Don't Forget to Read a Book!

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Brothers in Arms. The Short of It Plot:  Hiding out on Earth seems like a good way to avoid the Cetagandans, but Miles ends up embroiled in more politics. Page Count:  338 Award:  Part of  Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Integral to the Vorkosigan Saga Primary Driver:  ( Plot , World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Mild. Review:  Not the best Vorkosigan  book but one of the most important. World building is less interesting here than in many other volumes but in exchange plot is more engaging. Ivan's increased importance is a welcome addition. Miles's struggles to balance both parts of his life create some of the best scenes in the book. Nice to see characters scarred by past events to make the world feel real and give it some continuity. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! Short 'n' snappy here.  This one is solid. A more involved and nuanced plot kee...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Borders of Infinity. The Short of It Plot: In an attempt to balance the books, Miles relates three of his early adventures to Ilyan. Page Count:  311 Award:  Part of the Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate. Review:  A bit all over the place, as the three stories fall at different points in the Vorkosigan timeline. The first is a murder mystery, the second and third are both infiltrations. All of them work on their own, but are a bit awkwardly fit together - the framing narrative is nothing more than a husk. These are non-optional reads, which introduce a number of essential characters. Pacing is good for the first two, drags a bit in the third. It is nice to see more of these smaller stories: a bit less interplanetary conspiracy, a bit more nuance. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is a coll...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Ethan of Athos. The Short of It Plot: Ethan is sent to figure out what went awry with his (entirely male) planet's delivery of ovarian tissue, needed for the next generation. Page Count: 237 Award:  Part of  Vorkosigan Saga Worth a read : Vorkosigan completionist? Yes. Otherwise, not so much. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate to high. Review:  One of the more isolated Vorkosigan books. Lots of new characters, but not all are engaging. Protagonist has a very obvious arc and is a bit flat. Nice to have some new locations, but Athos itself feels half-baked - and is not particularly important in the series as a whole. Pacing is a bit rough: lots of exposition dumps, sporadic action, and then stalls. Enjoyable enough, but does not feel like it progresses the Vorkosigan Saga  enough to make sense. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! ...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  The Warrior's Apprentice. The Short of It Plot:  Miles Vorkosigan, too weak and stunted for normal military service, figures out another route to make his family proud. Page Count:  315 Award:  Prequel to  The Vor Game , which won a Hugo. Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass(?) Technobabble:  Moderate. Review:  A satisfying transition from Cordelia to Miles as the protagonist of the  Vorkosigan Saga. Plot is engaging and successfully balances active choices with reactionary beats - though it still relies on a number of convenient coincidences. Pacing starts slow but picks up appreciably. Characters remain the highlight of the series, though the larger cast here means some lack detail. Significantly expands the scope of the universe that we see and sets seeds for plenty of further storylines. The Medium of It Spoiler Fr...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Jack Vance's  Lyonesse Trilogy. The Short of It Plot:  Kingdoms vie for supremacy, wizards do the same, and the fairy folk mock them from the sidelines. Page Count:      Suldrun's Garden: 436     The Green Pearl: 406     Madouc: 544 Award:  Madouc - 1990 World Fantasy Award Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  ( Plot ,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass. Technobabble:  Some magic gibberish. Review:  A fantasy epic with a remarkable number of storylines, sometimes told out of chronological order. As a demonstration of how to effectively interweave a huge number of characters and plots this is a masterclass. This does not, however, make it an enjoyable read. Character work is underwhelming - a few standouts highlight how flat most of the others are. Pacing is choppy - sudden frenetic bursts followed by 100 page slumps. World feels pretty standard for medieval fantasy - t...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Shards of Honor. The Short of It Plot:  After getting stranded on an uncharted planet, Commander Cordelia Naismith's only hope is Lord Aral Vorkosigan, a notorious military leader. The closer she grows to Lord Vorkosigan, the more she becomes a target for his enemies. Page Count:  313 Award: Prequel to Barrayar , which won a Hugo and Locus in 1992 Worth a read : Yes Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Moderate. Review:  Ah, that's some sweet, sweet, SF. A space opera/romance. Excellent lead characters with their own complexities - and probably one of the strongest and most compelling female protagonists yet. Good balance of action and drama with world building. Pacing is excellent - a generally tight package. A superb entry point to the Vorkosigan Saga.  The Medium of It Spoiler Free! As the blurb of Shards of Honor on both Goodreads...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Elizabeth Ann Scarborough's  The Healer's War. The Short of It Plot:  A nurse in Vietnam tries to navigate the everyday danger of life on the front, and puts herself at risk to care for others. Page Count:  336 Award:  1989 Nebula Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot, World, or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  None Review:  Turns out the Vietnam War was not that great. Turns out being a woman in a warzone is not that great. Turns out viewing your enemies as subhuman is not that great. This is a character-driven story, and is semi-autobiographical. Kitty is likeable enough, though inconsistent. There is not really a story, exactly. She is thrown from one situation to another, usually without agency of her own. Pacing is all over the place. Not a terrible book but feels like yet another war story in a long line of such. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! It is a bit uncomfortable to say, "Hey, yo...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Lois McMaster Bujold's  Falling Free. The Short of It Plot:  Quaddies were genetically engineered to thrive in null gravity. Too bad they're basically kept as slaves. Page Count:  320 Award: 1988 Nebula Worth a read : For a Vorkosigan Saga completionist: Yes. But can be skipped. Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or Character) Bechdel Test : Pass Technobabble:  Yes. Review:  One of the weaker stories in the Vorkosigan Saga. Characters lack depth - and the childlike state in which the quaddies are kept becomes grating. Pacing is decent and the story is somewhat engaging. Leo Graf, the main "standard" human character, is far more compelling than any of the quaddies. Corporate greed is a believable but underwhelming bad guy, because [gestures vaguely at everything]. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is the first book in the Vorkosigan Saga chronologically, but should actually be read later. It is a prequel that exami...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Orson Scott Card's  Tales of Alvin the Maker, books two through six. The Short of It Plot:  In an America much like our own, Alvin is one of the only forces of order capable of countering the Unmaker. Page Count:  Red Prophet: 311 Prentice Alvin: 342 Alvin Journeyman: 381 Heartfire: 336 The Crystal City: 340 Award:  Red Prophet: 1989 Locus Fantasy Prentice Alvin: 1990 Locus Fantasy Alvin Journeyman: 1996 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character ) Bechdel Test : Pass, but only barely. As in, I think in only one book. Technobabble:  Mild fantasy babble. Review:  The delicate crafting of Alvin's world gets wackier and wackier the further the series goes. Card desperately scrambles to cram any and all historical figures he can into the narrative with little to no justification. Pervasive religious themes come across as excessive. Slow plotting and attempts to overdevelop...

Hello, Stranger. Let's talk about Orson Scott Card's  Seventh Son. The Short of It Plot:  In an alternate-history America, the seventh son of a seventh son is born with remarkable abilities.   Page Count:  377 Award:  1988 Locus Fantasy Worth a read : No Primary Driver:  (Plot,  World , or  Character )  Bechdel Test : Fail Technobabble:  None.  Review:  An intriguing alternate timeline that is ultimately undercut by bloat and poor pacing. Interesting use of different magic systems. Many well written scenes of believable family interaction, generally convincing interpersonal stakes. The protagonist, however, is the least compelling character by dint of being exceptional at everything. Weak antagonists as well. This book is longer than it needs to be, the series is even more so. The Medium of It Spoiler Free! This is easily the best book of the Tales of Alvin the Maker  series, and is possibly worth reading on its ...