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Shards of Honor

By: Lois McMaster Bujold
Narrated by: Grover Gardner
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Summary

It was the wrong war, in the wrong place, at the wrong time, for the wrong reasons. And Captain Cordelia Naismith of the Betan Expeditionary Force would be forced into a separate peace with her enemy, Lord Vorkosigan.

Shards of Honor is the novel in which Lois McMaster Bujold introduced the science-fiction world to Barrayar and Aral Vorkosigan, Beta Colony and Cordelia Naismith. From this beginning the author has created a multigenerational saga spanning time as well as space.

Bujold is generally recognized as the current exemplar of the character-based science-fiction adventure story.

©1986 Lois McMaster Bujold (P)2009 Blackstone Audio, Inc.
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Critic reviews

"[Bujold] gives [her] characters enough emotional depth, and enough sense, to raise their story beyond cliché." ( Locus)

What listeners say about Shards of Honor

Average customer ratings
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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Very Enjoyable

This lady author can really compose a good story.
I did think as this was labelled Book 2, it was going to be a continuation but it was a totally different yarn.
Nonetheless, I found it most absorbing.

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Pacing was great

I loved how the characters interacted. it is a great first audio book. I would definitely recommend it

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Enjoyable

Would you listen to Shards of Honor again? Why?

Yes I would - the setting is interesting, pitting the scientific rationality of Beta Colony against the less advanced and more brutal world of Barrayar. The characters are engaging and you really care what happens to them, which is always going to make a good story

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Excellent story line could not switch off!!

What did you like most about Shards of Honor?

Adventurer and love story all rolled into one - the characters were believable and the pace was fast and kept me interested!!

Who was your favorite character and why?

Cordelia Naismith - a strong sensible woman, bold brave and all the attributes of a heroine

Which character – as performed by Grover Gardner – was your favourite?

Cordelia Naismith

If you made a film of this book, what would be the tag line be?

Even a war and distant planets could not stop their destiny

Any additional comments?

I have now listened to nearly all the series - I had never heard of Lois McMaster Bujold before listening to one of her books on sale - she has captured my imagination

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    1 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Great boom terrible performance

I love this book, always have
But the performer was terrible. The emotion that the book is describing is completely lost in his reading.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars

Good start

2nd in the Vorkosigan saga. Entertaining & shows promise but smacks at times of wish fulfillment & romance cliches which occasionally overwhelm a pretty good story. Starts off with you thinking its going to be another 'Enemy Mine' type with enemies banding together against common odds but then cycles through a whole range of other tropes. The characters are great & no wonder it they (or in many cases their descendants) were picked up for later instalments. The next one is 'Barrayar' (which won all kinds of awards) & the two after that so there's something there :-)

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3 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Worthwhile Sci fi romance

It's strangely readable even though it would be more geared for a female audience IMHO

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1 person found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

3.5 stars really.

Better than Barrayar but that is not saying much. Cordelia’s romance could have been done better than the worst Mill and Boons writer.

Only for people who want to read every book in the series.

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  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A interesting story…

… and a thought-provoking one, but I do think there should be content warning for sexual assaults: this part, the near-relishing tone of the lines, makes me extremely uncomfortable and troubled. The narrator does a good job, although I find his female characters still unnatural, to say the least.

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  • Overall
    3 out of 5 stars
  • Performance
    3 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars

Not my genre

I tried something I usually avoid. And my dislike is personal. I can't keep apart all the names and alliances. I am not interested in lies, politics, schemes and spies. I liked the characters and the world building took a back seat before it bored me.
The narrator was mediocre.

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