THE VORKOSIGAN COMPANION PDF, EPUB, EBOOK Lois McMaster Bujold | 400 pages | 31 Aug 2010 | Baen Books | 9781439133798 | English | Riverdale, United States The Vorkosigan Companion PDF Book Namespaces Article Talk. Sort order. I loved the plot summaries of all the books, I loved the analysis of Falling Free by Bujold's engineer brother, I really appreciated the plot summary. It's the companion for everything Miles and Vorkosigan: Insightful essays, encyclopedic entries on the characters, the plots and—most of all—the fantastic world-building! The second half of the book is largely reference material, and useless in ebook form, so I ignored it. Uploaded by Tracey Gutierres on September 16, From their point of view, Barrayaran society is irrational and backward, while the Barrayarans view them as sexually and politically undisciplined, referring to a "Betan vote" as an obstacle to decision-making. We're going to do it anyway! Uh-oh, it looks like your Internet Explorer is out of date. Sep 10, Alexa rated it liked it. Books by Lois McMaster Bujold. The map and its accompanying explanation were reasonably good, but I've seen better "Nexus maps" online, and from mentions of "maps" plural I had expected a map of Barrayar, Beta Colony, Komarr, or one of the other polities in the Nexus. Collected in the omnibus edition Young Miles. Lois McMaster Bujold and Lillian Stewart Carl in , looking at photos of themselves in high school a few [ahem] years ago. Later in the essay she points out that the setting is appropriate for a Regency romance in the style of Georgette Heyer , and in fact A Civil Campaign was compared by reviewer Anne McCaffrey to Heyer's work; see the blurb under "Book Description" at this Amazon page. Return to Book Page. Description Lois McMaster Bujold's best-selling Vorkosigan series is a publishing phenomenon, winning record-breaking sales, critical praise, four Hugo Awards, and a Nebula award. September 3, Since Companion's publication, two more Vorkosigan novels are out and I needed the refresher. For example, because of the isolation of Barrayar, located with a single wormhole to connect it with the rest of the galaxy, and its people having to defend a broadly habitable planet, Barrayarans both need and can afford a militaristic society. Or talk about them with your friends? One evening, as my infant son—who was born on a Friday the thirteenth—crawled over our feet, Lois told me of a story she'd been toying with: a Klingon officer and a red-headed Federation scientist the latest in a long line of red-headed heroines are stranded together on a planet resembling the African plains which Lois had recently toured Miller, Jr. Very useful and comprehensive glossary of all the names, places, technology, in short anything that you can't look up in a dictionary or wikipedia. Despite loving the Vorkosigan series with a passion, this book did not add a great deal to my understanding. Women carrying their babies to term without uterine replicators are the rule at the beginning of the series, and there is an ingrained fear of mutation in its society. Harry Potter. Rating details. The Vorkosigan Companion Writer Cryoburn Lois McMaster Bujold. Add to basket. Contained in its five parts and three appendices are two essays and a preface by Bujold, an interview by its editorlifelong friend and fellow fantasy writer Lillian Stewart Carland lots more tasty bits, including forewords to four of the Vorkosigan novels, a full set of saga summaries, An Old Earthers Guide to the Vorkosigan Universe, and a map of the wormhole nexus that serves as the galactic stage on which Bujolds literary flights play out. There is an excerpt from Cryoburn at the end, and of course Captain Vorpatril's Alliance and Gentleman Jole and the Red Queen were still in the future. Very useful and comprehensive glossary of all the names, places, technology, in short anything that you can't look up in a dictionary or wikipedia. The time required for wormhole jumps between planetary systems means travel and communication require time and effort which isolates each planet and allows it to develop its own culture, most of them derived to some extent from a culture known historically on Earth. There may be some gems there, but I'm not going to venture to find out. It wasn't quite what I expected. Bujold continues to publish, but has switched to fantasy these days. The next fall I went away to college, in a town that had only two television stations, neither of which showed Star Trek. Intent on doing it up right, we paid to have all the illos electronically etched. Javascript is not enabled in your browser. She is so great. No trivia or quizzes yet. The stories feature several planetary systems, each with its own political organization, including government by corporate democracy, rule by criminal corporations, monarchies, empires and direct democracies. Dispatched from the UK in 3 business days When will my order arrive? And Tolkien's Lord of the Rings remains to this day one of our all time favorite books. The essays by Bujold herself provide fascinating background on the series and its genesis, and Smulders-Srinivasan's essay on various biological technologies and their current states of developm This collection of essays about Lois McMaster Bujold's delightful Vorkosigan saga has a few bright spots, but is mostly disappointing. In most societies featured in the series, paper has been mostly replaced by either plastic sheets or electronic devices, and two-dimensional video is replaced by three-dimensional holograms. Despite a significant technological advantage, the Cetagandans are finally expelled at great cost after many years of occupation and guerrilla warfare, in large part due to the leadership of General Count Piotr Vorkosigan, Miles' paternal grandfather. Just started this, and I gotta say that reading Bujold's non-fiction pieces about her life, her writing, the business of writing just make me appreciate her great talents even more. Personal combat includes the use of combat suits, plasma rays, needlers, and nerve disruptors, which emit rays that destroy nerve tissue. This novel does not feature Miles except indirectly; his eventual girlfriend, Commander Elli Quinn of the Dendarii Free Mercenary Fleet, plays a leading role. Be the first one to write a review. My roommate sniffed and said I was psychologically abnormal. The eyes of the officers inside opened so wide they reflected the candle flames. There are series summaries by book. Just a moment while we sign you in to your Goodreads account. Miles investigates a cryogenic corporation on the planet Kibou-daini, with the assistance of Jin, a local boy. The younger sister of a friend was deputized to do the taping and fill in the video portion with gestures and expressions. Fertile hermaphrodites have been created in an attempt to surpass gender roles. The essays about the series were hit-or-miss, and except for the genealogical analysis at the end of the volume relied too much on plot summary. Bujold herself has commented that her posited system is neither technologically nor economically feasible, but is rather a convenience for storytelling. Retrieved February 11, Falling Free and Diplomatic Immunity explore the relationship between a culture adapted to an environment without gravity and one which depends on gravity. Barrayar is eventually rediscovered via a different wormhole route controlled by the rich merchant planet Komarr. Don't expect to read it in one afternoon: it's best in short doses with at least two bookmarks. And the thousands of devotees of the series now have a book that show more. With the publication of Cryoburn , almost all Vorkosigan tales are available as free e-texts on a CD that accompanied the hardcover release. Home Who Am I? As a result, the Cetagandans put a price on Naismith's head. Barrayar's original wormhole collapsed, a rare event leading to the time of isolation. There is a very good concordance listing names of people, planets, etc. He offers her a new life with the Dendarii, and a new name: Taura. Barrayar's vegetation is incompatible with Earth's, and often poisonous or allergenic to humans; Barrayans clear native forest and use compost from Earth-descended plants or horse manure to grow new Earth vegetation. Captain Cordelia Naismith of Beta Colony meets and eventually falls in love with Captain Lord Aral Vorkosigan of Barrayar when they are both stranded on an uninhabited planet. The Vorkosigan Companion Reviews This CD was initially shared online, but has since been withdrawn by request of the author. Product details Format Paperback pages Dimensions Jul 26, JoyfulK rated it liked it. Whether our mothers ever knew this is mercifully unrecorded. Nebula Award for Best Novel. So, okay, technically I suppose a portion of the hardcover price funded the CD. A police car pulled up beside us. Show less Show more Advertising ON OFF We use cookies to serve you certain types of ads , including ads relevant to your interests on Book Depository and to work with approved third parties in the process of delivering ad content, including ads relevant to your interests, to measure the effectiveness of their ads, and to perform services on behalf of Book Depository. Sep 10, Alexa rated it liked it. They escape, committing one supreme act of sabotage and revenge before Dendarii Captain Bel Thorne manages to negotiate a ransom. Both Cetaganda and Barrayar have empires, acquired by conquering other planets via neighboring wormholes. Totally worthwhile, for the resident Vorkosiphiles. When the judge called her number, she sat disbelieving for a long moment, then reached around to pull the number off the back other shirt and make sure it was really hers.