

I love the little tastes of Russian myth Lois sprinkles Barrayer with.

Excuse me as I go acquire a copy Right Now.

It's so exciting every time I eat at this one oncampus foodery, they have a wall o quotes in decorative typefaces and on of the biggest quotes is a Bujold. I'm sure they just found it in a quote generator and have never laid eyes on the inside of one of her books. But still.
I smille every time I see it.

[the_rck]

I'm of the opinion that Bujold improves quite a bit, the further one gets into her career. Shards of Honor is one of her first books, and it shows. When one reads it back to back with Barrayar which was written years later, the difference in the writing shows.

I still remember my first Bujold book. It was this one. I read it and couldn't wait to recommend it to a good friend. She was, at the same time, trying to recommend to me this wonderful book, called The Warrior's Apprentice, that she'd just finished reading. We had a good laugh when we realized they were by the same author.

[chomiji]

I don't know why, but these books just leave me cold. So many of my sf-reading friends (both male and female) love them that I made my way through several of them, but they just didn't do anything for me.

On the other hand, I enjoyed her fantasy The Curse of Chalion, and its sequel Paladin of Souls. They're not among my top 10, but I like them enough to do re-reads.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

I poked around a few f-list reviews of her books, and noticed that a common "can't connect" thread was the problem I had here: not having her characters make hard choices when one is set up, and not having her characters suffer and learn.

There's a difference between having characters face hardships, and then being given a way out (which is what this was) and having them work for their way out. The situation Cordelia faced when she returned to Beta was horrible, but it wasn't hard for her to get out of it.

[estara.livejournal.com]

Interestingly enough I haven't been able to reread Mirror Dance or Memory yet, because Miles and his brother suffer so much in that one...
I guess sometimes she does follow through.

[kingcrankycat.livejournal.com]

I haven't read her Sci-Fi books, but I do intend to. She gets the complexities down even better the further you move along in her series, and I don't doubt that's true for her sci-fi work as well.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

haha, yes it's quite the cop out, but well, it was her first novel :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Well, at least it wasn't Eragon. Bujold actually has talent and good characters.

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

That she has, although she wasn't 14 either :)

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

If it wasn't for the fact that the second book was about 10 times as bad, and what I've heard of the third, and his interviews, sounds even worse, I'd agree with the implication that he'll get better with age.

Unfortunately, the damage was done when he was told "it's getting published" instead of "this is Gary Stu fanfic, but you might be ok in a few years."

[etrangere.livejournal.com]

I haven't read it but I'll trust your word for it. I blame his editors.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Best to spare yourself. There are elements of decent ideas in there, but before he'll be anything vaguely decent, he needs to be rejected and few times and told him bad it is. Which isn't going to happen.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

You know, despite the fact that you can really tell that it's a first book, especially after reading some of her others, I adore Shards of Honor so very much. For me, mainly because I love Cordelia and Aral to bits (and I while Miles is great, he didn't do it for me as a character the way his parents did) there isn't a book I enjoy as much until you get to 'a civil campaign.'

But I see why you have problems with the ending. The two characters were so well-balalanced SOMETHING had to snap, externally.

Oh, and this is a nitpick, but Aral was the Butcher of KOMARR. I do think that the fact that is WASN'T her people was PART of why she could listen so willingly to his side of the story. Had they been Betans, it probably would have taken a bit more work.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Myeh. Penalties of starting the post at 1 am. You said "not Betans" and I had to think and look because my instinctive response was "I know that, what are you talking about?"

Your comments about Miles are similar to my thoughts about Ramses in Elizabeth Peters's Amelia Peabody books. I'm fond of him (could never get into his romance after the Big Misunderstanding, though-it was handled so terribly that this is one of the cases where it's actually the female I put up with for the male, instead of my usual reverse) but don't think he's anywhere near as fun and interesting as his parents and uncle are. With Miles, I get the impression he's so popular because he's a romantic figure who's short and hunchbacked and has brittle bones, but compensates with cleverness. (Impression...still on Barrayar.) Which? Isn't really new. I'll be more impressed by that trope when it starts showing up with female characters.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

On that subject, that is exactly why I can't get into Tavi in Butcher's Furies series (I'm in the middle of the first book.)

It's like... 'oh, unlikely boy hero. Like I've never seen you before.'

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Tavi doesn't really come into his own until later. Mostly when he gives in to his fate as *spoiler*'s personal property. (Like, the character's name is kind of a spoiler.) He does get much better, though, even though he's not my favorite in the series. The first book is mostly awesome for the supporting characters (BTW, in later books, I suspect Isana/Fade will seriously hit your kinks. I think Butcher handles relationships better, there, possibly because of genre convetions that say it's ok to have various romantic relationships without triangles and revolving doors and such.) Butcher settles in pretty well, though, and never hesitates to verbally and physically smack Tavi around if he tries any "woe is me" garbage. In general, I think Tavi is a better done "coming of age destined fantasy hero." Then again, I suspect that with Tavi and Harry both, Butcher is deliberately smacking around the more popular "Hero" characters.

Though I should also mention that I read books 2-3 back to back (about 6 months apart) with the first 2 Eragon books.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yeah, the lack of lingering on Tavi's angst is refreshing, and I really, really like his goals - that he has a plan for how to improve his life and it's just whining.

Spy Girl totally pwns his ass though.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

*nods* Spy girl is awesome.

Tavi does do some whining later when he's surrounded by people who aren't used to him and don't notice his lack of Furies as much, but when he does, he's verbally, figuratively, or physically smacked around and/or shaken. It also helps that his Lord and Mistress girlfriend doesn't put up with any of that, and keeps him on his toes. (And gets what she wants. Always.)

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Nice. I can't wait to meet his girlfriend.

Also, randomly, have you ever read the chrono crusade manga?

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Have you finished the book yet?

I was reading Chrono Crusade when it first came out, but then it went on hiatus for a year or two. While it was on hiatus, I had a minor hissy fit and got rid of all my manga where the US publisher had cancelled the series midway through. Naturally, most were then continued about a year later, or got picked up by someone else.

I did watch and enjoy the anime last year, though.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

*headdesk*

Yes, I have finished the book. Yes, I know who his girlfriend is. For some insane reason, when I was commenting this morning, I totally spaced out on her, and was thinking he gets a girlfriend when he goes to college.

Oops.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

LOL.

Well, to be completely fair, it doesn't become obvious until the next book.

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Yeah, I mean, in book one there was only the FLASHING NEON LIGHTS OF SUBTEXT!!!!!!!!

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Well, yes, those of us who know what to look for read it and went "and when they grow up, she will tell him they are getting married, and he will not be able to object" but I know some who didn't notice, so I never assume. I'm assuming you also picked up on the other 2 main pairings. (Well, IIRC, one is 100% textual by the end of the first, and the other HAS EVEN BRIGHTER FLASHING NEON SIGNS though I forget how bright they are in the first book...they blur together on this front.)

[redbrunja.livejournal.com]

Ummm, the Fade/Isana isn't there at all - we're just realizing he isn't stupid, but the Bernard/Amara (which hits my kinks like burning, right now) is pretty damn textual, considering the mackage.

[meganbmoore.livejournal.com]

Hmm...I remember noticing it in the first book, actually. But then, I'm fairly used to that trope (though not the entirety of how it plays out) in high fantasy.

Bernard/Amara is excellent, and more my OTP than anything else in the series.